I used to overeat because I wasn't getting enough nutrients from my food due to a genetic abnormality of not producing enough stomach acid to digest my food properly.

I used to get terribly hungry and have real problems with hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) before I figured this out.

Now I take stomach acid supplements, and get full nutrient value for what I eat, so I'm not always starving in reaction to my body desperately trying to scavenge some of the right proteins and fats it needed. My blood sugar doesn't plummet so easily so I don't get so terribly hungry anymore.

That was my main problem, and now it's solved.

There was a subsidiary mental problem that also had to be resolved. I hated attention from men (except my husband) and I was hiding behind a layer of fat to avoid it. It worked well, but it would eventually kill me- so I think I've come to terms with the fact that men might eventually find me attractive again, and I'll ignore it, not be devastated by it.

I *don't* overeat anymore. The physical and mental problems have been solved.

Awesome Maria! How did you resolve the need to hide from the attention of men?

What do you do rather than eat?

I could probably have quoted your whole post!!! Ditto everything you said!

I know I eat (or at least snack) out of boredom. I also love to sample what I'm cooking (so I probably eat a lot more than what I enter into FitDay. Weekdays, once I get home from work, are the worst. I try to eat a healthy snack, but a 1/4 cup of nuts doesn't go too far, and I often grab another 1/4 cup. Somehow snacks from the fridge (like veggies) don't do it for me like nuts or crackers. I can usually stop at 2 crackers with cheese or that 1/2 cup of nuts, but both snacks are really high in fat.

Food was my companion; had been for 20 years. I truly do not know if anyone who DIDN'T grow up fat can understand this. I am an only child, my dad and grandma both showed love with food (mom didn't, she wasn't raised that way - they were lucky to have food to eat). I was always bigger than the other kids (and not just weight, I would hit a growth spurt and look relatively normal, bigger but not blatantly overweight), I was always taller than all the kids - even the boys - until middle school. So I was made fun of as soon as I started kindergarden... getting to come home and have that snack or to have dinner (or sneaking whatever I could) filled some kind of void in my heart.
I was a very lonely child (not because I'm an only child) and food was my only friend. After awhile, it didn't matter that I had friends - even then only food could be trusted not to turn its back on me. And even the good, true friends that I have couldn't break this idea - food had been there for me for so long, how do you just stop seeking it?
You just do. Putting health reasons aside, I think that this deep rooted behavior is really why I need to be on Optifast. It feels very sad - it really literally feels like I have lost a great friend (only to find out they weren't really a friend after all), and I have mourned food.
I don't ever want to eat like I did in the past... I am working on behavior modification with my counselor and working to resolve my childhood issues with food that inevitably lead me to this weight.

I DON'T run because my weight is hard on my knees, I was an athlete in school and I enjoy running so that is difficult thing not to get to do anymore.

I DON'T play really active sports with my boys. They love baseball, soccer, basketball (anything ball) and I get winded. It is depressing really!

I DON'T sleep on my back. It is harder to breath...quite scary. I am a medium to small frame and look quite healthy at 135, so being 215 is very hard on my body.

I DON'T deep clean. Sounds crazy but I clean in short spurts because deep cleaning is more exercise than I am willing to do.

Another issue for me has been red meat. My sides where aching after I would eat a steak. I don't know if it is the meat or if it is the fact that I like to eat steak medium rare.

Anyway none of this stems from my vanity to be thin. These are the main reasons for my choosing to lose weight. Over the course of 5 years I have had two kids, started college, bought a house, and lets not even mention the fact that I work too. I have a lot of excuses for why I "don't want to add the stress of a diet" on to that. Now I think it is for those very reasons that I need to lose weight. I need the energy to sustain this lifestyle. I don't want to give the best of myself to school just to come home drained and not have the energy to play with my kids. That is my motivation.

I like to eat when I'm happy and feeling good. 2nd is boredom, hands down. Actually, boredom sometimes comes in first place. I have no appetite when I'm stressed or upset.

Well.... My main problem is portion control. When I overeat, it's always one of two reasons: either I'm bored to tears, with nothing to do but watch TV & snack... meaning hey, there's a box of Wheat Thins!... think I'll have a few... then suddenly the box is empty... (This is one reason why I love summertime - I don't sit around & watch TV - I get up & outta the house & DO things...)

... or the food is just so tremendously yummy that I keep shoveling it in There, I said it.

Hmm. So many reasons and excuses, and sometimes they overlap!

I overate as a child out of boredom, and then later out of anxiety and anger. Before losing any weight, I used every excuse in the book to overeat:

• Sad about a bad interview? Have a Twinkie.
• Problems with my son? A nice big Sausage McGriddle will help stomach that.
• Feeling sorry for yourself? You deserve some garlic cheesebread.
• Relatives overstepping their boundaries? Brownies are the answer.
• Happy about the promotion? Treat yourself to a fancy dinner!

I, too, had body-image issues because I was a *tall* girl (not a fat girl initially), but my brothers and father started commenting on my weight when I was about eleven years old. Self-fulfilling prophecy? I'm not sure. There's definitely an element of that, because I still detest it when my father or brothers comment on my weight -- even positive comments.

There's also a sexual-attention element to mine. I've always been uncomfortable with unsolicited sexual attention, and when you're fat that solves much of that problem.

I became fatter as a young single parent. Some of this was anger at "fate" for a difficult lot in life. I figured that my job is to be a mom and I didn't need to be distracted by men and dating. What finally seemed to be the straw that broke the camel's back was when I realized that my 16-year-old son could very soon flee the nest and I would be a 'free agent', and HE pointed out to me that it's about time I start dating. I knew I had to be right with myself before I could start a healthy relationship, and becoming physically healthier has given me a self-respect that will (hopefully) translate well to a healthy relationship.

I also gained weight when I quit smoking, as food is a savory and socially acceptable replacement for cigarettes. "I'm eating sunflower seeds because I quit smoking!" quickly turned into "I'm eating M&M's because I quit smoking!" or "I'm eating the whole bakery because I quit smoking!" ha ha.

Now that I've peeled back enough layers to address some of the deeper issues (misogyny from male relatives, body-image issues, self respect), I'm able to nail down the day-to-day bad habits.

I'm beginning to reach the turning point, where I'm internalizing the concept that payoff for emotional eating isn't worth the consequences. Even though a "comfort food" might feel good to eat for five minutes, it doesn't solve the problem and only contributes to bigger problems. It's just not worth it, the problem will still be there when the cheesecake is gone, and I'll then have to deal with the problem just a little chubbier and arteries a little more clogged. It's my choice.

I agree with many/most of the reasons that have been posted.

I will add one more, that applies to me.

HABIT---especially when I go to the show/theater (MUST have popcorn), when I watch tv in the evening, when I'm cooking (MUST taste it for quality assurance!) etc. It is like I'm on autopilot. munch, munch, munch

Ladies,what matters (I think) is that we are talking about it and facing it. It takes a lot of courage do deal with your faults, to overcome bad habits, to step into a new way of living. We should all feel great for just being here and taking the effort to keep ourselves accountable! I think it is a great step in staying on track no matter what the hurdles! ha ha (track..hurdles) I know I am a dork!

When I was a teenager 5'4" tall and 115 pounds...my very cruel stepfather told me that I was beatiful but that if I'd just lose 10 pounds I'd be perfect. 10 years later I was the same weight again for the first time in my life and cut muscle from head to toe and a guy that was surprisingly like my stepfather told me I'd be hot if I lost 5 pounds. I started eating. I ate and ate and while I've lost weight since - the smallest I've ever been is.....130. I stop and start eating at 130. It's as if there's this trigger inside me that is not willing to give either guy the satisfaction of seeing me do what they said I needed to do. Neither person is in my life now but it's still there as a trigger. I succeed for so long and get so close and then that control "in your face" "It's my body and I'll do what ever the "heck" I want with it" attitude kicks in and I start eating food I don't even like and I know makes me feel horrible in every way!

I realize this and am working on it a lot but there is a lot of anger and hurt stored with it - and guess....there's a food for those emotions too!

MariaofColumbia, I could have written your post. I think my main reason for over-eating was that I wasn't getting the proper nutrition that my body was needing. It was craving something nutritious and I was feeding it everything else. My blood sugar would plummet and I'd think that I needed more to eat. It was a vicious cycle. Now that I am eating healthy and much less food, I don't have this happening anymore.
Of course, my family was always big on celebrating any event with food. It was very acceptable to eat til we were stuffed. Until I started eating healthy in food choice and portions, I didn't know what hunger was. I thought I was supposed to always leave the table stuffed. I have learned now that food is plentiful and there is no reason to over-eat, I can always eat something later if I am truly hungry.
I do remember a time in my marriage when things were rough and during this time I constantly over-ate. It did seem like it was a control issue, it was the only thing I could control at that time.

I definitely eat from boredom, social pleasure, and stress/anger/other trigger emotions. I remember first starting college and just getting to know groups of people--the best way for us to socialize as a big group was to go out to eat. So we did, and everyone split appetizers, and drank beer, and ate really bad food because it was comforting when we weren't all that comfortable [yet] with each other. And then once we DID get to know everyone, we wanted the bad food anyway because it was what had bonded us in the first place! No wonder I ballooned up to over 200 pounds.

But I can't blame all of my weight on eating out with friends. To a degree I still find myself thinking, "I need a snack" whenever I'm aimlessly surfing the net, or watching tv, or whatever. I deny this urge a LOT more often now that I know I'm not physically hungry, but I remember going through sooo much food and not even realizing it. Now, if I'm at the computer and I feel that urge, I drink some water, wait a few minutes, decide if I'm really hungry, and if it's time for a snack I'll go get a piece of fruit. That usually takes care of it.

Ditto!

Hmmm...This is a good question. While I've since lost the weight I gained, I don't think I've really reflected much on why it was there. When I gained 20 pounds in 6 months about 3-4 years ago, I was working about 100-120 hours per week, and I just didn't feel like cooking at all. I was living in a larger city, and there were a lot of different options for take-out food even within my 2 mile drive home. When I would come home exhausted, the thing I most looked forward to was what I would be having for dinner that night. Living where I was, it would either be Thai, Indian, Middle Eastern, or Italian food each night. I had never had pad thai before I moved to that city...and I'm sure it was a big, big part of the pounds.

I think the take-out food was something for me to look forward to at the end of work. What good tasting food would I have for dinner when I finally got home was often on my mind. It didn't involve much effort to get take-out, and the food was yummy and flavorful. I was so tired that I really didn't even consciously notice that I had gained weight until almost the end of the six month period when things slowed down a little.

I guess I ate because I was exhausted, and needed something to look forward to each day to keep me going. I guess it was a type of reward for making it through another rough and stressful day. Maybe if I had had better work hours and/or a lot of friends and family around, things would have been different. Interestingly, I actually lost a few pounds during the first 6 months of the intense work schedule b/c I was too stressed and busy to eat, but then things obviously changed and somehow I started to eat because of it.

I took off the weight that I gained in 6 months (plus a little extra) slowly over the last 3 years. My work hours have been much better, and I've now cut out eating out to about once a month (sometimes less), and exercise has reappeared after its year long absence! I've been learning about appropriate portion sizes, and while that was pretty much controlled over the last couple years by lean cuisine and healthy choice frozen meals, my next goal is to be very secure in controlling portion size even without the frozen meals' help! I'd like to start cooking again, and still maintain my weight. So far it seems I might have a chance of learning how to portion control consistently while cooking, and that's very exciting!!! Portion control was definitely not a consideration when I gained the weight a few years ago!