This is probably a classic issue for comfort eaters. I'd say most of the time that I was eating fattening food/treats I enjoyed the taste, it was satisfying a craving but I also know that often times I'd find myself eating several chocolate bars even when I didn't want them. I'd feel sick. I don't know why I was doing it, possibly boredom but I would just sit there and eat them. Some sort of punishment, a lack of self worth. I didn't respect my body and what I was putting into it. I'm starting to respect myself a lot more and trying to understand why I was doing this to myself in the first place so I never do it again.

I used to do this all the time! I buy treats to last the entire week and end up gobbling it all up in 2 days. I think I used to do it because I used to tell myself "if you finish everything now you won't have anything to gorge on later. That'll help reduce your weight." Now I am way more disciplined. If you crave a sweet go for a fruit. But if you really can't resist a chocolate snack. Try eating 4-5 M&Ms. That satisfies my chocolate craving

Yeah I did that too, really strange logic isn't it! Gobbling it all up so there'll be none left.

I haven't eaten any chocolate in a while. If I'm craving something I drink lots of water and peppermint tea. For snacks I have a healthy yoghurt or some fruit. I realised that for me it's just too difficult to just cut it out a little bit. I think sometimes I could have a little bit but I have to be careful.

Small bits and savouring the flavour of things is good too. Before I would fill my mouth with crisps/chips/chocolate as much as possible.

No.

Well, yes. By that I mean I enjoyed it in the way that a heroin addict enjoys the high, though that's an extreme example. I enjoy it immediately but the after effects make me worse. It does not improve the situation, rather it diminishes my quality of life in the long run.

I (re)experienced in a small way last Wednesday. I had a mini nervous breakdown in class but held it together long enough to haul buns outta there. I bawled my eyes out on the way home. My husband and kids had pizza for dinner which I promptly scarfed down though I had dinner earlier. Thankfully it was thin crust. I then went after the peanut butter and I don't remember what else. I was OK while eating, it gave me an outlet, it gave me comfort like a warm squishy hug.

But here's the thing, I can't eat all the time and once I quit and went to bed, I still had to think about my problems and ended up crying myself to sleep anyway. So, I ate something that set me back a bit and still felt like crap anyway. Not really worth it in my opinion. I'm trying to find better ways of dealing with stress and emotional BS and try to remember these feelings when I have the urge to reach for a brownie covered in ice cream, chocolate and other fattening crap.

That's a good way of putting it. And yes like any addiction the effects of making you feel better are only temporary. Sorry to hear that, though, I know it can be difficult. I guess the more we realise that it doesn't work I hope it will get easier.

For me it's like cigarettes used to be.. each cigarette is only setting you up for another cigarette. It's just a temporary fix.

Do you have someone to talk to when you're feeling like that? Sometimes I try to count back from 5 over and over and deep breathing, yoga etc can help.

What helped me most with emotional eating was "Life is Hard, food is easy" by Linda Spangle.

I knew I was eating from stress. But the heart hunger vs head hunger thing really helped me figure out what KIND of stress And then I could move on to solving it in other ways one the main emotion could be better pinpointed. Anger? Lonely? WHAT?!

Here's a short article about heart vs head hunger. (the book is more detailed.)

Chocolate -- could you be low in magnesium?

HTH!
A.

I usually talk things out with my husband as he's very encouraging with me. This particular situation and related emotion took me back to when I was 18 and far less secure than I am now, though I still struggle sometimes obviously. When I was 18/19, I was in the same art program and I had so much self doubt, I knew I couldn't do it, I knew I was going to fail and I knew everyone was thinking about how awful my art work was. I eventually dropped out of the program and switched majors. I then dropped out of college because whatever major I chose wasn't making me happy so what's the point?

That class Wednesday just sent a wave of those feelings washing over me and made me think about dropping out of the program again. It was just so over whelming! I'm over it and I know I'm not the only one with issues in the class - it's definitely her not me!

It's odd because when it comes to my emotional eating, it happens most often with emotions related to stuff that affected me before I met my husband and got my life back on track and shut out the toxic people. If those toxic people make a resurgence, that's when I hit up the "bad" stuff. Current stress related to work, kids, having one income but two adults in school just doesn't affect me as all that old stuff did, and apparently still does occasionally. So I guess my challenge is battling my demons from my past and not letting them control the present.

I did the same thing! Now when I eat I think "how is this food going to better my body, my health, and my mind". It's very empowering.

I can relate, i did that all the time and i would lie to myself, saying that ONE TIME didnt matter, but i did that one time multiple times. Yesterday my friend surprised me with lunch at Olive Garden and she ordered wine, appetizers, entree and dessert. I declined the wine and ordered water, I declined the dessert, at very little appetizer, and ate my entree. It was a luxurious lunch, and my calorie intake for it was excessive and i felt bad for that, but i was also proud of myself for making conscious decisions to go with some healthier options. I also worked it all off that day too! Which made me very proud. when i calculated all those calories and went "wow" i realized how much food matters. I will always remember how much harder i worked at losing all of those calories throughout the day, FOR JUST ONE MEAL! It was a lightbulb moment, and it makes it easier now to choose better foods because i can pace my day better, and make it easier on myself.

It's great that you have such a supportive husband! I understand though, it's old habits, and when you go back to feeling a certain way you go back to acting that way too. With food anyway. The positive things here though are that you're aware of those kinds of triggers relating to feelings of your past. Learning to deal with them in a new way is difficult though, especially when you've done the same thing to relieve stress every time.

I'm sorry you were feeling like that but as you said you're not the only one with issues so that's good

astrophe Thanks for the recommendation! I'll look into it. I'm coping ok right now but I don't know if I'll always find it this easy. Considering my history with this.

bellydance Yep me too! Over and over.

UnderTheMoon That's great! I think the key is still feeling satisfied and not depriving yourself of everything. Healthy food can be nice food. Well done.

dosbabe Oh yeah I remember that thing of saving them for company.. Then always hoping there would be some left for me to gorge on haha

What a great question! I'd say that I enjoy the first few bites of chocolate, cheesecake, chips, etc. After that, it's more of a compulsion to eat it than enjoyment that keeps me eating.

I think I'm going to start trying to ask myself that more often before I start eating and while I'm eating. Some things I eat strictly because I'm hungry and they're good for me. Other things, I need to be more reflective about it.

Yeah, I'm trying to do that too.. one of the best bits of advice is when you're eating only concentrate on that. Don't eat things while watching tv etc. Seems to help a bit anyway. I'm just trying to do good things for myself now, taking care of myself.