Finally - you are alone. No one else is around. Maybe you've waited until they are all soundly asleep. You find yourself in the kitchen sneaking food. Sometimes it's cake, sometimes it's ice cream. Other times you're standing in front of the refrigerator eating leftovers without a plate. Once in a while, you plan ahead, stocking up on your favorite goodies on the drive home.
Almost in a trance-like state, you begin eating the foods you don't want anyone to know you eat... in volumes you don't want anyone to know you want. You eat quickly, not wanting to get caught. The irony is that you're not really enjoying the food, you're not really hungry, and you don't know why you are doing it. Initially there is a sense of freedom, exhilaration, and relief. But something odd also occurs. When eating becomes secretive, it becomes both more exciting and more difficult to give up. A devastating cycle begins. The lure of sneak eating progresses, but so does the sense of guilt and failure. Of course, this leads to more sneak eating and on it goes. It becomes a overwhelming cycle that generates a life of it's own.
EMOTIONAL NEEDS
Sneak eating is a metaphor for real needs. These are needs that are typically not addressed. We think we shouldn't have them. Or we don't know how to deal with them. It's usually a time we can be alone, with all our wants and desires. It is a time we don't have to pretend to be capable, competent, pleasant, likeable, strong, and without needs. It is a time to be entirely self-centered, where you don't have to take care of the needs of anyone else and can focus completely on yourself.
Sneak eating is about hunger. Hunger that develops because of the deprivation of strict diets, restrictive food plans, and the list of "bad" foods that you "shouldn't" be eating. Sneak eating is also a substitute for emotional comfort. A way to nurture the unaddressed feelings of shame, guilt, low self-esteem and loneliness. These feelings may be with you most of the day. It is only when the pace slows down, that the emotions begin to emerge. Not knowing how to handle these powerful emotions, eating follows. Eating in isolation can be a way of stuffing down emotions that seem overwhelming. Eating alone can provide down time without the interruption of family, work, or other responsibilities.
THE 10 MOST POWERFUL FEELINGS YOU EAT TO KILL
1. Hurt
2. Guilt
3. Anger
4. Shame
5. Lonely
6. Anxiety
7. Self-hate
8. Disappointment
9. Emptiness
10. Deprivation
These feelings are normal for every human being. We each need to take the time, and learn the skills, to sit with our emotions. Recognize that it is essential to know what is going on within our bodies. Know that you are important enough to take the time to be still and be with who we really are. Every person has wants, needs, and desires. We need time to focus solely on ourselves and satisfy our needs. Many of us were taught that these things were selfish and unimportant. We learned to disconnect and hide, lie and make excuses about our needs. We pretend we don't need or want pleasure. We substitute food for what we really needed in life. We end up with a love/hate relationship with food. We try to force ourselves not to eat, especially not to sneak eat. And we punish and criticize ourselves for not being able to stop.
Recognize that sneak eating is not about your having shameful desires that cannot be controlled. Instead, sneak eating indicates that you have healthy, natural, human longings that you were not taught how to address.
QUESTIONS
There are a variety of things you can do to help build-up your willpower and let go of the need to sneak eat. Discover what motivates your behavior by asking yourself a few questions as each incident occurs.
* Where are you when you sneak eat?
* What were you thinking about right before you ate it?
* What were you feeling before you began eating?
* What need is this food filling (or stuffing) in your life?
* What else, other than food, would fill the wants and desires that you have?
* What is it that you really need?
Answering these questions and keeping a journal of your answers for future reference will help you understand what prompts your behavior. Your journal entries will serve as a starting place towards noting ideas. These ideas will help you work towards solutions once you are able to more readily recognize your pattern.
Dr. Annette Colby, RD
Nutrition Therapist & Master Energy Healer
For free inspirational newsletter, articles & info visit: http://www.lovingmiracles.com
972.985.8750
"Opening Creative Portals to Success"
We, as a society, are always trying to lose weight.... Read More
My last article, Make Diets Work, concluded that dieting the... Read More
The humble soybean boasts some extraordinary benefits. This nutritional powerhouse... Read More
Everywhere we look in the western world we are inundated... Read More
What is the advantage of these new half sugar and... Read More
Your Can Turn Fat into Muscle......Fact or Fiction???Completely False!!!!First of... Read More
The purpose of this article is not to scrutinize, vilify,... Read More
Low carb (carbohydrate), high protein diets are the latest ... Read More
I know, I know. What a crazy question!Considering that we've... Read More
Nice girls don't speak up. Nice girls take care of... Read More
I can't do that Until I Lose This Weight! If... Read More
Fifteen Secrets of Safe and Easy Permanent Weight Loss Revealed!*... Read More
College weight gain is at an all time high, and... Read More
The Secrets have been in our family recipes, some even... Read More
A healthy pregnancy almost always involves weight gain. But now... Read More
You may not like what I have to say, even... Read More
If you're serious about losing weight and getting fit, you... Read More
Gastric bypass surgery involves stapling the stomach to make it... Read More
A common question among weight loss professionals...If fad diets don't... Read More
Why is it so hard to lose weight and keep... Read More
Obesity and fast foods - there's little doubt about the... Read More
It is common for new WLS patients to ask, "How... Read More
Weighing more than is normal, necessary, or allowed, especially having... Read More
For many years, herbalists believe that Cayenne is the most... Read More
Green tea has been highly valued in Asia for centuries... Read More
Antigo wedding limo ..Every regime has its supply of useless folk lore and... Read More
If you are among the millions of people searching for... Read More
I had 14 weight/health-oriented newsletters in my inbox this morning.... Read More
"How do I lose 5 kg or 30 kg?""How do... Read More
The Government of the Australian state of Victoria has started... Read More
You are not a kid any more and becoming a... Read More
When it all comes down to losing or gaining weight,... Read More
Eating the right foods and exercising regularly have been the... Read More
Several months ago I was in desperate need of weight... Read More
Everyone from politicians to parents is talking about fighting the... Read More
Getting to the ROOT of the matter: If the plants... Read More
For years the experts have been telling us that diets... Read More
Losing weight on hips and thighs has always been a... Read More
The safe way to lose weight begins with a thorough... Read More
I am not a diet and fitness guru or an... Read More
Fifteen Secrets of Safe and Easy Permanent Weight Loss Revealed!*... Read More
A pound of fat represents approximately 3500 calories of stored... Read More
Have you ever wondered why some fat people can be... Read More
When women talk about their biggest obstacles to successful weight... Read More
Twenty years ago, I did not expect to accomplish what... Read More
While the gastric bypass may seem like the perfect solution... Read More
Although many patients have few problems after bariatric surgery, there... Read More
Don't get discouraged. I, too, have found myself in this... Read More
To upgrade the current software in your brain you can... Read More
This is a perfect example of how on-line weight loss... Read More
Weight Loss |