I tried to think of some more reasons why I overeat and came up with too many to name. So I figured I'd just put down the ones that were REALLY wacky.
In college I once ate 7 Entenmen's chocolate donuts in a row ( 8 come in a box) because I was so stressed out for a nursing midterm, and then got sooooo disgusted with myself I threw the 8th one out the window and into oncoming emergency bay traffic at Bellevue. I swear I hit an ambulance! This is true story. You can ask any of my college dorm mates. They saw me do it!
Also in college, I once ate an entire Pepperidge Farm's Chocolate layer cake as a reward for acing a Nursing midterm!! Two extremes of motivation: same outcome - overeating.
I had a fight with a co-worker once when I was a nurse and was sooooooo furious I stopped at a Chinese food restaurant and bought 2 full combo dinners, ate them and then went to Friendly's for ice cream.
Sick to my stomach doesn't begin to describe the hell I went throught gastronomically that weekend!
The first time I saw BEACHES in an actual movie theather(!) I ate a gigundo popcorn with buckets of butter, a real soda - I think it was a pepsi - and a theater sized box of Junior mints. When Barbara Hersey died, I remember running out to the concession stand and getting Hersey's kisses. Get it?! Hersey dies so I needed some of her namesake chocolate to get through the emotional termoil.
I wasn't even sick that time because I ate all that over the 2.5 hrs of the movie.
The main theme here is that I overeat due to some sort of emotional flux.
So the theory would seem to be: if my emotions are stable, would me eating habits be too?
Something to consider and ponder for the weekend.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Peggy - I'm enjoying your blog. I've been thinking a lot about the things you mention in this post.
ReplyDeletePeg, wow thanks for sharing these stories. What insights into the why at the root of the behavior. As I read your experiences I reflected on how I respond in those emotional types of situations. I think I am more likely to not be able to eat when things get emotionally challenging for me. I respond by trying to regain control, therefore, focusing on the mechanics of getting through the situation. My tendency is to back away from food, which I associate with pleasure, during very emotionally challenging times. This is making me do some thinking, thanks.
ReplyDeleteSweetie - you are your own shrink!! The fact that you own the thought of controlling what's going on around you and within you is a key factor in motivation for weight loss - and you of course don't need to lose anything!! My past life was always one that was out of control - emotionally, financially, socially and psychologically. So it just makes sense that I am a total emotional eater because eating during times of outward stress has always appeared to calm me. Even tho the reality was that it made me more (emotionally) depressed because of the weight gains. So, you and I approach stress/emotions/negative happenings in two divergent ways. And in the end you are the healthier and leaner person, so a little bit of control goes a long way in many things: emotions, stress management, and what goes in our mouths! isn't psychology cool!!
ReplyDelete