Speaking of lessons, yes, I know, "another life lesson". I am trying to study all I can about nutrition and behaviorial eating. I am gleaning through diet books, nutrition books, psychology books both Christian and secular, and magazine articles. I am highlighting books, putting notes in a "health" binder, and creating a scrapbook of clipped mini articles and notes. I am serious about this quest to lose weight. I haven't lost a pound...actually I recently lost 4 but it found it's way back. I am over indulging in info media. I have considered a therapist for emotional roots to my overeating, but right now even the co-pay is unavailable. So, I am now a student of Friend University of Recovery. This house is always recovering from something, bad decisions, illness, and overindulgence. Hopefully the intense study will stick and my behaviors will change. This is my prayer.
I want to share from a booklet I read this week. There is no author but it is used apparently in the organization called Overeaters Anonymous. I found this booklet at a thrift store recently. It has the "higher power" philosophy, so I had to manuever around the rhetoric. This booklet is a testimony of sorts from a participant. She poses several questions throughout the booklet re: emotional eating. I am going to list some. This is where some of you will want to jump off the post because it don't apply. I however would encourage you to read them and maybe offer help to someone you may know.
THE ANSWER TO THESE QUESTIONS ALWAYS POINT TO OUR BIGGEST NEED: A CLOSE, INTIMATE, FULFILLING RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
Some of her intro:
- If someone habitually overeats, it is safe to say that person is hooked on using food to do things food cannot do.
- The key to getting "unstuck" is learning to pay attention to what is behind the craving for excess food.
- We will not cease to be hungry, but we will learn what satisfies.
...eating is still etched somewhere in our awareness as a time when we we re care for. Being fed meant being taken care of. When did I start eating more for emotional comfort ans support than for bodily need? Could it be we each have a special, inner hunger which all the nutritious food and human companionship in the world will not satisfy? Is my hunger for more food, more mother's love, and more approval really a sign that I am spiritually undernourished?
Can we accept and live with a realistic appraisal of ourselves? Is our self-esteem dependent on being able to achieve brilliant displays of virtuosity in a chosen field of endeavor? Running scared. This is what happens when we adopt someone else's idea of what we are supposed to be and do. If we are trying to please a parent, a spouse, or our peer group rather than operate out of inner motivation, we will be afraid? (Inner motivation - God's will. acf). Sometimes we interpret feelings of anxiety as hunger pangs. As overeaters we try to soothe ourselves with food. Afraid to face our fears, we eat to try to make them go away, but they get bigger.
Have you ever binged because you were mad at someone? Our negative feelings toward someone else end up being more toxic to ourselves that to the other person. As overeaters we can't indulge in anger and resentment. Why do I want something to eat? Often the angry feelings turn in on ourselves because we have overeaten again! When we are spiritually full, our resentments dissolve and we don't need revenge. Getting in touch with God's love enables us to love ourselves and other people. Since we don't expect other people to "fill us up", we don't get angry with them when they don't meet our every need.
Some of us feel frustrated in our efforts to achieve and are haunted by a sense of having failed to accomplish anything of value. What do you want to achieve? All too often, an overeater will choose the immediate, sort-term gratification of food instead of working toward a long-term goal.
...how many of us crave food when we start thinking about a project we want to do but are apprehensive about tackling? When I sit down and analyze the feeling, it turns out to be anxiety rather than hunger.
When God is leading, I can risk being open and vulnerable. If my partner let's me down, I will be hurt, but I will not be devastated. When God is leading, I will not be overly dependent on my partner that I lean too hard...How do we break out of the prison of emotional isolation? Eating food you don't need will make you feel worse. The way I handle my hunger for relatedness will let me know if I am getting off the track. If I am slipping back into the habit of consuming food instead of giving love, then I am out of touch with God and going in the wrong direction.
When you are feeling really low, and food appears to be the only solution, how do you discover what the hunger is really about? Trying to avoid the lows with chemicals or excess food does not work. ...the most positive course of action is to turn the black hole and all its contents over to a Higher Power (GOD the only power-acf). (break through happens-acf)...when we begin to change our perspective and start thinking about what God wants.
Do you think underneath all the striving, the wanting, the doing, and the moving, we each have a deep, basic hunger for peace? Isn't there a better way to settle our restlessness and our anxiety? Food is a temporary tranquilizer. Only by daily surrender to (God-acf) am I able to experience the deep peace and faith that make overeating unnecessary. Being at peace means breing able to m ove from one activity to the next without rush or response to what each day brings. When we trust the overall goodnes of God's plan, we can go with the flow and not be paralyzed with worry about outcomes.
Instead of allowing ourselves to feel loneliness or anger or embarrassment, we immediately translate the unpleasant feelings into hunger. In this way we mask our true emotions and hide them from everyone, including ourselves. What will happen if we stop hiding out in excess food and decide to face life? What happens when we choose to take our experiences head on without an ansethetic to dull the unavoidable pain? How do we become willing to feel, and what happens when we do? Listen to your hunger. Let it tell hou what's really going on. ...go behind the hunger and find out what's there.
How do I feel? Tired. Very tired. the craving for food is related to wanting an energy pick up. I'm not really hungry. Just tired. Overeating is not the answer to fatigue. Going to bed early makes much more sense. (Get rest-acf).
When you feel hungry and it' not mealtime, ask yourself what the real issue is. Before you eat, write about it or talk about it. How do you feel right now?
How do you feel about your body? It is where you live. Do you take time to listen to the signals it gives you? Do you know what it needs to function well? Do you know when it needs rest? Play? Movement? Sex? Food? A hug? Do you accept what you can't change about your body?
We feel so much better physically (emotionally and spiritually, too) when we're eating what our bodies need and not stuffing them with too much and/or the wrong kind of food. Listen to your hunger. In order to hear the healthy, legitimate hunger of our bodies, we have to filter out the emotional cravings that we misidentify as physical hunger for food. We also have to get off the rollercoaster of stuffing and starving. When I eat slowly and pay attention to inner signals,it is possible for my brain to know when my body has had enough.
A Quick Checklist of questions I have pulled from her last chapter:
What am I hungering for?
What is my hunger really about? What will satisfy it?
Your craving is an indication that yo need something, but what?
Does it (your body) need physical activity? Rest? Sensual pleasure?
Are you lonely?
Would the food you think you want be a subsititute for the human warmth and companionship you need?
Are you angry? Are you afraid? Are you bored? Are you depressed? Are you low on self-esteem?
Will extra food make the feelings go away for more than a few minutes?
Are those few moments of relief worth the subsequent remorse?
How is your spirit today? Is it undernourished?
LISTEN TO HUNGER - Author Unknown/Anonymous
Okay so this post is not fun, but hopefully insightful. I recognized several areas but not all the areas of struggles with food. I also know that nothing satisfies my hunger like a Jesus. His presence and His word. Daily bread is truly the answer. Remember my Lose weight eat Bread post?
Have a mindful and blessed day, ladies. acf
PS: I am not editing this for typos so sorry if you note any. I am late for an appt.
1 comment:
This post is right on with alot of my eating disorders! Thanks for sharing and I plan to copy the list that you posted and try to answer some of those very questions!
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