ramblings about food
what food has meant to me:
comfort
recreation
happiness
fulfillment
anticipation
joy
What I want food to mean to me:
fuel to function
nutrition for my body
So my question is; will I ever get there? I have made dramatic changes and great strides but wish I could understand why, within just about everyday, there is some sort of battle regarding food intake. Growing up, other family members seemed to have such a balanced view of food, My mom and older brother at times would even “forget to eat”. I recall being envious of this. I also recall being as young as 7 at the dinner table with my parents chuckling and saying, “Shannon, the food’s not going anywhere.” As they gazed upon mountains of food I had placed upon my plate. I recall thinking,”But it is so good, I want to make sure I get enough.” I was never overweight (until recently) so it wasn’t an issue…more just a family joke. Is it really just a physical thing? Am I somehow wired to receive too much delight from the taste of food? Or is it emotional? Was I trying to fill some kind of void? In my younger years life was good and carefree. Why did I behave as if I had been raised during the Great Depression and now had to hoard food?, or as if I had a dozen siblings with which I needed to vie for food? These are things I hope to figure out. Perhaps there is no answer to be found…just the realization that I am no longer at a place in my life where it is okay to pile mountains of food upon my plate!
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That’s a great place to be Shannon!
Girl, man, I feel you on your relationship with food.
Just the other night my sister and I were enjoying our dinner and here comes skinny Rodney. Girls, don’t inhale your food…it’s not going anywhere. He Forgets to eat all the time.
Ahhh, so I do love food oh so much and for me I’m always afraid I won’t have enough.
I was born during a Communist regime in my country. After being practically slaves to the Communist regime we went to live in camps in Thailand. We never had enough food as they rationed everything.
For me, food is a sign of plenty. And if I don’t eat it’s like a knee jerk reaction - oh, I’m going to starve just like I did in the camps.
I hope you find an answer soon for you girl.
I think food has such a strong psychological link to being taken care of, comforted, love, having enough, rewards, etc. It’s amazing how food can be linked emotionally to so many things, and no wonder then why it’s so hard to lose weight!
You will get there. I am not out of the woods either. I know that I can not be trusted, so I have eliminated any “goodie” type of food in the house. My kids are thrilled! LOL!-NOT!
Baby steps..baby steps…Hang in there.
*I have NEVER forgotten to eat!! Wouldn’t that be something???!!!!
I think its a combination of things as to WHY we do it…I think the fact that it is so complex is why it takes us time to work through the weight loss…not just lose the weight.
My daughter can pass up dessert because shes not hungry…WHAT? I wish I had that…I am even more thankful tho that SHE has it.
We will find it eventually but I do believe we will forever have to be careful and not get too lax about it. Good luck on your journey
It gobbled my comment
I am with you. It has become more of the second list for me, but not completely. Unfortunately, society has wired us to wrap our emotions up in food. Hardly any family function is without food. It takes self discipline, but it can be done. One day at a time!
((Big Hugs Shannon))
I truly can relate with you…I feel the same way you feel and I want to get to the same place you want to get to. I want to learn to listen to my body, feed it when it is hungry, stop when it is full, and have a healthy relationship with food. I have SO MUCH weight to lose, and I want to lose it, but more than that I want to develop a healthy relationship with food- because then the weight loss will come. I wanted to let you know that you are not alone- and we are on this journey together. I too am looking for the answer to why my food habits are like this and so unhealthy- and I am hoping I can find it to make my journey a little less easier- but if I can find the answer I will just come up with my own solution!
We can do this!
YOU WILL MAKE IT!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!!
Ms. Shannon,
I totally understand trying to figure out your past relationship with food as you cultivate a new and healthier one….you will get there hun…you will achieve those goals! Just gotta stick with it…and one day you’ll look up all successful and appreciate the time and effort it took to get there! ((hugs))
Shannon by making those two lists you have already won half the battle. Focus and the rest is yours! I found this post very helpful too. THANKS!
I truly relate to what you’re saying. Food has always been a comfort for me too. If I know I’m going out to eat somewhere, I find myself anticipating it, looking forward to it and waiting for it. It made me happy after eating a big plate piled up with my favorite foods and a few hours later, i found myself antipating the next meal. There are so many foods I love and I don’t know how I’ll handle dropping the fattening ones out of my diet. I guess I’ll take it day by day and try to change my relationship to food, Like you said see it as fuel and nutrition. That’s a good way of looking at it. thanks also for your encouragment and kind words. I appreciated it. Good luck! You’re on the right path already!
I wrote a comment yesterday and it didn’t register!
I have a similar problem and like you i never paid much mind to it because until recently i had always been super slim. for years people were always amazed at my ability to pack away food!
Here’s my deal, maybe it will help..
my eating habits are attributed towards the fact that i am an extremist. if i like something say the color green I LOVE IT TO DEATH. so when applied to food, if i find a meal particularly appetizing I JUST WANT TO DEVOUR as much as possible
moderation in all aspects of my life is something i need to work on (except at the gym heheh!)
things that have helped me -
1. smaller plates!
2. when i cook, i dish out the portions that are appropriate and put EVERYTHING away!
3. i drink copious amounts of decaffeinated tea. i love tea and it fills me up and keeps me from overeating
g’luck
I can also really, really relate to this post. I felt like I couldn’t have written it better! The only difference with me was that my entire family battles with weight problems so when we had a bad day we went to McDonalds. When we had a good day, we went to McDonalds. I don’t blame them for my weight. It’s my own fault. I just wish I could be one of those people who forget to eat. HOW do you forget to eat? Eating is priority number 1 in my day. I don’t think its possible to forget, unless I made myself. (I already have it planned out what I’m eating for breakfast tomorrow in my head and I haven’t even gone to bed yet!) I guess we all have our struggles, whatever they may be! Keep up the great work!