(22) One Last List Of Reasons For Overeating

Eating to have energy. You may feel the need to eat a large breakfast just to give you energy for the day ahead. We've all heard the saying "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day"...It's better to think of every meal you eat being important, as long as you strive for 0-5 :)
There's also eating to fuel up for some physically challenging work that needs done as well as eating before and after exercising in order to keep your energy levels up.

Reward eating. I've mentioned this one...Eating because you did really well at something and you feel the need for a reward. Just a little something for a job well done.

Novelty eating. When you're on vacation and you eat as if you'll never get to try all of the wonderful unique foods again. You feel that somehow by stuffing yourself with the food you'll be able to hang on to the vacation and what it represents.

Grazing. Another guilty for me. Sometimes I'll feel the need for satisfaction and I automatically assume that I can get it from food. I'll take a few bites of one thing, then something different. I'll continue doing this, searching for a satisfied feeling. The feeling won't come from food. There is usually some other problem that I'm avoiding and only by facing and solving that problem will I find satisfaction. All the eating does is bring on a more unsatisfied and agitated feeling.

"Big boned" eating. I use the term "big boned" only as a way to describe this example. You may feel that because you have a big body, you need large amounts of food in order to sustain yourself. If you've watched shows like "The Biggest Loser", you've seen the examples of what the overweight contestants eat in a day. To them it's a normal and okay amount. If you think of your empty stomach as being roughly the size of your closed fist, you can see that those large amounts of food are completely excessive.

"Good chef" eating. You may be an amazing cook and the foods you put together are simply delectable. It's your job/responsibility to taste the foods and determine if they will satisfy those who eat them. Do you "taste" all day long and then sitting down to a full meal?

Food enthusiast eating. Are you the person who tries all of the "good chef's" meals? I once read about a food critic who tastes food as her job. She had learned to taste everything and finish nothing...


The following is a quote from one of my blog readers:
I was a naturally healthy person until I had kids. I've never been pregnant because we adopted, I am sure this has been a blessing for me on the weight end of things. However since quitting structured workplace work and being a mom-over the last 5 years I have gradually gained weight until I am about 20 pounds over my natural. I am not a dieter, never have been. I just can't do it. I like GOOD food and I have no use for counting calories. I stay home all day with with my kids while doing photography, I sit at the computer a lot because I have to and now I find that even when I don't have to it has become a habit. I am often stressed, usually overworked and crazy, just trying to deal with life. I also don't get enough exercise. Before kids' exercise just happened, it was a part of my daily life. Eating at meals just happened because I only had to worry about me not my kids.. I didn't have to think about it. Now... well, the excuse "I am too busy" just doesn't cut it. I would say I am eating at a 0-7 most of the time and even 0-9 occasionally when I sit down to dinner with my crazy family and finish a plate without thinking. I think this is a great start to thinking about being thin, and turning it into something I can manage. Small plates, fist size amounts of food, and eating what I want are all things I can live with.

Thank you to this reader for letting me quote you. It is greatly appreciated! If any of you have input, stories or just something you'd like to add, please contact me or make comments. The "comments" will include your name, but if you'd like to stay anonymous then "contact me...questions" will go straight to my email and I'll leave your name off the blog. You all inspire me and that inspiration fuels my writing fire so thank you!