Based on the advice from the book I am reading, which is a recovering overeaters biography and how the author was able to overcome her problem, I have been tracking my food. I’m not being hardcore in my tracking because that triggers an OCD response in me where I start thinking about food constantly. My goal for this last week was to be more aware of my eating habits and what I was doing around eating.
I thought that I did a good job of being concious of my eating – not the choices of foods, but how I was eating. Each day, I would only eat when I was hungry. My meals would be eating slowly and conciously, then stop when I felt satisfied. I know that it wasn’t perfect, but one particular meal has stood out to me.
I just disconnected from myself and robotically stuffed food into my mouth.
On Saturday, my husband and I ordered a pizza for lunch. I was hungry when we ordered it, but I was really hungry by the time it arrived. The whole meal was just inhaled by me. I even felt very uncomfortable while I was eating that way – you know, the beyond full feeling. But I just kept eating. What a big mistake. There was no reason for me to have done that. I didn’t feel sad, or depressed, or even anxious about anything.
I just disconnected from myself and robotically stuffed food into my mouth.
Fortunately, it only happened that one time and while I was unable to stop myself – or refused to stop myself? – at least I was concious of what I was doing. So now I can start combating it. Perhaps pizza is a trigger food. One of those comfort things that I use to disconnect from myself and just be a robot.
Sweet things, colas and other Sugars
Another issue with my eating habits are sugars. I drink coffee with sugar, sodas, and juices. Desserts are the highlight of my day and I constantly crave (or think about): yogurt, ice cream, chocolate, breads, cookies, etc.
This craving is particularly difficult for me to overcome. I can been successful at removing most simple sugars from my diet, but I have a fear of being denied these sweets so I usually overdo it when I let sugars in.
From another approach, if I allow myself to have sugars, then I usually can’t stop at just one. The best thing I can tell is that if I have some kind of sugar food, I need to eat it in the evening with water. Or have water after. That usually helps curb any additional craving.
Also, drinking sodas in the evening is a bad idea for me. I notice that I don’t sleep as well at night and I usually wake up with a very dry throat and dry eyes. I can tell I am dehydrated.