What is the true meaning behind overeating?
First step is understanding. From the questions below decide what type of eater you are?
There are 6 types:-
Addictive Eaters
Emotional Eaters
Habitual Eaters
Ignorant Eaters
Destructive Eaters
Angry Eaters
Answer the following questions to find out which one you are or are predominantly. If you answer yes to more than 50% of the questions you can identify yourself with that category. (It maybe you fall into more than one category)
TYPE 1
*Do you think about food all day then, when you are eating, cram food into your mouth and eat really fast so you don’t even taste it and want more food?
*Do you repeat this pattern over and over
*Do you crave sugar? If you have sugary snacks at home do you eat them and are unable to save them for later of another day?
*Do you eat sensibly all day and only break you diet in the evenings?
*Are there some foods that once you start eating you can’t stop? i.e. jumbo bags of crisps or family size bars of chocolate?
*Do you eat a bar of chocolate so fast that when it’s finished you realise you didn’t enjoy it, savour it or really even taste it?
If you have answered yes, you are an addictive eater.
TYPE 2
*Do you eat in secret?
*Do you use food to block your emotions and feelings, i.e. eating when you are lonely, unhappy or bored?
*Do you prefer to eat alone and do you eat differently when eating with others.
*Would you find it hard to be without chocolate, sweets and biscuits?
*Do you sometimes crave food full of salt, fat or sugar?
*Do you eat when you are under pressure?
*Do you practically crave carbohydrates when you are unhappy?
*Do you believe that certain foods comfort you and make you feel better?
If you have answered yes, you are an emotional eater?
TYPE 3
*Are your children or partner overweight?
*Do you no longer recognise when you are full and when you are hungry?
*Do you put on weight predominantly around your stomach?
*Do you eat whenever food is in front of you regardless of whether or not you are hungry?
*Do you finish everything and always clear your plate?
*Do you find it particularly hard to through food away or ‘waste’ it?
*Were you always made to finish meals as a child?
*Do you find yourself using every occasion to eat i.e. watching television, in a car or on a train journey, at the cinema, etc?
*Do you eat quickly and finish before others?
If you have answered yes, then you’re a habitual eater.
TYPE 4
*Do you think that all salad is healthy including coleslaw and the dressing?
*Do you think cheese is good for you and pizza is a complete meal because it has some peppers and tomatoes on it?
*Do you believe that bread, potatoes, cereal and milk are good foods?
*Do you think all foods labelled low fat, reduced sugar and diet must be good for you?
*Do you count potatoes as vegetables?
*Do you think fruit bars, fruit drinks and canned fruit are as good as fresh fruit?
If you have answered yes, you are an ignorant eater.
TYPE 5
*Do you sabotage you diet every time you come close to your ideal weight?
*Do you feel anxious and uncomfortable when you are slimmer?
*Do you still buy clothes in bigger sizes and keep your fat clothes?
*Do you shed the same 10 pounds (or thereabouts) every year then gain it back?
*Do you feel more confident when your body is covered up and uneasy when it is on show, i.e. do you prefer winter because you can wear layers and hate summer because you are supposed to wear less?
*Do you celebrate your weight loss success by resuming eating the foods you had denied yourself?
If you have answered yes, you are a destructive eater.
TYPE 6
*Do you prefer crunchy food like crisps, nachos, apples, popcorn, French bread or very chewy food like toffee and beef jerky?
*Do you feel better after chewing and biting food?
*Do you eat something after an argument or if you feel tense or wound up because it changes you state?
*Do you feel agitated if you have to wait too long for your food to be served to you in a restaurant or on an airline?
If you have answered yes, you are an angry eater.
A recent client discovered she was an emotional eater and felt comfort in eating cake as it related to connection with her mother. Turning to cake to alter her mood to make her feel happy and the love she experienced when eating cake.
The good news, all of your habitual eating patterns and beliefs about yourself are yours to change. Break free and make healthy food choices and eat in moderation automatically without the need to be on a strict, hard to stick to diet.