Do you ever wonder what is the greatest amount of food you can eat and not gain weight? Do you put yourself at risk with all-you-can-eat restaurants, big portions, and frequent eating encounters? Do you bring junk food into the home for the kids and end up eating it yourself? Do you end up stuffed, bloated, sometimes nauseous, sick to your stomach, and certainly uncomfortable? The frenzy eventually passes, and the ferocity subsides. You might feel remorse.
The next day you go to the other extreme. Then you wonder what is the smallest amount I can eat without feeling deprived and without passing out in the street? So you eat two peanuts, some 40-calorie bread, celery and carrots, a bite of this and a swallow of that. Yet youâre still hungry. You filled up your body but never nourished it. So you want more. And more. And more. You might feel physically full but remain emotionally and nutritionally empty.
Do you see yourself in either extreme? It is an example of all-or-nothing thinking. Both extremes are rituals of the food addict, designed to distract. You get so busy with the ritual, so great is your preoccupation with doing all the steps in each ritual, you donât have time to feel the feelings that caused you to seek distraction in the first place. You need to change your thinking.
âCaryl