I was watching Oprah today who made the comment that until you need to figure out the underlying causes of why you overeat, and go from there. I was thinking about that comment and made me question that. Do you think that is always the case? Do you think it is possible that we overeat simply because we love food? I dont' know if that latter is just a cop out. I love food and especially good food. I think I would be thin if I cooked crap. I try to figure out if there is any deep seeded food issues but maybe I am not looking deep enough. NOt sure what does everyone else think???
Thanks :)

Interesting question, Dragonfly =

Personally I love to eat, always have loved to eat. Why did I eat so much? Probably boredom or just not paying attention to what I ate. I was busy doing lots of things.

I doubt that there was any really deep psychological reason why I overate. And I certainly am not going to have sessions with a mental health specialist in order to determine why I got fat. I would rather focus on the fact that I lost the weight, and now am determined to keep it off. That is what is important to me.

For some people it might be very important to determine why they have an eating disorder, or why they cannot lose weight. But sometimes, IMHO, this just opens another kettle of worms.

You will probably get lots of different opinions in answer to your question. I will be curious to see what others have to say.

I'm not sure, I kind of think I eat cuz I'm so stressed out and food is a comforting thing.

At the least I'd say its a comfort thing for most people who over-eat.

I think it is a individual personal thing - some eat as of emotional reasons and others for various other reasons - I don't think all over weight people fit into the same peg hole :)

I think, usually when I overeat its because I'm bored. At times, it's because there is a food pusher shoving food in my face and its easier to just eat it. I've gotten past the food pushers and just ignore them. But I also like food. I like the taste, the textures.

Renee

what a great question
i think i always over eat when im bored, tired, or im in a bad mood. The fact i love a nice big chocolate bar or cookies and milk means thats what ill go for when i have those cravings for food.
I think they are both important aspects of why we are obese.

my boyfriends mum is alergic to chocolate, does not like milk and lives of fruite and nuts and healthy food because there are so many foods she does not like. She 44 and a size 10 and you would not tell shes a day over 30.
I LOATH HER lol....
but i notice her eating habits are much like any one on a diet, always having small meals, never snacking, if shes offered somthing she does like shell have one, not a whole box of them.Its as if she was fat and got thin, and now is determined to stay that way...
weird but i know thats not the truth, infact i know her whole family have a very good metabolism, so if she walks anywhere she burns off any bad food she eats, instantly.

so i guess she really does go against the theory.... maybe shes just very health concious.Determined to live forever so she can always be around to see me and her son :-s

I didn't gain weight from overeating, I can say that honestly.

I gained weight because of a convergence of factors: first, I grew up in a family of fat and obese people who eat the unhealthiest food you can imagine. They would put butter on their cheese if they could, I'm not kidding. I've seen family members eat a stick of butter, by themselves, in one sitting. So while I didn't add as much fat to stuff as they did, I grew up thinking broccoli came smothered in cheese and cauliflower was in a casserole with cream and parmesan, and that meat only came in fatty cuts and was cooked in butter. I had a great metabolism and was thin although I ate all that crap.

Then my thyroid stopped working and I went 4 years, from the first symptoms, without any sort of treatment. For the first 3 of them I still ate my usual crap, but only gained 5lb. Then I got so sick I couldn't work or move much anymore... I was hibernating, essentially. I was never hungry either, so my husband would manage to make me eat 1 piece of fruit or a yogurt for breakfast, and then feed me a dessert plate's worth of pasta or a couple pieces bread for dinner. Around 700 cals a day (of carby crap, but still, very few calories), and I spent most of the day sitting, with the occasional wandering around the house thinking where the hell the bathroom was. During that year of disability, I gained 110lb.

So Oprah can stick her "emotional causes', at least in my case. Just because she is an emotional eater, it doesn't mean everyone else is. I think that a large portion of overweight people are overweight because what is "usual" food nowadays is so nutritionally empty and also high-calorie.

Hmmm, I think an emotional eater can be someone who eats because they are bored, lonely, sad, happy, or a multitude of emotions. I doubt that most overweight people have deep seeded emotional struggles but I don't doubt that there are definitely some who do.

I do believe that most of us eat the way we do simply because of habits. Habits we learned growing up. Like my family always had an evening snack but my hubby's family didn't. So to me it seems pretty natural but not to him. Or like Jan said about her families eating habits.

That is why it is a great privilege and responsibility to use healthy food habits in our own homes, breaking the chain of unhealthy food habits.

You're right, crazy2. And if you go and eat what seems to be "normal", you'll be getting tons of fat and sugar and other processed carbs... you don't have to sit down with packages of Oreo to gain weight. A person that is pretty much inactive, as most of us are, working desk jobs, and that eats sugary cereal for breakfast with milk (the typical 2-3 cups, 1 cup is a joke, nobody that isn't consciously restricting will eat the serving size), then has fast-food for lunch (even if it is a salad or healthier sandwich), then a muffin for an afternoon snack, then a frozen or restaurant dinner, will gain weight over the course of a few years without ever stuffing their faces with food.

Well, normal meals in my family while growing up were very healthy actually. Although I probably got to eating too much of those healthy foods(big portions), but I think my problem was that snacking and although mom, I am sure, tried to keep that within limits, I craved them and ate too much. We also were not a very sporty(active) family, except for when we were kids of course. So that is a factor also.

Oh yes, snacking I think is another problem for a lot of people - we live in a world where food is always available, so we tend to snack. That also can add up to a lot of weight without any real overeating going on.

There are a few reasons why I am overweight. First, like JanL, I grew up that way. We never had broccoli without Velveeta sauce, portions for one could easily feed three, etc. Also, at my house, you had to eat quick if you wanted to get your "share." If there were leftovers of something you liked and you didn't eat them when they were given to you, they were gone.

Second, I'm an emotional eater. I think it's kind of dangerous to tell some people they're emotional eaters--me being one of them. For the longest time if I got upset and went to eat, I'd think, well, there's nothing I can do about that because I'm an emotional eater. As soon as I stopped using that as an excuse to eat, I lost a lot of weight.

Third, I like food. Healthy food, unhealthy food, deep fried, steamed, grilled, sweet, savory, whatever. If it tastes good, and has good mouth feel, I like it.

I don't think you can say that all overweight people are overweight because of X. I'm sure every individual has their own reason(s), whatever they may be.

I think there are literally 1,000's of reasons why people are overweight, some of them are emotional and some aren't. For me it's several things, I love food, I love to feel full (not everyone does, my dh is a normal weight and he hates feeling full). I hate excersize, always have even when I was 18 and 105 lbs. I love to eat out at restaurants and did that everyday for 20 years when I lived in the city. I also was alone a lot, didn't get married till I was 36, so ate alone alot. I think it all added up to weighing 197 lbs. Then my aunt kept making comments about my weight which in turn made me defiant that I wasn't going to lose weight for "her". After she died and I had my last child I realized I needed to lose weight for my health.
It was relearning all my bad habits, learing to cook good healthy foods, learning proper portion control and getting off my *****.
I don't need to discover some deep emotional reason that doesn't exist, thanks anyway Oprah. :laugh:

I do think you need to figure out why you overeat to be successful. If you don't know what caused it, you don't know how to fix it. For all of you who love good food, the last bite tastes the same as the first so you don't need a huge portion. Just why are you finding so much pleasure in food...why is it lacking in other areas of your life.

I think for most people there is an underlying something that causes us to overeat and to sabotage ourselves when we try to lose weight. Most of us know what to do and how to do. The answer is really so simple - eat less - move more, but somehow it is so hard to do. Did you ever notice if our doctor tells us to lose weight for a major medical reason or we will die - than we will suceed. I know for my self I keep putting off for tomorrow what I can do today. If we eat something we are not suppose to, we always think the entire day is ruined and we give ourselves permission to go hog wild for the rest of the day. We are our own worst enemy.

I also beleive that there is an emotional component to overeating. Even if it starts out simply as a result of growing up with a bad diet, the way society views overweight people means that most of us feel shame for not being able to live up to the slim ideal and it goes from there. When we have eaten more than we should to stay on course and make unhealthy choices, how do we feel afterwards. Usually not good. Does that stop us from doing it again? Usually not. So to that extent at least, it is emotional. Along with a host of other reasons.

thanks all for your response. It is really great to be able to get everyone's opinion of what I am thinking or feeling. Or just trying to make sense of it all. Thanks for your replies....

I didn't gain weight from overeating, I can say that honestly.
So Oprah can stick her "emotional causes', at least in my case. Just because she is an emotional eater, it doesn't mean everyone else is. I think that a large portion of overweight people are overweight because what is "usual" food nowadays is so nutritionally empty and also high-calorie.

LOL well I won't say Oprah should stick anything but I do get so sick of that idea that over eating is pyschological based in most cases.

I also gained the weight via a strange convergence of circumstances. I was thin up until I was 17. During my teen years I skated almost 4 hours per day every day. Then in the same month -- my first of college -- I got my license to drive and I quit skating and I started getting a donut for my first class.

One day my brother said that I was gaining weight but he ALWAYS falsely said that. But I noticed these marks on my arms -- strech marks -- that scared me and I weighed myself and I was up at 190. I couldn't believe it I had gained 40 lbs in 3 months!

So IMHO to combat the strange way I gained it I needed to go back to skating and do more walking for about 6 months. But it was too late now. I had a lifestyle that did not allow for that! Oh sure I could lose some weight but not enough ! Once college was over I went to work -- and there is no way to take a 6 month sabatical to lose weight once you get on the work path.

I am pretty sure that if I make it to goal I will not gain it back. I don't feel I eat that much. I think I just have to really work hard to lose and thus that is hard to do espeically when you are working.

I don't think saying that you eat too much because you love to eat is a cop-out. I used to get so frustrated in diet chats because the focus, 9 times out of 10, was on emotional eating. I kept trying to tell them that I don't over eat and I don't eat when I'm upset but they wouldn't let it go.

I have always been a smart eater with the rare splurge (and I do mean rare)! My problem has had much more to do with my activity level; I used to be extremely physically fit and very active but, following surgery 9 years ago, I stopped all exercise and most physical activities. THAT has proved to be my undoing and I am working valiently to become physically active again!

That is what my wise doctor told me - decide how much physical activity you are willing to do for the rest of your life because if you start with a lot and then cut down without a corresponding decrease in calories, you will gain. So I opted to walk 2 miles a day 7 days a week and eat a little less (I'm 65) and it has worked well for me.

Interesting topic!

The reason I'm overweight? Many, many reasons... I love to eat, love being full, I'm a definite emotional eater plus a bit of a compulsive overeater as well!

For years I would blame my bad eating habits because of how I was raised... I didn't know what a potato was unless it was fried, or covered w/ sour cream and butter... almost all veggies we ate were loaded with butter or cheese... yes, we had the occasional salads... but with a gallon of salad dressing mind! :tongue: Portion sizes were HUGE... and our family had that dreaded 'Clean Your Plate!' rule...

What really hit me to stop blaming my childhood for obesity was that I've been away from 'home' for 5 years, but yet I'm STILL overweight!

So that led me to realize that I just love the taste of food. And sometimes the taste doesn't even really matter... I love a full belly!

And emotional eating... I eat when I'm happy, eat when I'm sad, eat when I'm bored, eat when I'm mad! X-( LOL sorry, didn't mean to go all Dr. Seuss on ya there!

And I also believe I'm a compulsive overeater, and sometimes a compulsive undereater.. if there is such a thing. On a diet, off a diet, I'm a very 'all or nothing!' type of person. If I'm having a bad food day, and the day's already half done... I'm stuffed like a piggy and I KNOW I'm being bad... I will STILL continue to overeat and I'll use the excuse... "I will start first thing in the morning, I promise! And I need to get as much yummy food in as possible before I diet!" And then if I'm on a diet, I am an absolute little angel :not: and perfectionist... account for every little calorie in my diet journal... If I see that my calories are low for the day, like 1100 or something, yet I'm feeling really really hungry... I'll force myself not to eat anything because my mind is telling me that by not having another 400 calories, I'll lose 5lbs in the morning! LOL, not!

So that's my story... the long and short of it. :)