You Can't Quit Until You Know What's Eating You Overcoming Compulsive Eating

Introduction It was only a room away#151fragrant, moist and rich. The more she thought she shouldn't touch it#151she ought to wait for Bob and Mickie, etc.#151the more optimistic she felt about tomorrow. Tomorrow she would stop eating the fattening fun stuff. Tomorrow self-control would, or could, be easier. Any day would be easier than today, easier than right now. NOW, she was going to eat it because she wanted it and it was there and whatever else she needed in her life wasn't. She ate it. A lot of it. In fact, all of it. It was the sixth day after the final day of her third dieting program this year. Like World War II, the last diet was supposed to be the one that was to end all wars. But that wasn't what was happening. The conflict wore on, half of her begging for the joy of sugar and half pretending that an eternity of self-denial was a realistic goal. This book is for people who are tired of failure and its negative effect on both their self-esteem and their bodies. It is for those who find diets an exercise in futility who are tired of hiding their appetites from others and who are ready to get rid of guilt and self-blame for good. It offers a way out for the 300 pound overweight and for the five pound overweight#151the common denominator of these two being a loss of control over achieving their favorite reading on the scales. What Block Blocks Permanent Loss As I have seen in my own history of compulsive eating, mechanical or format solutions seldom last. However, not everyone who wants to shed pounds is ready to shed what is at the crux of permanent weight loss: the fear of examining those feelings that have been causing us psychological indigestion for many years. In our quest for the real triggers of our urges to overeat, we will visit the dining rooms, kitchens and eating "hideouts" of a number of people with the same concerns. We will hear from many I've seen in my practice as a specialist in eating disorders. As we listen to their experiences, we'll understand better that the agonies that foster compulsive eating can be faced and shared without shame or blame. Their stories will be altered just enough to ensure anonymity. We also will take a look at old notions of what we need to survive and will re-examine the models we've accepted and the standards we have set for ourselves. Are they really ours or someone else's? When is abandoning "willpower" a virtue, not a vice! The entire issue of will power versus doing what we feel like doing is central to defeating permanent weight loss. Setting up an internal battleground between the Forces of Fat and the Admirable Abstainer is a common modus operandi among compulsive eaters who cycle in and out of diets. It results in heady short-term victories with some people, during which they feel very good about themselves as victors. Then come the dismal regressions during which the sense of defeat and failure often oozes inappropriately throughout other areas of self-regard. The Strife-Free Approach A true understanding of what's eating us#151of what really is behind the reason food is so important in our lives#151eliminates the need for "artificial" discipline and conflict. Our Inner Child and our Critical Parent stop their wrangling and allow our Adult self to flower fully, to get on with the satisfactions of life, free from the tyranny of emotionally driven appetites. We can learn to stop sabotaging our attempts at permanent weight loss if the determination for compassionate understanding of ourselves is there. After I started the Compulsive Eating Program--based on my experience as a staff psychologist with major weight-loss program#151I saw the power of real insight to change lives impressively. Becoming healthier and hapLeBlanc, Donna is the author of 'You Can't Quit Until You Know What's Eating You Overcoming Compulsive Eating', published 1990 under ISBN 9781558741034 and ISBN 1558741038.