Is Compulsive Eating the Cause of America’s Weight Problem?

Within the United States, there are an alarming number of obesity cases in both adults and children being reported.  This surge in obesity has lead many experts to question whether or not compulsive eating and binge eating disorders play a particular role in the country’s obesity issue.  By 2009 the Centers for Disease Control reported that some states had as much as 30 percent of their residents suffering from obesity.  The United States has the highest number of obesity sufferers within the entire world and about 74 percent of adults are considered overweight.  So what does this mean when it comes to compulsive eating?

Symptoms of Compulsive Eating

When an individual suffers from compulsive eating or binge eating, they are often consumed by food.  That means that when food is around (or even when it is not) they are constantly thinking about eating.  Many of these individuals will eat more when they are stressed or depressed and often compulsive eating begins as a way to manage emotions in general.  Most individuals that suffer from compulsive eating will also suffer from excessive weight gain, though not every sufferer actually becomes obese.

United States Statistics

Within the United States about two percent of adults (or 4 million Americans) suffer from some form of a compulsive eating disorder.  Though many of these individuals are able to control their compulsion and even lose weight, this disorder still affects them.  There appears to be no difference between races, however women do appear to be more prone to obesity than men.

The Cause of Compulsive Eating

There is no firm research or proof that can say one way or the other what causes a compulsive eating disorder.  However, some theories have shown that the chemical release within the brain when an individual satisfies their compulsion can be to blame and there are some that believe it is strictly psychological.  Some researchers feel that binge eating is the result of individuals being on diets, while others feel that individuals are predisposed to be compulsive eaters. 

Dieting and Compulsive Eating

Some researchers have theorized that when an individual goes on a diet they are forcing their body and minds to become obsessed with eating.  Since individuals that are on diets will typically refrain from foods they enjoy and even sacrifice foods that taste good for things like protein shakes, meal bars and bland foods.  These behaviors will often make an individual crave food and even sweets more than they ever have before simply because their body and mind desire that satisfaction.

Though there is no apparent cause for compulsive eating there is one factor that is for certain.  When an individual consumes more food than they should, they ultimately gain weight.  This weight gain can eventually lead an individual to become obese.  With obesity there are more health risks than simply being overweight.  Individuals that suffer from obesity are prone to diabetes and heart disease versus an individual that is within their proper weight. 

Breaking free of emotional eating

Are you using food as a reason to eat when you are feeling anxious, angry or down?  Will a little reward turn into a big calorie binge? If it does  then you’ll likely be dealing with feelings of because you lacked discipline.

Your emotions can change with your eating habits.  Do you want to know how to end emotional eating or at the very least deal with it a little better?

Here are 8 suggestions to help you fight the battle of emotional  eating:

1. As a replacement for junk food, eat healthy fruits, vegetables or low calorie treats.
Eating healthy can be tough because we like to eat foods we get pleasure from even when we know it isn’t good for us. Begin good habits by eating lesser portions of healthy foods. Avoid spontaneous eating particularly when you are feeling  emotional or stressed. 

2. Stay in contact with good friends.
When you experience the need to binge it helps to have encouraging friends to call.  Private and local groups provide excellent support and accountability for weight loss. Think about going to a meeting.

3. Involve yourself in a hobby as a interruption.
If you are able to discover a hobby or interest that you enjoy then you won’t have muchidle time to think about eating.

4. Walk or do exercises as frequently as you are able to.
Exercise helps the general health and can assist you to drop weight.

5. Prepare your meals.
Take a look at your consumption lifestyle. Still eating when you’re not hungry? This is an indication you might be trying to get comfort from food. Only eat when hungry. Set the time of day you will eat and the food you will eat as well as serving size. Don’t eat to fill a void in your life.

6. Drink a lot of water every day.
Water is crucial for life. It’s  function is to hydrate and purify the body. Be certain you’re drinking a sufficient amount. Water helps you to avert overeating since it  causes you to feel full.

7. Take note of your attitude when you crave to consume too much.
Do your best to identify the problems that cause you to overeat. If you subconsciously exploit food as a reward when circumstances go bad that is emotional eating. That  is why you have to pay attention to your feelings. What is the root your emotions? When you have these answers it is suddenly easier to eat healthy.

8. When you have a setback don’t quit.
If you eat when you shouldn’t or more than you should forget about it and get back on track. The worse thing you could do is give up. Forgive yourself and  do not look back. Be strong-minded to do better tomorrow.  

Emotional eating might feel like the desirable thing to do when you’re feeling low but it doesn’t get rid of all of your issues. Eating the inappropriate type of food or too much of a good one may make you feel worse. Don’t fall into this deception. Instead try these suggested ideas and defeat emotional eating.

Binge Eating Help: Identify your Binge Eating Triggers

Binge eating is one of the most prevalent eating disorders in the United States today, and recent research indicates there is a direct link between the nationwide problem with obesity and underlying binge eating disorders. 

Clinical research has shown that binge eating patterns occur as a result of several factors, including psychological and sociological factors, which “trigger” the need to eat in individuals prone to binge eating. The ability to recognize and control these triggers is at the heart of overcoming binge eating.

Learning to identify your personal binge eating triggers takes a lot of self-examination, and in some cases, professional therapy may also need to be used to fully examine the root causes of binge eating behavior.

For most individuals suffering from binge eating disorders, the factors that cause overeating are largely emotional, tied in to poor self-image or external stresses that are internalized through bingeing. The most common emotional stressors that lead to severe, sporadic overeating are explored below.

Anxiety

Worry and stress about finances, a presentation at work, an upcoming reunion or any one of a million other events can cause binge eating in those prone to the disorder. In a world filled with stresses, it’s no wonder anxiety is the number one cause of binge eating in America.

Loneliness

 Individuals who do not see themselves as part of a larger group and who do not have regular and easy access to the support of family, friends or loved ones may turn to binge eating as a source of comfort. Feeling lonely can also lead to deeper feelings of isolation. Because many individuals who suffer from eating disorders also have a poor sense of self-esteem, often due to a poor or distorted body image, seeking out friends and joining in social situations can be extremely difficult.

 Hopelessness

 Hopelessness includes a lack of control or depression. All parts of the same whole, these feelings are among the most common triggers of binge eating, as well as other eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia. Even individuals who believe they have their eating disorder under control may binge during periods of extreme or unusual stress, such as holiday time or when facing an unpleasant or otherwise anxious period of their lives. 

Anger or Disappointment

 Maybe you were overlooked for a promotion at work, or you feel your work or other input was under-appreciated by coworkers, your boss, or family or friends. Feeling disappointment or even anger is a natural response, but one that can lead binge eaters to reach for food.

Boredom

This factor often occurs in tandem with loneliness. When not engaged in a stimulating activity, either alone or with others, boredom can quickly find an outlet in eating.

Feeling like an outsider

Like loneliness, individuals in new, unfamiliar or seemingly unfriendly situations can turn to food for comfort. Changing jobs or schools are two common triggers that can cause individuals to feel like they don’t belong.

In addition to these emotional triggers, researchers have determined that there are certain foods which, for some individuals, may cause some types of binge eating. Foods like chocolate, for instance, can cause feelings of happiness and even mild euphoria in some individuals, due to its chemical content. Other individuals may crave salt or fatty foods. In these instances, the cravings are largely learned behaviors, which have developed over time as an individual reaches time and again for his or her favorite food during times of stress. If you find yourself consistently reaching for the same type of unhealthy food when you face one of the triggers listed above, consider removing foods of that type from your home, and avoid purchasing them in the future. If you feel you must eat something, try substituting fruit or raw vegetables for the unhealthy option until you can learn to develop behaviors that do not involve consuming any food.

Once you learn to identify your individual triggers that cause you to binge, most therapists and eating disorder experts recommend writing down a list of alternative behaviors that you can use to combat the initial feelings that eventually lead to binge eating. For instance, feelings of boredom can be erased by learning a new craft or skill. Taking a walk at the first signs of stress releases natural chemicals in your brain that can make you feel better and actually help suppress those initial pangs of hunger.

After you’ve made your list of alternative behaviors or activities, consider writing each idea on an index card and posting it conspicuously where it can be easily seen when an emotion begins to overcome you. Or keep them in a notebook in a purse or briefcase where they are always at hand.

Are You Overeating at Night Only?

There is a fairly new name for people who tend to overeat only during night time hours – “night-eating syndrome.” If you’re consuming most of your daily calories during the evening and just before you go to bed, you may be putting on loads of unwanted weight and feel sluggish during the day.

You may also tend to skip breakfast -- you’re still full from all you ate the night before. Since breakfast is the main meal that you should eat to ward off unwanted pounds and to gain needed fuel for the remainder of the day, this is the absolute worst meal to miss. Not eating a nutritious breakfast can also set you up for health problems and overeating at lunch, dinner or between meals.

People with night-eating syndrome are also likely to get up to eat after they’ve gone to bed. If you find yourself leaving bed at night to binge eat, think about the mood you’re in. Was the day particularly stressful or have you been depressed for awhile and feel helpless and out of control?

Night time is the worst time to ply yourself with extra calories. Your body needs fewer calories when you’re sleeping, so the food you’re eating becomes less satisfying and can easily turn to fat – especially if the food you consume is high in sugars and carbohydrates.

Evening hours are often associated with relaxation, watching television and rewarding ourselves with high calorie snacks. People who work at highly stressful jobs during the day may skip daily meals only to become ravenous in the evening – eating everything in sight.

If you suspect that you might have NES, try these tips to overcome it:

· Don’t eat in front of the television.  Spend meal times at the kitchen table and concentrate on what and how much you’re eating.

· Have a healthy lunch and nutritious afternoon snack. You’ll be much less likely to gorge on unhealthy foods when you get home.

· Portions, portions, portions. – If you have to have that dessert at night, cut it in half or share it.

· Eat breakfast. It’s your most important safeguard against overeating during any time of the day, and especially at night.

There is a hormone called leptin that suppresses hunger and is found to be lacking in people with Night-Eating Syndrome. Melatonin, another hormone that helps induce sleep, can also be lacking in those with NES.

What are the quesitons you want answered?

Make a list of about six questions that you want answered concerning your eating habits, the way you see your body, the way you feel in your body, how you feel about yourself, or other issues in your life.

A few examples might be:

Why do I crave certain foods?
Why do I binge/overeat at night?
Why do I have certain digestive issues after eating?

Please post your questions here.

Stress while eating...

Stress depletes nutrition. Simply put, anxiety, rushing, forcing, pushing, and negative self talk all put the body in the physiologic fight-or-flight response. In this stress state, vitamins and minerals are excreted, blood flow to the digestive organs dramatically decreases, calorie burning is slowed, and hormones that signal the body to gain weight are produced. Our mental/emotional state has powerfully influenced our nutritional metabolism, regardless of the good and healthy food we may have eaten

When do you eat?

When you eat is as important as what you eat. This is known as Bio- Circadian Nutrition. Simply put, we are designed to digest, assimilate and calorie burn most efficiently between the hours of 12:00-1:30pm. That’s why many traditional cultures wisely and instinctively have their biggest meal at mid-day. So, if you have a tiny breakfast, small or moderate lunch, and a huge dinner, you are setting up the ideal conditions for weight gain

Are you a fat addict

1.  Is a baked potato just an excuse to carry butter and sour cream? Is bread a good reason for butter?
2.  Does whipped cream bring joy to your heart?
3.  Is an evening with chips and dip very nearly perfect?
4.  When you discover a new potato chip, do you get excited and want to tell all your friends about it?
5.  If you are hurtling down the highway at 50 miles per hour and drop a chip in your lap, do you paw around trying to find it, rather than waiting until you stop the car?
6.  Is the difference between fried fish and baked fish like the difference between color television and black and white?
7.  If you go to a movie and don't get any popcorn (or anything else), do you sit in front of the screen thinking about buttered popcorn more than the picture?  Are you astounded that I might consider you'd go to a movie without getting buttered popcorn?  If the butter machine is broken, does it sort of ruin the whole outing?

If you answered yes to more than half the questions, this raises the possibility that you are addicted to fat.  You can change.  With time and careful attention, you can have a free and joyful life not controlled by food.  I can show you how.

Are you a refined carbohydrate addict?

1.       Do you get strong cravings for specific carbohydrates such as garlic bread or crackers or pasta?

2.       Will you go far out of your way to get a specific type of bread, such as scones or homemade breads?

3.       At a spaghetti dinner, do you look at the garlic-bread basket and identify a piece that you really want? As they pass the basket, do you watch in suspense to see if anybody else takes it before the basket gets to you?  If somebody else takes it, do you feel disappointed?  If your husband takes it, do you get angry?

4.       Do you have rituals around bread products?  For example, blueberry muffins every Sunday morning, a sausage biscuit on the first morning of vacation?

5.       Are refined carbohydrates (bread, pasta, white rice) a substantial proportion of your daily food intake?

6.       Faced with a choice between a large scoop of tuna salad on a lettuce leaf or a tuna-salad sandwich, which attracts you more?

7.       Is a hamburger without a bun like a face without a smile for you?

8.       At a snack table, do you return most often to the crackers or to the celery?

A yes to more than half the questions raises the possibility that you are addicted to this category of food items. You can change.  With time and careful attention, you can have a free and joyful life not controlled by food.

Taken from Anatomy of a Food Addict by M.A. Anne Katherine

Are you a sugar addict?

1. Do you think about sugar products frequently during the day?
2. Do visions of certain candies or sweets get stuck in your mind, rarely going away until you obtain the snack and eat it?
3. Are you aware of the location of every sweet thing in your house or kitchen? For example, could you tell me exactly where every package of cookies, every Twinkie, ever piece of candy is lurking?
4. If special sweets come into the house, such as a box of candy or homemade cookies, are you haunted by them until they are gone (that is, eaten)?
5. Do you have a very clear awareness about how much of any sweet is left?  Do you get angry when you think there's a half-piece of pie left in the fridge and find that someone has snitched some so that only an eighth is left?
6. Do you hide the evidence when you've eaten sweets?  Do you wash pans or conceal wrappers so that your mate or children won't know that you've eaten?
7. Do you sometimes try to get everyone out of the house so that you curl up and eat your special food without anyone knowing?
8. At a party, do you try to disguise your trips to the dessert table?  Do you make excuses for the size of your helping?
9. Are you less interested in an activity if no food is involved? For example, if a dear friend were having a party with absolutely no food and an acquaintance were having a party to launch the arrival of a new pastry chef with fresh samples of his desserts, and these parties were at exactly the same time, would you have  difficulty deciding with party to attend?
10. If I mention a holiday, is your first thought the food associated with it? Let's try it: Valentine's Day.  July 4th.  Easter.  Anniversary.  Birthday.  State fair.  Circus.
11. Once you start eating sweets, is it difficult to stop?
12. Do you often break your own rules about when you'll stop?  For example: Do you set rules such as, I'll only have two cookies, I'll only eat one bowl, and then break these rules and set new ones, only to break these too?
13. After you eat all you can (the bag is empty or until you hurt), does your mood change? Do you feel dreamy or out of it? Is your thinking fuzzier?
14. If you'd planned an afternoon of eating and your best friend came to the door, would you try to get rid of her so you could keep eating? Would you feel impatient for her to go? If she called on the phone, would you try to end the conversation quickly? If a housemate came home unexpectedly that afternoon, would you feel angry and cheated?
15. Do sweets make up oo high a proportion of your daily food intake?
16. You are at a dinner party and the woman next to you leaves half a piece of pie on her plate.  Do your eyes keep straying to that piece of pie until the waiter mercifully takes the damn thing away?

A yes to more than half the questions raises the possibility that you are addicted to this category of food items.  If so, you are not at fault.  Very likely a combination of factors contributed to the development of your addiction. 

Taken from Anatomy of a food addiction by Anne Katherine M.A.

Question for emotional eaters group...

What do you want to get out of this group?

Issues with food

Our issues with food and challenges with health are always doorways that take us to deeper places in our lives that are calling for healing.  If you are overeating, this is ultimately a sign of some imbalance in your life.  If you are binge eating, what are your trigger foods?  If you are not getting enough protein or fat in the first part of your day, this can lead to binge eating later in the day.  Like overeating, binge eating is letting you know that something is out of balance in  your life.  You need to get this out in the open.  That is where I come in as a food psychology coach.

What is food psychology coaching

Food psychology coaching is the bridge between nutrition, coaching and psychology.  Or,  phasing it another way, food psychology is the study of how our thoughts, feelings, and beliefs affect our eating and our health.  As your food psychology coach it is my intent to help you to discover your relationship with food and who you are through what and how you eat.

New blog

I have decided to have two separate blogs.  One for my holistic health practice and one for my food psychology practice.  Although you can not have one without the other, some might just be interested in the nutritional information.

I have formed the N Central San Antonio Emotional Eaters group.  We are having our first meet up on Wednesday, March 16, 6:00 pm at the Barnes & Noble at Northwood.

Please go to my Facebook page and become a friend.  Just do a lookup for Cindy Zahn.