How do I stop binge eating?

Some people see food as nourishment, fuel for the body, a way to keep you going through the day.  These people can take or leave food, they stop when they are full and tend to think about other things unless they are hungry. 

These people are in the minority.

When we are small we are given food as a treat, a reward for good behaviour, something to make us feel better.  As we grow up we tend to treat ourselves in the same way.  Food for many people is a relationship fraught with friction and guilt and when I was working in a detox centre I realised how many men and women are afflicted with food guilt and unhealthy eating patterns.

I am not going to touch on the more well known eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia) in this post, although they are an area which I feel strongly about after working with people and friends who have suffered.  I am going to focus here on overeating.  Many people who are overweight suffer from thyroid problems or imbalances in the body, I am not focusing on that group of people in this post.

The most common eating disorder in my opinion, is binge eating.  I find it hard to believe that this is taken less seriously than other disordered eating.  Obesity is a modern epidemic and this is rarely seen as an eating disorder, I believe it is.   The thought process that goes hand in hand with binge eating is often one of guilt and control, fear and distraction.  

Picture this...

Richard is sitting in his house feeling lonely and bored, he has eaten a healthy dinner and is sitting on the sofa.  Work is not going well, his laptop sits in the corner of the room and it reminds him of how hopeless he feels at work recently.  He throws a cushion on it, much better out of view.  His thoughts now wander to his family, he has to go to a memorial at the weekend,  he feels guilty as he does not want to go.  He hates the questions that get asked about his work, he has to lie about it going well and his stupidly successful cousin will be there with his two point four clan, in their new BMW.  The thought of his cousin makes him angry, jealous and then guilty.  His cousin is a genuinely nice guy and often helps him with new business ideas and sometimes financially, this thought fills Richard with a pang of self hatred. 

Richard feels hopeless, he feels angry that he feels hopeless.  Now he is left with a deep feeling of unease.  He feels annoyed with himself. He cannot sit still, he cannot even concentrate on the TV.  He picks up a magazine and the images and words swim around the page as he thinks about how powerless he is in his life.  It verges on panic.

Food! He will have some food. 

Suddenly he has a purpose, what should he have?  He could order a curry?  Or a pizza? 

The Pizza is finished.  Oh.   He goes to the cupboard, takes a six pack of Twix's out, eats three, shoves the wrappers in the pizza box and sits on the sofa feeling useless.  He goes to bed with a full stomach and a feeling of guilt.  He will go to the gym tomorrow, yeah, tomorrow he will be good.

I have worked with people who have become so full self loathing as they gain weight through this out of control binging that they feel too ashamed to meet old friends.  They become insular, they want to go and sit on the sofa and feed their self loathing, be alone with the food, wallow in their guilt.  As they gain weight they are afraid of what people will think.  Their clothes feel horrible and nothing looks good. 

Does this pattern sound familiar?  Or have you seen a friend or family member display this type of overeating at some level?  Comforting eating is surprisingly common and I think more people suffer from this than any other disordered eating. I wish doctors would take it more seriously when they see people who are quickly becoming overweight. 

It can be tackled with nutritional advice so at least the sufferer is eating in a more balanced way and getting the nutrients they need. However, often the most benefit comes from having someone to talk to about their worries, once they are busy, feeling more successful and hopeful, their focus shifts and their eating habits naturally come back into balance.  Binging can be controlled and does not have to last forever. It is a definate form of self harm and an addiction and therefore should be treated like one.  However unlike other addictions, food is something you cannot give up, which is where nutritional advice can help with getting a balance.

If you or someone you know suffers from binge eating it is a good idea to seek help.  Often it is just a period of feeling unsettled that will pass when the problem rectifies (break up comfort eating is a clichéd example of this).  However many people would benefit from some form of counselling or at least talking to someone close to them about how they could get in charge of their habits and do something empowering to take charge of their life.

If you are worried about any sort of disordered eating, research can make you feel less lonely, the Internet is full of useful information, help and ways to get your body and life back in balance.

Feel free to email me any questions.

Josie

If your cravings feel more physical than psychological, take a look at this article on food cravings: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100517172300.htm

Limiting Beliefs Part Two: Second Belief Squashed

For those of you who read the first part of this post (Limiting Beliefs: Squash them!) you will know what is coming and for those who did not, I have been teaching myself to draw for the last few days.

Was it a success? 
(You can be the judge...)
Drawing is definately harder and I knew it would be from the start.  I have to admit that I chose easy things, not a lion chasing a squirrel or a car turning a bend.  Those of you who have watched me draw before know that I doodle like a child and stick to the same floral pattern over and over.  I can draw a cat and it looks like the same one I drew when I was seven years old.  My goal here was to draw something new in a style I had not tried and most importantly to not give up.

I almost gave in, I got frustrated with the lines and the perspective and the angles and the pencil.  But, this time I kept on, the rubber was my ally and together we corrected again and again.  I learnt that the rubber is a tool in itself, allowing you to shape new lines and curves.  You can use your finger to smudge and blur the shading, a pleasingly forgiving technique, 'yeah smudge it up a goodun', that looks better.'

I shall keep this post brief, but I urge you to challenge something you thought you could not do this week.  I for one am addicted to changing my belief system now.  I am looking for new challenges and searching the way I think.  I notice ways in which I block myself from doing something, or observe ways I put myself down without realising, limiting myself with shadows from the past which no longer serve me.

If you could see yourself through my eyes then you would realise that you are perfect and capable just as you are.  There is nothing you cannot do, merely things you think you cannot.  The challenge is to break through your most intimate negative beliefs and be honest with yourself. 

Good Luck.

Josie

I call this, 'Started as a Circle'.  It is devoted to Nick.



Inspired by a painting in Kai's Shop.




Copied from Memory, a drawing seen in June's 'Art Cafe' Koh Samui
(Kai helped me work out the perspective on a bird cage)



Limiting Beliefs: Squash Them!

I posted my views about limiting beliefs once before and I am back to tell you about how I have destroyed one of my own while here in Khanom.

It is far too easy to believe that you cannot.  The truth is you can.  We all can. The question is where to start and how to recognise what is really stopping you from making that move. 

I know for me it is often easier and safer to believe I cannot do something, it saves me from the fear of failing and also from the effort of trying.  Wow, when you put it like that it feels so lazy and weak but I know that some, if not all of you, will be able to admit the same feelings about certain aspects of your life.


How I destroyed a longstanding belief of my own:
'I cannot paint, I am no good at art.'

Ok, so I know this is not going to change my life, but if I can challenge this belief with my own determination then I can continue to go through my life challenging more powerful beliefs that I realise are merely invisible barriers to being who I want to be and getting what I want in life (first  I have to work out what that is of course, but it's a start)

Ok, so one night while I was still in Samui I was thinking about things I think I cannot do and my mind came to painting.  I instantly knew I was going to challenge this belief as I realised that I had never actually really tried, I had not been brilliant instantly and so in my mind, that was that. 

My mother is an artist, our house is a wonderful array of moods and colours with every room featuring some glimpse of her artistic flair.  Painted rugs, windows that are not there, views that never existed carrying you out into an illusionary world instead of looking at a wall.  Quite wonderful when you think about it.

So I grew up watching her and thinking that she was quite brilliant. Then I started to watch my big brother, who it seemed shared her flair for drawing and painting.  I tried  sitting at the kitchen table drawing a vase a couple of times and gazing at my brothers attempts (4 years older) and thinking, 'well I am clearly quite terrible at this, I shall turn my hand to something else, digging in the garden perhaps?   Yes, I always excel with a spade.'  I would take myself away and feed my belief that art is not my thing and that I cannot do it, I cannot paint.  Concreted in with every dig of the shovel.

But, I am older now,  digging is dull and I am living with an artist.   So, I took it upon myself to challenge this belief.  The very next day I was all set up with a canvas, oil paints and brushes and a few words of guidance.  The thing is I took to it like a duck to water and I realised that I only gave up before because I was bored too easily and put off my brothers lovely drawings.  I don't mean to victimise myself here, I should have had a bit more bluster and persisted, but as I highlighted before, it is easier sometimes and less work, to give up.

I began layering the colours and discovered that it was engrossing and addictive and brilliant fun.  Perhaps I did have some of that artistic blood running through my veins?  I waited to make a wrong move and ruin it, but the oil paints were forgiving and every mistake turned into a new triumph of colour.  I completed it today and am very pleased with my first efforts at painting and I no longer believe that I cannot paint.

I am not suggesting that I am the next Van Gogh, I chose an easy picture to copy and I don't think it will end up in a gallery (while I am alive anyway; that is how it works right?).  However, I am going to do another painting at some point and get better and better.  How many paintings do you have to do before you are an artist?  I have decided the answer to that is one.  That is my belief.  So in my world, that's the way it works.  After all, our version of the world is the only one we can really control.

I attach pictures because you need proof that I did this!





The funny thing is that I remember my Mum telling me the same story about her friend at school, my own wonderfully artistic Mum watched her friend draw beautifully and thought that she could not draw herself.  How absurd.  

Josie (artist) Was this useful?  Like My facebook page... :)

Organic: Does it HAVE to be?

 'Organic' is a buzz word filled with friction that has become as addictive to the consumers eye as the 99p price mark once was.

Actually I don't think any of us ever fell for that?  Did we?  I am sure I have always rounded it up to a quid.  Ok, so the 99p store (dare I plug it?) is very fun to be in, but I don't want 4p change at the end, I would rather give them four round pounds and be done with it, it only sits at the bottom of my shopping bag with the receipt listing pointless items for months under the passenger seat of my car.  Pennies, do we still use pennies?  Someone let me know would you?   

Anyway, enough of that.  Organic promises health and happiness, it assures you that you are doing the right thing.  By simply popping those three syllables on the label we know that this is going to be fantastic and we leave the shop feeling like we have done something wonderful, commendable, for ourselves and for humanity.  This is mostly true but you still need to keep a watchful eye on that 'promise of goodness'.

Organic is good, organic is great, if you grow it yourself then you are a total charm.  If however you buy it from a supermarket be aware that organic rules are regulations are not always as absolute as they seem and companies can still hide preservatives and flavour enhancers to organic produce.  ALWAYS check the label for 'yeast extract' and 'spices' both of which can contain hidden nasties like the well known MSG.  Be aware that a product that contains 'No MSG' is more than likely to have something equally hideous that goes under a different name within its ingredients.  It is a minefield of packaging deceptions for the consumer. 

So, does it HAVE to be organic?

The simply answer to this question is No.  It does not HAVE to be organic, but I would like it to have spent some time in ground or on a tree or a bush at a recent point in it's life.  I would prefer that it came from the part of the world I am living in, or as close as possible.  Most of all I would prefer that it is not taken apart, put together, taken apart, blended, filled with preservatives, shaped, dried and finally heat sealed in plastic ready for keen consumption.

We cannot realistically all afford to have organic produce, but we can make the best choice possible.  Choose local, wash all non-organic vegetables very well especially when juicing.  If possible grow your own vegetables or look for farmers markets and local schemes.  Most of all make sure you are getting a good range of colours, textures and flavours in your vegetables, eat them raw, steamed, juiced, smoothied, get them into your nutrient starved body and enjoy the benefits in your skin, hair  and mood.

Start today, go and have a hunt for new green stuff to try and find new ways of getting it in to your body fast!

Over and Out.

Josie.