Food for Thought: October 26th

Food Is Not Fun

We have used eating as a form of recreation and have looked for excitement in food. For years, we have associated food with fun. What we need to remember constantly is that uncontrolled eating is no longer fun for us, but a trip into anguish.

All of us have unpleasant memories of painful binges, which began as attempts to experience pleasure through a small indulgence. We need to put these memories to work for us by associating them with the first compulsive bite. The idea that more and better food will bring us fun and pleasure is an illusion. We know this in our heads, but we need to feel it in our guts.

Food is nourishment for our bodies - nothing more. To experience pleasure with our minds and hearts and bodies, we open ourselves to richer interpersonal relationships, to aesthetic experiences, to sports and hobbies and work well done. Abstinence from compulsive overeating liberates us to enjoy the activities, which are fun.

Thank You for the fun and joy that abstinence brings.

From Food for Thought: Daily Meditations for Overeaters by Elisabeth L. ©1980, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation.

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If I want to maintain abstinence, then I keep my Food Plan super-simple and not overly delicious. Otherwise, I will consider food to be 'fun' and that's a big mistake for me.  I derive some level of pleasure from eating, but not a whole lot.  If I eat a can of tuna on a bed of lettuce, just how 'fun' IS that?  I deliberately avoid overly 'yummy' foods so I don't crave more.

 

If I take that first compulsive bite of an off plan food, THAT is what begins my struggle.  Allowing myself TO take that first bite is what KEEPS me eating, and then it turns into a binge.  What starts out as 'fun' quickly turns into a nightmare where the word 'enough' does not exist! 

 

For today, I will consider food as nourishment for my body & nothing more.  For today, I will find fun & joy through people, events & activities rather than food.