"Normal" Eating

The Stress Identity

Do you have an identity based on how much you do, how productive or successful you are, how well you care for others, or how stressed you feel? Sadly, too many people define themselves almost exclusively by how busy and selfless they are, and have enormous trouble giving up such an identity. If the description fits, it may be one of the major reasons you’re having difficulty with food.  Here’s why.

Decision Making

When you’re unsure of what to do about an issue or feel stuck in a dilemma, it can be extremely difficult to come to a final decision: Should you move to another city, leave a relationship, return to school, put a parent in a nursing home, buy a house, enter therapy, let your teenager go cross-country with friends, etc. Sometimes it seems as if a decision can gnaw at you day and night, yet you still never feel any closer to, well, closure. Here’s a sure-fire way to find your way through the maze of uncertainty.

YouTube Video on FOOD AND FEELINGS WORKBOOK

If you would like to see a brief video made by a woman talking about and reading from my FOOD AND FEELINGS WORKBOOK, go to YouTube - FOOD AND FEELINGS WORKBOOK.

Best,

Karen R. Koenig

Slow Down Eating

Need one more reason to s-l-o-w  d-o-w-n  y-o-u-r  e-a-t-i-n-g? According to the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, eating fast reduces the release of hormones which help regulate appetite. Makes sense. Eating quickly is a learned behavior. The natural way to eat is to chew thoroughly and taste food so that your body can respond to what and how much you’re eating.

Diet and Your Mood

An article in the January 2010 issue of the Tufts University Health and Nutrition Newsletter (http://www.tuftshealthletter.com/), FOOD AND YOUR MOOD, contains fascinating information about how what we eat affects our emotions. Most likely, those people who have depression or anxiety problems and turn to food, had mood difficulties before their food issues. But, the fact is, we can also depress or elevate our mood, not only with exercise, but with what we choose to eat.

Don't miss this opportunity...

As a way of participating in launching Eating Disorders Awareness Week, the Food and Feelings message board will begin to work through my FOOD AND FEELINGS WORKBOOK on February 28, 2010. There is no particular structure to this work except a commitment to read the book and to try to do the exercises. The last time this was done, the process was chapter by chapter. Some people just read the WORKBOOK because doing the exercises was too painful at that time; others did the exercises as well. I will, of course, be on the board with you answering questions, giving advice, and guiding you along.

If you've tried to read the WORKBOOK and found it scary or intimidating, this is a perfect time to work through it with like-minded folks to help and support you. Overeaters and undereaters all are welcome!  To join the board, go to the link above or to the links page of my websites Karen R. Koenig or Nice Girls Finish Fat. To order the WORKBOOK, go to Gurze Books.

Best,

Karen

http://www.eatingnormal.com/

http://www.nicegirlsfinishfat.com/

Normal Eating talks and media events

PLEASE NOTE: I encourage you to comment on my blogs and will do my best to address topics/questions you raise in future blogs. I cannot provide individual responses, but encourage you to post your questions and comments at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/foodandfeelings or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nicegirlsfinishfat.

Abandonment-

When a message board member (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/foodandfeelings) asked me to blog about abandonment, I had to comb through my archives, not believing I hadn’t already written about it. I hadn’t, so here are some of my thoughts on the subject. Boy, if ever there were ever a trigger for emotional eating, abandonment is it.

Give Yourself Permission

It’s fascinating how our minds work. First of all, half the time we don’t even realize what we’re saying to ourselves; the thoughts just slip by us. Second, when we use harsh words and are hard on ourselves, we generally don’t get the results we want. In fact, often, with eating and other activities, we get the exact opposite of what we intend.

Thoughts Not Truth

How many of you sometimes believe your thoughts are truth? Thoughts, truth—it’s easy to understand how you came to conclude that they are one and the same, but the fact is they most certainly are not. Truth is objective and evidence-based, whereas thoughts are fleeting neurobiochemiocal impulses which travel through the brain and work hard to make us believe they’re the gospel. Differentiating between truth and thoughts can make all the difference in recovering from an eating disorder.

Food and Relationships

Many disregulated eaters developed dysfunctional eating styles when they were children. Instead of being able to turn to people when they were in distress, they ended up running to the refrigerator. Maybe the whole family stuffed their emotions this way rather than share them. Or obsessed about calories, exercise and appearance to bind their anxiety rather than depend on each other. Or used food to cope with stress because they lacked effective life skills.