Denial of overeating
One component of addiction is denial. (Denial is a state of mind marked by a denial or an inability to recognize and deal with a serious personal problem.) You can go from thinking, I’m okay, I’m okay, I’m okay with food to, I’m not okay. Consistently eating more than you need, even though there are negative consequences, is also part of addiction.
I am an addict No matter how many years I practice new mindful eating, the new habits will always be less substantial than the old habits and patterns I have practiced for a lifetime of mindless eating. The old way will always have more practice, strength, weight and power than the new way.
After years of pushing the limits myself, that’s what addicts do, I know for a fact that I have no willpower and no self-control; both were surgically removed at birth. However, you can learn to buy a little less, order a little less, prepare and serve a little less. When the food is presented to him, he will eat a little less. In the end, you will weigh a little less.
It’s the times you’ve gotten off your schedule by leaving food lying around too instantly, too quickly and too readily, you’re probably thinking: I can handle this, or one won’t hurt me. (That’s denial.)
It is not one of anything that causes weight gain. It is that the old form has a ritual, a frequency and a portion size that has been established throughout life. And, if the item you choose turns out to be one of the current foods you use to distract yourself, then it’s nothing, because you can’t stop once you’ve started. You’re going to eat it until it’s gone.
Do you think you should be able to leave junk food lying around your home and office and not eat it? (That’s denial). A young father of two overweight sons tells me, “I know I can lose all the weight (75 pounds) if I can go to the gym regularly.” (That’s denial.) If you’re using a food or drink to distract yourself from feeling angry, lonely, tired, stressed, and worried, and have received temporary relief from your emotional discomfort, why should you stop going into the kitchen to get some relief? that food, that distraction?
When you get there, you always get what you want: something to self-medicate with. Even if the young man goes to the gym, he will not lose weight unless he starts eating an amount of food (less frequently, in smaller portions) than he has been eating. When he creates a new autoresponder to replace his old autoresponder (redesign), when he goes to the kitchen, the food is not there. You’ll find something else (less destructive) to distract yourself with. Eventually, you will stop going to the kitchen.
The few moments of comfort you get from getting high with food are totally disproportionate to the amount of drugs (food, serving size, and frequency of use) you need to get to those few moments. Because you build up a tolerance to drugs (you can never get it high enough and you can’t get it often enough) you’re never satisfied.