is overeating a problem for you? 22 questions to help you find an answer.

it’s january 29, and you’ve had a hand at trying your new years resolutions. i sincerely hope they’re going well.

one of the three most common new years resolutions concerns dieting or just generally changing the way you eat. if that something you’ve decided to do and it’s going well, good for you.

if dieting is something you tried and it doesn’t seem to work, it’s possible that you have a compulsive or addictive relationship with food. here are a few questions that may help you reflect on whether that’s the case.

(is this something you’d like to discuss in private? give me a shout.)

  1. do you often tell yourself “i won’t eat” and then you do it anyway?
  2. do you go on eating binges for no apparent reason?
  3. do you have feelings of guilt and remorse after overeating?
  4. do you give too much time and thought to food?
  5. do you look forward with pleasure and anticipation to the time when you can eat alone?
  6. do you plan secret binges ahead of time?
  7. do you eat sensibly before others and make up for it alone?
  8. is your weight affecting the way you live your life?
  9. have you tried to diet for a certain period of time, only to fall short of your goal?
  10. do you have a history of yoyo dieting?
  11. do you resent others telling you to “use a little willpower” to stop overeating?
  12. despite evidence to the contrary, have you continued to assert that you can diet “on your own” whenever you wish?
  13. do you have persistent food cravings?
  14. have you forgotten what it’s like to be hungry?
  15. are you at a loss to understand why someone would refuse a tasty morsel of food with the words, “no thanks, i’m full”?
  16. do you eat to escape from worries or trouble?
  17. have you ever been treated for obesity or a food-related condition?
  18. does your eating behavior make you or others unhappy?
  19. are you ashamed of how, when or how much you eat?
  20. do you avoid looking into the mirror because you can’t stand to see how you look?
  21. does it often feel that food is one of the few things in your life you can control?
  22. does it sometimes feel that food is your best friend?

(these questions were adapted from and inspired by OA)

(thanks to therepeutic reiki for including this post in the carnival of healing #124

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