Food and Spending
Find a Conversation
Food and Spending
| Sun, 02-13-2005 - 8:41am |
I have noticed this before when I was on this board and I am noticing it again. Many of us, including me are not only compulsive spenders but compulsive eaters and a lot of us need to go out for lunch to eat the "good" stuff! This is a sure sign of compulsivity and impulsivity and again I reiterate, I believe this has a physiological basis. My Pdoc gave me medication for my impulsivity and it worked but I was gaining tons of weight at home. What to do? What to do? I can't stand the thought of gaining any more weight. Also, I am a recovering Anorexic and Bulimic and there is a lot of strong impulse behaviour in my current and past history.

I think you might be on to something here. I really do. I really really really love to go out to eat, and it's not because I don't have food at home...I do! Plenty! Most of my driving that I do is only 15 minutes from my house, so it's not like I can't get back there. I'm a stay-at-home homeschooling Mom, so there's really no reason why I can't eat at home or at least pack meals when we do go somewhere. But there's just something about food.
I eat it whether I'm hungry or not. I just grab something and start eating and then by the time I sit down to an actual meal, I wonder why I'm feeling so full and have to think back on all the things I've eaten without giving it much thought (handful of cashews here...a few granola bars there....). When I shop for food, I put together some great healthy meal ideas....but then once those items are in my cart, I do the impulse buys for things I really don't need, but I tell myself that it's "ok" because I got a great deal using a coupon. LOL! My two bad aisles are the chip aisle (high-fat tortilla chips and salsa or cheese dip) and the frozen food section for things like those Hot Pockets (not the "Lean-Pockets" that might actually be healthier for me...the normal ones :-D), ice cream and other frozen treats, etc. Basically, I look for things that are yummy, rich tasting, gooey, and taste like something you might get in a restaurant...but that I can fix fast at home.
Still....even knowing that those foods are there at home, on Friday I was passing by Chili's and thought, "Well....Dh did say that I should take Ds out for lunch for doing good on his spelling and math tests the past few weeks....Chili's will be good!", and pulled right in. Ds would have been just as happy at Burger King with a Big Kids Meal and some play time on the playground they have. We had a nice meal, but I know it was an impulse thing for me. And I didn't choose something healthy off the menu. I chose something gooey and fattening. LOL! :-D I looked at it like a "treat", and figured I've been working really hard and "deserve" it. LOL! :-D
So you might be on to something here. I sure wish I could figure out how to get a handle on it (maybe a journal to keep track of what leads me to impulse eat?) so I could get rid of my 130 extra pounds I need to lose. LOL! :-D
Pat :-D
I'm sorry your having a rough time with the meds you are on. Are they the only ones you can take?
In regards to compulsive eating....I'm with you on that one. I'm an emotional eater as well, which doesn't help. I think (in regards to me) sometimes it's laziness - I know I have food at home I'm just so tired I don't feel like making it, some nights I have to really force myself. Sometimes it's just a craving for a frosty from Wendy's, lol and I succumb to the internal pressure and buy one.
EEEK...I'm really trying to do better. I am trying to bring lunch to work so I can eat at my desk while working and then when I take my actual lunch break I either run errands or read. But I try my hardest to stay away from the lure of fast food and I find it's easier if I'm already full.
In regards to the weight gain, that's how I feel about my birth control - I love it but it has made me gain weight which I hate. I'm trying to get back into doing Pilates because I really could see a difference when I was doing it - and then with the move I just slowly stopped :(.
Good luck to you. :)