Why do YOU eat .. when you're full?

[Ranaesheart]

Have you ever found yourself eating when you knew you were full?  Have you ever paused for a moment and wondered WHY???  

Would truly love to hear your thoughts on the matter .. successes or failures .. and any behavior modification techniques you may have implemented.

[tigerlilly5909]

I think I emotionally eat for many reasons. For all reasons. It has been my drug of choice for many years and full time since I quit smoking. Pick an addiction, almost everyone has one. Some are acceptable and some not. Some are noticeable and some are not. Some are illegal and some are not. Some people need there addiction just to get through every day life and some need it to battle against terrible wounds. I am choosing to feel for the first time in my life. Feel what? Everything. It's uncomfortable and ugly and nagging. Some days I think I'll make it and others I'm holding on for dear life. I have a good support system and I have decided that no matter how it feels I'm not going to stop. I think every day I don't eat emotionally I'm learning how to deal with my feelings. I know I have some deep seeded issues but not much compared to a lot of people. I know what my issues are so I think I'll be O.K. but if you don't know what or issues are or they are to painful to deal with you need to get help. Go to see a counselor. You will never stop emotional eating if you don't take care of the emotional part. I have found there is no escaping. You have to deal with it either way. You wake up feeling bad about yourself because of what your doing to yourself or you feel bad because you wake up and have to deal with your feelings. The difference is that there is a pay off for one and not the other. You don't have to wait till all the weight is off to start feeling the pay off. You feel it with every pound and every good decision you make for yourself. Somebody told me a long time ago that I would do it when I was ready. I thought to myself you don't know what I'm going through. How can it be that easy? Well it's not that easy but she was right and now I'm ready. I don't want to give another day of my life to this. I'm better than that and stronger than  that and I deserve better. I'm never going to stop trying. Ever!

[Barb135]

I've never had a problem with food even though I was also required to "clean my plate" - I just always tried to make sure that "my eyes weren't bigger than my stomach".  I've always had a "tender tummy" - meaning I get sick very easily if I eat too much - not to mention the acid reflux.  

Like wonko, I quit smoking (2 yrs ago), so sometimes reach for food in place of a cigarette, but even at that I maintained good weight until my thyroid wigged out. Now it doesn't matter WHAT I do.... the pounds don't budge.  

[iam1butterfly]

I think that eating when you're already full is really a psychological attempt to satisfy an inner void or fill an emotional emptiness. No doubt, there are various distractions that can seemingly fill this void or mitigate a sense of emptiness... Food just happens to be the one distraction that's readily available and impossible to avoid.
For many, Food is a drug.
10 years ago, I decided not to be a slave to that drug.

[lucindamartinez]

I used to be a member of the 'clean plate club' as well.  When I was young growing up in our family....sometimes there was not enough of the proper types of foods and we were taught to never leave without cleaning our plates because after all....there were starving children in Africa, who would love to have what we were having, no matter how unappetizing it seemed at that time.  

I have learned to get my portion sizes under control and to portion off extras for another meal (or two or three or more in the freezer) so that they are ready for when another time to eat has come around for myself or the family.  This way I feel good about not wasting the food, yet haven't gorged myself in the process.  

[msniki412]

I still have this problem once in a while. I still consider myself a "bored eater", eating when bored. But this happens only about once a week now as opposed to everyday. I keep telling myself that I really want to have a baby next year (or just start trying next year) that I really need to stay focus and lose the weight. With that, when I am bored I try to find something to do so I wont eat and gain weight. So far it seems to work, but like I said it still happens on the weekends sometimes. I think we will always have a struggle with this no matter how many tricks we know. I too also consider myself an emotional eater, which right now I have allot on my plate now.

[elaine1961]

I do this, partly beause I was never aloud to leave food as a child we always had to eat what was on our plate wether we liked it or not. in my teens i ran away from home and was homeless for 8 months life on the streets was tough and there was very little food,
so now i cant waste food if its about to go out of date we have to eat it, but if we go out i usually finish the plate evan if i dont want to, it cost money, at home is not to bad as i do smaller portions, we can always have more if needed,

[wonko]

I definitely have problems with emotional eating.  They are deeply rooted, it's hard to say from what because I've been this way for as long as I can remember.  As a child, I even stashed food and hid empty food containers.  

I quit smoking over a year ago, cold turkey.  I also decided to stop drinking any alcohol.  But I can't eliminate food from my life, since I need it to live.   While some foods pose a bigger risk, I can overeat and abuse any type of food, even "healthy" items.

I don't think there is a secret to stopping.  Perhaps some have found help but it's not that simple a problem to overcome.  

I was making good progress controlling and handling my emotional eating, but as of lately my illness and ongoing concerns over my future and career have caused me to backslide.  That is my biggest trigger these days, when I begin to feel overwhelmed by my fears.

This is more recent.  However, since last fall and until recently, I've consistently been on "good behavior." Yet my body is stubbornly refusing to lose weight.  This has made me feel more hopeless about ever getting my weight to a healthy level with which I can be happy!

I know this is a rather self-pitying post, I'm just in a low place today.  No worries, as I'm sure I'll feel more feisty again soon.  But yes, emotional eating is a huge issue for me, and a significant complicating factor in my efforts to lose  weight and take charge of my health.

[TrudieC]

I'm pretty good at recognizing my full feeling and am a slow eater so it helps.  Sometimes when there is food that is my simply outstanding to me in taste, I just have to ensure I've had a taste of it all but likely I don't overdo it too often.  Glad that belly of mine gets sore when too much is going in!