…but seriously: what’s the deal with (mostly women in my experience) people who think that they can somehow fool themselves, me, you, and their bodies, but taking dainty little bites of food?
Clearly they’re trying to ‘fool themselves’ to a degree, particularly when it’s a large container or bag of something, and they’re taking tiny-tiny little bites… but at the end of their marathon, they’ve still finished the bag.
I ask this not just because it annoys me, but because I have a female friend who does this, and it really works (not helping her lose weight, but fooling herself), where she can work through massive amounts of food (junk or otherwise), but does it so slowly and in such small bites it’s like she doesn’t realize how much she’s consuming, or is in open denial of it “Oh, I just had a few tiny bites.” or “I don’t take huge bites like you.”
Any thoughts on this phenomenon, or to help someone better grasp how much they’re really eating (short of trying to get them to carry a measuring cup with them everywhere)?
I always thought that obese people chose to show one way of eating when in public (careful bites, small portions), while in private they indulge like it’s their last meal.
Unfortunately calling just calling someone out on this will just make them mad.
I do feel like there is something different going on with the person who eats a lot always taking small, spaced bites vs. the person who eats lightly in public and binges in private.
The second scenario seems like straightforward lying to world, where I think the ones who hang around the chip bowl all night taking mouse bites may be lying to themselves at a deeper level.
[quote]Spartiates wrote:
Unfortunately calling just calling someone out on this will just make them made.
I do feel like there is something different going on with the person who eats a lot always taking small, spaced bites vs. the person who eats lightly in public and binges in private.
The second scenario seems like straightforward lying to world, where I think the ones who hang around the chip bowl all night taking mouse bites may be lying to themselves at a deeper level.[/quote]
Of course it is. These people have an emotional attachment to food. It’s not even uncommon to see this portrayed in the media. How many times have you seen a tv show or movie which shows an average woman who just got dumped by her man, and she’s seen sitting home curled up on the couch eating out of a half-gallon ice cream carton (comfort food)?
As far as what’s normal, just look at nature. When a wild animal is sick or hurt, they go off to find a quiet spot to heal and recover. They’re not indulging in quantities of food.
I think most people are like the animals (at least I know I am). When I’m emotionally upset, I lose my appetite.
[quote]Edgy wrote:
I have a sister in law, that is diabetic and 100 lbs overweight.
she will eat small portions of food when anyone is with her, and always comment on how she cant seem to lose weight.
then you look at her car, and it is littered with fast food containers, donut boxes, etc.
another example of someone fooling their self.[/quote]
Yeah. My sister’s back seat used to be perpetually knee-deep in McD cartons. Then she bought a second car…
Another time she was on a diet and she told me what she’d eaten that day (unsolicited summary). She left out the cream cakes I saw her scoffing down that same morning. If you eat enough you just get lost in it.
[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
I always thought that obese people chose to show one way of eating when in public (careful bites, small portions), while in private they indulge like it’s their last meal. [/quote]
Absolutely. I shared an apartment with a big girl for two years. She confided to me after a year or so about her binge eating and I never had a clue. She told me she would replace all the food she chowed down on and she did it with such a meticulous approach I never suspected a thing. If I had half a box of cereal and five eggs in a carton she made damn sure that’s exactly what was there when I got up in the morning.
Oh yeah, and one time my pet cockatoo wandered into her room and went under the bed. I had to get the bird out from under there and I found a very naughty magazine my roommate had. The whole magazine was full page glossy pictures of one girl getting DPed in every imaginable way. No print what so ever, just pictures. Just thought I’d share that too.
