That's my question right now. I am only 1/2 way through the OO book and want to accept that there's a way out of the diet/no diet thinking. My question, however, is what if I overeat out of habit? Maybe I'm just greedy and love to eat I'm not sure that this is the case, but how do I know?

Also, when I think about my "forbidden food", I have to admit that anything can be on the list. I've turned healthy cereal (sugar free and everything) into an unhealthy snack food. I haven't bought all of my favourite and forbidden food because it could be anything. Most of the time, too, I go OUT for my forbidden food - I go and get a coffe and a slice of something sweet - how does this work with OO?

I'm so confused, but also ready for my food issues to go away. I'm nearly 43 and very much over it!

Hi,
I undstand the habitual eating stuff.

For me, it is not that I am greedy, it is that I do not want to sit with whatever feelings come up out of I do not eat when I am not hungry.

Boredom and anxiety are my main feelings that I cannot seem to stand.

My challenge is to be there for the part of me that is bored or anxious. Like a good mom for her child. It is hard. it takes practice to get good at it. I also do not get to chastise myself when I mess up. This habitual eater is like a little kid. Kids respond with loving compassionate boundaries.

That part of me that wants to eat NOW out of habit is the place where I need to work. Sit with that feeling, understand it, but do not indulge it to make it go away. Like a little kid, if that kid got a. Ew toy every time It screamed for it, it would never learn how to deal with its feelings.

I am not good at this. I still seem to habitually eat at night.

Wow, I think you've helped me nail it. I hate boredom. Even when I'm chilling, watching TV, I still need to be doing something else. I take knitting to the cinema. And I just remembered--I'm an only child, and my parents were incredibly strict when I was growing up. I wasn't allowed to have friends over, or even visit or go out with friends. For some of my early childhood, we lived on a farm in the middle of nowhere and there were no children around, and I was a latchkey kid. I was bored A LOT.

Ok, that's quite the revelation for me... So what do I do with the information? How do I change things? I guess I'll keep reading.
xj