The current Raw Emotions Study Group is in full swing and during our weekly readings of this book, it has been wonderful to re-access some of the ideas that came through while I was writing the book. One passage that particularly struck me recently is the section called "Tell-Tale Signs of An Overeater" and I wanted to share this section here with y'all today...plus a very spec!al offer on the book - read on below for more... ;)

Tell-Tale Signs of An Overeater…

How can you know if you are an overeater or not? Well, ultimately, it’s really up to you to decide whether you choose to identify yourself that way. In this section I’ll give some pointers about the typical behaviour and class!c thought patterns of those who eat compulsively and to excess. You can read it over, see if you ‘tick any boxes’ and decide for yourself.

Do Any of These Sound Familiar?

*I am overweight or obese.
(Many overeaters are either overweight or obese. However - not all overeaters carry signs of their addiction so visibly. Some may be a standard weight for their size, yet still have compulsive issues with food.)

*A great deal of my time and energy is directed towards food. I find it difficult to be present with people or concentrate on activities because my thoughts are preoccupied with food.

*I eat in secret, binge-eat, fluctuate between bingeing and deprivation, eat when I’m not hungry, hide food wrappers, am dishonest about what I’ve eaten, find I start eating and feel like I ‘just can’t stop’ and so on.

*I eat moderately in front of others, then ‘make up for it’ in pr!vate with binges, espec!ally on refined sugars and processed starches: ice cream, cakes, cookies, chips, etc.

*I feel compelled to eat everything available - I do not want to ‘waste’ anything, so I eat everything on my plate, often picking scraps/leftovers from fellow diners too.

*When I eat, my mood changes perceptibly - I use food for comfort, to pacify myself, deal with stress, reward myself, celebrate and so on. During and afterwards, I might feel guilt, shame, remorse, fear, self-disgust and more.

*I live in a crazy internal landscape where an obsession with slimness and body image exists in constant battle with the compulsion to eat. I typically look for a solution in endless cycles of dieting and weigh myself frequently.

*I might be very ‘particular’ and rigid, almost ritualistic, about the circumstances in which I want to eat. I may get upset and angry if the situation doesn’t seem to fit my ideal.
(This is not to be confused with having simple preferences, such as blessing food before eating. The pattern described above tends to be more specific and uncompromising, indicating a strong attachment to eating habits.)

I remember when I first looked over a similar list to this, I could identify with almost every characteristic of overeating listed. Yet I thought little of it. I really didn’t realise that this kind of relationship with food might be considered imbalanced.

It was only when I asked my partner at that time if he identified with these traits and discovered that he answered ‘no’ to almost every item that the strangeness of my own behaviour finally struck me. Other people didn’t do these things… This came as a surprise to me and I tried to imagine how different their relationship must be to food. To not pass a large portion of the day thinking about food (what, when and how to eat next); feeling able to leave food on the plate if full or to refuse food if not hungry; being able to keep and eat a bar of chocolate over a number of days, rather than wolfing the whole thing down in seconds - how different life would be if I were to behave like that.

“For the overeater, one compulsive bite of food is too many
and a thousand is never enough.”
--‘Overeaters Anonym0us’ saying

You cannot fill an aching spiritual chasm with something phys!cal. With hindsight, the fact that I didn’t even realise that my relationship with food was odd speaks volumes to me about how overeating is so glossed-over and even ‘mainstream’ in our societies. Whereas known alcoholics are unlikely to find people offering them drinks, food is something that people commonly share with others, obese overeaters included. As I have said, I consider addiction to highly processed foods and overeating to be among the most common addictions in the modern world. It’s so common in fact that it’s barely seen as unusual or even acknowledged. Plus, there is also the chance that if the eating pattern of one person in a community is called into question, others might fear (consciously or subconsciously) that the spotlight will be turned on their own eating patterns and they therefore avoid the topic completely.

Winners of Medicinal Mushroom-Infused Raw Chocolate Truffles :)

THANK YOU for all your wonderful stories submitted last month in response to our giveaway contest to win FOUR sets of the fabulous new Medicinal Mushroom Chocolate Truffles from Ulimana - you wow-ed us with your beautiful responses to the following Q:

"What has been your most heart-opening experience with raw chocolate...?"

Four blessed winners were chosen at random and with sincere delight this morning...I am thrilled to announce Mindy Theroux, Brenda Schuster, Courtney Clay and Dawn Sutherland as the winners, who sent in the following fabulous tales of chocolate blissing:

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I was just with my niece in Berkeley, CA, and we had a delightful afternoon sharing raw chocolate in the hills, amidst her favorite h!ke.  My heart so delights in sharing life with her, and opens with j0y in her midst!  Raw chocolate just added delight.

 

MINDY THEROUX

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My husband used to be ADDICTED to chocolate -- as in, the processed
chocolate with sugar and milk and other n@sty things. Well, we were
living in different hemispheres for a while and had not seen in each
other in one year. The day we finally met again, one week before our
wedding, I fed him a raw chocolate treat that I made especially for
him; it was a very special moment. Now he says he will never again eat
any chocolate that isn't raw, because raw chocolate tastes to him like
love. :)
Brenda

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The very first time I ate it, over 6 years ago, I was in Hawaii and had been eating a "natural hygiene"-style d!et for years, lots of fruit, low fat, no salt, spices or superfoods.  I developed an instinctual obsession with fresh noni fruits, and I would find them while foraging and carry them home, and leave them sitting around.  I never ate them, because I didn't know they were edible, and they smelled weird to my "sweet fruity" senses :)   So one night at a potluck at an eco-village, someone was opening fresh cacao pods, and also serving noni fruit.  I decided to give both a try.  So, I had fresh raw cacao beans, AND fresh noni for the first time, both on the same night.  Very shortly afterward, I felt my judgements of others leave my being, replaced by a euph0ric feeling of oneness and connection to everyone.  The walls I had built up in my mind between myself and others came down.  I connected deeply with a few people.  Later, I was literally running through the jungle, and I felt so tuned into the jungle energy, like I would imagine an indigenous person who lived in the jungle all their life would feel.  I felt amazing.  Raw cacao has been a good friend of mine ever since ;)

- Courtney / chocotrixie 

---------------

Hello Angela,

 

I have to say that my most heart-opening experience with raw chocolate has been very recently when I lost my j0b.  I was feeling very anxious and worried about not finding a new j0b until I popped that delectable little square of brown smoothness into my mouth and shortly afterwards experienced a complete sense of contentment and bliss - the universe knows what is best for me - I just have to trust it.

 

Warmest wishes,

 

Dawn Sutherland

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THANKS to all of you who sent your stories in :) If you weren't one of the fortunate winners this time around and would love to get your gnashers dug into your own pack of Ulimana wonders, you can order their delectable truffles HERE - enjoy :)

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