[SPLIT]: Food Issues (was Re: Splenda?)

For those who have struggled w/food, do you think some of it relates to your upbringing, or was it something that developed in adulthood?

My food issues definitely developed after I was out on my own. When I was a child, my mother cooked proper meals every day. I'd never had fast food in my life (and, tbh, I hate it still). But we had normal-sized, home-cooked healthy meals. I don't think my mother ever bought anything pre-made in her life. I still eat pretty healthy food, but my problem lies with portion-control. I don't know how it happened or when exactly, but I seem to have an overly healthy appetite these days. 

My issues with food started after suddenly losing my father when I was 10. We moved about 5 months after he died to be closer to my mother's family which was good. But the combination of grief, starting after the school year had already begun (really hard to make friends), moving, etc well it was too much for me to cope with. My mother and I both used food to comfort ourselves and it just spiraled from there. But, like Chary, it's issues with portions more than anything else. Yeah, I have fast food sometimes, and junk food, and Coke. But I'd say that 90% of the time, I just eat too much and don't balance it with enough exercise.

Prior to my father's death, my mother really enjoyed cooking new and interesting things and I ate what was put in front of me. Sugary/fatty things were seriously limited and not used as a reward.

My issues with food have all come on as an adult.  The big issue as a child was negative body image.  I have a very big toosh and small waist and my mom has the same shape but smaller bone structure and they were always telling me i was chunky.  calling me crisco, cause i was fat in the can.  this was when i was 125 lbs.

so i went to college. Ate, drank, gained a ton of weight.  I lost 40 lbs on ww and kept it off till i met dave but we love to eat, i love to cook, and wine is my best friend.  so that makes it tough and is really a struggle every day.  I have to remember that my metabolism just doesn't process like some people's

I've never had food issues in my life. I've always been slim and I continued to remain slim until my first pregnancy where I packed on 60lbs. I was 123lbs when I got pregnant with Jordan. After I had him I stayed around 155 till Brett came along three years later. I delivered him at 200lbs and lost only 40. I stayed 160 till got preg with Coby and delivered just over 200 and got down to 170 worked my ass off to get back to 155. Got preg with Jack and delivered at about 210. Lost just 20lbs and stayed at 190 for about 18 months. Jack is 2.5 and Im just now getting back into the 160s. I dont over eat I rarely drink, I dont 'nosh' between meals. I just got fat from pregnancy. I PRAY I dont get pregnant again! 

Expat--this is a very interesting question.

I eat quite healthily now without having to think too hard about it, but I actually didn't really have a good example set during childhood. There were a number of factors that contributed to this: my mother was a single, working parent and suffers from a chronic illness. She did the best she could, but home cooked dinners were definitely a rarity. I was also a serious ballet student throughout school, which meant that I often had classes from 6-8 every weeknight--not exactly condusive to family eating. Suffice it to say there was a lot of take-out and eating in the car. When we did have home-cooked meals, they were often quite heavy (lots of beef and heavy sauces). And the portions were huge!

One thing that we didn't do, which I believe helps me now, is have dessert every night. Dessert was very much a special occasion thing in my house. My husband ate dessert every night at home (usually homemade by his Mum) and now has to have something sweet after dinner. I can quite happily do without it. I'm lucky in that I don't really have a sweet tooth. However, my savoury tooth--that's a different story.

I think I have a pretty good relationship with food now. I generally eat healthy (with the exception of my cheese and curry addictions), but don't deny myself anything. My husband, on the other hand, who ate only homecooked food his entire childhood has a bunch of issues Go figure!

As a mother of young children, I'm interested in what age people are when they developed what they consider to be poor eating habits.


For those who have struggled w/food, do you think some of it relates to your upbringing, or was it something that developed in adulthood?

It developed in adulthood.
As a kid i was fed healthy food - lots of fruit & veg, no sugared cereals, and no packaged snacks -- only home-baked stuff.   We went out for fast food (usually Del Taco) as a family, but only about once a month.   And we'd get a box of doughnuts from the doughnut shop about once a month for a Saturday breakfast treat.   I was really jealous of my schoolfriends, who got to eat Pop-Tarts, and sugary breakfast cereals, and Hostess cupcakes.

So as soon as i left home... i rebelled, big-style!   No one was gonna tell me what i could and could not eat!     
I began eating fast food or pizza several times a week, bought all my snacks in the Hostess bakery thrift shop, ate Count Chocula and Sugar Smacks.

And then i discovered BEER... and at that stage, just went completely off the rails where weight control was concerned. 

And then i discovered BEER... and at that stage, just went completely off the rails where weight control was concerned. 

this was the huge issue for me in college.  and the fact that drinking copious amounts of beer means that i ate things like Gravy Fries, Dozens of Chicken wings, Pizzas etc.

My body chunked up a lot and FAST and it's a struggle to get off that weight again.

I never was a beer fan.

I lived in France when I was 15 and discovered wine! 

Was also skint a lot at uni so didn't get the indulge in pizzas much.

I think there is such a thing as a 'fat tooth', like a sweet tooth, in which some people crave stodgy, fatty foods more than other people.

I'm largely lactose intolerant, so really cheesy, creamy dishes have always made me sick.

So has fried food, for the most part.

For me, the issue is my sweet tooth- I simply crave sweet and sugary things, to the point I have to have something sweet with every meal (even if it's just juice) or else I feel really imbalanced.  I've been that way ever since I can remember, and so as a result I tend to overindulge on dessert and such.

Also, I loathe most vegetables, which makes it hard to eat healthily.  I'd love to be able to like eating salad, but unless it has meat or fruit in it, any salad put in front of me usually goes untouched

It developed in adulthood.
As a kid i was fed healthy food - lots of fruit & veg, no sugared cereals, and no packaged snacks -- only home-baked stuff.   We went out for fast food (usually Del Taco) as a family, but only about once a month.   And we'd get a box of doughnuts from the doughnut shop about once a month for a Saturday breakfast treat.   I was really jealous of my schoolfriends, who got to eat Pop-Tarts, and sugary breakfast cereals, and Hostess cupcakes.

So as soon as i left home... i rebelled, big-style!   No one was gonna tell me what i could and could not eat!     
I began eating fast food or pizza several times a week, bought all my snacks in the Hostess bakery thrift shop, ate Count Chocula and Sugar Smacks.

And then i discovered BEER... and at that stage, just went completely off the rails where weight control was concerned. 

My story is almost exactly the same except for the beer part. We weren't allowed sodas or much in the way of sweets and what we were allowed was very strictly monitored. I do monitor my son's snacking so that meals aren't ruined, etc. but I'm nowhere near being the food nazi my mom was. Of course there were a lot more issues that led to my eating disorders but that was definitely a big factor.