I wasn't sure whether to put this in the "weight loss in the media" section or here. Moderators feel free to move it wherever you want! 
I made this thread because I wanted to say a few things about the term "comfort eating". It's been bugging me for years, how that term keeps popping up in articles and TV shows regarding weight loss. First and foremost, I understand that a lot of people are actually struggling with emotional eating: that their reaction to life's downs (and ups) trigger them to eat unhealthy amounts of food - either to celebrate or to comfort themselves. The celebration eating I do myself every now and then. I am good at making excuses for reasons to go out and "eat a romantic pizza dinner - it's our 4 years and 3 months anniversary as a couple!". But it's this negative sound to the term comfort eating that annoys me. This focus in the media that seems to always be on the negative feelings. Too often, we (overweight people) are represented as weak beings with so many sad emotions inside us that we can't do anything but stuff our faces in a gigantic bowl of ice cream all day.
The term "comfort eating" is something I feel is pushed upon me, and I'm afraid people who don't even know me might judge me based on this black and white portrayal of such a complex problem as obesity. I've seen it in various comment fields and discussion forums on the internet, where skinny people rant about how disgusting obese people are, and how they should just "stop stuffing themselves with so much junk all the time". Often they use very graphic language to describe the manner in which they imagine fat people to be eating. I believe this attitude might be influenced by things they've watched on TV (probably less serious documentaries etc, meant for entertainment, but still…!) I have been watching a British show called "Superskinny vs. Super fat", and we always get to see the skinny person drinking a cup of tea and eating 3 pieces of cheerios on a tiny plate for breakfast. The fat one, of course, eats something that I - as an overweight person - would never dream about eating in a whole day, sometimes not even two. It's over-simplifying. It's discrimination, both ways.
Personally, food has never been my main comfort in hard times. I've been through ups and downs in life like everyone else, but food has never been what I've turned to when sad. I've turned to my family. I've turned to writing, reading, and drawing. I've cried and I've thrown various items into the wall. But what I HAVEN'T done, I haven't gained weight by lying around in a huge pile of marshmallows while crying my heart out. It really rubs me the wrong way, how overweight/obese people are constantly portrayed as some kind of gluttonous beasts whose lives do not consist of anything else than stuffing their face with food 24/7 because they are so unhappy with themselves and their existence.
Am I the only one who's provoked by this? Weight can be gained slowly, over time, by the help of small everyday choices. You can make wrong choices everyday, doesn't matter how small, like having a few extra crackers with your coffee and eating lots of eggs because you've heard it's healthy. Added together, there is a chance you'll gain weight if you don't move around much. Let me add that most of us probably eat the extra crackers because they taste good, not because we're going through some emotional trauma.
In one article, I read the following: "The important thing to realise is that comfort eating is not about being greedy and not being able to cope - it is a learned behaviour".
If you think about it this way, it's different. I think the above quote represents a much more realistic and nuanced view of the term comfort eating. We all put food into our mouths sometimes when we're not hungry. It might be boredom, a feeling of slightly wanting food even though you just ate, etc. Sometimes we might be eating without even noticing it - and skinny people do this too! I don't think comfort eating is the best term because it makes it sound like you're sad, weak and greedy, and turn to over-eating for comfort. Of course, looking at my quote and probably several other articles written by nutritional experts out there, not everyone uses the term in the negative way I described. But still, I feel like there is stigma associated with it, and I am tired of it.
I did not post this to defend being overweight. In most cases, all overweight people are responsible for their own "fate" and must choose to make the right choices if they want a healthy life. But walking around feeling ashamed about myself because some "experts" on TV have coined a term that they like to apply to fat people as a group? I'm not doing that, and I don't think anyone should.
People who are able to take control of their lives, stand up and fight those everyday battles against temptation/ignorance/boredom - whatever made them fat - are strong people. Not weak, but strong. Not disgusting, but human.
I made this thread because I wanted to say a few things about the term "comfort eating". It's been bugging me for years, how that term keeps popping up in articles and TV shows regarding weight loss. First and foremost, I understand that a lot of people are actually struggling with emotional eating: that their reaction to life's downs (and ups) trigger them to eat unhealthy amounts of food - either to celebrate or to comfort themselves. The celebration eating I do myself every now and then. I am good at making excuses for reasons to go out and "eat a romantic pizza dinner - it's our 4 years and 3 months anniversary as a couple!". But it's this negative sound to the term comfort eating that annoys me. This focus in the media that seems to always be on the negative feelings. Too often, we (overweight people) are represented as weak beings with so many sad emotions inside us that we can't do anything but stuff our faces in a gigantic bowl of ice cream all day.
The term "comfort eating" is something I feel is pushed upon me, and I'm afraid people who don't even know me might judge me based on this black and white portrayal of such a complex problem as obesity. I've seen it in various comment fields and discussion forums on the internet, where skinny people rant about how disgusting obese people are, and how they should just "stop stuffing themselves with so much junk all the time". Often they use very graphic language to describe the manner in which they imagine fat people to be eating. I believe this attitude might be influenced by things they've watched on TV (probably less serious documentaries etc, meant for entertainment, but still…!) I have been watching a British show called "Superskinny vs. Super fat", and we always get to see the skinny person drinking a cup of tea and eating 3 pieces of cheerios on a tiny plate for breakfast. The fat one, of course, eats something that I - as an overweight person - would never dream about eating in a whole day, sometimes not even two. It's over-simplifying. It's discrimination, both ways.
Personally, food has never been my main comfort in hard times. I've been through ups and downs in life like everyone else, but food has never been what I've turned to when sad. I've turned to my family. I've turned to writing, reading, and drawing. I've cried and I've thrown various items into the wall. But what I HAVEN'T done, I haven't gained weight by lying around in a huge pile of marshmallows while crying my heart out. It really rubs me the wrong way, how overweight/obese people are constantly portrayed as some kind of gluttonous beasts whose lives do not consist of anything else than stuffing their face with food 24/7 because they are so unhappy with themselves and their existence.
Am I the only one who's provoked by this? Weight can be gained slowly, over time, by the help of small everyday choices. You can make wrong choices everyday, doesn't matter how small, like having a few extra crackers with your coffee and eating lots of eggs because you've heard it's healthy. Added together, there is a chance you'll gain weight if you don't move around much. Let me add that most of us probably eat the extra crackers because they taste good, not because we're going through some emotional trauma.
In one article, I read the following: "The important thing to realise is that comfort eating is not about being greedy and not being able to cope - it is a learned behaviour".
If you think about it this way, it's different. I think the above quote represents a much more realistic and nuanced view of the term comfort eating. We all put food into our mouths sometimes when we're not hungry. It might be boredom, a feeling of slightly wanting food even though you just ate, etc. Sometimes we might be eating without even noticing it - and skinny people do this too! I don't think comfort eating is the best term because it makes it sound like you're sad, weak and greedy, and turn to over-eating for comfort. Of course, looking at my quote and probably several other articles written by nutritional experts out there, not everyone uses the term in the negative way I described. But still, I feel like there is stigma associated with it, and I am tired of it.
I did not post this to defend being overweight. In most cases, all overweight people are responsible for their own "fate" and must choose to make the right choices if they want a healthy life. But walking around feeling ashamed about myself because some "experts" on TV have coined a term that they like to apply to fat people as a group? I'm not doing that, and I don't think anyone should.
People who are able to take control of their lives, stand up and fight those everyday battles against temptation/ignorance/boredom - whatever made them fat - are strong people. Not weak, but strong. Not disgusting, but human.