The September 18, 2008 post at Normal Eating is just too good not to share. It offers up some good tips to help with stopping eating.
Stopping eating when food tastes good is difficult for me. Though I want to stop at 2 cookies it's rare that I do. All too often I just eat until they're gone or until I feel stuffed and miserable.
After reading the tips at Normal Eating I'm thinking I can compromise and reason with myself the next time I'm eating delicious cookies by saying something like this: "o.k.--stopping at 2 is something you don't want to do. You'd really like to eat 10. How about stopping at 4? No? Then 5? O.K." Sure, 5 cookies is a lot of cookies...a whole lot more than 2--but the upside is that it's a whole lot less than 10, and that would be a huge improvement--moving me in the right direction toward the day when I'm able to stop at 2. (That's me thinking positive. :-D)
Another tip--make a list of negative consequences--is one I've tried. One day I baked cookies, which were out of this world good. I ate 4 of them. They were large and very rich. I was so sick after and didn't want a repeat so I printed myself a reminder that said: Remember how awful you felt when you ate ALL those cookies? I stuck it up on the fridge where I couldn't miss it.
It must have worked because I haven't made those cookies since, in spite of how excellent they taste, because the minute I consider baking them I associate the horrible stuffed feeling I had and immediately I'm put off. Ugh...I definitely don't want that pukey sick feeling again. It's just not worth it. Even writing about the experience is off putting--my stomach is churning--and the cookies are some of the best I've ever made or tasted. Sad, isn't it?
Karen Koenig shares some helpful insight and practical tips so be sure to read her post. Go here. (if the link won't work you can find the post at http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/healthy/2008/09/tips-for-stoppi.html#more)