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Drew the Zombie Wakes Up - Male Binge EatingMale Binge Eating - Not just for Females Anymore One of the oldest, most basic relationships the body learns is its relationship to food. And one of the hardest, most resilient, mindless, unfeeling behaviors that can be learned is an eating disorder. The misperception that eating disorders only affect females is quickly losing merit. While studies show that only about 10% of all reported eating disorders are male (NEDA 2005¹), the number is widely regarded as under reported and much larger. Is Drew a Binge Eater? Our zombie Drew, upon his new found awakening and ability to second guess his behaviors and emotions, set about to determine whether he had an 'eating disorder'; was Drew a blood-thirsty, brain eating binge eater? The proof was the extra weight he carried around, 15-25 pounds extra weight. But Drew also wanted medical acknowledgement. After heavy research he found what he loves to find, a handy-dandy checklist at the website for the National Eating Disorder association (NEDA 2005²)): Behavioral Characteristics of Male Binge Eaters:
Drew shuddered as he checked off the characteristics that applied to him…all of them! He then looked deeper and found a checklist that examined the mental and emotional context for these behaviors (Yay Checklists!) -(NEDA 2005³):
Now Drew has never been a hypochondriac and usually has a healthy bit of skepticism when he approaches 'characteristic lists", but this one made him know, "That's me!" Drew and his therapist spent many a session broaching this hot-button topic. Drew delved into a book called Beyond the Food Game: A Spiritual & Psychological Approach to Healing Emotional Eating(LivingQuest - May 1993¹(a)). The information was overwhelming. After starting and stopping the emotionally charged book several times and finally incorporating a second, more physically present reading into his experience Drew realized that intuition already new the answer, he was binge eating. Time to Take Some Action! Drew and his therapist decided to take things slowly and try conquering a single, smallish behavior. They decided to focus on the zombie's pre-dinner ritual of eating while he cooked dinner. On most days Drew would arrive home from work and within an hour would start cooking his dinner. While cooking he would mindlessly find himself eating potato chips, peanuts, and any variety of foods going into the meal being prepared. By the time the meal was ready and Drew sat down to eat, he would actually be eating a second meal! Drew took this as a challenge. He decided that although this is just a small portion of his eating disorders and even smaller percentage of his overall dysfunctional behavior, it was the perfect type behavior to start with. So How Did the New Behavior Go? Over the next 4 months, Drew was able to cease eating before his regular meal and actually lost some of his weight. He was also filled with a sense of accomplishment and self-trust at this smaller, moral victory over his own behavior. While at the same time he allowed himself to over-eat during dinner (small concession to the ravenous zombie within) and he kept to his promise to his self to remain present and stay aware of this mindless behavior. Drew has not mindlessly binged before his regular dinner since. As this new behavior is becoming part of his lifestyle - a solid habit - Drew can look towrad his next behavior to conquer - Meal Size! OVERALL - Where is all of this Going? This represents one of the many small, manageable accomplishments that Drew undertakes in his quest to become an awakened human being. In his quest to become present and alive, Drew faces these behavioral battles, which now amount to a shifted lifestyle. -->>Return to: A Zombie Wakes Up - Intro ____________________________________________________________________________ References
² - ibid ³ - ibid ¹(a) - Beyond the Food Game: A Spiritual & Psychological Approach to Healing Emotional Eating (Paperback) by Jane Evans Latimer - LivingQuest (May 1993) |
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NewsAugust 7, 2006 July 31, 2006, 2006 |
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