Reply To: Can't stop eating!

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yytz
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It’s possible that you really need all that food. More likely, you’re eating too many carbs and not enough fats and protein and fiber, which make you feel more full. Try eating a big healthy breakfast with carbs (whole grains) but also a lot of fat and protein and fiber. The meals in the rest of your day won’t be as big, and you can avoid snacking as well.

The chassidic sefer Likutei Eitzos has some mystical interpretations of the phenomenon of eating greedily. In case you’re interested, here are some of them.

“Be careful not to gulp your food down hurriedly like a glutton. It was Esau who said, `Let me swallow some of this red pottage’ (Genesis 25:30). Get into the habit of eating at a moderate pace, calmly and with the same table manners you would show if an important guest were present. You should always eat like this, even when you are eating alone. Happy is the one who achieves this! (Chayey Moharan, Avodat Hashem, 69).

Whenever you feel a sudden strong impulse to eat it is a sign that there are forces which hate you. This sudden appetite for food is caused by the animal part of your nature. You must break the animal impulse. Then you will be free from the clutches of those who hate you (39).

Gluttony leads to divisiveness and strife. The glutton is an object of contempt. Other people look down upon him: they have no wish to help him, on the contrary they put all kinds of opposition in his way. But a person who succeeds in breaking his greedy impulses will find peace. And peace will also reign in the realms above. A profound and wonderful contentment will reveal itself in the world (Ibid.).

When a person manages to break his desire for food, God works miracles through him (Ibid.).

When a person eats greedily it is a stain, as it were, on the honor which is due to God’s holiness. The more disrespect that is shown to God, the more the arrogant start to assert themselves. The nations of the world abrogate to themselves all the glory that is due to God. They flaunt themselves and boast, and receive the world’s respect and deference for it. God hides His face from the world and the Divine aspect of severe justice prevails. But when we break the desire for food, God shows favor to the world. The aspect of severity is withdrawn. The honor due to God’s holiness is restored. The arrogant are humbled and lose their power and influence (67:2,3).

Never eat more than you need. If you eat unnecessarily it can be very harmful. Even the food which the body needs is then joined with the extra food and causes great damage (257).

The time when we are eating is especially suited to working on ourselves to develop the fear of Heaven. We should be careful to take advantage of the moment and cultivate this fear in our hearts (Ibid.).”