Jeff Garlin of Curb Your Enthusiasm is an Emotional Eater (but so are all of us)

What's going on?

So I watched an old 20/20 episode featuring actor/comedian Jeff Garlin, who is best known for playing Larry David's best friend in Curb Your Enthusiasm.

If you've ever seen the show (I think it's freegin' hilarious) or know of him, you know that he is overweight.

I was excited to watch the interview because 1) I thought he might shed some insight on the cause of his weight issues and 2) I like him and think he's funny.

I 100% agree with Jeff when he says overeating has nothing to do with a lack of will power. (This is why I HATE when people say, "Just eat less and move more!")

He says food addiction is all about pushing down feelings...

And when we do that, we NEVER feel full.

How many times have you reached for food and nothing seems to satisfy you? (Ya know, you eat a little of this and a little of that and you just can't seem to find that one snack that'll do it for you. It's kinda like trying to find that comfortable position to sleep in while on a plane - it ain't happening!)

That's because we're not eating for anything but to suppress feelings and to change the way we feel.

But here's where will power does come in:

We CAN acknowledge how we feel; either by journaling, calling a friend, emailing me or just shouting out loud (weird YES, but surprisingly effective).

We can also take action on how we feel, most of the time. Let's say we're stressed about work. Eating Bon Bon's isn't going to make our work problems actually go away, is it?

The challenge is that eating is so damn easy. It's reliable. And it doesn't require any effort at all.

Anytime we want to suppress feelings, we eat. That's a habit.

Now here's the tricky part: I'm usually not reaching for a piece of fish and brown rice when I'm upset. No. I crave the infamous trio of 'SSF'.

What's that?

Sugary, salty and fatty foods.

And when we reach for 'SSF' foods - that can override our brain's natural ability to regulate itself.

Studies have proven this over and over. Give rats what they typically eat, and they eventually feel full and stop eating. Give rats Fruit Loops and they can't stop eating them. They will even incur DANGER! to get the Fruit Loops or any other highly sugary, fatty and salty food!

"But I'm not a rat!" you shout.

Well, it's true in humans, too.

So by reaching for highly salty/sugary/fatty snacks when we want to suppress feelings, we're asking for double trouble, trouble (see what I did there?).

This doesn't have to do with will power...

As Jeff Garlin noted, once he eats one doughnut, he can't stop!

So here's my slight challenge to those who can use it: Next time you feel out of control and want to use food to change the way you feel, acknowledge what you're doing - but instead of choosing junk, choose healthy food. (It's much easier to replace eating junk with healthy food rather than trying not to eat at all.)

Just make that change for now.

(And yes, if you can resist using food altogether, that's ideal!)

-Adam

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Using food to cope with your life is what stops you from losing weight and keeping it off. MBT provides you with the system and unconditional support to permanently give up food as a way to soothe yourself.

MBT works because you'll finally deal with the true source of your hunger. Instead of counting calories - you'll learn WHY you overeat or have uncontrollable hunger, and what you can do about it.

We've helped countless people break free from emotional eating...

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