eating as punishment
we've all heard of stress eating and emotional eating as self medication. but what about as punishment? sometimes i feel guilty because of something silly, like saying something bratty to my boyfriend or forgetting to send a birthday card to my mom, and i binge on m&ms like there is no tomorrow. afterwards, it almost seems like i did it to keep myself from losing weight and therefore keep myself from being happy----because i don't think i deserve it. it's not that i've been denying myself anything, not that i'm not generally happy (i am generally happy!), not that i don't enjoy my meals. it's because i feel guilty for doing something i shouldn't have done.
has anyone else experienced something like this?
There is a lot of reasons why we eat. The saying that being over weight is about more than the food is true for a lot of us. I have punished myself with fastfood. If I have had a bad day at work, I am more likely to gorge out at my next meal. I think that it goes along the same lines as eating to make us feel better.
You have realize that you deserve to be healthy, even if you make mistakes. It sounds like you, or others, place a lot of pressure on you. You may be using food, to exert some control. Find something else to do, to make you feel better. Realize, that we cannot always be perfect, and that is usually part of our charms.
I have a similar problem...or maybe it's emotional eating, I'm not sure. I eat when I'm sad or when I'm scared or when I feel embarrass. And it eventually adds pounds to my body. I don't really know how to fight this either, but all I know is, I have to stop this cycle.
I can't give any specific answer to your problem, but all I know is, we can encourage each other to stop this cycle. So, if I'm in front of computer, I will start googling around to see house's decoration, music, or anything. I even log in to CC and look at the chat room or the lounge!
I wish you good luck with the binge problem! Binge is such an evil enemy!!! 
I understand the punishment theory in general. But when I'm binging, let's face it, the food tastes good! To me that undercuts the punishment theory.
However, I totally relate to sugar-coating hard feelings. What everyone who has written so far here has in common with me is that we feel an uncomfortable feeling (sadness, fear, embarrassment, guilt, shame) and we escape by over-eating binge foods. Foods that distract us, or initiate a state of emotional numbness, whatever it takes to avoid the discomfort of the feelings.
For me it is only as I come out of the self-induced emotional fog that I acknowledge I have abused myself with food, once again. The self-loathing then really kicks in, potentially triggering another need to escape feelings and another binge. Vicious cycle.
The key is to stop the cycle where it starts - the desire to avoid unpleasant emotions. Feel the feelings, don't feed them. That's my mantra (well, one of them anyway. I have a serious eating problem, so I need a lot of quotes, sayings and cliches to hold me up!).
We all have our own coping strategies, and this is your own coping strategy for your feelings. It may not be 100% healthy for you, yet there are many in your own shoes who can relate to this post.
Food tends to be the 1st choice for many in your situation. Sugar tends to be the centre to numbing the feelings of pain, guilt and hurt. Over-eating/binging is what distracts you, and tends to be your comfort when nobody else is around. Im sure everybody has experienced a self-induced emotional beast that has been released at some time. It’s just human.
I know that during my eating disorder, I used emotional eating as a way to comfort myself. I felt it numbed a part of my life for a minute and that for one second I was able to escape reality and free myself. Then of course.. reality kicks in. So even though my past situation is different to yourself, I completely understand!
Don’t beat yourself up. What happened has happened. My suggestion is finding other coping strategies. Some may be:
A rubber band: Keep a rubber band or elastic around your wrist, so every time you feel the urge to binge or over-indulge, whack it on yourself. I don’t usually suggest this, but when everything else fails, you will be surprised it works!
Exercise: Go for walk. Buy a skipping rope. Kick a ball. Run a block. Hire some exercises movies/DVDs. Pump up the music and dance like an idiot. Exercise has been known to release endorphins which may be why many are addicted to exercise!
Keep a Journal: Write your emotions and feelings down. Get it off your chest. If nobody’s there to listen, at least your journal can be your crying comfort!
Take a bath: Relax and evaluate your situations. Soak in a nice warm tub (with lots of bubbles and a couple of magazines!) to take your mind of things. Once your calm, you may be able to see situations a little better and cope with it in a different manner.
We are all here for your support. Keep smiling love :) !
xx
This is emotional eating! I do it all the time, when i feel like crap or I have to face something i dont want to i eat!!! and heaps so its almost like i cant go out and thats my excuse for not getting it done! ' oh well cant go now cos i feel like crap or im too full cant move'.
Just stop breathe and try and control it. Easier said than done hey
Its about facing what you are trying to avoid
thank you, everyone.
how did you think of the rubber band idea? it WORKS! 
Magic my friend, magic 
eheh xx
yuyuyuyuyu, the title of your post really caught my attention. That's because I do the same thing to myself. Whenever I did something bad, I binge to 'punish' myself so I would get fat. I wish I could help you, but I'm still going through that issue.
As has been said this is still emotional eating. I think some people correlate "emotional eating" with "sad" "bored" "angry" or "tired" but, actually, some people emotionally eat even when they are happy ("I feel good so I deserve that cake! And this bag of cookies. And...") or, as you describe, out of guilt for any reason.
What I can tell you is no matter what you may have done, no matter whom you may have hurt, you hurt yourself by bingeing. If you want to put right something you have done, don't use food. Use your voice. Say sorry. Make amends for it in a way that may or may not be obvious - whether that means apologising for the bratty comment directly or buying your boyfriend a small present, or, where you forgot the card, buying your mum lunch instead.
But punishing yourself with food is only going to result in a vicious circle of sadness and more guilt, which isn't worth it nor is it productive. Love yourself even if you make an error, and you can quickly things right again.
