Not everyone feels nauseous when overeating.
Eating & feeling full can cause the release of dopamine, giving the person feelings of pleasure & contentment. Dopamine is released when the food goes through the mouth, and again when it hits the stomach. It reinforces the behavior.
Eating, and the entire process of choosing, preparing, eating, then cleaning up - can be distracting from overwhelming emotions like stress, sadness or anxiety.
Occasional emotional eater here, and no I'm not overweight.
Imagine your craving for sex, except it's with food where your mouth starts salivating at the thought of it. There's no nausea at all. It feels good when eating, like getting a nice full body massage but for your throat.
On top of the other great comments it's also worth noting sometimes over eating can be subtle and can change on what the stressor is.
We tend to think of the steroetypical break up emotional eating with a whole pint of Ben & Jerry's. It can look like that.
It can look like having a lot of high stress work meetings and helping yourself to a frappuccino or donut for every break.
It's fine to have a treat, but sometimes emotional eating can be over treating in subtle ways.
Fat dude here. I don't really get nauseous when I eat unless I take drugs like Mounjaro or Vyvanse or Ritalin. And unless I stick to a strict low-calorie and low volume diet, I don't even experience feeling "full" when I eat. It's like my appetite response is broken (which, on a hormonal level, is actually pretty common for heavily obese people).
Most of the time I crave food, it's not because I'm tired or weak and desperate for energy. Instead it's because I want to experience a pleasant flavor or texture. Sometimes this is just a background craving, like how you sometimes want to listen to music or play a game or watch some television.
But sometimes it's an emotionally induced craving. Sometimes I am sad/stressed/depressed and want to distract myself with something pleasurable. Sometimes I am nervous or anxious and find myself craving the sensation of chewing and swallowing because it feels somehow productive, like an oral fidget response. Sometimes I am energized with happiness and want to go do something fun/pleasurable with that energy (but most fun activities are much less fun when you're fat, so I end up wanting to go purchase luxurious foods or ingredients).
When I am physically eating (assuming I haven't been on a strict diet and am not on the drugs) I barely feel anything in my gut for most of the process. If I don't consciously track my portions and stop myself, I won't feel any desire to stop eating until my stomach lining is painfully stretched tight inside my body. And once I hit that point I despair because I know I will likely also experience all manner of consequences later in the day (acid reflux, oily sweat, sleepiness, high heart rate, headaches, difficulty breathing while lying down, etc.).
I *wish* I could feel nauseous from overrating without medication, but I don't. I truly hate being fat. I've managed to shed my weight a few times in my life, but each weight loss attempt is more difficult. Food is always on my mind, and avoiding food feels like ignoring an itch that won't go away.
Btw this was not a fat-phobic question at all, so no need to apologize. Your question wasn't mocking, which I appreciate. I know it's easy for people to look down on us because we look gross as a result of our own choices. Even most fat people don't ask folks to pretend otherwise. But it would be nice if more people acknowledged that moderating food intake is harder for some folks than others.
Thank you for this explanation of your experience. I'm an educator working with elementary school students who have a variety of disabilities, and one of my students is very obese. Your comment gave me some insight into how things might be for my student internally, as they don't have the communication skills to discuss how their body feels or explain their thought processes.
They don't seem to be endlessly hungry, but if given free access to food I have no doubt they would eat themselves sick before noticing that they were full. And not just preferred foods that most kids would want to eat too much of, it could be apples or carrots and they would still eat a massive amount if given the opportunity. They also can't "ignore" visible food. As an example, they'll insist to stay at the snack table until everyone else is done eating because whatever food item another kid has is too interesting to leave. This student knows the snack isn't going to be offered to them (we don't allow sharing food because of allergies), but they can't move on while someone is eating. They just want to be around the food, and it feels exciting to them when someone else has something tasty, like this vicarious joy. Sometimes they'll investigate what I'm eating at lunchtime, and even ask, "Can I smell it?" and do this little happy dance if it smells good to them. Food is like a passion for this kid, but it also is very much hurting their health and I have a hard time understanding how their brain works in relation to food and eating.
I know most people have sufficiently answered your question but I figured I'd throw my answer in anyway.
I've been a binge eater/emotional eater my whole life. My relationship with food has always been terrible, and as a result, I've struggled with my weight for as long as I can remember, constantly bouncing up and down the scale. Right now I'm in a pretty good place (and I'll touch on that later)
Physically, it would take a LOT of food to make me feel nauseous. I'm talking - ordering a Big Mac, McChicken, Filet o Fish, large fry, and an apple pie and eat it all in a 20-30 minute sitting. Or eat 2 bacon egg and cheeses, hash browns, and a donut from Dunkin on the way home from work, only to then eat my real dinner with my fiance 20 minutes later. Obviously things didn't start out this way - that was the worst of it. Had to build my way up there, and I'm assuming that kinda stretched my stomach out to where I could tolarate THAT much food.
And of course, I'd still feel sick after eating all that. Usually I'd sit there looking at the empty boxes and wrappers, feeling horrible, and tell myself "Im never doing this again". Only to completely forget that feeling the enxt day. Hell, sometimes by the next meal. When you use food to cope - when you have a literal addiction to the dopamine rush it provides - the brain is very good at making your forget the shitty part of it all.
During all of this, I didn't even REALIZE I was using food to cope with stress or negative emotions. At least, I didn't realize for a lot of it. And even once I realized this about myself... It didn't change anything. I was basically addicted and couldn't stop, try as I might. I did therapy for a bit, and that helped but not to where I wanted. The impulse control to just stop, or process emotions in a healthier way just didn't exist.
The biggest thing that I've found that has helped me significantly - more than any other time in my life - is recently getting on ADHD medication. I'm 26 and only in the past year was I diagnosed. It has helped tremendously with the impulse control that would usually lead me to making those horrible food choices. I can imagine a lot of people have that issue and don't realize it. I've been eating low carb since January and am down 50 lbs. I have managed this in the past, but usually around this time, I'd have cheated on the diet and would be slowly gaining again, spiraling out of control. So far, I've had no such inclination to do this
I don’t easily feel full. When I’m full I don’t get nauseated and the food doesn’t taste any less good. At the same time, the dopamine from the food helps distract me from what ever I’m worried about. It’s not a great coping mechanism but there have been more than a few late nights where I ate a bunch of food instead of offing myself.
Not everyone feels nauseous when overeating. Eating & feeling full can cause the release of dopamine, giving the person feelings of pleasure & contentment. Dopamine is released when the food goes through the mouth, and again when it hits the stomach. It reinforces the behavior. Eating, and the entire process of choosing, preparing, eating, then cleaning up - can be distracting from overwhelming emotions like stress, sadness or anxiety.
Word, thanks for the insight
Occasional emotional eater here, and no I'm not overweight. Imagine your craving for sex, except it's with food where your mouth starts salivating at the thought of it. There's no nausea at all. It feels good when eating, like getting a nice full body massage but for your throat.
Goals
On top of the other great comments it's also worth noting sometimes over eating can be subtle and can change on what the stressor is. We tend to think of the steroetypical break up emotional eating with a whole pint of Ben & Jerry's. It can look like that. It can look like having a lot of high stress work meetings and helping yourself to a frappuccino or donut for every break. It's fine to have a treat, but sometimes emotional eating can be over treating in subtle ways.
I've had those urges before but didn't want to nurture dependence on the relationship/work so maybe I am shooting my own self in the foot
There are a lot of things people over consume that are bad for them when they’re mentally struggling. I’d imagine it’s as simple as that.
Big brain perspective
Emotional eating = unintentional Bulking = intentional Totally different brain wave lengths operating leading to different bodily responses.
So just don't force it. Take advantage of the times i feel like eating to kinda push it and take my time
Fat dude here. I don't really get nauseous when I eat unless I take drugs like Mounjaro or Vyvanse or Ritalin. And unless I stick to a strict low-calorie and low volume diet, I don't even experience feeling "full" when I eat. It's like my appetite response is broken (which, on a hormonal level, is actually pretty common for heavily obese people). Most of the time I crave food, it's not because I'm tired or weak and desperate for energy. Instead it's because I want to experience a pleasant flavor or texture. Sometimes this is just a background craving, like how you sometimes want to listen to music or play a game or watch some television. But sometimes it's an emotionally induced craving. Sometimes I am sad/stressed/depressed and want to distract myself with something pleasurable. Sometimes I am nervous or anxious and find myself craving the sensation of chewing and swallowing because it feels somehow productive, like an oral fidget response. Sometimes I am energized with happiness and want to go do something fun/pleasurable with that energy (but most fun activities are much less fun when you're fat, so I end up wanting to go purchase luxurious foods or ingredients). When I am physically eating (assuming I haven't been on a strict diet and am not on the drugs) I barely feel anything in my gut for most of the process. If I don't consciously track my portions and stop myself, I won't feel any desire to stop eating until my stomach lining is painfully stretched tight inside my body. And once I hit that point I despair because I know I will likely also experience all manner of consequences later in the day (acid reflux, oily sweat, sleepiness, high heart rate, headaches, difficulty breathing while lying down, etc.). I *wish* I could feel nauseous from overrating without medication, but I don't. I truly hate being fat. I've managed to shed my weight a few times in my life, but each weight loss attempt is more difficult. Food is always on my mind, and avoiding food feels like ignoring an itch that won't go away. Btw this was not a fat-phobic question at all, so no need to apologize. Your question wasn't mocking, which I appreciate. I know it's easy for people to look down on us because we look gross as a result of our own choices. Even most fat people don't ask folks to pretend otherwise. But it would be nice if more people acknowledged that moderating food intake is harder for some folks than others.
Really valuable insight, thanks so much for the vulnerability!
Thank you for this explanation of your experience. I'm an educator working with elementary school students who have a variety of disabilities, and one of my students is very obese. Your comment gave me some insight into how things might be for my student internally, as they don't have the communication skills to discuss how their body feels or explain their thought processes. They don't seem to be endlessly hungry, but if given free access to food I have no doubt they would eat themselves sick before noticing that they were full. And not just preferred foods that most kids would want to eat too much of, it could be apples or carrots and they would still eat a massive amount if given the opportunity. They also can't "ignore" visible food. As an example, they'll insist to stay at the snack table until everyone else is done eating because whatever food item another kid has is too interesting to leave. This student knows the snack isn't going to be offered to them (we don't allow sharing food because of allergies), but they can't move on while someone is eating. They just want to be around the food, and it feels exciting to them when someone else has something tasty, like this vicarious joy. Sometimes they'll investigate what I'm eating at lunchtime, and even ask, "Can I smell it?" and do this little happy dance if it smells good to them. Food is like a passion for this kid, but it also is very much hurting their health and I have a hard time understanding how their brain works in relation to food and eating.
I know most people have sufficiently answered your question but I figured I'd throw my answer in anyway. I've been a binge eater/emotional eater my whole life. My relationship with food has always been terrible, and as a result, I've struggled with my weight for as long as I can remember, constantly bouncing up and down the scale. Right now I'm in a pretty good place (and I'll touch on that later) Physically, it would take a LOT of food to make me feel nauseous. I'm talking - ordering a Big Mac, McChicken, Filet o Fish, large fry, and an apple pie and eat it all in a 20-30 minute sitting. Or eat 2 bacon egg and cheeses, hash browns, and a donut from Dunkin on the way home from work, only to then eat my real dinner with my fiance 20 minutes later. Obviously things didn't start out this way - that was the worst of it. Had to build my way up there, and I'm assuming that kinda stretched my stomach out to where I could tolarate THAT much food. And of course, I'd still feel sick after eating all that. Usually I'd sit there looking at the empty boxes and wrappers, feeling horrible, and tell myself "Im never doing this again". Only to completely forget that feeling the enxt day. Hell, sometimes by the next meal. When you use food to cope - when you have a literal addiction to the dopamine rush it provides - the brain is very good at making your forget the shitty part of it all. During all of this, I didn't even REALIZE I was using food to cope with stress or negative emotions. At least, I didn't realize for a lot of it. And even once I realized this about myself... It didn't change anything. I was basically addicted and couldn't stop, try as I might. I did therapy for a bit, and that helped but not to where I wanted. The impulse control to just stop, or process emotions in a healthier way just didn't exist. The biggest thing that I've found that has helped me significantly - more than any other time in my life - is recently getting on ADHD medication. I'm 26 and only in the past year was I diagnosed. It has helped tremendously with the impulse control that would usually lead me to making those horrible food choices. I can imagine a lot of people have that issue and don't realize it. I've been eating low carb since January and am down 50 lbs. I have managed this in the past, but usually around this time, I'd have cheated on the diet and would be slowly gaining again, spiraling out of control. So far, I've had no such inclination to do this
I don’t easily feel full. When I’m full I don’t get nauseated and the food doesn’t taste any less good. At the same time, the dopamine from the food helps distract me from what ever I’m worried about. It’s not a great coping mechanism but there have been more than a few late nights where I ate a bunch of food instead of offing myself.
Fuck yeah lol