Ever noticed how poor people are often really big? And when someone starts to lose weight suddenly their finances and other aspects of their life start to come together? I have seen this trend with family, friends and especially myself. Can you relate to this too?
This scary pattern is no isolated incident. Many people I know fall into the same trap. Poor money decisions and poor food decisions seem to go hand in hand.
This trend is not limited to binge-purge eating patterns. Other eating disorders are also mirrored by attitudes to money. How many obese women do you know who are spendthrifts in spite of being very wealthy? On some level they have a fear of lack or famine and therefore hoard food and money.
All this means that when one gets their weight in control other areas of their lives will improve. The solution to disordered eating/spending lies in personal discipline and self-control. A diet or a budget may be a useful tool, but you really need to get to the bottom of why you eat/spend so much and then work to achieve a balance.
After some introspection I found that my relationship with money is very similar to my relationship with food. I have had disordered eating for most of my life and a lot of money problems. I suffer from a binge-purge type of disorder. Basically, eating everything in sight and then working out for hours or starving for days to try and undo the damage. This pattern is so strange but I put my body through the extremes of excess and lack.
My spending habits seem to follow a similar pattern. Splurging on the latest handbag or shoes, purchasing on credit and then counting my pennies two weeks later when I can't make rent. Oscillating between excess and lack is obviously present in most aspects of my life but most apparent in the my eating and spending habits.
The question I have for my psychotherapist is "How do I deal with this?".
I am getting deeper into debt and every year a few pounds heavier.
This scary pattern is no isolated incident. Many people I know fall into the same trap. Poor money decisions and poor food decisions seem to go hand in hand.
This trend is not limited to binge-purge eating patterns. Other eating disorders are also mirrored by attitudes to money. How many obese women do you know who are spendthrifts in spite of being very wealthy? On some level they have a fear of lack or famine and therefore hoard food and money.
All this means that when one gets their weight in control other areas of their lives will improve. The solution to disordered eating/spending lies in personal discipline and self-control. A diet or a budget may be a useful tool, but you really need to get to the bottom of why you eat/spend so much and then work to achieve a balance.
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