Below are the 7 common types of eaters. It should be expected that they may overlap, but many of us have a predominat type. What type of eater are you? Knowing your propensity will help you to make plans and/or set appropriate boundaries that keep you healthy and safe. It will also provide information into deeper emotional work to help you make peace and develop a healthier realtionship with food.
1. Chaotic Eater: This type of eater has no routine and frequently skips meals. They are overscheduled and tend to eat on the run. They have no memory of how much or what they have just eaten. They eat what is available and never plan ahead.
2. Unconscious Eater: This type of eater is similar to a chaotic eater. They usually eat while doing other things such as working, reading, talking, watching TV or driving. They also eat whatever is available and rarely can identify if they are hungry or full.
3. Emotional Eater: This type of eater uses food to cope with or avoid their feelings. Food is numbing for them and they feel powerless around food. They do know they eat too much but often will not realize it until after eating.
4. Waste Not Eater: This type of eater hates to see food go to waste and is always on the lookout for a deal. They overeat most often when food is available in abundance, such as all-you-can-eat buffets. In the long run, the biggest cost will be on their health.
5. Refuse Not Eater: This type of eater cannot refuse food for fear they would offend or disappoint someone. As a result, they give other people power over what and how much food they eat rather than listening to their own hunger and fullness levels.
6. Restrictive Eater: This type of eater is always on a diet and creates new good and bad food lists just as often. They are vigilant about reading labels, weighing and measuring food which usually leads to vacillating between under eating and bingeing. They get very little pleasure out of eating, are fearful of eating with others or food prepared by others, and are constantly concerned with what they will eat next.
7. Intuitive Eater: This type of eater is conscious of their bodys hunger signals. They eat until they are satisfied and have no fear of overeating. They trust themselves around food and experience no guilt about eating food they enjoy. They are conscious and mindful of their food choices, which are mostly in favor of their health.
Tomorrow we offer more insight into Intuitive Eating.
*Adapted from Intuitive Eating