I well remember at one point, in my varied life, taking an interest in Jungian psychology, some thirty years ago. This is considered something of an esoteric practice - Freud is the man, not Jung - and people are advised not to venture on their own. Jungian analysts, however, are highly regarded. It is something of an achievement to practice as a Jungian and the entrance criteria for training are very high.
The memory that is strong for me is watching a woman analyst on television, discuss eating disorders. Her take on anorexia-bulimia was very interesting: it is not an issue about food - although everybody eats - but about control, and this within the individual psyche. Someone breaking out of a diet to binge is reasserting control over his/her deportment. The process is violent and liberating, the denied one is staging a palace coup. This is also why people who fail at diets report feeling powerless. The dieter is powerless: this is the price paid for the individual's own freedom.
Bottom line, when sticking to a regimen is starting to get tough, there may be strategies to help out. To get out of the control bind, I have recently started using randomness. At 5 in the evening, when dinner planning becomes an issue, I make two mental meals and assign each to a coin throw option: heads I eat this, tails I eat that. I flip and that's what it's gonna be. I'm never entirely happy with the outcome because each meal is a mix of healthy and fun foods, but each mix is different. If I don't get banana pud tonight I might get it tomorrow. The diet is still on.
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