Did anyone have experience with eating even when you are full?How can we overcome taavas achile?

I realize that you are addressing the complex topic of eating disorders, something that applies to some people and not others. But I have a comment that is suitable for anybody - whether they have an eating disorder or not.

You mentioned being asked / expected to "finish off the chulent". There is a prohibition of "bal tashchis" which means that we cannot discard food. However, a person's body is kadosh - it is wrong to make one's own body into a garbage can. As part of "vi'nishmartem mi'od..." we have an obligation to keep the bodies that Hashem gave us healthy.

If you feel the desire to "finish off the chulent" when you know you've already eaten plenty, there may be a medical problem. But especially for the times that you DON'T feel like eating more but someone is asking you to finish the food as a favor in order to avoid discarding it, it is much better to say "the food was great but now I'm full".

If you are a compulsive eater, you cannot intellectualize it away. You need a program of action. Compulsive eating can destroy lives, health, and relationships. I highly recommend checking out the Overeaters Anonymous website www.oa.org or OA groups near you. Compulsive eating is a disease of the spirit and mind as well as the body. Before I learned to eat abstinently and live a healthy life, I would eat even if I was full to the point of pain, even if I didn't even notice what I was eating or how it tasted, just so long as I could eat it. Now I eat to appreciate the wonderful foods Hash-m has given me and daven to learn what Hash-m wants me to do to fulfill a healthy, happy, useful life.

Shlomo, I am overweight, and so is my daughter with Down syndrome-- so I am trying to increase BOTH of ourselves awareness. kids with DS have an added problem that their basal metabulism rate is about 10% less than others.
There is a dietician who has written VERY good ideas on how to reach teens with DS. Her name is Joan Medlen, the book is published by Woodbinehouse publishers

http://www.woodbinehouse.com/search_results.asp?PAGE=3&txtsearchParamTxt=&txtsearchParamCat=29&txtsearchParamType=ALL&iLevel=1&txtsearchParamMan=ALL&txtsearchParamVen=ALL&txtFromSearch=fromSearch&btnSearch.x=12&btnSearch.y=4

Dr Lynn, Your idea of writing in a journal is a very good one but it won't work for me.
I am a very depressed person and s/times I am soo depressed that I say to myself, that I'm sooo depressed that I won't eat a/thing today, I end up eating double.
I don't like writing in a journal or diary. I am very not in touch with my emotions and don't like to talk about myself in a journal or diary.

Ernie, I see a therapist once a week.
She has helped me alot and says that I improved in alot of areas..
but it takes forever till I see some progress.. it's tough.
seeing here more often is not an option, she has a very busy schedule.
seeing s/one else is not an option either as I have no money and work full time.

Ernie, thanx for the feedback.
Changing therapist is veeerry hard for me, I did it a year ago and actually went the whole summer w/out therapy and it was very bad then, I had needed it badly and bec. I wasn't getting it ended up much worse, I could've gone for the summer but it took me a very long time to have the courage to start with the new one, I liked the old one alot but she was gonna be on maternity leave and she gave me the choice of 2 others, It's very hard for me to open up again to s/one new and tell them my long megillahs. finally at the end end of the summer, s/one pulled me into her office and said, there you are, try it out. I tried it and didn't want to go back to the old one. I liked the old one but the current one works with a diff. approach which I like better, I don't think I will change again, I feel she is helping me, I think if I would've have more time with her I could get more done, by the time I finish telling her what went on that week we don't have time for any solution seeking. it's tough.

Also if I would be able to stand up for myself I could've had more done by now and wouldn't be in such a bad state (I'm talking about other issues, not just overeating)

Thanx Ernie, I replied.

I also lost and gained back. For a while I kept saying, "I CAN do it myself." Finally one day I said, "Well, you're NOT doing it yourself, so go to a diet group!" And so far I have lost 15 kilo.:D Anyway, to lose weight and stick to it, you need to want to lose MORE than you want to eat.

In addition to a group, I think a diet diary for at least a few weeks
should be attempted. Write WHAT you eat, WHEN you eat, WHY
you eat (feeling, are you full or not, etc.)
This type of diary can be very useful. It helps you see patterns
in things that are triggering the behavior. For example, I
discovered that being tired was and is a big trigger in overeating,
as well as emotional upset. There is not too much I can do to
decrease tension-causing behavior in family members, but the
TIREDNESS may be much more controllable. I discovered that
one of my best stategies to avoid overeating was a nap in the
afternoon.
TIREDNESS may not be a trigger for you- but by making a diary
you can search for things that DO trigger eating behavior, and
then you can try and find a way to deal with these triggers.