Is every act of eating too much gluttony?

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beginagainwithjoy

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I struggle with the sin of gluttony, and I did confess it at my last confession two weeks ago. (It had been my first time back to confession in years.) I am obese.

I suppose the question is, because I am obese, is every act of eating more than you need the mortal sin of gluttony? For instance, I had two slices of pizza and 5 breadsticks over the course of about an hour. Obviously, I didn’t need to eat all of that, just as no one needs to eat all of that, but with my particular circumstances, is it mortally sinful?

Overall, I am working on this, and my weight is on a downward trend. However, I beat myself up now over every time I have a little more of something. I do not eat until stuffed or sick now, though obviously, since I am obese, I ate until stuffed PLENTY of times before. I got here by eating too much and moving too little.

Any tips/advice/suggestions, especially if you’ve made progress with overcoming this sin, would be so helpful! And I absolutely will talk with my priest at my next confession about my concerns/struggle to get his advice as well. Thanks!
 
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If you have a medical condition due to your obesity, in which your fat cells are crying for more food, I would not think that overeating is a sin. However, it is certainly not healthy for you. I would suggest that, in addition to talking with your priest, you get in touch with a good gastroenterologist who can devise a medically sound weight-loss program that you can follow so you will not always be hungry.
 
I’d say it’s a sin only if you’re habitually aware you at capacity for a meal but still force a few bites anyway.

Keep in mind, when these sins were created, the world was largely agrarian or nomadic so long term food availability was always a huge question mark.

Back then, your extra bite took from someone else across the table from you.
 
Apart from a medical condition, you may have a mental health condition like Binge Eating Disorder or Bulimia Nervosa. Mental health conditions are not a sin. But they shouldn’t be ignored, either. Given all of the self-loathing you seem to be feeling, a therapist may be a good start.

Many insurance plans also cover referrals to dieticians, who can work with you to plan menus that keep you healthy and full. When you shift over to high-protein and high-fiber meals with whole foods, even if it means snacking every couple of hours, you’ll find that you crave carbs less and no longer experience that whole crash-and-crave cycle.
 
If you’re obese then you have a medical condition. This means any questions on diet belongs to your doctor, not on some Internet forum. This is not a question of sin or gluttony but of health. Consult your doctor and follow his advice. None of us here can make a judgment on gluttony.
 
My question was regarding the morality of eating in excess, not asking for medical advice. I am a sensible person, and I have talked to my doctor about the eating problem and diet recommendations and will continue to do so. But thank you for your reply.
 
I don’t have any self-loathing. I beat myself up when I have a bit too much, as I feel guilty about it, but I certainly don’t hate myself or anything. 🙂 Everyone has their struggles; this is mine.

However, a therapist could definitely be helpful in changing behaviors and attitudes toward food, so that’s definitely a helpful suggestion. Thank you!
 
And my answer stands. None of us know what is too much or too little for you. I eat two or three or four slices of pizza too. I eat chips. I bring none of that to confession. I have absolutely no guilt over any of that and I do not accuse myself of gluttony. And yet I know I can survive on two pizza slices.

That may not be the same for you. As I said this is not a moral question. It is a health question. unless someone repeatedly runs to a washroom to vomit out the food to eat some more, I am loathe to impute the sin of gluttony to anybody.
 
No, every act of eating is not gluttony, but stuffing yourself way beyond what is needed to survive is. I once confessed that sin during re-concilliation and I head a chuckle from the priest when I said it. I guess not too many people confess that particular offense.
 
Ah, okay. I get what you’re saying. Thanks for your (name removed by moderator)ut. 🙂
 
Episcopalian said:
when these sins were created,
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??? Sins “created”?

We should not eat more than we need for health - unless there is some extraordinary reason. In this case, it is important, it seems, to eat LESS… see a doctor and follow his or her directions, and you will be alright. Stop when you’re not hungry anymore and you know you won’t be in distress (more than “hungry”) before the next meal… that is generally the good path.
 
My advice, and this may or may not be popular here, is that you have a medical condition, and beating yourself up/ imparting sin or guilt to your food choices is not going to be helpful psychologically or helpful in changing your eating habits. Often people are overeating because of some emotional baggage anyway, and it’s more helpful to de-emotionalize eating, not add more emotions by making it into a sin and then worrying about its being mortal. Unfortunately we constantly see food being associated with all sorts of baggage including sin in order to advertise and sell it (“sinfully rich” chocolate dessert for example) so a lot of people just buy into the mindset.

From an objective standpoint, it’s debatable whether 2 slices of pizza and 5 breadsticks are gluttony in today’s society, unless that was all your family of 3 had available for dinner and you ate it all yourself and didn’t give your family members any, which I doubt was the case. It’s true that 2 slices of pizza and 5 breadsticks probably aren’t a good choice for someone who is trying to diet, but going off a diet is not the same as gluttony.

I would recommend that you work with a doctor and nutritionist and if necessary a counselor on your weight loss issue. It’s not really a moral issue.
 
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:grin:When you look at old paintings the people look fat, to emphesize the prosperity status, because in old times too many poor people had not enough food, that’s actually the reason that epidemics were killing so many, because of low immune system.
Majority of people did not eat enough.
Modern standard are totally different, you can be from high society and look skinny like model.
It’s a modern standards of beauty. 😁

I think the people on the West can’t even imagine what a great problem is overeating, gluttony, not healthy, not proper nutrition.
The stomach screams from an oversupply, and we again and again put it into it. Overeating and unmovable-life lifestyle is a serious problem.
A lot of diseases on this background, even among young people.
So, yes the regime, healthy food, simple but healthy food is important.
Physical activity and sport are an important element of a healthy life.👍
 
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Modern Catholic Dictionary:

GLUTTONY. Inordinate desire for the pleasure connected with food or drink. This desire may become sinful in various ways: by eating or drinking far more than a person needs to maintain bodily strength; by glutting one’s taste for certain kinds of food with known detriment to health; by indulging the appetite for exquisite food or drink, especially when these are beyond one’s ability to afford a luxurious diet; by eating or drinking too avidly, i.e., ravenously; by consuming alcoholic beverages to the point of losing full control of one’s reasoning powers. Intoxication that ends in complete loss of reason is a mortal sin if brought on without justification, e.g., for medical reasons. (Etym. Latin glutire , to devour.)
 
beginagainwithjoy said:
My question was regarding the morality of eating in excess, not asking for medical advice. I am a sensible person, and I have talked to my doctor about the eating problem and diet recommendations and will continue to do so. But thank you for your reply.
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If you’re trying to discern if you sinned and to what degree, that’s really a question for a priest, not anonymous internet people.

That said, as Episcopalian mentioned, people thought about gluttony very differently 2000 years ago. Back then, food shortages were a constant danger. You taking more than you need meant that the guy next door might not get anything. Today, in the developed world, that’s less of an issue. Even relatively poor people have easy access to calorie dense foods (but, sadly, less access to healthy foods…)
 
Thanks, everyone. Looking back, I think I was a tad scrupulous about one particular incident without looking at the picture in it’s entirety. Though it was too much for one sitting, I didn’t eat anything for 4-5 hours before, nor at least 6 hours after (at which point I went to bed), so overall for the day, I did not overeat.
 
I love eating. I eat to much sometimes, Normally dinner. I do not feel guilty about this at all. I think I sleep better on a Overfull stomach! But then, I normally only eat Breakfast and dinner. I have never brought this up in confession and I do not think you need to either.
 
Not for nothing, but a lot of research has gone into exploring how the foods we eat are frequently produced with the goal of stimulating appetite. It’s disturbing once you realize how much of our decision making process with regards to food is influenced or controlled by marketing speaking directly to strong subconscious urges. Hunger, being absolutely tied to survival, is am extremely powerful thing to mess with.

So I’m saying don’t beat yourself up for your very normal urge to satisfy these induced cravings. The challenge is to learn about how hunger is promoted and enhanced so you can recognize it better and counter it with a conscious choice.
 
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