Imagine for a moment, a person who is trying their hardest not to think of clowns. Imagine further that they are sitting ringside at the circus. Of course this is a pretty silly hypothetical situation. If a person really didn't want to think of clowns, they would never choose to go to the circus.

Now imagine you are trying to recover from years of binge eating and extreme obesity. You want to recover because you are unhappy and your health is seriously jeopardized. Now imagine you are sitting in front of a television watching picture after picture of delicious foods. Imagine that they are being presented in ways designed specifically to entice you into buying and eating them. Sadly, this is not such a silly hypothetical situation. It's exactly what I was doing to myself on a daily basis.

Television programming is saturated with marketing for fast foods, junk food, sugary drinks, and highly processed convenience foods. Very few commercial breaks are free of advertisements for food and drink. Many are nothing more than a series of commercials for food. Manufacturers even pay to have their products seen within the programming itself. Television is a medium whereby advertisers can bombard the market (you and I) with messages tempting us to use their products. Sometimes in obvious ways, and sometimes in ways that aren't so obvious.

"Television ... is a medium of entertainment which permits millions of people to listen to the same joke at the same time, and yet remain lonesome."
 ~~ T. S. Eliot

A classic time that people with compulsive eating disorders have problems with cravings and binging is in the evening. But what do most of us do in the evening? We watch TV. I use to sit and watch TV almost every evening, all evening. Try counting the number of times food is advertised the next time you are watching your favorite show. How many times was food advertised? How many times was the same advertisement repeated?

Advertisers know that when we are watching TV, our bodies (and our minds) are basically inactive. Our eyes don't have to travel far in their sockets. We stare straight forward as the images and sounds are shoved toward us. There's little to distract our attention from the screen. Most programs are stories, while enjoyable, they are not particularly thought provoking. Essentially, when we are sitting and watching the TV, we've turned off our minds to some degree. This puts us in a very vulnerable position. We are positioned physically and emotionally in about the best way possible to be subject to the enticing images and clever sales pitches. They are meant to make our mouths water and trigger our hunger signals.

"The principle contributor to loneliness in this country is television. What happens is that the family gets together, alone."
 ~~ Ashley Montagu

Consider the classic image of a hypnotist. He gets a person to focus on a shiny watch while he speaks in a pleasing voice. He directs the subjects attention to the watch and then uses the power of suggestion to manipulate their will. Think about that in the context of television advertising. Think about that in the context of trying to not obsess about food and eating.

What length are you really willing to go to change your life? Perhaps in the early days of recovery you could rent videos to escape the commercials. You might try blocking out the commercial channels that are funded by advertisements if your system is capable of that. You might try taping your favorite shows and watching them only when you are among supportive friends. Better yet, consider reading a book or working on a hobby in the evenings. Take an evening walk. Get active. You don't have to spend time in front of the TV set each evening.