--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was a compulsive eater in my late teens…" description: "\"I was a compulsive eater in my late teens and until I wrote Diet for a Small Planet, so I know what it feels like when food becomes a threat.\" — France..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d39/frances-moore-lapp-4271_compulsive_i-was-a-compulsive-eater-in-my-late-teen_2095826.png" --- # I was a compulsive eater in my late teens and until I… ![“I was a compulsive eater in my late teens and until I wrote Diet for a Small Planet, so I know what it feels like when food becomes a threat.” quote by Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d39/frances-moore-lapp-4271_compulsive_i-was-a-compulsive-eater-in-my-late-teen_2095826.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d39/frances-moore-lapp-4271_compulsive_i-was-a-compulsive-eater-in-my-late-teen_2095826.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d39/frances-moore-lapp-4271_compulsive_i-was-a-compulsive-eater-in-my-late-teen_2095826.png) > “I was a compulsive eater in my late teens and until I wrote Diet for a Small Planet, so I know what it feels like when food becomes a threat.” [Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Food can become a source of anxiety when it turns into a threat to health. **In simple terms:** Food can feel threatening and cause anxiety. Key Takeaway Recognize and address food‑related stress. Themes health nutrition anxiety Mood empathetic concerned Type educational supportive When to use this quote - diet planning - mental health counseling - weight management - public health policy Key Concepts psychology of eating food security Questions to Reflect On - What triggers your anxiety around food? - How can you reframe food as nourishment? A Different Perspective Stigma around eating disorders may hinder open discussion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compulsive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compulsive/) [Compulsive Eater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compulsive-eater-709111/) [Diet Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diet-small-4164757/) [Diets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diets/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Food Threat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food-threat-4164758/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/late/) [Planets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planets/) [Teens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teens/) [Threat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/threat/) [Wrote Diet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrote-diet-4164756/) ## Related quotes > [My children threw me a life line: "Return to your roots - food - and rewrite your first book, Diet for a Small Planet."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/my-children-threw-me-a-life-line-return-to-your-roots-food-and/) [Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) > [ The reality is \[in\] any emotional situation, a compulsive eater eats or an alcoholic drinks. What people misunderstand is that when you're a compulsive… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-garlin/the-reality-is-in-any-emotional-situation-a-compulsive-eater-eats-or/) [Jeff Garlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-garlin/) > [I'm, like, a compulsive eater. I'm going to be so fat when I'm older, it's ridiculous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pattinson/i-m-like-a-compulsive-eater-i-m-going-to-be-so-fat-when-i-m-older-it/) [Robert Pattinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pattinson/) > [I began reading cook books when I was six, cause my father had hundreds of cook books in the kitchen. I was obsessed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-simmons/i-began-reading-cook-books-when-i-was-six-cause-my-father-had/) [Richard Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-simmons/) > [“Compulsive behavior occurs when the urge to act out is greater than our will to say no. Recovery then, is the process of reversing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-stark/compulsive-behavior-occurs-when-the-urge-to-act-out-is-greater-than/) [Roger Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-stark/) > [The compulsive, obsessive, high-end, achieving people, those are the ones that keep pushing harder. I'll name you the greatest players I ever coached, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urban-meyer/the-compulsive-obsessive-high-end-achieving-people-those-are-the-ones/) [Urban Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urban-meyer/) > [I'm pretty obsessive-compulsive, and I'm very fast. I tend to not write for a long period of time until I can't not write, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rapp/i-m-pretty-obsessive-compulsive-and-i-m-very-fast-i-tend-to-not-write/) [Adam Rapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rapp/) > [I wrote my first novel in the same conditions as most first novelists - I had a full-time job, I shared an apartment, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-dee/i-wrote-my-first-novel-in-the-same-conditions-as-most-first-novelists/) [Jonathan Dee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-dee/) > [Thinking is compulsive: you can't stop, or so it seems. It is also addictive: you don't even want to stop, at least not until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/thinking-is-compulsive-you-can-t-stop-or-so-it-seems-it-is-also/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Manchester United could have any goalkeeper in the world. I was a 23-year-old kid from New Jersey who, from an early age, had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-howard/manchester-united-could-have-any-goalkeeper-in-the-world-i-was-a-23/) [Tim Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-howard/) > [“Pharaohs It took Khufu twenty-three years to build his Great Pyramid at Giza, where some eleven hundred stone blocks, each weighing about two and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/pharaohs-it-took-khufu-twenty-three-years-to-build-his-great-pyramid/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [Whenever you are immersed in compulsive thinking, you are avoiding what is. You don't want to be where you are. Here, Now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/whenever-you-are-immersed-in-compulsive-thinking-you-are-avoiding/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“I lean my head back and stare at the stark white ceiling. “My friend Zoe used to say I had obsessive compulsive disorder when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siobhan-davis/i-lean-my-head-back-and-stare-at-the-stark-white-ceiling-my-friend/) [Siobhan Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siobhan-davis/) > [I don't feel I'm a compulsive person. I multitask. I'm really well-organised, and I have lots of people to help me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cumming/i-don-t-feel-i-m-a-compulsive-person-i-multitask-i-m-really-well/) [Alan Cumming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cumming/) > [“The fact that compulsive drives for success will arise only in a competitive culture does not make them any less neurotic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-horney/the-fact-that-compulsive-drives-for-success-will-arise-only-in-a/) [Karen Horney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-horney/) ## More by Frances Moore Lappé > [Hunger is a people-made phenomenon, so the central issue is power: the power of those who make the decisions about what is grown and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/hunger-is-a-people-made-phenomenon-so-the-central-issue-is-power-the/) [Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) > [Beauty exists irrespective of financial circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/beauty-exists-irrespective-of-financial-circumstances/) [Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) > [What is different and exciting is how much we have learned. We learned we were right that we don't need the chemical model of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/what-is-different-and-exciting-is-how-much-we-have-learned-we-learned/) [Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) > [We hear, "Oh, we need to patent GMOs and develop new strains and new chemicals because Nature can't provide what we need." I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/we-hear-oh-we-need-to-patent-gmos-and-develop-new-strains-and-new/) [Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) > [The good life may mean doing some things that do not feel comfortable. It may mean sitting long hours just with yourself as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/the-good-life-may-mean-doing-some-things-that-do-not-feel-comfortable/) [Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) > [That's what happened when my own life crumbled. The people who came into my life bolstered me to take more risks, to be even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/that-s-what-happened-when-my-own-life-crumbled-the-people-who-came/) [Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) > [If we cannot know what's possible, then we are free to do that which is pulling our hearts and that which is life serving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/if-we-cannot-know-what-s-possible-then-we-are-free-to-do-that-which/) [Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) > [ I never like to use those terms \[like pessimistic\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/i-never-like-to-use-those-terms-like-pessimistic/) [Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) > [My path has not been smooth. But the great thing about getting to be an elder is that you can look back and see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/my-path-has-not-been-smooth-but-the-great-thing-about-getting-to-be/) [Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) > [Old models of farming with chemicals and credit mostly favored privileged men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/old-models-of-farming-with-chemicals-and-credit-mostly-favored/) [Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) > [What an extraordinary time to be alive. We're the first people on our planet to have real choice: we can continue killing each other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/what-an-extraordinary-time-to-be-alive-we-re-the-first-people-on-our/) [Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) > [Honest hope has an edge. It's messy. It requires that we let go of all pat answers, all preconceived formulas, all confidence that our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/honest-hope-has-an-edge-it-s-messy-it-requires-that-we-let-go-of-all/) [Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) > [Because we are living in a culture increasingly dominated by fear where many feel blocked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/because-we-are-living-in-a-culture-increasingly-dominated-by-fear/) [Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) > [What we see today is a world movement represented by the World Social Forum, involving all sorts of interactions across cultures, not to create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/what-we-see-today-is-a-world-movement-represented-by-the-world-social/) [Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) > [The problem is that our whole tribe - if you will, the larger community of humanity itself - is on a death march ecologically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/the-problem-is-that-our-whole-tribe-if-you-will-the-larger-community/) [Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) [Explore all 113 Frances Moore Lappé quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) ## More Compulsive quotes > [“The fact that compulsive drives for success will arise only in a competitive culture does not make them any less neurotic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-horney/the-fact-that-compulsive-drives-for-success-will-arise-only-in-a/) [Karen Horney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-horney/) > [I don't feel I'm a compulsive person. I multitask. I'm really well-organised, and I have lots of people to help me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cumming/i-don-t-feel-i-m-a-compulsive-person-i-multitask-i-m-really-well/) [Alan Cumming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cumming/) > [“I lean my head back and stare at the stark white ceiling. “My friend Zoe used to say I had obsessive compulsive disorder when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siobhan-davis/i-lean-my-head-back-and-stare-at-the-stark-white-ceiling-my-friend/) [Siobhan Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siobhan-davis/) > [Whenever you are immersed in compulsive thinking, you are avoiding what is. You don't want to be where you are. Here, Now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/whenever-you-are-immersed-in-compulsive-thinking-you-are-avoiding/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“Pharaohs It took Khufu twenty-three years to build his Great Pyramid at Giza, where some eleven hundred stone blocks, each weighing about two and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/pharaohs-it-took-khufu-twenty-three-years-to-build-his-great-pyramid/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [Manchester United could have any goalkeeper in the world. I was a 23-year-old kid from New Jersey who, from an early age, had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-howard/manchester-united-could-have-any-goalkeeper-in-the-world-i-was-a-23/) [Tim Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-howard/) > [Thinking is compulsive: you can't stop, or so it seems. It is also addictive: you don't even want to stop, at least not until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/thinking-is-compulsive-you-can-t-stop-or-so-it-seems-it-is-also/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [I wrote my first novel in the same conditions as most first novelists - I had a full-time job, I shared an apartment, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-dee/i-wrote-my-first-novel-in-the-same-conditions-as-most-first-novelists/) [Jonathan Dee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-dee/) > [I'm pretty obsessive-compulsive, and I'm very fast. I tend to not write for a long period of time until I can't not write, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rapp/i-m-pretty-obsessive-compulsive-and-i-m-very-fast-i-tend-to-not-write/) [Adam Rapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rapp/) > [The compulsive, obsessive, high-end, achieving people, those are the ones that keep pushing harder. I'll name you the greatest players I ever coached, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urban-meyer/the-compulsive-obsessive-high-end-achieving-people-those-are-the-ones/) [Urban Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urban-meyer/) > [I'm, like, a compulsive eater. I'm going to be so fat when I'm older, it's ridiculous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pattinson/i-m-like-a-compulsive-eater-i-m-going-to-be-so-fat-when-i-m-older-it/) [Robert Pattinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pattinson/) > [“Compulsive behavior occurs when the urge to act out is greater than our will to say no. Recovery then, is the process of reversing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-stark/compulsive-behavior-occurs-when-the-urge-to-act-out-is-greater-than/) [Roger Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-stark/) > [My roommate and my boyfriend, they both know I am compulsive and controlling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-ricci/my-roommate-and-my-boyfriend-they-both-know-i-am-compulsive-and/) [Christina Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-ricci/) > [The impulse to write things down is a peculiarly compulsive one, inexplicable to those who do not share it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/the-impulse-to-write-things-down-is-a-peculiarly-compulsive-one/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I'm quite compulsive about exercise. For two months, I'll exercise every day, then for three months I'll do nothing. I love food, so exercise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-de-la-baume/i-m-quite-compulsive-about-exercise-for-two-months-i-ll-exercise/) [Josephine de La Baume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-de-la-baume/) [Browse all 126 Compulsive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compulsive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was a compulsive eater in my late teens and until I wrote Diet for a Small Planet, so I know what it feels like when food becomes a threat.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frances Moore Lappé" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/i-was-a-compulsive-eater-in-my-late-teens-and-until-i-wrote-diet-for/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Compulsive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/i-was-a-compulsive-eater-in-my-late-teens-and-until-i-wrote-diet-for/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d39/frances-moore-lapp-4271_compulsive_i-was-a-compulsive-eater-in-my-late-teen_2095826.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d39/frances-moore-lapp-4271_compulsive_i-was-a-compulsive-eater-in-my-late-teen_2095826.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d39/frances-moore-lapp-4271_compulsive_i-was-a-compulsive-eater-in-my-late-teen_2095826.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was a compulsive eater in my late teens and until I wrote Diet for a Small Planet, so I know what it feels…” — Frances Moore Lappé", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Frances Moore Lappé", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I was a compulsive eater in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/i-was-a-compulsive-eater-in-my-late-teens-and-until-i-wrote-diet-for/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/i-was-a-compulsive-eater-in-my-late-teens-and-until-i-wrote-diet-for/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```