Addicted to Food?

Here's an interesting article from MSNBC regarding food addiction. I know that I've been addicted to food in the past and had to overcome it.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12934360/

Here's an interesting article from MSNBC regarding food addiction. I know that I've been addicted to food in the past and had to overcome it.

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12934360/

WOW! Talk about food for thought! I've often joked that I have an "addictive personality" - I get very "hooked" on certain TV shows (Lost, Stargate) or hobbies (Sudoku, Cruising), but never really applied it to my food problems before - at least not seriously. [Hello! :rolleyes: Cheese? Chocolate?]

I need to reread this (I printed it to take home) and go over the steps to "retrain my brain".

Thanks for the info, Sheila!

Sha

Sha ~ I thought it was a great article also. I know I'm addicted to chocolate, but not like the lady with the babies in the article. :eek: I do eat it every day, but it is usually the fat-free, sugar-free Jell-o pudding. I can't have "real" chocolate in the house because of the addiction...just like an alcoholic can't have liquor in the house.

wow...Sheila, thanks for that article...reading it really does help to see what I'm doing to myself....it's a wonder I have ANY dopamine receptors left !!! I really need to lay out a plan to start retraining my brain....we've often joked about choca-holics but I won't be taking that lightly in future...it really is no laughing matter....I'll buy some of that choc pudding you mentioned and see if I can "wean" myself off the "real" chocolate....thanks again :)

Don't know if the chocolate pudding would do it for me. I really LOVE dark chocolate. I've been known to totally ignore any other chocolate & actually have NONE, if dark chocolate wasn't available!

I think I need to get back to letting my BF dole me out a few dark chocolate Hershey's kisses every night & NOT know where he keeps the stash!

I do have the cheese cravings under control. I used to LIVE on mac'n'cheese - a whole box of store brand, with another 1/2 lb of american added! 2,3 4 times a week! :eek: Then, my BF & I got into the habit of splitting, as a "snack" after supper EVERY night, 1 of those 10-12 oz cheese bricks (with or without crackers)! Or splitting a pint of ben & jerry's. No wonder my cholesterol ended up as high as 279 at one point!

Right now, my immediate problem is that I really want that VERY full feeling, no matter what it is I'm eating! My dopamine receptors must be WAY off. Maybe the people who do those 1-day fasts every now & then have it right - reminds you what it feels like to be hungry, so when you eat solid food again, you can appreciate it more, especially if you control the portions more carefully. I don't know.

I'm just hoping finally riding my bike this weekend will have a 2-fold effect - extra calories burned, plus the "rush" from exercising!

& I'm surprised more people aren't chiming in on this thread - although I suppose admitting you might be 'addicted' to certain foods, or just to that "full" feeling, might be very hard for some people!

Sha

Hi Sha...interesting that you prefer the dark chocolate ( which "they" say is less harmful ) and I prefer the milk chocolate...I can actually turn down the dark stuff !! maybe it's not sweet enough for me...lately I've been buying the bulk milk chocolate disks that are used for cooking....I eat a handful of those, which is way less than a chocolate bar, and get my "chocolate fix"...

I tend to grab cheese if I haven't eaten proper meals and get that light-headed feeling...seems that protein really works for me and stops the hungry-feeling for a long time...so maybe the answer is lots and lots of protein ( meat, not cheese), both in meals and as snacks, what do you think?

Would lots of water before and during a meal help with that full feeling?

Not sure why more people aren't jumping in on this thread....maybe you're right and the whole issue of addiction is so scary...

In hindsight, when I ate more cheese, I was definitely eating less protein from other sources (eating meat requires "real" cooking :rolleyes: - not just heating something on the stove or nuking something). Now that my BF does most of the cooking on the grill, we eat lots of lean chicken, fish & pork. We also grill veggies, baked potatoes, etc. We eat lots more "real" food now, & less prepackaged stuff.

While I still enjoy cheese, I guess I don't "crave" it as much since I do eat more other protein. I've learned to like soy cheese - better for me & I'll snack on a few slices of that when I need something light & quick!

I usually drink lots of water, so I don't think drinking more would be helpful. My chiropractor made a point one time when I mentioned I was having cravings - she said sometimes cravings are your body's way of telling you you're missing something - we just need to figure out WHAT it's craving! I've been lazy in taking my multi vitamins lately & not eating as many veggies - maybe I'm low on anti-oxidants? (Too bad I'm not craving carrots!) Or maybe it's more "emotional" - needing that full feeling?

or maybe more sleep? :confused: I know I'm not getting enough lately. But the dopamine connection - that could be the ticket, too!

more questions than answers!

Sha

I was a vegetarian for many years...got to the point where I couldn't go anywhere near the meat counters in the grocery stores..the smell was so disgusting to me...then I started to crave meat....really crave it...and I figured out that my body wasn't getting what it needed even though I tried to get the protein from beans, rice, etc...so I went back to eating meat..wasn't easy at first but the cravings did go away and I generally felt stronger...

questions are good...they eventually lead to the answers we need...how much sleep are you getting, Sha?

My own thought is that overeating boils down to a "want versus a need". How many of us ever honestly ask ourselves this question before we over indulge: is it a want or a need. I may want 5 cookies, but do I really NEED 5 cookies and why isn't one good enough?

There are genetic predispositions that make one have a greater propensity to become addicted, and neurotransmitters can provide clues, but in the end, it's the environment that triggers it and the research is pretty consistent on the environment being a main trigger. There's a lot of good empircal research on twin studies and addiction although most of those studies were done for alcoholism, not sure about food but the principle may be the same...Menina

Hi Menina...very good points....I think from an "addict's" point of view, there's no difference between "want" and "need"....when you MUST have chocolate, it's now become a need...just like alcohol or substances are needs...

In a lot of cases ( definitely in my case ) I may go to the cookie jar sincerely intending to eat only one, but one becomes five very quickly...and although I'm remorseful afterwards, it didn't stop me from inhaling those five cookies...the remorse and the questions and the guilt come later...a very nasty, vicious cycle...and my mind says " I'm going to break this cycle " and another part of me says " ok, but let's not waste all this good stuff in the cupboard ...at least enjoy the chocolate first"...and off we go again :(

I often wonder about genetic predisposition and it makes sense that environment would be a main trigger...and there seems to be lots of similarities between food-addiction and alcoholism ..maybe we can apply the same principles and comparisons...some of the posters here have managed to break the cycle so I know there's a way out...taking the right steps is the hardest part !

Good points for you, but your missing mine...if you stop and THINK "do I want this or really need it?" then you might not eat five cookies.

Read the twin studies in addiction..very convincing.

If you can't stop at one, then you need to learn why your so impuslive.

So why did you need to have five cookies? answer that honestly :)

Well, I'll just be honest....I just like food. Period. I love the way it tastes, the texture, the smell. If it is something that I love (like chocolate cheesecake) I'll eat it until I'm sick. To me, that's a big problem. I also find that being addicted to food is an emotional thing. Take last night for instance, I was packing for my trip and stressing over this or that and I was just blindly eating. It didn't really matter what it was, just as long as it was food. Thank goodness I was eating low-cal stuff. LOL I find food to be my crutch. That is why I've been trying to work on myself emotionally. It sure has made a difference. I still have my moments, like last night, but they are few and far between.

My profession is in neuropsychology (something I don't advertise) so I'm used to studying neurochemistry, brains, cogntition, motivation of behavior, etc. Addiction is a big part of what we studied in post grad/doctoral studies.

Nothing wrong with liking food..I love it myself and all it stands for..but I challenge you when you feel like eating more than you should, to just stop and ask yourself, "Do I want this or NEED it". You can't convince me nobody "needs" 5 cookies when they can get by with 1 or 2. You need to come up with a list of convincing "evidence" or reasons why your mind or body needs to have the 5 cookies , and then wait 10 minutes. I am nearly 99% certain you won't want the cookies. It's all based in rational emotive thinking and cogntive behavior.

If you were one of my patients, and didn't make an honest attempt to try this, then I'd tell you that you have no grounds to complain until you have made a reasonable try at this technique :)

I do this myself..yes sometimes I give in, but I ususally find I don't enjoy the binge as much.

Would love to see you try this for an afteroon :)

A friend of mine and I have always said that alcoholics can live without alcohol, smokers can live without tobacco, but overeaters CANNOT live with out food.

Not saying that kicking any of these habits is easy, on the contrary, they are all bvery hard to beat.

An alcoholic is always an alcoholic, he/she just doesn't tempt himself/herself by drinking in moderation. This is the first step back to worse stuff.

Whereas, an overeater must tempt himself/herself every day by having to have food to eat to live.

Hope to message of this post is understood.

Kalamari ~ I'll definitely try it!!

Daniel ~ I understood your post completely and you are right!

NOW this thread is getting VERY interesting! :D

Menina - It sounds so reasonable - If I could just stop & take a step back to think about whether I wanted or needed the dozen (I think it was only a dozen :rolleyes: ) dark chocolate kisses I ate last night, I probably wouldn't have eaten them, or had more than 1 or 2. But they were there, so I did. I know I didn't "need" them - at least not because I was hungry - I had just eaten a good supper less than an hr before. But it was also more than just "wanting" them. Like it says in the article, I think I need to go back to just not buying anything I can't control my craving for.

I am a reasonably intelligent 48-yr old woman. (At least I think I am.:p ) I've dieted on & off since I've been 16 (2/3 of my life:eek: ). I've read more diet, food & fitness related books & magazines than I can count. I KNOW I don't NEED any cookies, brownies or chocolate AT ALL to keep my body nourished & healthy. I KNOW what I do need - I KNOW what I don't need. It's the actual DOING that somehow gets really difficult, not the KNOWING what to do. Emotional & psychological needs get inexplicably mixed up with physical needs.

I agree with daniel's comment that, because we have to eat SOMETHING, it's that much more difficult to control ourselves, than if we could just STOP. I'm a former smoker. MY BF is a former drinker. We can't give up eating.

Menina - That said, I do respect & appreciate your input & I really do have to find a way to control these cravings.

Sha

I think that when it comes to bingeing/overeating/indulging, the brain/mind is basically shoved to the back seat and the body takes over...

A friend of mine made a conscious effort to take a moment before putting anything in his mouth ...looking at the food and saying "thank you for this food but please take away my desire for it" ....eventually it worked and he's kept the weight off for many years...maybe it's the same principle - letting the mind have a say in what we're about to do...giving the mind just that moment to intervene....I'll wait out the 10 minutes today and see what happens :)

Daniel...excellent point..hadn't thought about it that way before...we can't get away from food !!

Menina ....missed a couple of items in my last post...firstly, can you direct me to those twin studies?

Secondly, your question about why I need to have 5 cookies, not one or two.... in the same way that a small taste of something would not be satisfying or fulfilling ( physically or emotionally ), I find I want/need more of the substance ( cookie, chocolate, whatever ) before I'm "happy" ....I use the word happy because I can't think of anything else more descriptive...and happy isn't it either..maybe it's a saturation point I'm trying to reach...if I have one cookie, my taste buds go on alert, my stomach pleads for more, and I just go for it ....the consequences don't really enter into it until later....I'm not sure there is a logical answer to this question..

mim - I'm getting about 5-6 hrs sleep "in a row", when I'm not having the 3am night sweats! I fall asleep after 1am & wake up about 7 when my BF gets up. Then I "nap" till MY alarm goes off at 8.

I'm still wide awake until after midnight, but I suppose I should at least be trying to sleep before that. I know that's not enough sleep for me. In fact, a co-worker just told me that it's a good think it's a long weekend, 'cause I look exhausted! I feel exhausted!

Menina - I'd be interested in the twin studies, too!

Sha

Daniel~ Your post made perfect sense. It reminded me of how I can not keep ice cream in the house. It is not allowed in the house, period. Certain foods are a crutch for me and I get a "high" when I eat them. I don't know the last time I had it becasue I don't want it when I am out..I only crave it when I am having a stress moment.

About 6 years ago when I was in college a friend of mine & I would go on a trail rollerblading. It was 7 miles out and 7 miles back. I remember getting back to my house and having something set me off (can't remember now) and I ate the entire Mint Chocolate Chip Edy's ice cream. Something set me off and I sabatoge myself. Then I get upset that I would do that after I worked so hard.

For me it must be all mental because I know it is wrong but I still do it.

Thankfully I have grown from those years and now know how to handle these urges. I was thin during the years of stress eating. That part I don't understand.

I hope this makes sense!!!

Sha~ Hope you can get caught up on some sleep this weekend.

Thanks, Stephanie - I think I will - there's no TV where I'll be Sat & Sun nite, so I should be in bed well before 12 & I can sleep as late as I want.

And me too - I knew while I was eating the kisses last night I shouldn't be having them - that it was "wrong" - but that wasn't enough to stop me!

Sha

Sha...that lack of sleep is a tough one...until the night sweats ended, I was also sleep-deprived..I know naps aren't going to solve anything but if you can nap ( I can't...end up with headaches and very foggy ) , it might help you get through the day...hope you have a great weekend !

Steph..sabotage is a good word for it....I'm wondering why we do it.....how do you handle those urges now ?

I just downed a handful of cashews and I know darn well I didn't need them. :)

In the medical model of addiction, one of the hallmarks of alcoholism or drug addiction is tolerance. In other words, it takes four beers to feel a buzz when it used to take one. The only way tolerance can build is by drinking more. Then you have to ask yourself, "why am I drinking more than I used to?". The person has to ask themselves, "ok, am I drinking more because I'm stressed, overwhelmed, sad, etc.". Yes we can live without alcohol, but we can't live without food. (A drunk will deny that , of course). But, the same principle can be applied (back to the impulsivity)

But part of the problem is, we set ourself up for self defeating thinking by almost becoming afraid of food (my opnion). So then we get anxious or stressed out over it, and then because we don't stop and think about what to do differently, we give into the impulsivity and overeat. You can say things like, "you know, I don't have to have 5 cookies now, I can have them tomorrow, at 9pm tonite, or the rest of my life".

It is reasonable to do it, but it takes lots and lots of effort. I have had some patients who went to Overeaters Anonymous and it really helped them. Some didn't go for it, but those tended to be the people that remained in denial and wanted an easier way out, instead of facing a painful reality that they were addicted to food and were using it to only medicate their inner crap.

It's back to "one day at a time". Even if you have three cookies instead of 5, that's progress!

Menina

NOW this thread is getting VERY interesting! :D

 

Menina - It sounds so reasonable - If I could just stop & take a step back to think about whether I wanted or needed the dozen (I think it was only a dozen :rolleyes: ) dark chocolate kisses I ate last night, I probably wouldn't have eaten them, or had more than 1 or 2. But they were there, so I did. I know I didn't "need" them - at least not because I was hungry - I had just eaten a good supper less than an hr before. But it was also more than just "wanting" them. Like it says in the article, I think I need to go back to just not buying anything I can't control my craving for.

 

I am a reasonably intelligent 48-yr old woman. (At least I think I am.:p ) I've dieted on & off since I've been 16 (2/3 of my life:eek: ). I've read more diet, food & fitness related books & magazines than I can count. I KNOW I don't NEED any cookies, brownies or chocolate AT ALL to keep my body nourished & healthy. I KNOW what I do need - I KNOW what I don't need. It's the actual DOING that somehow gets really difficult, not the KNOWING what to do. Emotional & psychological needs get inexplicably mixed up with physical needs.

 

I agree with daniel's comment that, because we have to eat SOMETHING, it's that much more difficult to control ourselves, than if we could just STOP. I'm a former smoker. MY BF is a former drinker. We can't give up eating.

 

Menina - That said, I do respect & appreciate your input & I really do have to find a way to control these cravings.

 

Sha

Wow! This is an intresting site. It is the first time I have read this board. I feel compelled to share with you. I am an addict. It is in my being. I am a recovering alcoholic with with almost 12 yrs of sobriety, nor have I used any form of mind altering substances. I have not smoked for 9 yrs. Food has always been an issue. As previously posted, you cannot just not have it. I know when i eat that or those cookies I don't need them, but there is something self destructive, that I do it anyway.

I want to thank you all for this board as I know I need help to live with myself. It just took reading some of these threads to get me in the right direction.

Thank you for listening to me.