Carbs = an addiction?

AngInCanada

Let me preface by saying I have had a binge eating disorder for more years than not (I'd guess around 17 years). I've tried all different diets and none I ever felt free of the urge and desire to binge UNTIL I started the keto diet 3 months ago. I rarely have the desire to binge, even in times of high stress.

Today my kids went to friends houses and I went out with my mom and we went out for lunch. It was late, everything was busy because today is a holiday in BC, so we went to a burger joint. I figured I'd just indulge a bit and that was it. I had a burger wrapped in lettuce, fries and a diet root beer. As soon as I finished my lunch I had the attitude where I didn't care anymore and felt absolutely completely exhausted. I came home, ate a bunch of chips and dip and ate a piece of chocolate zucchini cake with ice cream. I am kicking myself in the butt now but it really caught me off guard because I haven't had a binge in quite a while.

Is it possible that some people are just so sensitive to carbs? I just feel baffled. And BTW I am not making excuses. I take action for allowing myself to just not care in the moment.

GaleHawkins

After 40 years of abusing carbs I found them to be toxic like. Not all people will have the same experience.

Sunny_Bunny_

I have definitely felt like I was addicted to sugar in the past. Pretty much exclusively in the form of candy for me.
I have not allowed myself any of the kinds of candy that I would binge on before. I have been around others eating candy and have been offered some and have been able to say no with no problem so far.
It's definitely different for everyone, but I tend to be pretty strict with myself since changing 3 months ago. I don't think of it like "its no big deal to just have a little this once." I think of it like, "I don't need that. It has nothing to offer me nutritionally, so I'm not wasting the calories on it".
Don't be too upset about losing control though. Think of it as an experiment. What happened today could be what you might expect to happen if you have a similar carb high day again. Or, if you want to have a carby day next time, you can be prepared and may be better at controlling the cravings that may come as a result.

DisappearingTwinkie

Here is an intetesting article on sugar and the brain. Great food for thought on sugar addiction and how our human brain feeds it. Http://www.iflscience.com/brain/here-s-what-happens-your-brain-when-you-give-sugar-lent

KittensMaster

There is a difference between a desire and an addiction

Look at hookers on crack or meth. Then look at what is often called a food addiction.

There is a huge difference

I had food desires or cravings and lacked self discipline and a nutrition plan. I had no exercise plan. All that was easily fixed and turned out to be relatively straight forward

Watching someone we love die from an actual real addiction??

There is no comparison

So no. I wanted carbs and things of that nature. It was relatively easy to get a ha handle on. I know some things really push my food pleasure button. And I need to be mindful of those things and not over indulge!

I can chow down on a fresh hot Cinnabon at the mall... And once a month it may be ok. But I know eating one wakes up the desire for more. So I let it go. Just not worth it

But it isn't an addiction. For me it is just letting food be food, not run my life.

bluefish86

KittensMaster wrote: »

There is a difference between a desire and an addiction

Look at hookers on crack or meth. Then look at what is often called a food addiction.

There is a huge difference

I was addicted to cigarettes for 12 years... never had the urge to pull tricks for a smoke though.

I think you're confusing chemical dependency with addiction. You can have a psychological dependency to anything, it doesn't make it a less valid form of addiction.

KittensMaster

bluefish86 wrote: »

KittensMaster wrote: »

There is a difference between a desire and an addiction

Look at hookers on crack or meth. Then look at what is often called a food addiction.

There is a huge difference

I was addicted to cigarettes for 12 years... never had the urge to pull tricks for a smoke though.

I think you're confusing chemical dependency with addiction. You can have a psychological dependency to anything, it doesn't make it a less valid form of addiction.

Cigarettes are designed to be addictive

Physically

There are degrees of physical addiction

A desire or craving is not the same.

No confusion. I just have a different opinion.

A psychological disorder that manifests in a driving compulsion for something isn't a physiological addiction

Rapists are compulsive. Predators are hard core never change compulsive. But that is not the same as a physical adaptation to need nicotine

I think too many blur those lines with food to make excuses.

I don't belittle anyone else for their driving needs for a food. For me it was an illusion of food addiction. Kept hopelessness alive.

I have lost my 130 pounds. Shaking the food addiction myth was a big part of it. I can take control and live how I want to regarding food and exercise

Just me

Not projecting that on anyone else.

bluefish86

KittensMaster wrote: »

Cigarettes are designed to be addictive

Physically

There are degrees of physical addiction

A desire or craving is not the same.

No confusion. I just have a different opinion.

A psychological disorder that manifests in a driving compulsion for something isn't a physiological addiction

Rapists are compulsive. Predators are hard core never change compulsive. But that is not the same as a physical adaptation to need nicotine

I realize that cigarettes are physically addictive... my point there was that you don't need to be a "hooker on crack or meth" to experience addiction.

Hookers on meth and serial rapists are pretty extreme examples.

Not everybody who smokes a cigarette will become addicted, even though they are designed to be addictive. It's more to do with the neural pathways that your brain creates when you first start smoking. Not all rapists are compulsive. Serial sexual predators are compulsive due to the same neuroplasticity that reinforces all addictions, including smoking.

Thaeda

As someone who IS an addict (alcohol and prescription drugs) I can tell you my experience with sugar is so close to how I used to feel when I drank/used that I very much consider myself addicted to carbs. In the three plus years I have been in recovery, I have been experiencing a gradual awareness of the impact sugar has on me. For me, I crave sugar when I want to not feel whatever it is I am feeling because bingeing on carbs/sugar makes me feel numb. Then for days after my emotions are all over the place. In the first 24 hours, in particular, my thinking gets kind of crazy-- it is hard to describe. I am more impulsive, reactive, and just "off kilter" in general. When I am not eating sugar/carbs, I am on a much more even keel.

For those who do not believe sugar/carbs can be addicting- good for them. I am glad they have not had to experience what I have. Once I start eating carbs, I do not know when I will stop-- I just go from one thing to the next with zero regard fro true hunger- I just keep eating. I have not yet been able to maintain more than a week or two of abstinence from sugar- but generally find the periods I am eating it are getting shorter (used to last several days, now I am down to 12-36 hours). I am hopeful I will get to the point where the suffering I experience when I eat sugar will not be worth it and I will be able to remain abstinent for much longer periods of time. Ever hopeful!

fludderbye

* ok to answer the original question

i can not eat just a little bread

i can try to tell myself oh i will just have a slice- or the crust on the mozzarella sticks wont matter but it does something to me
*wakes up* that sugar/carb monster inside of me that just has an insatiable appetite for it

so i stay away as much as possible from those kinds of foods because yes i could sit down and eat a box of doughnuts

which as a ex smokers for 13 yrs are yes just as ADDICTING for ME!!!!

* and no i am not a crack *kitten* LOLOL j/k*

Sunny_Bunny_

It seems like the word addiction comes with a certain amount of automatic forgiveness by some peoples definition. And I think this is why some don't like to use it in relation to sugar or other foods. Also, the comparison to how it can affect your life, like hookers on crack, probably has more to do with what you are addicted to than wether or not it's a real addiction. Sure we cut a little slack to alcoholics by way of understanding their dependency, but it doesn't mean we don't expect them to get it under control and stop.
The idea that giving into food cravings is more a lack of self discipline makes sense to me too. However, most drugs, alcohol and cigarettes aren't immediately addictive either. You have to start over using them and keep doing it even though you generally know you shouldn't. Eventually, you become addicted. So, maybe there is a certain level of self discipline that fails to stop the formation of the addiction in the first place.
Some things are easier to quit than others and some people find quitting easier than others. Imagine being an alcoholic bartender trying to stop drinking. But I bet it would be quite difficult for a sugar addicted cake decorator too.
I never looked at my candy binges as a big deal until I associated the possibility that I felt addicted. I literally hid candy so that I could have it whenever the craving hit. And one day, I realized how crazy that was. I didn't like that my feelings of need for it and my lack of taking it seriously, caused me to go so overboard.
For me, it wasn't until I did consider it to be more than just cravings, that I decided to change things.
After all, it's just candy... Just food.

Scorpiotwin

AngInCanada wrote: »

Let me preface by saying I have had a binge eating disorder for more years than not (I'd guess around 17 years). I've tried all different diets and none I ever felt free of the urge and desire to binge UNTIL I started the keto diet 3 months ago. I rarely have the desire to binge, even in times of high stress.

Today my kids went to friends houses and I went out with my mom and we went out for lunch. It was late, everything was busy because today is a holiday in BC, so we went to a burger joint. I figured I'd just indulge a bit and that was it. I had a burger wrapped in lettuce, fries and a diet root beer. As soon as I finished my lunch I had the attitude where I didn't care anymore and felt absolutely completely exhausted. I came home, ate a bunch of chips and dip and ate a piece of chocolate zucchini cake with ice cream. I am kicking myself in the butt now but it really caught me off guard because I haven't had a binge in quite a while.

Is it possible that some people are just so sensitive to carbs? I just feel baffled. And BTW I am not making excuses. I take action for allowing myself to just not care in the moment.

Yes, you can have an addiction to carbs. I have been in a binge cycle many times and it's very hard to break once it starts. It is just like any other addiction. You have to figure out what your trigger was so that you can be more self aware. Intense stress, certain people, or just the environment that you're in at the time can trigger a binge cycle. Also, if you are diabetic or extremely insulin resistant than you will naturally crave carbs more. I am a type two diabetic and when my sugar is running high I crave sweets/carbs.

I just restarted my weight loss journey and opted to do Lchf because I know it works and for some reason it does kill the urge for excess carbs.

glossbones

I describe myself on carbs like a shark with blood in the water. Eyes roll back, frenzy begins without even knowing what I'm biting into. Eat seconds and thirds and go back til the food is gone. THEN I realize how stuffed I am, and if it was a binge in the midst of eating keto, I feel ill as well.

Whether you consider it a chemical addiction or psychological, carbs and I are a volatile mix.

inspirationstation

Semantics aside, I have struggled with binge eating. Eating low carb has put an enormous dent in my cravings and 'need' to feed on sugar, however I still have those occasional moments where the need to eat goes beyond cravings. I have never had a chemical or psychological addiction beyond food, so I can't compare, but I do know that it becomes overwhelming. You plan to eat, you hide food to eat, you alter your activities to eat...and sometimes you do it alone, because the guilt is real. I am getting better at recognizing the triggers and finding ways to manage them, but I will always fight this fight.

Unless, you have ever dealt with eating issues beyond cravings for a particular food, it might be difficult to imagine the hold that food can have over a person, however it can.

I have abused my body with food for many many years. That abuse has contributed to the development of Type 2 diabetes and caused me to gain a ridiculous amount of weight. So, similar to chemical dependency, it has life-long physiological & psychological effects.

Scorpiotwin

glossbones wrote: »

I describe myself on carbs like a shark with blood in the water. Eyes roll back, frenzy begins without even knowing what I'm biting into. Eat seconds and thirds and go back til the food is gone. THEN I realize how stuffed I am, and if it was a binge in the midst of eating keto, I feel ill as well.

Whether you consider it a chemical addiction or psychological, carbs and I are a volatile mix.

You have described what it's like beautifully. I couldn't have said it any better. Sometimes when I snap out of it I feel sick, exhausted and ashamed. It really is a "what the Heck just happened?" moment.

KittensMaster

I have a 20 year sober AA chip in my pocket

I sponsor people in AA. I know what addictions are, and unfortunately have seen too many not make it

IMO food compulsions are not the same.

Your mileage may vary. It is a large all inclusive table here.

As part of the Live and Let Live saying, I have no need to convince anyone to think as I do.

I only know what works for me.

JessicaLCHF

Carbs=an addiction? Yep.

But an addiction that can be beat.

chaoticdreams

My cousin, my husbands bff, and my mother are all alcoholics. I'm a little hesitant to call my desire for sugar an addiction after seeing that kind of addiction up close and personally. My cousin will shake and sweat until he has just a sip of alcohol and can't function at all until then. I am never like that with sugar and having cravings for doughnuts never made me lose my license and job, and aside from arguing over the last piece of pecan pie at Thanksgiving, it never caused me lasting heartache with my family.

That being said, I have read the studies about sugars effect on the brain and I do agree that it lights up your pleasure center and makes you want more, just like crack and other drugs, but not on that same level. Still, if something is repeatedly pressing the happy button, the more you are likely to indulge in it.

Oftentimes food is completely linked with emotion, hence why we have comfort food, and once you equate something with a strong emotion, it's hard to break that bond. For most people comfort food is carby. Food can have a hold over people emotionally and psychologically. Plus, it's tied to a many social situations.

Add to that the feelings of guilt society puts on overweight people for indulging in said comfort foods, then that opens up a whole other mess of issues, like hoarding and hiding food. I've been there and done that, so I completely understand.

So while I do not think sugar/carbs are an addiction in the medical sense or anywhere close to alcoholism or drug dependency, I do see that they can cause similar behaviors and a variety of other problems all on their own. Plus, everyone is wired differently. Some people can have a beer and go home and be fine, while others can't stop.

Some people can eat a cupcake and go about their day. People like me eat a cupcake and then eat the other 11 too. I don't think I'm addicted to carbs, I just can't handle myself around them.

Caffeine on the other hand....

Fvaisey

Short Definition of Addiction:

Addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry. Dysfunction in these circuits leads to characteristic biological, psychological, social and spiritual manifestations. This is reflected in an individual pathologically pursuing reward and/or relief by substance use and other behaviors.

Addiction is characterized by inability to consistently abstain, impairment in behavioral control, craving, diminished recognition of significant problems with one’s behaviors and interpersonal relationships, and a dysfunctional emotional response. Like other chronic diseases, addiction often involves cycles of relapse and remission. Without treatment or engagement in recovery activities, addiction is progressive and can result in disability or premature death.

This is from the American Society of Addiction Medicine. It seems like a pretty fair statement and I think what Ang is describing has a lot of these elements. So I'll chime in on the yes side.

carimiller7391

For me, carbs are addictive and once I have some... I want, crave, need more. Do I get the shakes, sweats from not having them.. NO. But I can see how for me only once I get some type of carby food I feel like I need more. I don't need more, but the feeling is real. Just my opinion though.

Fvaisey

DisappearingTwinkie wrote: »

Here is an intetesting article on sugar and the brain. Great food for thought on sugar addiction and how our human brain feeds it. Http://www.iflscience.com/brain/here-s-what-happens-your-brain-when-you-give-sugar-lent

Very Interesting article!