Sugar addicts first post-its a mental game for me

Nads36

What I meant was I don't have the whole pack in one go I was meant to type I have a packet in my handbag!

llaurenmarie

BreezeDoveal wrote: »

As an addiction, maybe you could borrow strategies from quitting smoking.
Like similar to using gum, you could try sandwiching celery between two twinkies to acclimate yourself to it.
Similar to the patch, you could do a while of being on slimfast or soylent liquid foods to separate the physical and mental parts of the addiction.

Subbing in chemically processed liquids will not teach anyone anything about balancing their nutrition, or get them used to eating whole, natural foods.

leejoyce31

I think Bonnie left this thread a while ago.

kshama2001

bonniescheddar wrote: »

This is my first post. Junk food is all I think about all day long every day. Im a sugar addict (chocolate mostly). I have never met someone with cravings like mine. I have about 35 extra pounds and 100% of it is in my stomach. Therefore normal clothes dont fit me. Im on day 6 now of a new diet and can use some advice on how not to keep falling off the wagon. The mental aspect is most important- maybe positive affirmations, maybe advice from other sugar or food addicts?

When I do the following, I don't have cravings:

1. Get sufficient sleep
2. Exercise regularly - when I get the happy hormones from exercise, I'm not prone to seeking them from food.
3. Get sufficient protein in relationship to carbs. I'm not low carb, but reducing carbs and upping protein worked for cravings for me. See also http://www.nutrition.org.uk/healthyliving/fuller/understanding-satiety-feeling-full-after-a-meal.html
4. Eat moderate amounts of fruit. This makes me less interested in higher calorie sweets.
5. Take a magnesium supplement. This can be especially helpful for women premenstrually.
6. Save foods like chocolate for after dinner, in small amounts
7. Stay hydrated

Return2Fit

kshama2001 wrote: »

bonniescheddar wrote: »

This is my first post. Junk food is all I think about all day long every day. Im a sugar addict (chocolate mostly). I have never met someone with cravings like mine. I have about 35 extra pounds and 100% of it is in my stomach. Therefore normal clothes dont fit me. Im on day 6 now of a new diet and can use some advice on how not to keep falling off the wagon. The mental aspect is most important- maybe positive affirmations, maybe advice from other sugar or food addicts?

When I do the following, I don't have cravings:

1. Get sufficient sleep
2. Exercise regularly - when I get the happy hormones from exercise, I'm not prone to seeking them from food.
3. Get sufficient protein in relationship to carbs. I'm not low carb, but reducing carbs and upping protein worked for cravings for me. See also http://www.nutrition.org.uk/healthyliving/fuller/understanding-satiety-feeling-full-after-a-meal.html
4. Eat moderate amounts of fruit. This makes me less interested in higher calorie sweets.
5. Take a magnesium supplement. This can be especially helpful for women premenstrually.
6. Save foods like chocolate for after dinner, in small amounts
7. Stay hydrated

^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^
I can totally relate to the so called "sugar addiction".
There probably is no such thing, but it sure felt like it when I began this journey. And even today I can't indulge certain foods without triggering cravings that could lead to me blowing my day's effort over a cookie binge.

It's just not worth it...

kshama2001

bonniescheddar wrote: »

I think asking me to be even better is so unrealistic. I want to be congratulated for the amazing change. and my original question was how do I deal with the mental aspect to not fall off the wagon and go right back to eating nothing but 100% junk all the time. I feel triggered right now- like if people tell me Im not doing good enough by having 1-2 servings of junk, well then I might as well just go back to eating all junk and nothing but junk, 100% if my current diet is not good enough for people. I thought I was doing so good. And basically yes I am in a coma practically cause I have been basically bedridden for many years now. I feel very hurt that you are saying that what I am doing is not good enough. I lost 6 pounds in 7 days but its not good enough. I cut out like 19 servings of junk food and started eating turkey on wheat and apples and bananas and almonds but that isnt good enough? Well I guess Ill just go finish all those 6 remaining packages of oreos I have. Bye.

bonniescheddar wrote: »

kommodevaran wrote: »

But you aren't doing amazing, you are having cravings like hell. And that is because you are still eating predominantly junk. 1/2 ounce of meat is not enough protein. Half a serving of fruit is not enough to provide the vitamins you need. Juice is not food, you could as well drink soda.

You don't lose 6 pounds of fat in 7 days. You can lose 1-2 pounds in a week. You weigh less now because you are eating smaller amounts of food than usual. If you choose to try the plan I suggested, be aware that you initially will weigh a bit more because the food weighs more, but your weight will not continue to rise, it will drop. Maybe you will get more energy too.

I get that this wasn't the answer you expected. But no affirmations in the world can help you unless you improve your diet, massively. The mental aspect lies in that you are afraid of change. I can understand that. But this eating plan is realistic and doable. It's a perfectly normal diet. Basic foods you can buy everywhere, no elaborate preparations necessary. You are not going to suffer. You will have to go out of your comfort zone. But it's either that or continue to struggle badly. Your current diet is extreme. You will not be able to continue that way of eating. You will fall off the wagon - although I can't really see any wagon.

REALLY? CAUSE THE BIGGEST CRAVING I HAD ALL WEEK WAS AFTER YOU WROTE YOUT HURTFUL AND CRITICAL REMARKS. IT MADE ME WANT TO GO ON A BINGE AND EAT EVERYTHING IN SITE. YOU ARE NOT HELPING. YOU ARE ONLY HURTING.

Cognitive behavioral therapy techniques helped me stop medicating with food and alcohol. Sometimes people avoid therapy because they think it will be years and years about talking about your childhood. That's Freudian, not CBT

While you get the ball rolling on that, you can check out this book on CBT for overeating. It was available in my library system, so maybe yours too.

The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person

Can thinking and eating like a thin person be learned, similar to learning to drive or use a computer? Beck (Cognitive Therapy for Challenging Problems) contends so, based on decades of work with patients who have lost pounds and maintained weight through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Beck's six-week program adapts CBT, a therapeutic system developed by Beck's father, Aaron, in the 1960s, to specific challenges faced by yo-yo dieters, including negative thinking, bargaining, emotional eating, bingeing, and eating out. Beck counsels readers day-by-day, introducing new elements (creating advantage response cards, choosing a diet, enlisting a diet coach, making a weight-loss graph) progressively and offering tools to help readers stay focused (writing exercises, to-do lists, ways to counter negative thoughts). There are no eating plans, calorie counts, recipes or exercises; according to Beck, any healthy diet will work if readers learn to think differently about eating and food. Beck's book is like an extended therapy session with a diet coach. (Apr.)