Junk food addiction...

misti777

I found that If I go without eating junk food for most of the day, I feel very unsatisfied and end up overeating/binging/eating junk food and I am upset with myself, because I worked very hard to stay under my calorie limit for the day. I just do it without thinking. I just think I want it, and then I have it. I do fight with myself but I usually end up giving in. Does any who has experienced this and gotten over this have any tips to keep me from going through with the overeating?

magerum

In before alarmism.


Listen, if you deprive yourself of the things you like you're more than likely going to fail. Just incorporate a certain amount of the food you like every day, maybe towards the end of the day. This may help you stay within your goals and not feel deprived.

feelin_gr_8

I agree with magerum. You don't have to eat celergy for all of your meals. find the lite or low fat versions of what you like and work on portion control. If you eat a smaller lunch (and healthier), you'll have room for some junk food. I ate half a box of cheeseburger mac last night....over 1,000 calories...but because I put in the exercise earlier in the day and ate sensibly the rest of the day, I didn't go over calories! You can sometimes have those burgers, just skip the fries. Remember that just because you ate 1 fun size snickers, things aren't "ruined" and you don't need to eat the whole bag. In time, try to eat better, but make it a gradual change so you're not struggling so much!

nomeejerome

I found that If I go without eating junk food for most of the day, I feel very unsatisfied and end up overeating/binging/eating junk food and I am upset with myself, because I worked very hard to stay under my calorie limit for the day. I just do it without thinking. I just think I want it, and then I have it. I do fight with myself but I usually end up giving in. Does any who has experienced this and gotten over this have any tips to keep me from going through with the overeating?

There is no reason to cut out items that you enjoy, instead you could fit them into your day. (unless you have a medical reason) Heavy restriction is not a good thing. I do not know what your overall goals are, but if one of them is to lose weight, a calorie deficit is all that is needed to accomplish that goal.

whierd

In before alarmism.


Listen, if you deprive yourself of the things you like you're more than likely going to fail. Just incorporate a certain amount of the food you like every day, maybe towards the end of the day. This may help you stay within your goals and not feel deprived.

This. And calling it an addiction is a way to absolve yourself of responsibility for your actions and offensive to people with real addictions.

misti777

Thanks for the feedback guys.

quill16

I also suffer with this addiction and have learned to give myself rewards , say once a week for a small treat and once a month for a big dinner out really helped me along the way as I lost the weight. I have now been maintaining for over a year

Lleldiranne

It's difficult finding a balance that lies somewhere between depriving and overindulging sometimes, isn't it?

My strategy is to keep a few treats around, but not so easy to get to that I don't have to think about it. Ice cream in the back of the freezer, a candy bar or two in my sock drawer, sodas (in a case) under the bed, etc. When I want something, I stop and think if I really want it now or can wait for later, and if there is room in my macros.

I generally allow myself 1 diet soda a day (I do consider that "junk food" but it's okay to indulge), and one or two other treats, IF I have room in my macros. If I've eaten a high carb-low protein meal that doesn't leave me room for a few squares of dark chocolate, then I remind myself it'll be there tomorrow. If I'm way over on my fat, then the ice cream waits (well, usually… :laugh:). And if I'm too close to my calorie goal to have a treat, I don't. I've found that I make food choices through the day based on what I want later; choosing eggs over cereal, for example, because I know that I'll want something sweet later. It really is about finding that balance -- mostly healthful foods, with a few treats allowed.

And it's learned. It takes practice to slowly savor 1/2 cup of ice cream or 2 squares of chocolate rather than downing 3 times that in 5 minutes; but every time you work at it you get a little better.

edited for clarification

Stage14

My recommendation is not to cut all junk food out of your diet, but DO cut it out of your grocery trips. If it isn't there, you can't binge on it. Then work small amounts of your favorite things into your daily goals.

bluejeansarah

And calling it an addiction is a way to absolve yourself of responsibility for your actions and offensive to people with real addictions.

whierd, you may not believe that food addiction is real, but research being done in the field is at least proving that you can't ultimately rule out food addiction and that the subject needs to be studied more.

And no, I'm not a doctor or someone else who has more authority or say in the matter. But I beg you to check out some resources (yes, I found these links through a simple Google search) that may change your mind, even partially:

See:

http://www.foodaddictsanonymous.org/ (THIS!)
"We offer hope to suffering food addicts. We are recovering together one day at a time from the biochemical disease of food addiction."

http://globalnews.ca/news/713421/is-food-addiction-real-harvard-study-has-experts-weighing-in-on-cravings-and-willpower/
Is food addiction real? Harvard study has experts weighing in

http://childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P960.html
New brain imaging study provides support for the notion of food addiction



[Edit: I fixed a link!]

misti777

In before alarmism.


Listen, if you deprive yourself of the things you like you're more than likely going to fail. Just incorporate a certain amount of the food you like every day, maybe towards the end of the day. This may help you stay within your goals and not feel deprived.

This. And calling it an addiction is a way to absolve yourself of responsibility for your actions and offensive to people with real addictions.

Actually, I am recovering from an addiction to marijuana. Almost as soon as I got sober, I began overeating and binging occasionally. I pretty much traded one addiction for another. Besides, you can't really speak for other people who do have drug addictions or alcoholism, myself being a good example. I honestly felt offended that you would think that a food addiction is not real. Food addiction is very real. Chemicals in processed food can cause our brain to react in similar ways that drugs do. It's the fake sugars and preservatives and MSG. Kind of like caffeine. Caffeine is a drug and if your body gets to used to having it every day, and then you stop drinking coffee, you will get headaches. If you cut out all bread, noodles, crackers, and other carbs, which I have done before, you actually get headaches. These are withdrawal symptoms and I have read on someone's myfitnesspal post, can't remember who, that they had headaches and stuff when they cut out their processed food. My aunt from my dad's side said she got headaches and stuff when she cuts out her carbs. An addiction can also be defined as something you can't stop. If I could stop overeating, I would have done it a long time ago. I do feel very responsible for my actions, and in no way do I blame my being addicted to food on the overeating. If I had to eat drink one drink every day, I would be considered alcoholic. If I have to have at least one peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day, I would probably be addicted to them. And that's pretty much what I do. As much as I love salad, vegetables, and fruit, my body for some reason craves the processed peanut butter, jelly and bread. It's kind of like a relapse if I try to control myself all day and then giving in and having two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, when I could have just allowed myself a half with a piece of fruit at lunch time.

misti777

My recommendation is not to cut all junk food out of your diet, but DO cut it out of your grocery trips. If it isn't there, you can't binge on it. Then work small amounts of your favorite things into your daily goals.

Well, this is where I am limited on the choices I can make. I am barely going to be turning nineteen in december, and have been trying to get a job for a few months now. Once I get a job and can maybe afford a small apartment or at least move in with a roommate, I will be able to avoid having those things in my house that lead to overeating.

weightlossdiva1219

In before alarmism.


Listen, if you deprive yourself of the things you like you're more than likely going to fail. Just incorporate a certain amount of the food you like every day, maybe towards the end of the day. This may help you stay within your goals and not feel deprived.

This. And calling it an addiction is a way to absolve yourself of responsibility for your actions and offensive to people with real addictions.

Actually, I am recovering from an addiction to marijuana. Almost as soon as I got sober, I began overeating and binging occasionally. I pretty much traded one addiction for another. Besides, you can't really speak for other people who do have drug addictions or alcoholism, myself being a good example. I honestly felt offended that you would think that a food addiction is not real. Food addiction is very real. Chemicals in processed food can cause our brain to react in similar ways that drugs do. It's the fake sugars and preservatives and MSG. Kind of like caffeine. Caffeine is a drug and if your body gets to used to having it every day, and then you stop drinking coffee, you will get headaches. If you cut out all bread, noodles, crackers, and other carbs, which I have done before, you actually get headaches. These are withdrawal symptoms and I have read on someone's myfitnesspal post, can't remember who, that they had headaches and stuff when they cut out their processed food. My aunt from my dad's side said she got headaches and stuff when she cuts out her carbs. An addiction can also be defined as something you can't stop. If I could stop overeating, I would have done it a long time ago. I do feel very responsible for my actions, and in no way do I blame my being addicted to food on the overeating. If I had to eat drink one drink every day, I would be considered alcoholic. If I have to have at least one peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day, I would probably be addicted to them. And that's pretty much what I do. As much as I love salad, vegetables, and fruit, my body for some reason craves the processed peanut butter, jelly and bread. It's kind of like a relapse if I try to control myself all day and then giving in and having two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, when I could have just allowed myself a half with a piece of fruit at lunch time.

I agree. Very offensive to say that. Food addiction is VERY real.

PetulantOne

In before alarmism.


Listen, if you deprive yourself of the things you like you're more than likely going to fail. Just incorporate a certain amount of the food you like every day, maybe towards the end of the day. This may help you stay within your goals and not feel deprived.

This. And calling it an addiction is a way to absolve yourself of responsibility for your actions and offensive to people with real addictions.

^All of this.

Also, if you have too large of a calorie deficit, it will almost always cause binging at some point.

gracejr

In before alarmism.


Listen, if you deprive yourself of the things you like you're more than likely going to fail. Just incorporate a certain amount of the food you like every day, maybe towards the end of the day. This may help you stay within your goals and not feel deprived.

This. If I am strict with myself I wind up bingeing. When I was allowing myself some chocolate every night, I was doing really well at keeping things in check. I planned it into my calories and had something to look forward to nightly.

That said, if you have any trigger foods, I would still try to avoid those. I know if I have a soda it completely screws with me, and I have FAR more trouble resisting things than if I'd skipped the soda altogether.

Timothy1962

Hi, I know your question is about junk food addiction and what kind of help you can find to break that cycle. I want to offer you this link to actually check out your metabolic type. We all are different in our bodies and some do better at eating a higher amount of "good" carbs like found in fruit and veggies while other's bodies will feel better when eating a higher diet in protein foods. So if you take this test and find you are one who gets more energy from "good" carbs then check and make sure you are getting more of them in your diet to help your body function better on the types of foods that your body functions on. You get sugars from fruits and veggies that are better for you that processed sugary foods because they have enzymes and fibers in the pulp of the fruit that help regulate the fructose found in the fruits as it digests not to make it such a spike in your blood stream as eating some junk food that has a lot of sugar "mixed" into it... hope this helps in your search for a healthier you ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MukItZp0UwM

keem88

chocolatecoveredkatie.com in regards to making better versions of junk food.

as far as the cravings, you may need to just cut yourself off and let it get out of your system. are you bored, emotional when this happens? hopefully you can figure out what triggers those binges so you can get to the main problem and work from there.

im in recovery for an eating disorder, ednos restrictive type. i have binges now and then, and usually they are when i am very emotional and feeling depressed or like i have no control over anything in my life. i am working on those issues, and the binging is almost gone.

some people do better limiting to a sweet they crave to curb the binges, others need to eiliminate all of it from their life. hopefully you can find what works for you.

i recommend eda groups. they have them over the phone, in group chats and in person and the support is amazing

eta: prelogging has also helped me stay on track, and that way you can even add in ahead of time a treat so you don't have to worry about going over for the day. and if you go over or have a binge, move on. don't dwell on it, don't give up. just move on to the next day and go from there

MystikPixie

I had the same problem, I would spend $5-$10 a day on junk food from the vending machine at work. Instead of stopping completely I stopped carrying change or cash and bought the lower calorie version of the chips I loved. Or even the 100 calorie packs worked too. Then just started ziplocking a better portion for myself. It helped so much! I've saved money too, so that's a plus!

lilkayaker

I am lucky to live pretty close to a couple convenience stores. I do not keep and junk in my house, usually some kind of fruits or nuts if I'm dying for something extra. By not having the junk in my house I have to REALLY want enough to go to the store. If I do have to have whatever junk it is I make myself take my bike to go get it....if I have that much dedication to whatever it is I get I don't worry about fitting it in.

PetulantOne

In before alarmism.


Listen, if you deprive yourself of the things you like you're more than likely going to fail. Just incorporate a certain amount of the food you like every day, maybe towards the end of the day. This may help you stay within your goals and not feel deprived.

This. And calling it an addiction is a way to absolve yourself of responsibility for your actions and offensive to people with real addictions.

Actually, I am recovering from an addiction to marijuana. Almost as soon as I got sober, I began overeating and binging occasionally. I pretty much traded one addiction for another. Besides, you can't really speak for other people who do have drug addictions or alcoholism, myself being a good example. I honestly felt offended that you would think that a food addiction is not real. Food addiction is very real. Chemicals in processed food can cause our brain to react in similar ways that drugs do. It's the fake sugars and preservatives and MSG. Kind of like caffeine. Caffeine is a drug and if your body gets to used to having it every day, and then you stop drinking coffee, you will get headaches. If you cut out all bread, noodles, crackers, and other carbs, which I have done before, you actually get headaches. These are withdrawal symptoms and I have read on someone's myfitnesspal post, can't remember who, that they had headaches and stuff when they cut out their processed food. My aunt from my dad's side said she got headaches and stuff when she cuts out her carbs. An addiction can also be defined as something you can't stop. If I could stop overeating, I would have done it a long time ago. I do feel very responsible for my actions, and in no way do I blame my being addicted to food on the overeating. If I had to eat drink one drink every day, I would be considered alcoholic. If I have to have at least one peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day, I would probably be addicted to them. And that's pretty much what I do. As much as I love salad, vegetables, and fruit, my body for some reason craves the processed peanut butter, jelly and bread. It's kind of like a relapse if I try to control myself all day and then giving in and having two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, when I could have just allowed myself a half with a piece of fruit at lunch time.

If I can quit heroin cold turkey, surely you can stop eating PB&J every night if it doesn't fit your goals?

Seriously, I'm no better than any other addict, just because I chose a really bad drug to get hooked on, but I take responsibility for my actions. It leaves me with little sympathy for people who are "addicted" to food.

armadillolabrat

Perhaps you can have a small portion of whatever item it is that you crave twice a week and have that to look forward to during the week. I would suggest not buying large packages of items and bringing them home while this is a pressing matter. If craving a sweet maybe go to a nice bakery and just buy one item that you eat there and maybe while enroute to the bakery your craving may dissipate. If I buy a large package of chips or something I try to portion them out into single serving bags for the house. For chips I try to never take a whole bag to watch a movie at home or I always eat more than intended. Taking the single serving portion usually works. Not always but most times.