Food addiction-Sugar

tigersword

I think the whole "sugar addiction" thing is a bunch of baloney. They used to vilify fat, now it's sugar. People love having something to blame. The best advice I can give you is to just not have trigger foods in the house if you are prone to bingeing. But don't eliminate them completely or you'll go nuts. There's no reason to be super restrictive if you're staying under your calorie limit.

I can eat a whole box of sugary cereal and not feel full. Then search the house mindlessly for more sugar. I eat some fat, and I feel full, and stop. I myself am addicted to sugar.

No. You binge on fast absorbing sugars, your blood sugar spikes, your pancreas overcompensates, your blood sugar crashes due to the overcompensation, and your brain screams for sugar in an attempt to correct things.

That's not "addiction." That's called an "unbalanced diet," which leads to health problems.

Also, I can't explain the science behind it, but I think it's widely known around here that protein and fat give you a "full" sensation much better than a meal of carbohydrates.

That's subjective. In general, protein is more satiating, but not always. Besides, my explanation had nothing to do with satiety, I was explaining why the human body craves sugar soon after eating a ridiculous amount of fast absorbing sugars.

greentart

See my issue right now is that my boyfriend keeps this stuff in the house and has not interest eating healthy so I cant keep it out but I will have to try the gum thing!

This, to me, is the beginning on an excuse. Your boyfriend isn't interested in eating healthy so you can't keep it out of the house, which means you can't control yourself because it's always around.

My other statements still stand however. If you HONESTLY think you're addicted (like alcoholic style), then you should seek professional help. A post on MFP isn't going to help you overcome your addiction. However, if its actually a willpower issue, then you came to the right place to seek advice.

I'm curious though, do you binge like that with friends, family, every time you go out to eat, or is it only when you're alone?

not an excuse it is completely my fault but a lady suggested not putting those things in my house... I am not going to make my boyfriend, friends or family diet bc I am that's all that I said.

Fair enough. I don't think its unfair to ask your boyfriend to give up certain foods for you that may be your trigger foods. It's not making him diet... it's asking him to either hide it from you or not bring it in the house while your body adjusts to no processed foods/processed sugars.

My last question still stands though, because its a legitimate question. Do you binge like that with friends, family, every time you go out to eat, or is it only when you're alone? I ask this because I feel its very telling of your 'addiction'. If you only binge while alone, it means that its most likely emotional eating and there's more there than just "I want to eat food.", which is honestly almost always the case. It also shows that you CAN control yourself while eating those items. However, if you binge even when out in public, amongst friends and/or family, it shows that something else entirely is going on.

bcattoes

these threads always end up going absolutely no where....

I personally do not believe in sugar addiction.

And because you don't believe, no one else is allowed to either?

Nope, but because SCIENCE says that there's no such thing as food addiction, then there's no such thing as food addiction. People are free to have their own opinions, but people can't have their own facts.

Science isn't a person and can't say anything. If there is conclusive scientific proof that food can't be addictive, I'd certainly like to see it.

Holly_Roman_Empire

I think the whole "sugar addiction" thing is a bunch of baloney. They used to vilify fat, now it's sugar. People love having something to blame. The best advice I can give you is to just not have trigger foods in the house if you are prone to bingeing. But don't eliminate them completely or you'll go nuts. There's no reason to be super restrictive if you're staying under your calorie limit.

I can eat a whole box of sugary cereal and not feel full. Then search the house mindlessly for more sugar. I eat some fat, and I feel full, and stop. I myself am addicted to sugar.

No. You binge on fast absorbing sugars, your blood sugar spikes, your pancreas overcompensates, your blood sugar crashes due to the overcompensation, and your brain screams for sugar in an attempt to correct things.

That's not "addiction." That's called an "unbalanced diet," which leads to health problems.

Also, I can't explain the science behind it, but I think it's widely known around here that protein and fat give you a "full" sensation much better than a meal of carbohydrates.

That's subjective. In general, protein is more satiating, but not always. Besides, my explanation had nothing to do with satiety, I was explaining why the human body craves sugar soon after eating a ridiculous amount of fast absorbing sugars.

Understood. I just thought I'd throw it out there since I see that advice given on here a lot in regards to satiety. I find it to be true for myself. Hey, at least I said I didn't know if there was science behind it! :drinker:

andi5285

I believe that I have a food addiction the only thing I crave mostly is sweets but I find myself mindlessly eating... I wont even realize that I am. Its like once I start I cant stop.

I want to hear from fellow/former food addicts
Any advice?
What helped you?

I am not a huge contributor to these forums for the reason that you have discovered here - people will jump on you and try to prove your feelings or opinions "wrong". In reality, there's more more than one way to skin a cat - or something. I don't think most people mean to come out and say that "calories in/calories out" is wrong but the minute you bring up sugar or some type of food being "bad" or what not everyone jumps on you. I think its very admirable that some people have been able to teach themselves self control and are now qualifed to to tell everyone else how to live... which begs the questions of why they need a site like this if they have their lives so together?

To address you questions, I do believe in food addiction in the sense that products with refined sugars tend to make me crave more and lead to overeating which causes me to consume more calories than I burn. Removing said foods reduce my cravings and make it much easier to stay within my goals. I had lost 100 lbs - mainly by cutting out soda and other refined sugars and other refined carbs. Notice that I am not lumping fruits and veggies in with that because those foods do not have the same effect on me as a chocolate chip cookie, even if they do techincally contain or turn to sugar. As soon as I tried to add certain things back into my diet in "moderation" I lost control again and have regained 60 pounds. (Supid, weak, little me for having no self control. If only I could be as good and strong as some of the memebers on this forum!)

I have PCOS with insulin resistance and high cortisol levels. My endocrinologist reccommends cutting out refined sugars and exercising "moderately" as oppsed to strenuously (due to the cortisol levels - at least until they are brought down). I feel he is probably slightly more qualifed than most of the people on this forum. Of course, they are welcome to chime in and let us know what medical school they graduated from.

I think if you want specifc help or guidance to treat or understand "food addiction" you would be better served to seek out a group such as Overeaters Anon, Food Addicts Anon, or something similar. Sure, maybe it doesn't exist with scientific proof, and maybe people on this forum don't "believe in it", but really who cares? The best diet or lifestyle changes are the one that you can live with and that work for you. If having a slice of cake sets you off on a sugar bender and derails your progress then avoid cake. It doesn't mean the cake is evil or bad, it means for you its not a good thing. I truly don't understand why some people on here cannot make that connection. They really need to learn that people come here for encouragement and help not to be lectured and put down under the guise of being helpful. It's not helpful - it's annoying and makes people not want to comment or come back.

I believe everyone's body reacts differently. I belive that some people have faster metabolisms than others which I think is evident in natural thin people who eat like toxic waste dumbs and people who can't lose weight despite eating 1400 calorie diet, or what have you. Sure, it all comes down to burning more than we take it, but everyone's threshhold may not be the same. Some people can have just one cookie and walk away, and some people will obsess about said cookie until they have another. Who knows why, who cares why...it just is.

Slaintegrl

Nope, but because SCIENCE says that there's no such thing as food addiction, then there's no such thing as food addiction. People are free to have their own opinions, but people can't have their own facts.

And that science would be???????

TX_Rhon

Yeah, but have you had sex with a stranger for a box of Twinkies?

Best comment EVER!!!

Holly_Roman_Empire

I do not keep anything sugary or salty a la junk food in my house. I cannot. I will eat it. One serving bags? Nope, I will eat every single on of those bags. The only thing that works for me is to NOT keep them in the house. I know this may not be the best strategy for everyone, but it works for me. I have absolutely no self control when it comes to stuff junk food. So it is best to just cut off the supply completely.

Why not try to teach yourself some self-control? That's what it's going to take in the long run. You can't make everything out of sight, out of mind.

This is my form of self control, not keeping it in the house. I practice self control every time I go to the grocery store and not buy these things. You know how hard that is? If I can get out of the store without buying a bag of Cheetos or the half/off Valentines candy, then I WIN.

The form of self control you are talking about is one that does not work for me as I am indeed an out-of-sight-out-of-mind type of person. I know what works for me and I am passing the knowledge on the OP. So spare me your judgment.

Who's judging? Geez, I guess you can't say anything that might question a post on here in regards to advice. But anyway, it sounds like you are exercising self-control by not buying it in the first place. :ohwell:

tigersword

Nope, but because SCIENCE says that there's no such thing as food addiction, then there's no such thing as food addiction. People are free to have their own opinions, but people can't have their own facts.

And that science would be???????

That science would be medical science. If food addiction was real, it would be in the new DSM. It isn't, because they couldn't find evidence that it actually exists.

DamePiglet

Yeah, but have you had sex with a stranger for a box of Twinkies?

Best comment EVER!!!

+1

kwantlen2051

I was addicted to soda. Four or five cans a day addicted. So, I switched to tea first, full sugar. Then I started paring the sugar content down and drinking it until it tasted sweet to me again. Once I got to 1/2 cup sugar in a gallon of tea, I was good. I think that ended up like 50 calories per pint Mason jar. I didn't use sweeteners because I wanted to try to learn how to like less sweet things rather than use sweeteners to keep up a level of sweetness that wasn't healthy for me anyway, you know?

I don't know how you'd accomplish this with food, but when I get a chocolate craving, I go to the local cake store, buy 1 or 2 cake pops, eat them, and immediately go next door to walk around the museum for an hour or so. To oversimplify, what works for me is to sate the craving with something small and flavorful, then immediately shift my focus to something else and get a little exercise while doing it. Hope that helps in some way!

Great Advice on the sweeteners and on shifting focus onto something more healthy like walking!

(Edit: I should also mention I'm not doing this everyday, maybe once a week, and I don't even like soda anymore. I'd say its ok to keep the stuff around the house, just not in quantities that will wreck your progress, you know?)

kwantlen2051

I was addicted to soda. Four or five cans a day addicted. So, I switched to tea first, full sugar. Then I started paring the sugar content down and drinking it until it tasted sweet to me again. Once I got to 1/2 cup sugar in a gallon of tea, I was good. I think that ended up like 50 calories per pint Mason jar. I didn't use sweeteners because I wanted to try to learn how to like less sweet things rather than use sweeteners to keep up a level of sweetness that wasn't healthy for me anyway, you know?

I don't know how you'd accomplish this with food, but when I get a chocolate craving, I go to the local cake store, buy 1 or 2 cake pops, eat them, and immediately go next door to walk around the museum for an hour or so. To oversimplify, what works for me is to sate the craving with something small and flavorful, then immediately shift my focus to something else and get a little exercise while doing it. Hope that helps in some way!


(Edit: I should also mention I'm not doing this everyday, maybe once a week, and I don't even like soda anymore. I'd say its ok to keep the stuff around the house, just not in quantities that will wreck your progress, you know?)

Great Advice on the sweeteners and on shifting focus onto something more healthy like walking!

magerum

andi5285

Nope, but because SCIENCE says that there's no such thing as food addiction, then there's no such thing as food addiction. People are free to have their own opinions, but people can't have their own facts.

And that science would be???????

SCIENCE is a funny thing. There are lots of things that couldn't be proven...until they were. There's a lot about the brain and human genetics that aren't yet understood. A lot of people think addiction, in general, is not a disease. I believe it is. I believe there are actual scientists who believe it is. God help us, there might even be scientists that do think FOOD addiction is real! I am not a scientist, and I gather, neither are you. However, I'm sure if you wanted to take some time and research you could find some who do hypothesize about food addiction. A quick google search of "science of food addiction" will lead to several articles that reference scientifc studies of it. For what it's worth, its apparently something that some in the academic/scientific community feel is worthwhile to look into. Until something can be proven false, it does not mean that it cannot be true.

sunshyncatra

Don't keep sugary foods or things you tend to overeat with in your home. Be prepared at home and work with baggies/snack containers of low cal munching foods like celery, carrots and cucumbers (salsa is low cal for dipping, but watch the sodium if you use it). I ate tons of celery when I first started a healthy eating lifestyle because I was in the habit of just munching all the time. It really helped, and I tapered off needing that "crutch" after awhile.

tigersword

these threads always end up going absolutely no where....

I personally do not believe in sugar addiction.

And because you don't believe, no one else is allowed to either?

Nope, but because SCIENCE says that there's no such thing as food addiction, then there's no such thing as food addiction. People are free to have their own opinions, but people can't have their own facts.

Science isn't a person and can't say anything. If there is conclusive scientific proof that food can't be addictive, I'd certainly like to see it.

Considering you can't prove a negative, you're asking for something that doesn't, and can't possibly exist. Which means you are either trolling, or you have absolutely no idea how science works.

Leonidas_meets_Spartacus

I do not keep anything sugary or salty a la junk food in my house. I cannot. I will eat it. One serving bags? Nope, I will eat every single on of those bags. The only thing that works for me is to NOT keep them in the house. I know this may not be the best strategy for everyone, but it works for me. I have absolutely no self control when it comes to stuff junk food. So it is best to just cut off the supply completely.

Why not try to teach yourself some self-control? That's what it's going to take in the long run. You can't make everything out of sight, out of mind.

Its hard when some one has metabolic syndrome or insulin resistance. I was one of those tough guys with self control, until I developed insulin resistance. Human body is much more complicated than self control, your hormones play a bigger role.

tigersword

Nope, but because SCIENCE says that there's no such thing as food addiction, then there's no such thing as food addiction. People are free to have their own opinions, but people can't have their own facts.

And that science would be???????

SCIENCE is a funny thing. There are lots of things that couldn't be proven...until they were. There's a lot about the brain and human genetics that aren't yet understood. A lot of people think addiction, in general, is not a disease. I believe it is. I believe there are actual scientists who believe it is. God help us, there might even be scientists that do think FOOD addiction is real! I am not a scientist, and I gather, neither are you. However, I'm sure if you wanted to take some time and research you could find some who do hypothesize about food addiction. A quick google search of "science of food addiction" will lead to several articles that reference scientifc studies of it. For what it's worth, its apparently something that some in the academic/scientific community feel is worthwhile to look into. Until something can be proven false, it does not mean that it cannot be true.

Articles are the problem. The entire "food addiction" thing is based on media spin, taking random studies completely out of context, and drawing conclusions that don't actually exist in the science.

For instance, a study noting how heroin co-opts the dopamine release system in the brain suddenly gets quoted in an article as saying "Sugar is as addictive to heroin!" (Not even close to what the study actually concluded.)

The same thing happened with fat, the same thing happened with fructose, and now it's happening with "food addiction." Heck, someone recently posted an article here that claimed that eating protein causes cancer. So if we are to go by articles, and not the actual scientific studies themselves, well then all food is bad, and we should stop eating everything.

Holly_Roman_Empire

Nope, but because SCIENCE says that there's no such thing as food addiction, then there's no such thing as food addiction. People are free to have their own opinions, but people can't have their own facts.

And that science would be???????

SCIENCE is a funny thing. There are lots of things that couldn't be proven...until they were. There's a lot about the brain and human genetics that aren't yet understood. A lot of people think addiction, in general, is not a disease. I believe it is. I believe there are actual scientists who believe it is. God help us, there might even be scientists that do think FOOD addiction is real! I am not a scientist, and I gather, neither are you. However, I'm sure if you wanted to take some time and research you could find some who do hypothesize about food addiction. A quick google search of "science of food addiction" will lead to several articles that reference scientifc studies of it. For what it's worth, its apparently something that some in the academic/scientific community feel is worthwhile to look into. Until something can be proven false, it does not mean that it cannot be true.

While there are some anecdotes that have circulated on MFP that make me think food addiction can be real, I don't think it's possible to be addicted to sugar in cake and not addicted to sugar in fruit.

magerum

Nope, but because SCIENCE says that there's no such thing as food addiction, then there's no such thing as food addiction. People are free to have their own opinions, but people can't have their own facts.

And that science would be???????

SCIENCE is a funny thing. There are lots of things that couldn't be proven...until they were. There's a lot about the brain and human genetics that aren't yet understood. A lot of people think addiction, in general, is not a disease. I believe it is. I believe there are actual scientists who believe it is. God help us, there might even be scientists that do think FOOD addiction is real! I am not a scientist, and I gather, neither are you. However, I'm sure if you wanted to take some time and research you could find some who do hypothesize about food addiction. A quick google search of "science of food addiction" will lead to several articles that reference scientifc studies of it. For what it's worth, its apparently something that some in the academic/scientific community feel is worthwhile to look into. Until something can be proven false, it does not mean that it cannot be true.

While there are some anecdotes that have circulated on MFP that make me think food addiction can be real, I don't think it's possible to be addicted to sugar in cake and not addicted to sugar in fruit.

Do you even forum? Sugar in fruit is outside the law.