Feel Like an Addict

texstorm

Guess you just need to fight it as hard as you can and still expect a glich here and there. I do believe it's getting a little easier. At least by recording what I eat, it's opening my eyes.

Emotional and compulsive eating is something I've struggled with my entire life. These past four years I've managed to get it under control, but you are right to label this an addiction. The pleasure centers in our brain are triggered in some of us just as much by sweet, salty and fatty foods as they would be by alcohol, nicotine, cocaine or heroin. Like dealing with those addictions there is no one-size-fits all solution.

What many people find they have to do, at least temporarily, is keep their trigger foods out of the house. If you don't buy it, you can't eat it, is the logic. I had to do that with ice cream and tortilla chips. I had to have a very candid and humbling conversation with all the members of our household and get them to understand that buying a carton of ice cream just to have it in the freezer was a bad thing for dad (me). Likewise stocking up the pantry with chips and cookies. I also had to alter my behavior in the office so that I wouldn't head to the vending machine two or three times a day. I no longer carry any coins or small bills on my person. If I get change at a store I will put all the coins into whatever donation container is available (they always seem to have these) or the tip jar. And dollar bills come out of my wallet every night and go into the savings jar (this has had other benefits).

Willpower is mostly a myth. If it was as simple as just making a different choice anyone could do it. You will probably have to alter the structure of your life in some way to make changing your relationship with food into a reality. I've been successful in retraining my mind by altering my behavior patterns so that I no longer see a single scoop of ice cream as sad. It's a nice treat that I have because I want ice cream though, not for any other reason at all. Having a treat is fine. Having a treat because you had a bad day, or because you want a reward for something good you did is a problem. Food is food. It's not a reward or a comfort.

That last bit though, that's a tough hurdle to get over.

-Tex

bridgie101

Guess you just need to fight it as hard as you can and still expect a glich here and there. I do believe it's getting a little easier. At least by recording what I eat, it's opening my eyes.

This!

Just be chill. I can't see your diary but am wondering if you're being too hard on yourself. Start with an 1800 cal a day diet if you like. it takes time to learn what you can eat that has lower calories: it takes time to learn how to do it.

And anyway if you're around 200lb you probably have a tdee of over 2000 cals a day, so 1800 cals will still let you lose.

ardorrequiem

Just remember the old addict line: JUST FOR TODAY!

Just for today I don't need to eat chocolate!

Just for today I will walk 30 minutes!

Just for today I will make 3 healthier choices

Just for today I will beat my addiction to food!

Just for today I will be motivated!

:happy:

This, while simple, was quite lovely. Just for today.

rainbowunicorns720

Totally agree with chris and tex. I'm on a very low carb diet and I realize it's not for everyone. But having been addicted to those foods my whole life...for me...cutting them completely was the key. I had to get away from them for a while and then every great once in a while i would have a cheat. After about five months I now have much more control (and have lost 50 pounds). Yesterday was my mom's birthday. I took her to fazoli's (aka carb hell) and while I watched her eat her yummy penne I happily ate my salad. When we came home Everybody had cupcakes...including me...but i only took ONE bite. If someone had told me five months ago I'd eat just one bite of a cupcake I would've thought they were crazy...but I did. Just like tex said...it's a real addiction...and for some (like me) they have to get away from it completely...at least for a while. good luck! i know it's hard!

rainbowunicorns720

Another benefit to cutting it completely is that you can see a difference in how you feel much faster than you will with moderation. For me, when I eat sweets now they seem overly sweet and just a tiny bit is plenty. Even fruit seems really sweet to me now. When you constantly exposure yourself to that stuff your tastebuds become desensitized to it and it takes more and more to satiate the craving. Once you are away from it for a while that doesn't happen. I always regret cheats though...not because of calories or carb count or i feel like a failure...but because of how i feel physically when i eat it. I've begun to associate that crappy feeling with sweets and that helps me stay away from them much easier now...and between my husband and my kids...i'm always around tempation.

Chris_Pierce

Another benefit to cutting it completely is that you can see a difference in how you feel much faster than you will with moderation. For me, when I eat sweets now they seem overly sweet and just a tiny bit is plenty. Even fruit seems really sweet to me now. When you constantly exposure yourself to that stuff your tastebuds become desensitized to it and it takes more and more to satiate the craving. Once you are away from it for a while that doesn't happen. I always regret cheats though...not because of calories or carb count or i feel like a failure...but because of how i feel physically when i eat it. I've begun to associate that crappy feeling with sweets and that helps me stay away from them much easier now...and between my husband and my kids...i'm always around tempation.

This is true. I can hardly eat candy anymore. Soda is impossible for me to drink. Disgusting horrible stuff, and I used to drink 8 cans of mt dew a day. The longer you don't eat it the easier it is and the more you'll realize that it's poison.