FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE A FOOD ADDICTION

ThePhatMan

This did not happen today, it has happened in the past and it will happen in the future. I had a really good day, I exercised, stayed within my calories, ate healthy and sat down at the end of the day to relax. All of a sudden I get up and go to the fridge and see a big bowl of spaghetti and meatballs (could be anything). So I tell myself I have 100 calories left, I’ll take a bite and that will be it. I take a bite and go sit down, then the voices start, you can have more just walk it off tomorrow. I get up take a small bowl, 500 calories, and hour on the treadmill. Again I sit back down, now feeling a little stupid and angry at what I just did, 10 minutes later I am back up and heating up the whole bowl, after the 3000 calorie indulgence of spaghetti and meatballs I feel like shooting myself in the head. I ask myself, why? How can you be that stupid? Depression sets in, and then you have to make a choice. Do I pay the piper and exercise, count calories and try to take back my life or do I fall off yet again. The last time I chose my life, WHO KNOWS ABOUT NEXT TIME!!! WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ON BINGEING? :embarassed:

sexygenius

i have so had those days.. im getting a bit better.. but it is a fight everytime i look in the frig or the cabinat...you just have to relize its just one day and tommorow and the rest of the week will be better..i have to literally yell at myself and tell myself "so you just had all that spagetti..i dont care how much you are over you are stopping NOW there is no reason to just give up on today and eat the whole fridge dont let a 3000 calories binge turn into a 5000 binge"

Mirabilis

You need to forgive yourself, firstly. One lapse does not a failure make.

Secondly, you might want to consider eating no starches for a while. They actually make you hungry. I'm especially talking about rice, potatoes, bread and pasta. I had to do it and it was hard. It's not hard now.

Thirdly, don't eat it if you don't write it down first.

Fourthly, drink your water. All of it. Sometimes your body doesn't know it's thirsty and you think that it really wants you to eat something. Also, the water fills you up.

Fifthly, you're weighing everything before you eat it, right?

Sixthly, you're having small meals, regularly spaced, right? Your body needs to know you're not starving. That helps a lot.

You can do this, but it takes some organization, definitely.

aigéan

happens to me too... I've battled many types of eating disorders! so annoying!

ChelseaPilon

bump

KcFitCoach

I have had days like this, too!!! I know I'm supposed to understand some deep problem or issue I am having that causes me to do this sometimes...but, for me I think it is plain and simple comfort and happy endorphins....and I have certain foods that I just KNOW I am incapable of having just a little bit of. It's funny, because spaghetti is one of those foods for me! So I either have them rarely or don't even buy them. For example - really good potato chips, like salt and vinegar or kettle chips. Just cannot have them in the house. I know they taste awesome and I DIVE into them with no end in sight and I just cannot have them in my house.

daybyday

Bump!! I have this problem too - especially with chips lately. I guess the key would be to NOT buy them, but then it would probably be something else in the house.

McDougal416

I have problems w/beinge eating at times too. I hate it when I do it, but sometimes I just end up not caring. The only way that I have been able to get passed those, and not have those is to allow myself a cheat meal or a cheat day. I have them about once a week. I make sure and make myself be accountable for the weight that I gain by weighing myself the next day. Infact, this time of me trying to lose weight...I'm weighing myself everyday. I normaly don't like to do that, it usually depresses me..but its been holding myself more accountable and I've lost weight quicker by doing that. So, maybe try allowing yourself a cheat meal, or a cheat day..just try not to gorge yourself on that day and gain back everything you have lost. But, I can tell that it does my metabolism good when I'm not sticking w/the same calorie intake day in and day out. Thus the cheat day/cheat meal. If you start feeling like you are going to eat the food (beinge eat) then throw the food away...to some people thats waisting food..and it is to an extent (Unless you have dogs, LOL)...but its also saving yourself from heartache and depression..which is more important.

rozsbluejay

Yeah it happens to the best of us....and that's why I started on MFP....the best thing I can tell you is: I have looked at how much you have lost...52! That's great, look at how much you have accomplished and I like to quote a famous teacher that recently died: "You don't count how many times you fall. You count how many times you get up" (Jaime Escalante) So it will happen, but at the same time, you will learn. Keep up the good work. You can do it!

KcFitCoach

PS - On the spaghetti thing...if I do indulge and make some I make whole wheat or Dreamfields low carb. AND I first drink a HUGE glass of water. These varieties of pasta are more filling, less instant sugar in the body and with the big glass of cold water already in the tummy you just physically cannot eat as much

amie1979

as i was reading this i was eating a piece of leftover chicken from dinner...thats me tonight. i did good today, but i "think" im hungry. i just ate that, and im wondering what else can i have right now...and im not happy about it. i dont think its a failure, just a tripup. i think we should just man up to what we did, and try to stop it or curb it next time. good luck to you, and to me...we will be fine!

MISTTIMG

Reading your post was so funny! Actually I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time, I think this happens to a lot of folks on here, that's why we're here to try to get a handle on it. Anyway you are definitely not alone, just start over tomorrow, It's a New Day!

ttungttung

I have a problem with binge eating too. It's triggered by salty or carbohydrate-heavy foods generally (for me).
The only way I've been able to combat it as such is:
1. Not having binge triggers in the house. (No instant noodles, no chips, just healthy stuff.)
2. If I feel I'm going to binge, I force myself to have carrots. Just carrots. That way I'm still technically bingeing but it's not as bad as if I have 2,000 calories of chips and instant noodles.

1blessed

I am in a support group/12 step program for food addiction. We use the book titled, Conquering your eating disorder. This is a 12 step Christ centered program that has helped me tremendously. You need not beat yourself and realize that you cannot do it alone. I would suggest getting the book and work the program yourself or find a recovery program that will help you focus on your eating disorder and find support from those who share the same issues you do. Just remember to take this one step and one day at a time.
:happy: :happy:

Burtonrah

I understand whole heartedly how you feel. I struggle with the binge eating too. Important for us bingers to realize is that we CAN change this behavior. Sure we're going to have ups and downs, but the key is to have more ups Focus on the fact that you have already lost over 50LBS!! That's amazing!! Focus on the success, tomorrow is a new day!

wiseg2

The only way I've found of effectively solving that problem is not having the stuff around the house. Or if someone else wants it I tell them to hide it. Out of sight, out of mind. If neither one of these are possible try to find something to keep yourself busy. I binge the most when I'm bored and have nothing to do. I think you should try to exercise as much of it off as you can and log all your food to keep yourself accountable. Also try making your diary public or putting a pic of yourself at your heaviest on the fridge.

tarapin

I am SOOOOOO with you and spent the better part of my life bingeing! thank God introduced me to someone who was just like me and had "it" in control! I gave up sugar, carbs and alcohol for 47 days and totally cleanse my system and all the cravings went away and i was able to get into control. I started using MFP and exercising slowly crept in. After a while I introduced some alcohol and a very small amount of sugar and carbs sneak in from time to time because that is just the realism of life.

I have always used potatoes, brown rice and brown rice pasta, whole grain not whole wheat flour products and have had a lot of success! I also had to do a lot of soul searching to get to the core of why I kept myself in this fat suit my whole life. It's not fun but the results and confidence I feel is AMAZING! I love the fact I like looking in the mirror at the person I am becoming and always wanted to be.....good luck!!!

CCMLA

I am so with you, too. I started binge eating at 5 years old, if you can believe that! I've done a ton of research and it seems that folks like you and I have brain chemistry which is sensitive to the feel-good trifecta of sugar-fat-salt. The combination of those three three items (which will be in your spaghetti bowl) triggers dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine in the brain, which are three seriously addictive brain chemicals for some people (myself included). Also, you may want to check out the latest issue of Prevention magazine for its article on salt. New research points to salt also being addictive because it triggers the release of dopamine in the brain.

Given all of the this information, I have found, like a lot of people who have responded here, that limiting certain types of carbs for a while makes the cravings and binge urges easier to turn away from (usually refined sugar, flour, and salty items). Also, I find that when a binge urge comes on, don't talk yourself into the first bite if you suspect you'll be overpowered by the urge after the first bite, and try popping in an exercise video for 10-20 minutes instead. I have found that exercise makes cravings go away; I suspect it's because it generates feel-good brain chemicals to satisfy that urge. Also, flavored herbal teas seem to trick my brain into thinking I'm taking in something sweet and it gets rid of urges enough to ignore them (chamomile and peppermint are my faves).

In any case, forgive yourself and get back on the tracking train. Every small failure is a lesson in what your triggers are, and you can overpower those urges with a whole of practice.

You're not alone!

kimmiebear70

I have been there, as have many others. You are not alone, that's for sure. I think the fact that you realize it and can own up to it, puts you back in control. Take one day at a time. Forgive yourself and move on. You might think about freezing leftovers in individual portions so they are not easily accessible for binging, yet you're not wasting the food. I HATE wasting food. I was always raised to clean my plate and I do, along with my children's too! That is one goal I have, to stop cleaning their plates so I can keep track of my calories better.

We are here for you! You can do it!

tiffanygil

me too =( I could so releat to that story. I almost cried. The thing is keep going. Dont give up and dont beat yourself up. I know for me, I have tried it all. The herbal tea, the shower, the water, the praying, the saying a bible verse, the read a good book....some times it works, some times it doesnt. However, if your in it forever you will eventually find balance At least I think

shaggy22

I think that kind of thing can happen to anyone. I guess it depends on how often it happens to see just how serious it will be for you. 3,500 over your daily maintenance would be add a pound of weight which would really affect the week for me.

I know that I can't get through the evening without eating big meals so I try to leave my bigger meals to the end of the day. I have my lunch quite late in my day and have my dinner a few hours after that. Both those meals would be satisfying foods like chicken and potatoes (poss with veggies). If I do this then I don't usually have mad cravings!

Maybe you can be creative about it. You need to have a deficit to lose weight, another important factor is how compliant you are to keeping the deficit, but how you pace your meals is totally up to you. I have even heard of some people who eat just eat basic protein meals through the day and leave all their calories for one huge meal (this is apparently supposed to be around your workout times). I am not suggesting that for you, just illustrating creative solutions which work for some people.

The other thing to remember that you don't need to eat in deficit your whole life! This isn't permanent! It is just until you have removed the excess weight. Then you increase you calories to maintenance levels!

Anway, good luck with your journey and be gentle with yourself. There is no upside to beating yourself up over these things. Your mental talk is important! I no longer use hard or really vibrant language around negative things (I consider this beating myself up). Instead I try to use vibrant exciting language around the things I do well and if it is "bad" then my stock phrase is "that wasn't ideal". Seems so boring eh? Yes, that is why it works so awesomely! If I totally crash and burn on something and stop and say "yeah, that wasn't ideal" it puts a cap on it, but doesn't leave me with any hard feelings - it is actually kind of funny to me. Then because it isn't painful to me I can look at it (whatever it is) and try to figure out how to do it better.

Well, I rambled for quite awhile, but I have hope that these things which work so very well for me, may be of some use for you.

kewkdb

FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE A FOOD ADDICTION

Technically speaking everyone and everything has a food addiction... just say'n >_<

gracefullyjenn

this is me to a capital T. Always in the evening after a good day

kathdela

I saw an interesting show on hunger and the brain on ABCnews the other night. They explained that in normal people, when they crave something, they take a bite and their amigdala stops the cravings. In people with food addiction, they take a bite and the cravings increase until they're full.


I just thought that was pretty interesting.

http://www.fit-after-fifty.com/blogit/blog6.php?title=food-addiction-certain-foods-arouse-your-brain&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

"In Kessler's new book, "The End of Overeating," he describes how the part of the brain the amygdale, which is the area of the brain that controls our desires, can affect overeating.

For most of people, when they see a tempting snack like a potato chip, it's the area of the brain will light up with activity and send feelings of anticipation and want. And once they start eating it shuts off. But for an overeater the amygdala remains activated while eating, creating that feeling of want, even after five, 10 or even 50 chips.

"We now know that the brains of millions of Americans are being excessively activated. Not everybody," Kessler said. "Let me give you [some] characteristics. Hard time resisting foods, a lack of feeling full, hard time stopping, a preoccupation, a thinking about foods between meals. And the foods that really arouse our brains are a combination of sugar, fat and salt, in other words, junk food.""

"Small noted there was an area of the brain that "should be shut off when you actually taste what you've been smelling."

"In people that are overweight or obese, the area's not being shut off. It's still so high," she said."

myfallwedding

i think i have been dealing with this my whole life. I have really good days where I feel ok and acceptance runs deep inside me. Then. Out of nowhere, I will eat a whole box of cookies. I love carbs abd cheese, its definalty my downfall. I have tons of support and I know dieting tools from here to china. I just cant seem to keep my mind and body onthe same schedule.

lastchance2010

I am so with you, too. I started binge eating at 5 years old, if you can believe that! I've done a ton of research and it seems that folks like you and I have brain chemistry which is sensitive to the feel-good trifecta of sugar-fat-salt. The combination of those three three items (which will be in your spaghetti bowl) triggers dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine in the brain, which are three seriously addictive brain chemicals for some people (myself included). Also, you may want to check out the latest issue of Prevention magazine for its article on salt. New research points to salt also being addictive because it triggers the release of dopamine in the brain.

Given all of the this information, I have found, like a lot of people who have responded here, that limiting certain types of carbs for a while makes the cravings and binge urges easier to turn away from (usually refined sugar, flour, and salty items). Also, I find that when a binge urge comes on, don't talk yourself into the first bite if you suspect you'll be overpowered by the urge after the first bite, and try popping in an exercise video for 10-20 minutes instead. I have found that exercise makes cravings go away; I suspect it's because it generates feel-good brain chemicals to satisfy that urge. Also, flavored herbal teas seem to trick my brain into thinking I'm taking in something sweet and it gets rid of urges enough to ignore them (chamomile and peppermint are my faves).

In any case, forgive yourself and get back on the tracking train. Every small failure is a lesson in what your triggers are, and you can overpower those urges with a whole of practice.

You're not alone!

I think that is very interesting because I certainly never understood how WHILE i'm eating I'm so happy and so content and so into shoveling food in my face....and then...once I'm so full I can burst or can't lay on my back cuz i'm so full hits...i get SO mad :grumble: and I'm like WUT DID I DO THAT FOR?! Having 4 kids doesn't help cuz they love all things sweet and salty..in moderation of course but for me that temptation is awful and sometimes i have to tell my kids if you want it you need to get it because after a certain time...i can't go back into the kitchen cuz then I'm lookin in cabinets, the fridge the pantry for something..never really know wut I'm looking for but I find myself lookin. Now I bought a ridiculous amount of extra which i still have yet to try the dessert tasting kind but when i do that I quickly put a piece of gum in my mouth and grab a big glass of water and then I'm good to go...so stay strong. your not alone...Good luck to you in the future and know that you've done well enough to lose 50+ lbs and you can continue to do so. You are in control! :drinker:

MISTTIMG

I saw an interesting show on hunger and the brain on ABCnews the other night. They explained that in normal people, when they crave something, they take a bite and their amigdala stops the cravings. In people with food addiction, they take a bite and the cravings increase until they're full.
I just thought that was pretty interesting.

http://www.fit-after-fifty.com/blogit/blog6.php?title=food-addiction-certain-foods-arouse-your-brain&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

"In Kessler's new book, "The End of Overeating," he describes how the part of the brain the amygdale, which is the area of the brain that controls our desires, can affect overeating.
For most of people, when they see a tempting snack like a potato chip, it's the area of the brain will light up with activity and send feelings of anticipation and want. And once they start eating it shuts off. But for an overeater the amygdala remains activated while eating, creating that feeling of want, even after five, 10 or even 50 chips.
"We now know that the brains of millions of Americans are being excessively activated. Not everybody," Kessler said. "Let me give you [some] characteristics. Hard time resisting foods, a lack of feeling full, hard time stopping, a preoccupation, a thinking about foods between meals. And the foods that really arouse our brains are a combination of sugar, fat and salt, in other words, junk food.""
"Small noted there was an area of the brain that "should be shut off when you actually taste what you've been smelling."
"In people that are overweight or obese, the area's not being shut off. It's still so high," she said."

Yes that is an interesting article, I guess we (overweight folks) are thinking if the first bite was good and satisfying then the last bite will be the same. I have decided to give myself a "cheat day" beginning at 12 midnight Saturday night until midnight Sunday night. That way during the week all I have to think about is staying within calories for one day at a time, then if I really am craving something (not liver and broccoli) I can have it on that one cheat day. It may slow down my loss but maybe in the long run I can meet my goal.

superwmn

The book Women Food and God by Geneen Roth is a great read if you suffer from food addiction. I read it in January and have binged ONCE since. The book was life changing for me.

Here's an excerpt from Oprah.com:

http://www.oprah.com/health/An-Excerpt-from-Geneen-Roths-Women-Food-And-God

YOU CAN OVERCOME THIS ADDICTION!!!

Charmagne