It's in my head. It's driving me insane.

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pilatemom
pilatemom Posts: 111
in Introduce Yourself
Even after I've eaten three donuts, I want more and more and more. But it's an uncontrollable want. I don't feel like I can contain myself. Right now I'm trying my hardest to not go in the kitchen and eat the rest of the donuts in the box. Usually in cases like this, I ask my parents or brother to take them and eat them or hide them. I have an eating disorder. An overeating, eating disorder. It's only sometimes. And it's only with sweets! Never regular food! I feel like I can't control it. I keep trying to think of ways to avoid eating them but those never work unless someone hides them from me or eats them. I say "Okay, I'll go outside and walk around till I decide I don't want it anymore." That never works. I burn a bunch of calories, then rush home to digest more sweets. I say "Okay, I'll sleep." I can't sleep. My mind is saying "Go get a donut! You know you want it!" Yes, I want an awesome body more for all my days ahead, but for this very day I WANT DONUTS.

God, you guys probably think I'm pathetic, disgusting, ridiculous. I know you guys are all great, supportive, amazing people but how could you on something like this?
I really... think somethings wrong me.

I swear... When I don't think about it? I eat so good! And when I think so hard about losing weight and wanting to be that fit, sexy chick? I go sweet food insane. I know it should be the other way around. -.-
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Replies

  • Captain_Tightpants
    Captain_Tightpants Posts: 2,215 Member
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    Nope, you're human... with a fairly normal biological human brain. It's chemistry you are fighting.

    Highly processed and refined sugar goods - like donuts - can cause a crazy amount of chain reactions in the brain that nature never really intended us to have. Even a bite of something like that can psychologically 'prime' you to want more rather than satisyfying your craving.

    Read "The end of overeating" by Dr. David Kessler for more info.
  • littlerockdee
    littlerockdee Posts: 2
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    I am a teacher and I always buy the students little treats when they are good because they are from low income households. I have been dieting really well and yesterday during my break what did i do.....i obviously ate a treat that I had bought for them.....not only one bag of chips but 3!!! 3!!! I can't believe I lost control like that...it felt like my whole day went down the drain :( but it didn't! stay positive girl...go outside for a run or a walk or go to the mall! stay positive IM HERE FOR YOU!!!!! have a great day
  • BCSMama
    BCSMama Posts: 348
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    Don't feel bad about it. It's great that you're recognizing the issue and working to correct it. I firmly believe that sugar can cause addiction or compulsive behavior in some people. My mom has a sugar addiction and finally has it under control. She simply can't have refined sugar at all. She knows she can't just have one cookie or candy or whatever because if she tries, she will end up eating the whole container and then hating herself for it. I know moderation is talked about a lot, but if you have a true sugar addiction, it's best not to have it at all. I also have the tendencies at times, but I don't think it's as bad as some people suffer with. The good news is that the longer you stay away from refined sugar, the less intense the cravings will be. Plus, you'll feel a lot better.
  • magazinegirl
    magazinegirl Posts: 13
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    i have the same issue. i can sit down and eat a box of donuts or cupcakes or whatever in one sitting if i don't watch myself. it's hard to stop. i was kinda raised that way though, watching my mother devour and entire box of cinnamon donuts in one sitting or an entire bag of sugar easter eggs at one time. that's just how she "enjoyed" her favorite things, so growing up i didn't realize it wasn't healthy or normal. i know it's not now though but old habits die hard. just do your best to remind yourself that you only need one donut, one cupcake, etc. that's what i try to do. i also think this to myself.... "would i let my kids eat like this?" if the answer is no for them, then it should be no for me.
  • JenRunTriHappyGirl
    JenRunTriHappyGirl Posts: 521 Member
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    You are not alone! throw them away! That is the only way my husband and I can stop ourselves sometimes. We just throw it away. I threw away half of an amazing apple pie over Thanksgiving.... I had too because I ate the other half! You might feel guilty for a minute after you throw away perfectly good food, but then you will be proud of yourself. And controlling yourself from digging through the garbage is a whole lot easier than controlling yourself from walking to the counter. Plus, its not perfectly good food. Its HORRIBLE food that makes you feel good for a minute and then immediately regret waht you just did! THROW THEM AWAY!!!
  • verptwerp
    verptwerp Posts: 3,659 Member
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    SUGAR IS ADDICTIVE !

    That's how I ended up being 60 lbs overweight ...... got rid of 45 lbs several years ago ....... had to go cold turkey & avoid sugar, baked goods, etc for several weeks ...... no, it wasn't "easy" but it worked ...... years later I'm still able to walk through a room full of sweets & not give them a thought !

    Best of luck to you :heart:
  • vcferlita1
    vcferlita1 Posts: 61
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    Actually sounds kind of normal. Its hard to resist. If I could eat Oreo Blizzards from Dairy Queen all day, I would.
  • ahviendha
    ahviendha Posts: 1,291 Member
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    sugar is addictive. scientific studies prove it, human behavior proves it.

    don't beat yourself up about a natural human reaction. sugar is good! it's sweet! it's instant energy! our bodies love any sort of shortcut, and sugar is just that. a shortcut to real energy.

    try to cut it out as best you can. refined sugar becomes less appealing as you eat it less.
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
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    "One is too many, a thousand is never enough." I cut out all mixtures of sugar and flour. I will over eat every single time. When I don't eat those things, I don't crave them.
  • aryastark8
    aryastark8 Posts: 57 Member
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    There is a funny trick that the brain plays on us all, it's call ironic rebound in psychology. It kicks in when you try to avoid thinking about certain things (like food), or doing some things (like eat). Once you decide to do it, your brain keeps coming back to the thoughts of food again and again, and it's hard to resist. This works with anything: as long as you decide to avoid/not to think about it, your brain makes you want it :-)

    Apparently this happens because if you decide to avoid say food, some part of your brain needs to keep track that you indeed avoid food, and that forces it to constantly come back to thoughts of food :-)

    The trick to get around it is to be positive and not negative. Like you are not dieting/avoiding unhealthy foods - instead you are committed to giving your body the best possible nutrition and eating healthy. You can read more about ironic rebound here: http://www.psych-it.com.au/Psychlopedia/article.asp?id=133 .
  • metacognition
    metacognition Posts: 626 Member
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    I notice that if I have a large meal of 600 calories or more, my body will send out cravings about 2 hours later to eat everything in sight.

    The key to avoiding a binge is planning beforehand. Your hormones are not due to a lack of resolve, they are simply responding to your body breaking a deficit (diet).

    It's a good idea to spread out your calories out over the day as small meals. I would throw away the donuts if they are a trigger food - if you are actively thinking about them it is very likely that you will finish them within a couple of hours.
  • katiedidit1
    katiedidit1 Posts: 39 Member
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    An addiction to sugar or any food for that matter is hard to deal with but can be dealt with. You do a great thing for yourself when you ask your family to finish or hide these items.

    You wouldn't offer an alcoholic a little sip of of alcohol. So if you know sugar is a trigger for wanting more sugar you can't have any donuts...This is not a moderation issue. This is a just don't do that to yourself issue. Heavens knows this only took me 40 yrs. to figure out;)

    Good luck to you!
  • JeninBelgium
    JeninBelgium Posts: 804 Member
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    I am a teacher and I always buy the students little treats when they are good because they are from low income households. I have been dieting really well and yesterday during my break what did i do.....i obviously ate a treat that I had bought for them.....not only one bag of chips but 3!!! 3!!! I can't believe I lost control like that...it felt like my whole day went down the drain :( but it didn't! stay positive girl...go outside for a run or a walk or go to the mall! stay positive IM HERE FOR YOU!!!!! have a great day

    I think it is wonderful that you buy your student treats- that is very kind of you actually. I wonder if you thought about fruit ? not just because you are less likely to go bonkers on it but also because many low income households live in areas with less access to fresh produce. I am not sure where you live, you may be in the countryside, but if you are in the city, consider what access your students have to fruits and vegetables. When I had attended a public health course one of our projects was to review local resources including access to supermarkets, farmers market etc and to check the prices of a list of food items in the area to which we were assigned and then again in more affluent areas- salad was hard to find in the part of Detroit I was assigned to and apples cost 4-5 times more than the suburbs.

    Just a thought :-) Keep up the good work teaching and caring about your students :-)
  • cloudsteps
    cloudsteps Posts: 5
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    yeah, the donuts are awesome... love them. love the sugar. love the sugar high....

    when i get a sugar craving i put myself on a bike / go running. the endorphin high keeps me off the sugar and breaks the psychological connection with food... over time it helps to break the psychological pattern and associates other feel-good outlets with the craving.

    when I start pushing 25mins of interval cardio I stop wanting the donut/chocolate bar/oreo cookies.... depending on fitness level, an interval cardio session would alternate 3-4 min easy, with pushing real hard (80-90% MHR) for 3-4 minutes. after 25mins and if i still have a craving, i push another 15min of easy cardio to finish off. usually i'm quite knackered by then and all I want is water and a shower.
  • Katie22222
    Katie22222 Posts: 31 Member
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    If you don't feel like this is a natural reaction of you body, then maybe it isn't. Like you said, it could be binge eating disorder, if this happens frequently. It isn't natural for the body to crave a whole box of donuts.
    If hunger isn't the reason you binge, try to identify the real reason. :) I know the feeling of what you describe, by the way.
  • shellebelle79
    shellebelle79 Posts: 52 Member
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    I too have an addiction to sugar. And that you stopped eating them was better then most can say when they are faced with the temptatons of eating the whole box. It is hard to walk away and not think about them anymore. But just try and do something to stay busy, that way maybe your mind won't have much time to think about it. It's hard I know
  • Tebbspcad
    Tebbspcad Posts: 233
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    Why don't you throw them away yourself - it's the first step in weaning yourself off all that sugar, you will feel so proud of yourself and it will break a psycological link you have about someone else having to throw them away or you'll eat them - just make sure you throw them somewhere disgusting so your not tempted to take them back out the bin!
  • GingerRunner
    GingerRunner Posts: 69
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    You are 100% normal. I am exactly the same way. One doughnut is too many and 1,000 are never enough. For me. Always. It is *exactly* like alcohol to an alcoholic. The book referenced in another reply, here, "The End Of Overeating" will shock you when you read about how addictive the substance is. Mix fat and salt with sugar and you've got cocaine. It's no joke. You'd never tell a recovering alcoholic that it's ok to have just one drink. Nowadays we know that is ludicrous. So, just say good bye to doughnuts and forget they exist.

    Peace friend. xx
  • cathydow
    cathydow Posts: 13 Member
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    Bump
  • IkirPaulson
    IkirPaulson Posts: 40 Member
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    Sugar is addictive and destructive. I am the same way; if there are snacks in the house, I will eat them. I don't buy them but my husband does (pop tarts mainly) and even though they are for him to eat, I will have already plowed through a box within the first 24 hours. By the next morning, there is nothing left and he didn't even get to eat one.
    A way around it is throwing them away and then telling him I ate them. He won't stop buying them and I don't have the self control to not eat it if I know it's there.
    The guilt of lying to my husband (about a tiny thing) prevents me from eating it the next time around.
    Since you live at home I'd suggest stopping yourself after one bite and then flushing the rest down the toilet. If it's in the trashcan you might still smell it and it'll make you hunt for more sweets.
    Best of luck!

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