"trigger" foods
jacksonpt
Posts: 10,413 Member
I've seen this mentioned a few times and thought it might make for a good conversation.
I'm going to start out very general and see where this goes:
Do you believe in the idea of trigger foods? i.e. the notion that some foods, even in small quantities, can and do trigger binges? I'm not talking about 1 or 2 servings more than you planned, I'm talking about everything within arm's reach.
If you do, is it mental thing? Physical? other?
I'm going to start out very general and see where this goes:
Do you believe in the idea of trigger foods? i.e. the notion that some foods, even in small quantities, can and do trigger binges? I'm not talking about 1 or 2 servings more than you planned, I'm talking about everything within arm's reach.
If you do, is it mental thing? Physical? other?
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Replies
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I have trigger foods that I'm not always able to handle well. For me, it's stuff that a lot of people may call "junk" and it can be salty or sweet, but having it in the house doesn't always go well.
That said, I've been able to introduce these things back into my life by cutting them out for a while and then slowly reintroducing them into my diet. I started by only buying a single serving out and not having a whole container in the house (such as going out for gelato with friends and getting one small serving). After learning correct portion control and learning to be satisfied with a single serving, I was able to have them in the house.
I find my bigger problem is that I mindlessly eat, and I'll do that with any kinds of food; I'll just rack up the calories faster when I have snacky foods in the house. This past week I've had some mini binges, and I really need to buckle down and be more mindful of my eating. But, that really has nothing to do with the foods themselves, it's more of a mental problem.0 -
I think it's largely individual with a variety of different factors: Stress, social setting, connecting food to comfort and happiness, etc. I don't have any trigger foods. I have control over my eating habits.
If I want to eat a food I'll eat it, if not then I won't - so long as it fits into my macro/calorie goals.0 -
In the context you're describing I don't have any trigger foods. Perhaps people with binge eating disorders might.
That being said I do think MANY people have issues moderating their consumption of certain hyper-palatable foods. The way you're positioning your post this wouldn't be a "trigger" food, but I think most people would consider them "trigger" foods as far as they are concerned.0 -
Pizza is a food that I will almost loose all control over myself. I have to utilize all restraint possible to not eat more than two slices of pizza, which fails at times. It's one of the foods that I'm trying to bring back into my diet slowly because I know it's a food that is a huge weakness for me.0
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totally have trigger foods, peanut butter, chocolate, ice cream anything decandent really I have one serving and I want another, and another, lets just say I only buy small tubs off ice cream not the 2l ones because I WILL eat it all by day's end
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Yes, I believe there are trigger foods. I don't know if the trigger is mental or physical, but kicking any bad habit or addiction comes down to mental dedication. Whatever is causing the craving, no matter how intense the want or need, you have to mentally overcome it.0
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cereal, I can't just have one serving...sometimes I won't stop until the box is finished. I have stopped eating it all together.0
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I've discovered that foods I have an intolerance to (anything containing milk and soy) can make me crave more. If I'm careful and stay away from most pacakged stuff I have no problems with cravings or binge eating. (It does mean I have to bake my own breads and cookies, but that's not really a bad thing!)0
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In the context you're describing I don't have any trigger foods. Perhaps people with binge eating disorders might.
That being said I do think MANY people have issues moderating their consumption of certain hyper-palatable foods. The way you're positioning your post this wouldn't be a "trigger" food, but I think most people would consider them "trigger" foods as far as they are concerned.
Can you elaborate? It sounds like you're trying to draw a line between trigger foods and lack of will power to moderate?
Or am I totally misunderstanding?0 -
I do believe there are trigger foods and think it is a physical thing that can then become a psychological thing too. For me it is wheat and suspect an allergy as wheat is a grass and I am so allergic to grasses. Learning about the dramatic changes made in wheat protiens in the last century as a byproduct of breeding for the mega food industry (short plants with heavy seed heads, disease resistance etc.) and the huge increase in people with gluten sensitivities supports this hypothesis. Fact is, bread would trigger major binges but gluten free bread does not.0
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trinitypinecone wrote: »I do believe there are trigger foods and think it is a physical thing that can then become a psychological thing too. For me it is wheat and suspect an allergy as wheat is a grass and I am so allergic to grasses. Learning about the dramatic changes made in wheat protiens in the last century as a byproduct of breeding for the mega food industry (short plants with heavy seed heads, disease resistance etc.) and the huge increase in people with gluten sensitivities supports this hypothesis. Fact is, bread would trigger major binges but gluten free bread does not.
If you were allergic to wheat, you would not likely overeat it. It would cause distress.0 -
In the context you're describing I don't have any trigger foods. Perhaps people with binge eating disorders might.
That being said I do think MANY people have issues moderating their consumption of certain hyper-palatable foods. The way you're positioning your post this wouldn't be a "trigger" food, but I think most people would consider them "trigger" foods as far as they are concerned.
Can you elaborate? It sounds like you're trying to draw a line between trigger foods and lack of will power to moderate?
Or am I totally misunderstanding?
I think plenty of people end up eating far too many calories in part because of hyper palatable foods being much harder to moderate. I think most people call these "trigger" foods".
Your definition seems to be one where they eat some chips followed by going on a rampage eating everything in the house. I'm not sure whether or not that exists, but it wouldn't surprise me if people with binge eating disorders do that.
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For me, trigger foods can be any foods I like and don't eat regularly because they're not particularly great for my body (cookies, pizza, ice cream, etc.).
I think it's all mental. At least for me, once I start eating, say, a cookie then the guilt shows up and I think "Oh what the hell, I'll have it all today so there's nothing left for tomorrow and I can start fresh". And thus I end up compulsively eating all the junk in the kitchen: junk I won't be allowed to eat tomorrow.
But it can be trained. Ironically, I think if one starts eating these "trigger foods" with a certain regularity and promises themselves to have just one serving, one can slowly break the cycle. Yesterday I managed to indulge on a cup of my favourite ice cream (only! yay!), which is a huge deal for me.0 -
Sugar and refined, white flour. They are incredibly addictive and I can't stop once I get on a sugar/flour binge. And worse, they cause my blood sugar to crash a few hours later and make me crave more to bring my levels back up. its a vicious cycle.
After lots of soul searching and being honest with myself about my eating habits. It became glaring obvious that calories aren't my problem, its sugar and white flour. Once I cut those out, I've never looked back!0 -
Sugar and refined, white flour. They are incredibly addictive and I can't stop once I get on a sugar/flour binge. And worse, they cause my blood sugar to crash a few hours later and make me crave more to bring my levels back up. its a vicious cycle.
After lots of soul searching and being honest with myself about my eating habits. It became glaring obvious that calories aren't my problem, its sugar and white flour. Once I cut those out, I've never looked back!
Did you ever eat white flour plain, out of the bag?
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I'm going to start out very general and see where this goes:
Do you believe in the idea of trigger foods? i.e. the notion that some foods, even in small quantities, can and do trigger binges? I'm not talking about 1 or 2 servings more than you planned, I'm talking about everything within arm's reach.
If you do, is it mental thing? Physical? other?
Yes, for people prone to binging. I think it's psychological.
I'd also say that for people not prone to binging (like me) there still may be trigger foods--foods that are harder for us to stop eating or that we tend to overeat. I think that's also psychological, and often related to emotional eating, although sometimes it is just preference and an absence of cues to stop.
For example, if you give me a piece of naan (which is a food I tend to overeat), I'll eat it and be fine. But if we have a basket on the table that gets refilled, I'll keep eating unless I plan in advance not to. That's an absence of cues to stop eating.
Before I started working on emotional eating, there were certain go-to foods that I'd eat because I had a bad day (cookies in the office break room, say), and under those circumstances I'd just keep eating, because it would make me feel better, but only until it was gone. Now I know eating under those circumstances is a trigger. There are foods I connect with that, but now that the connection is largely broken they are much less likely to lead to overeating. But it's still really hard to control myself if I decide to eat under those conditions, even now.
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GoingSlightlyMad wrote: »For me, trigger foods can be any foods I like and don't eat regularly because they're not particularly great for my body (cookies, pizza, ice cream, etc.).
I think it's all mental. At least for me, once I start eating, say, a cookie then the guilt shows up and I think "Oh what the hell, I'll have it all today so there's nothing left for tomorrow and I can start fresh". And thus I end up compulsively eating all the junk in the kitchen: junk I won't be allowed to eat tomorrow.
But it can be trained. Ironically, I think if one starts eating these "trigger foods" with a certain regularity and promises themselves to have just one serving, one can slowly break the cycle. Yesterday I managed to indulge on a cup of my favourite ice cream (only! yay!), which is a huge deal for me.
Yes, I agree with this too.
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It depends on the person. Many people do not have emotional/psychological issues surrounding food. For those of us who do, I absolutely believe there are trigger foods and the best way to deal with it, is to keep them out of sight and out of reach.
It takes a lot of work and trial and effort to break the habit of allowing trigger foods to result in binges. It can be done though.0 -
Bread i.e. sandwich bread, pizza, bagels, etc. I've learned to cut these things out completely as they are huge triggers for me. If I happen to slip up and eat it, I try to keep it as minimal as possible and move on.0
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Hyperpalatable is an excellent way of stating that.In the context you're describing I don't have any trigger foods. Perhaps people with binge eating disorders might.
That being said I do think MANY people have issues moderating their consumption of certain hyper-palatable foods. The way you're positioning your post this wouldn't be a "trigger" food, but I think most people would consider them "trigger" foods as far as they are concerned.
Love it.
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
Hyperpalatable is an excellent way of stating that.In the context you're describing I don't have any trigger foods. Perhaps people with binge eating disorders might.
That being said I do think MANY people have issues moderating their consumption of certain hyper-palatable foods. The way you're positioning your post this wouldn't be a "trigger" food, but I think most people would consider them "trigger" foods as far as they are concerned.
Love it.
Is that fancy talk for "exceedingly delicious"?
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
Hyperpalatable is an excellent way of stating that.In the context you're describing I don't have any trigger foods. Perhaps people with binge eating disorders might.
That being said I do think MANY people have issues moderating their consumption of certain hyper-palatable foods. The way you're positioning your post this wouldn't be a "trigger" food, but I think most people would consider them "trigger" foods as far as they are concerned.
Love it.
Is that fancy talk for "exceedingly delicious"?
Yeah basically. I blame Guyenet.0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
Hyperpalatable is an excellent way of stating that.In the context you're describing I don't have any trigger foods. Perhaps people with binge eating disorders might.
That being said I do think MANY people have issues moderating their consumption of certain hyper-palatable foods. The way you're positioning your post this wouldn't be a "trigger" food, but I think most people would consider them "trigger" foods as far as they are concerned.
Love it.
Is that fancy talk for "exceedingly delicious"?
Yeah basically. I blame Guyenet.
I love it!0 -
Sugar and refined, white flour. They are incredibly addictive and I can't stop once I get on a sugar/flour binge. And worse, they cause my blood sugar to crash a few hours later and make me crave more to bring my levels back up. its a vicious cycle.
After lots of soul searching and being honest with myself about my eating habits. It became glaring obvious that calories aren't my problem, its sugar and white flour. Once I cut those out, I've never looked back!
Did you ever eat white flour plain, out of the bag?
I did
. Never again. 0 -
Sugar. I'll never be someone who keeps a bar of dark chocolate in the fridge and takes a dainty nibble every night for weeks before having to buy a new bar. I'm the person who buys a bag of Oreos and eats the whole thing. So...no cookies in my house!0
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While I think there are definitely a lot of psychological factors that can trigger binge eating, there is a physical component for some people that I would probably call a trigger. Whether others would call it a trigger or not is up for debate, but some foods are known to actually trigger a physical change/desire to eat the food.
Caffeine comes to mind, for example. ;-)
These triggers absolutely can involve allergens - for less severe allergies, where one is not in danger of dying, it actually doesn't matter if it makes you feel terrible or not, you may crave it.
"Don't be surprised if you actually crave the food you're allergic to. When you go on an elimination diet , your body may go through withdrawal symptoms, triggering cravings for the very food that is not good for it... This food-craving paradox is especially true in children who are hypersensitive to sugar . When the blood sugar rises and then falls, children crave the food that will send their blood sugar skyrocketing."
http://www.allergyaware.org/articles/facts_about_food_allergies.html
Wheat can actually cause withdrawal symptoms and react something like an opioid in some folks, so they crave it badly if they stop eating it. (study mentioning the opiod effect only: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6099562)
I'm allergic to sugarcane and sugar beets, which are the two main sources for anything that lists sugar as an ingredient. If I have anything with sugar, I will start to crave it horribly, after just a small piece of something with sugar. I will think of eating something sweet all day long - literally all day. I will dream of binging on it every night. If I start eating I find it very, very difficult to stop; nausea will not make me want to stop, disgust for the food will not make me want to stop. The level of intensity feels like fighting off an addiction.
The craving won't cease until I've stopped eating anything with sugar for at least 2 weeks straight, and then the urge to eat it disappears. Not a problem unless I do something stupid like eat at a friend's house thinking, 'just once would be fine. I can won't have the cravings go crazy like this. No problem.'
My mother hasn't had sugar in decades because she has had the exact same experience with it, so it seems to be in the family, at least!
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