over restricting and cravings/deprivation

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jacksonpt
jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I often see posts talking about how over restriction of either calories or specific foods (or both) can lead to cravings and/or feelings of deprivation. My question: where do those feelings come from?

I'm not sure it matters, but let's separate them out just in case it does.

Scenario 1 - A person significantly (i.e. overly) restricts overall calories, but does not exclude any specific food. The general consensus seems to be that, at some point, the person will experience cravings and/or feelings of deprivation.
  • Is it emotional? i.e. I miss my calories and I can't stand it!!!
  • Is it psychological? i.e. Some part of you knows how much you're restricting and tries to "resist" it.
  • Is it physical? i.e. The body adjusting to what may be a significant change in calories and/or nutrients, OR the body "signaling" that it needs more calories to function well/properly.


Scenario 2 - A person completely eliminates a specific food item, but keeps overall calories at a reasonable level. Again, the general consensus seems to be that, at some point, the person will experience cravings and/or feelings of deprivation. So I ask the same questions...
  • Is it emotional? i.e. I miss my half gallon of ice cream each night and I can't stand it!!!
  • Is it psychological? i.e. Some part of you knows you're "not allowed" to have your precious oreos and tries to "resist" it.
  • Is it physical? i.e. The body adjusting to what may be a significant change in nutrients.


Thoughts?

Replies

  • Ohwhynot
    Ohwhynot Posts: 356 Member
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    I think it's a bit of everything. If you're psychologically and emotionally accustomed to parking on the couch every night with a pint of Ben and Jerry's, and then suddenly stop, your brain is going to miss the routine (if you're like me), and your body is probably going to miss those calories it's accustomed to. I don't know enough about the physiological crave/hunger response to know if it's physical at all rather than all mental. There's gotta be a physical aspect to it - think of when you get dizzy and light headed when you cut back calories too quickly. When I first started back with MFP a few weeks back, I was weak and grumpy for the first couple days. The ONLY difference was that I'd gone from 2000+ cal/day to 1400/day. I wasn't restricting caffeine or sugar, and hadn't started working out yet.
    ...anecdata doesn't prove anything, I realize. Just offering up my experience.
  • johhunt47
    johhunt47 Posts: 30 Member
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    Depends on the person, but I've battled with all three aspects.

    I used to sit down and pound a bag of cheetos without a problem, but now, If I were to do that, guilt would set in and I would immediately think of running or tell myself that kind of behavior is no longer allowed. Psychologically, I knew I wan't supposed to have those types of food and I tried at all costs to resist them.

    A big part of the physical is not only adjusting to a shrinking stomach, but certain vitamin and nutrient deficiencies. The body needs a certain volume of nutrients and, if not fulfilled, the body will begin craving certain types of foods to make up for the deficiency.

    The worst part is the emotional. You miss something and can't have it...it conflicts with both psychological and physical as your body might be signaling that you need just a small portion of some of the foods you restrict, but you mind is telling you to stay away because you don't want them.

    There isn't a preordained answer for anyone. Some people might experience one of these types of symptoms or, like me, they might experience all. Key to harnessing these urges is balance...don't completely eliminate foods from your diet because YOU WILL REBOUND, BAD!
  • megaaussieftw
    megaaussieftw Posts: 12 Member
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    Well for me its scenario 1- i restrict my calories pretty low on a more deprivation side, but one minute i could be enjoying my diet i am on getting fit and healthy and all of a sudden feel like i want to murder a whole large bbq meatlovers pizza. I begin to think "I only live once, why am i depriving myself of the food i want", for me its more emotional i think. For me i have always looked at food as being comfort. (sit down in a dark room, have pizza, tall glass of coke and watch a movie and just relax. Its not good because that is how i reached 137kg but sometimes i still feel like doing that as i enjoyed it. For me i don't think its physical in anyway, i think it's both emotional and psychological as i miss it and i know i am not allowed to have it as it will put me at a loss. Knowing you can't have something makes you want it more.
  • kimw91
    kimw91 Posts: 355 Member
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    I think overall people will restrict both calories and specific types of food, although one probably more than the other. In other words: I may be eating 1600kcal a day, which is under my maintenance but not too extreme, and therefore cut all types of cake out of my diet as I am convinced they will not fit within my daily limit without me having to indeed extremely restrict myself throughout the rest of the day.

    I can say that for me, restricting is mainly psychological. When it is physical, I will just want to eat more, but not extreme amounts and not necessarily anything unhealthy. I may just have an extra apple, or rice with my dinner. But you can live off a very low number of calories, as long as you don't go from 2000 to 1100 overnight. I managed on 800-1100 while doing 2hours of strength training in the gym 6 days a week for months (no, I/it wasn't healthy). I didn't feel as energetic as I do now that I eat more, but I functioned just fine and was never really hungry as far as I can remember. I did compensate by drinking more (tea/water).

    It is the psychological/emotional aspect however that does most 'damage'. I've dealt with an eating disorder (or am still dealing with it, really) so I may not be an average example, but the reason I crave certain foods is because I won't allow myself to have them. This means that when I do have them, I tend to overeat (such as with sweets). This also more likely to happen when I am at a birthday party where everyone is eating cake and snacks and I won't allow myself a single bite: you'll get through the party, but the chances of 'giving in' that night or the next day I think are way bigger. It's partly the "I'll never have this again" effect, which is why I always advice people to never completely cut something out of their diet, unless it's feasible (not your favorite food, not something you'll often come across).

    Right, this has become quite the essay, but that's my vision anyway :wink:
  • MissyMissy18
    MissyMissy18 Posts: 315 Member
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    I've been in both scenarios, and my personal experiences seemed like:

    Scenario 1 - This felt physical. I was doing WeightWatchers at the time, so I didn't have much sense of how many calories I was actually eating since it uses a "points" system. I had never tried counting calories before, so the points system worked very well for me initially... I think if I had been aware that I had cut my calories from probably 17 or 1800 to 1200, there would have been quite a bit more psychological resistance. They also do the whole unlimited fruit & veg thing (0 points) so when I was still feeling hungry I could have a snack and not feel guilty or deprived. I felt hungry for the first week or so, and after that I had no problems with the restricted eating. That is until I lost enough weight and they told me cut back even more. I had made working out a habit by then and eating less didn't seem healthy, which is when I switched to MFP and calorie counting.

    Scenario 2 - This was a combo of psychological and physical I think. I've tried low carb a few times, and by the end of week one I always have intense cravings for VERY sweet foods (I've literally had dreams at night about eating ice cream).... the strange part about it is that when I'm not dieting, I very, very rarely eat sweets or pastries! So it wasn't like I was suddenly denying myself my daily bagel and was missing it. After a week or so the cravings get less intense, but I still don't find the diet sustainable.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    kimw91 wrote: »
    I think overall people will restrict both calories and specific types of food, although one probably more than the other. In other words: I may be eating 1600kcal a day, which is under my maintenance but not too extreme, and therefore cut all types of cake out of my diet as I am convinced they will not fit within my daily limit without me having to indeed extremely restrict myself throughout the rest of the day.

    I can say that for me, restricting is mainly psychological. When it is physical, I will just want to eat more, but not extreme amounts and not necessarily anything unhealthy. I may just have an extra apple, or rice with my dinner. But you can live off a very low number of calories, as long as you don't go from 2000 to 1100 overnight. I managed on 800-1100 while doing 2hours of strength training in the gym 6 days a week for months (no, I/it wasn't healthy). I didn't feel as energetic as I do now that I eat more, but I functioned just fine and was never really hungry as far as I can remember. I did compensate by drinking more (tea/water).

    It is the psychological/emotional aspect however that does most 'damage'. I've dealt with an eating disorder (or am still dealing with it, really) so I may not be an average example, but the reason I crave certain foods is because I won't allow myself to have them. This means that when I do have them, I tend to overeat (such as with sweets). This also more likely to happen when I am at a birthday party where everyone is eating cake and snacks and I won't allow myself a single bite: you'll get through the party, but the chances of 'giving in' that night or the next day I think are way bigger. It's partly the "I'll never have this again" effect, which is why I always advice people to never completely cut something out of their diet, unless it's feasible (not your favorite food, not something you'll often come across).

    Right, this has become quite the essay, but that's my vision anyway :wink:

    hmmm... that's an interesting observation.
  • sharondtd
    sharondtd Posts: 549 Member
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    Initially, I avoided even a taste of anything, as it would start a binge. Over time I've practiced having one tiny bite of something as a treat, and log it. My husband eats bowls of candy, crackers, cookies and chips every night. I'll have one morsel of his: 1/3 chip, or one bite of cookie, or one candy. That's OR, not AND. Also I've learned to eat small meals, and no longer need to have a huge meal. We adjusted meal time to earlier, and I end up with a meal's worth of calories to have at night. That's made up of what I need to adjust my nutritional balance and to have enough food to take prescriptions before bed. New medical thought is it doesn't matter when you have the calories; it's the total for the day, thank goodness.
    It took time to make the adjustments, and eating frequently so I didn't get hungry has helped. The concept of "I'll never have this again" looms large, for sure! So I allow the one tiny taste, and log it.
  • spamarie
    spamarie Posts: 2,825 Member
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    I know it's all in my head, because if I am busy and happy, I don't crave anything. Slightest hint of boredom or not super-involvedness (new word!) and I'm thinking about chocolate.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    After spending time on these boards i feel 90% of people's problems with weight/food stem from emotional/psychological issues.

    Scenario 1 could lead to the body physically needing more calories to function if too severely restricted
  • kristen6350
    kristen6350 Posts: 1,094 Member
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    rybo wrote: »
    After spending time on these boards i feel 90% of people's problems with weight/food stem from emotional/psychological issues.

    Totally agree. I know if I eat too much and I'm lazy, I gain weight. If I eat less and get off my butt once in a while, I lose weight. I don't have to take a pill, do a cleanse, give up like 95% of the things I love and just eat lettuce and chicken & I know that I don't need to exercise EVERY DAY or even 5 days a week. 2-3 days of just moving a little more. Take walks, do the stairs at work. Park a little farther from the grocery store.

    Something is some peoples brains say "I'm not going to achieve my goals if I don't do A, B, C & D perfectly all the time". You know what happens? You give up, quick.


  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    rybo wrote: »
    After spending time on these boards i feel 90% of people's problems with weight/food stem from emotional/psychological issues.

    That's my feeling as well, based on both my personal experiences and from what I've read/people I've talked to.

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    rybo wrote: »
    After spending time on these boards i feel 90% of people's problems with weight/food stem from emotional/psychological issues.

    Scenario 1 could lead to the body physically needing more calories to function if too severely restricted

    This is pretty much my take as well...

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