How to beak life time habit of eating sugary foods

Calling it an addiction simply gives it more power over you. It's food. Just don't eat it in quantities that make it hard or impossible to achieve your goals. Don't make it into some grand battle of you vs. sugar. Don't make a big deal of it. Just start tracking your calories, and limit "junk" food to an amount that allows you to consistently hit your calorie goal. Trying to completely remove all sugar is probably a poor strategy. I would find a way to eat things you enjoy in moderation while still meeting your goals. In the end, whether you succeed or fail is entirely on you. You have to decide if it's more important for you to achieve what you have set out to do, or eat lots of foods that make hitting your goals impossible.

ana3067 wrote: »

TimothyFish wrote: »

It takes 21 days to form a habit. Eat properly for 21 days and see if that helps.

I "ate properly" for 4 years. Still ended up binging after a while, and then gave up on that type of diet, and gained weight due to eating even more calorie-dense foods and working out less.

Glad to hear the success story. 4 years is pretty good.

I feel like I was addicted to certain foods. Ones that would make me binge for days on end. When I was ready, and serious, I started by logging my foods for 3 weeks, and avoided the foods I knew would cause me to binge. After 3 weeks I allowed myself substitute treats. For example, I know I can't eat Humpty Dumpty BBQ chips. If I do, I'll eat the whole bag in one or two sittings, then end up buying another 2 bags over the next week. I've realized that I can eat Miss Vickies chips though, and they don't have the same affect on me. I can't eat Hot Tamales, but I can have jelly beans. Etc.

I'm at the point where I've reduced my stress though, so when I do enjoy these foods, it's not as a reaction to a trigger, but just to enjoy having a treat once in a while. Stress reduction was HUGE for me in my weight loss journey. It's almost like I can feel that I don't have cortisol coursing through my veins anymore. It's wonderful. So if you eat due to stress, work on that, and find things you can do (besides eating) that make you happy. The rest should fall into place after that.

laura3977 wrote: »

I have done the food addiction programs and have never really lasted in them. For one I have a hard time with the idea of having to tell a sponsor every morsel that went into my mouth. Now, I'm not saying food addiction is not real but I'm not sure if everyone that feels they have an addiction to food is actually addicted to food. When I went to the programs I really did feel that I was dealing with an addiction. Since January 13 of this year I've been able to eat whatever I want in moderation. What changed was the power I allowed food to have over me. Whenever I called it an addiction the phrase that would run through my head was "I'm powerless over food" - gave it way too much credit. Also, I have started to become more aware of my feelings. When I am craving something and I have that anxious feeling that I MUST have it, I stop and I think "OK, what just happened? Where did this come from?" and there is always an emotional trigger and for a long time I used food for comfort so I turn to food to feel better (but we all know what a vicious cycle that is) - now, maybe that's the addiction part? Perhaps but just like with everything else, I feel that we really are in control of what happens once that trigger is set off.

For me cutting sugar/carbs out of my diet completely has been a sure way for me to go bonkers and binge. For me THAT leads me to binge.

Yes -- we are in control of what happens once we recognize our triggers.

For some of us, just stopping to think about it works.

For others (like me), eliminating the trigger is what works.

But denying the trigger exists doesn't work for anyone.

clarefp640 wrote: »

Wow that's interesting, I'm the same with chocolate. I associate it with happy times, fun times and love. It's my reward food, blah blah blah!. That addiction I think.

I wouldn't consider this addiction. I'm an emotional eater too, but also an alcoholic, and while I did substitute food for booze for a time after I quit drinking the reaction I have to the two is quite different--misusing food for emotional purposes is distinct from addiction for me, although on the continuum.

I think there are people who have relationships with food that are akin to addiction, whether we call it that or not--binge eating disorder or compulsive overeating. But I don't think it's the case for most people who overeat. (Which is great, since it means I can still have ice cream and pie from time to time and cheese and naan and ribs and everything else I love.)

I work with addicts and physically they are not showing signs ow withdrawing such as high BP or Pulse ect but emotionally they are. Maybe the definition of addiction needs reviewing.

It's not the withdrawal element that makes the two seem different to me.

One reason I resist the "addiction" tag--in addition to it just not being accurate, being "addicted" to cookies (which contain fat and sugar) and not apples with peanut butter or some such seems to me like claiming to be addicted to pinot noir only--is that I don't think it's helpful. When you struggle with something like emotional eating you can train yourself to cope in better ways and to normalize your relationship with food. Telling yourself that the food controls you and has power over you tends to be a self-fulfilling claim.

I did find it helpful to cut out sugary foods for a while when I first started, to teach myself that I didn't need them, but I see that as more about habit that that I can't control whether I eat a cookie or can't choose to eat a half cup of ice cream if I like. I can. Sometimes it's harder--I've learned that being tired or eating for emotional purposes will screw with my control, but that's something that IMO is worth learning and dealing with. Being scared of the foods or telling myself I can't eat them would not be helpful for me. (Even apart from the fact that it's nice to be able to eat them in moderation.)

My view is that for many putting your focus on cutting out or down on "bad" foods is probably a backwards way to look at it. Habits are built easiest if positive, so (after initially teaching myself I didn't need to use sugar for emotional reasons) I tried to focus on the pleasures of eating a good, healthy diet and then only include more calorie dense and lower nutrient items after my goals for nutrition were met. That limited them necessarily to a moderate amount, but it put the focus on the positive things I was doing, not the deprivation elements. IMO, since I don't think of sweets as something that are naughty and I am not supposed to be having but something I have when I've satisfied my other goals and they fit, there's no pressure to make the most of the one slip-up and keep eating when I eat them. For a lot of people if you think of yourself as bad or naughty or sinful or whatever when eating a forbidden food it becomes easier to go way overboard and then start a guilt and shame cycle that is super counterproductive. For me, then, it's always best to try and think more neutrally and logically about food and just be analytical about why I want to eat, how it's affecting me, etc. (I find this easiest when I'm also involved in fitness, like a workout program or training for a race.)

This isn't particularly focused, because I don't think you've said yet what the particular things are that you are finding difficult. Everyone is different, of course.