Habit/Addiction

[Neenee Jellybeanie]

So perhaps this is just a bunch of new age fuddy duddy, but I am honestly starting to think I have an addiction to food, particularly sugar. Actually, definately sugar.

I have been overweight nearly my whole life except for when I was a toddler and when I was bulimic. I am too smart for this! Yet nothing works. I exercise and I enjoy exercise but I just can't get my eating under control. I noticed tonight that I bought a sweet today . . . it's my 3rd sweet!! Actually if you include the fact that I had chocolate milk during the day, it's my 4th! Actually . . . is two biscuits one sweet or two? If it's two, then I have had 5! This is insane! But I just don't feel like I have any self control whatsoever.

I took DD out for lunch and was drinking my chocolate milk and the woman who owns the health food store saw me and she smiled but she gave me a bit of a look before - last time I saw her I was doing a body cleansing/raw vegan thing (which I stopped when I got kicked out because it just fell off the priority list).

I lost weight in the 2nd half of last year (about 12kgs I think) but put a lot of that back on. I'm now 6kgs more than my lowest weight last year. I'm so tired of losing and gaining, my skin looks terrible.

SO after my rant, my question is, are there any natural approaches I can take to deal with this once and for all? Any good books? Acupuncture, herbal medicine, counselling? Anything? I am so sick of this!

[LimeSlice]

I really do know how you feel Nee!
I wish I had some brilliant advice, but I am still working on that myself.
The one thing I do know is that your body will crave sugar if you are lacking in fibre or protein I think it is. A bowl of Fibre Plus when you want a chocolate bar, will help the sugar cravings...

...Now if I could just get the exercise part !
Yes you can get counselling for food addiction. I would think though that the old nugget of emotional or boredom eating would be addressed first and foremost.
Anyway, if you want to talk , just MSN me.
I have no doubt that a woman of your capability can overcome this problem

[Astrid]

Seeing a Naturopath could help you. They will take a holistic approach, looking at what you eat, why, exercise levels, sleeping, any health concerns, mood etc They will work out what you are deficient in (I was deficient in zinc and magnesium), as often these can cause the cravings that make you want to eat more. I was also give a basic eating plan, what foods were good for me and what I should avoid.

They are not cheap, as you have the consultation and then the tonics etc. It is so worth it though, as what you are getting is like a multi vitamin just for you, plus other herbs to help where needed. Mine was also part councillor, she was just so good to talk to, I always felt better afterwards.

If you can't see a Naturopath, you could try something like in-liven to help top up those missing nutrients. Also as you are concerned about sweets, you may want to look at how much bread, potatoes that you are eating. Sometimes we eat them at the sacrifice of vegetables. Try having salad for lunch rather than a sandwich.

[AnyDream]

I got this in my intray earlier this month and nearly fell of my chair because it's something I always suspected to be the case about myself:

Is the GI a key to unlocking a hidden addiction?
Doing something about the obesity epidemic is at the top of most public health agendas. Talk about budget blow out! The financial cost to the whole community of burgeoning waistlines is scary. New Zealand scientists from the University of Auckland explore the idea in Medical Hypotheses that addiction could be an important factor causing the obesity epidemic. They compare and contrast the evidence about nicotine addiction to food and GI and suggest that if high GI foods like corn flakes or white bread are the villain of the piece, ‘low GI equivalents may be the saviour’. The point of the study is really the public health implications of the theory. As the researchers point out: ‘Just as tax increases and control of advertising have proved effective in reducing the prevalence of smoking, similar strategies may help reduce the obesity epidemic.’


Dr Simon Thornley

Lead researcher Dr Simon Thornley, from Auckland Regional Public Health Service, said foods with a high GI caused blood glucose levels to spike, and this rush stimulates the same areas of the brain associated with addiction to nicotine and other drugs. He reports evidence showing that people who binged on high GI carb foods experienced loss of control, a compulsion to keep taking higher amounts to get the same ‘buzz’, and suffered withdrawal if they went ‘cold turkey’.

‘It's a novel idea that draws on strong evidence that glucose consumption influences levels of the feel-good chemical serotonin in the brain, says Sydney University’s Prof Jennie Brand Miller. ‘Although all foods take about 30 minutes to peak and the overall shape of the post-meal glycemia curve is similar for high, medium and low GI foods, high-GI foods peak and fall at substantially greater levels. Our recent study that explored the association between a food’s GI and the shape of the curve clearly suggests that to control high blood glucose after meals, carb quality (or its GI) and carb quantity both count (see the abstract). So the general message is say “low GI” with carb-rich foods as well as watching portion size.’

[Kazbah]

this may sound strange, but it's working for my g/f ...

eat high-fibre foods. she's eating brans, blueberries, lots of stuff, but as it's all high-fibre she feels fuller and isn't looking at stuff like sugar content. And she's not missing her chocolate addictioin!

[sushee]

I don't know how much this will help you, Nee, but I did find that when I was on my pre-op diet for my surgery, I had to cut out all sugars, and the two weeks on that diet, I believe, got me to overcome my sugar addiction.

I had the worst migaine on day 2 and 3 of the diet, I was cranky and tired and unhappy, but then from the 4th day onward all those things gradually went away. By the end of those two weeks, I'd stopped craving sugary foods altogether (and still don't crave them now).

In my mind, what I did was give up sugar cold turkey - even though that wasn't the intention of my pre-op diet, that was one of the 'side effects'. It was bloody hard those first few days and I do believe that the migraines and mood swings were a symptom of my withdrawal from sugar. I now don't drink coke (used to have at least a can a day) I don't eat sweets, I don't eat chocolate much (maybe a small piece or two if I feel like it or it's an occasion) and I don't eat cookies. I don't so much consciously avoid these things as it's just that I don't crave them anymore. If I do have something sugary now, I feel ill and get a headache.

So like any habit/addiction, you need to break the cycle. And sometimes going cold turkey can work.

[Neenee Jellybeanie]

Thanks everyone! Sushee, did eat fruit or drink fruit juice on your pre-op diet?

Kazbah; when I was doing my raw vegan diet I found I wasn't really hungry either. I just wish it wasn't so expensive argh! Modifying it though (maybe editing out the vegan part) would probably help. Thanks.

Marydean; that's me to a T! I remember reading that artificial sweeteners have the same effect.

Alexis, thanks for the support! It's a shame you're all the way down in Mandurah, we could exercise together!

Astrid, do you know how much it costs? I just had an idea, my friend is studying to be a natropath, mebbe she could help me or know someone who could?

I was thinking about this all day actually (where I've eaten a hot chocolate, dessert and a buscuit sigh) that I've always been addicted to something. When I was a teen I was only slightly overweight because I did zero exercise but my eating was quite okay. Why? Because I was smoking cigarettes, pot and drinking alcohol! Even when I used to binge because of the pot I would eat fairly healthy stuff, like soup, baked beans and avocado sandwiches. Trouble is when I stopped all that, I went back to eating (which is what I used to do as a kid - I used to eat so much I vomited sometimes). I managed to quit all of that, so why can't I quit sugar?! Stopping smoking was easier than this!

[MrsFabuloso]

I managed to quit all of that, so why can't I quit sugar?! Stopping smoking was easier than this!

I think it's because we HAVE to eat. Most other addictions like smoking are things we don't need. With food, we need it and can't get away from it....

[krysalyss]

Acupuncture can help. There are points that deal with general cravings/addictions and can also work for smoking. They can tape some beads to the points in your ears and then you can continue to activate the points after your needle treatment. HTH

[sushee]

Nee,

I've said that to myself SOOO many times in my life - I'm a strong woman, I quit smoking after a pack a day habit, I work and study, I did so many rounds of IVF. Why is it I could be strong for those things but not with my weight? I felt like it was an addiction I could not break, no matter what I did, and it made me feel weak.

I have to say though that the writing for me is now on the wall. It wasn't about strength, it was about a crap metabolism, and years of yo-yo dieting, and now I'm almost 30kgs lighter than I was 6 months ago, but it was from exercising like a demon and eating the equivelant of a 3yo at each meal (and that's thanks to my lapband, btw)! How many people can honestly sustain that sort of thing FOREVER, when temptation is there everyday, in fact whenever you're hungry? I know I couldn't! Hell, we're human, not robots!

You shouldn't be so hard on yourself, babe. The fact is, if you want to quit sugar, put your mind to it and do it. But be prepared to fall off the wagon sometimes (I do too!). And if you do, don't despair, just get back on it the next day. Eventually you will come to a day when you will not be addicted anymore.

To answer your other question: on my re-op diet, I only ate veg and meat for two weeks, no fruits at all. But I do eat fruits quite a lot now - it's the only sweet thing I still eat regularly.

[KatieRabbit]

I will PM you Neenee, but aside from that, sugar addiction is very real and very very common. A GP once told me that it was harden to stop than heroin addiction but I can't personally vouch for that. I try replacing really sugary things with sweet good things like dates and fruit even though it is all sugar! I also think that you have to have a decent amount of protein at every meal and also eat really well. This means heaps of veg and salad, whole grains, full fat milk and yoghurt and cheese, nuts etc so that you feel nourished and not empty waiting for the next sugar high.

[Astrid]

Astrid, do you know how much it costs? I just had an idea, my friend is studying to be a natropath, mebbe she could help me or know someone who could?

I paid $60 per session, may have been more for the first one. Then there were the tonics and suppliments. I was spending $20-$60 per session. Once you have been and if there are no changes you can gets the tonics without a session.

I have been through sugar withdrawals, it is so hard, but so worth it.

[paradise lost]

It's so funny you posting this Nee, i've given up sugar for lent!

I'm not actually Christian (i occasionally do ramadan for a few days too) i just love a challenge. I eat a lot of sugar and i know it makes my weight harder to control and i knew it'd be really hard to quit so here i am, end of day 1. I've had a headache since 10am!

I haven't strictly given up ALL sugar though, because i'm still having fruits, and for instance i have to put a little sugar in my bread to feed the yeast and i'm not stopping that! But i'm off sweets, biscuits, cakes, puddings, chocolate, sugar in my coffee (and i LOVE my sweetened coffee!) and sugary drinks (i'm still drinking the diet version because i always did, and i don't have it very much, but if i'd been usually drinking the full-sugar one i wouldn't have switched to diet if that makes sense). Which is actually a lot of my diet!

Today wasn't hard in the sense of wanting to eat sugar because once i'm determined i'm determined, but i have felt headachey and off. I'm hoping once lent is over i can have sugar in much greater moderation than before. I will admit i was eating a LOT of it over the weekend in anticipation of the self-imposed ban today, and i was getting rather sick of it anyway.

If you want to quit it i am happy to share the journey.

Astrid how long does the withdrawal last!? LOL

Bx

[Astrid]

Normall y 3 days with withrawal, I think seem take a bit longer. OMG I was just feral, so crabby, angry, jittery, headachy, felt ill etc. I had some sugar free lollies that helped get me through, but had to ration them so I did not get the "laxative effect". I also cut out caffiene at the same time, so got a double whammy. I think though that happens to a lot of people, as cutting out sugars, milks etc, often means they don't have their normal cuppas. It amazing though how you wake up one morning and feel fantastic!

I so need to do it again, but still breastfeeding, so can't cut back hard, only a bit so I never fully break the cravings.