My friends that identify as having food addiction can’t be around certain foods - for example if someone is baking cookies or popping popcorn and those are trigger foods for them, their body has a really intense craving reaction and it’s very difficult for them not to partake. They also have trouble having certain foods in the house.
Also for them having sugar or flour in their body triggers a binge reaction similar to how alcohol would for an alcoholic.
It's all just interesting - The psychology and neurology of the brain and body, and the reward pathways.
That first paragraph describes me. Cookies are like crack to me. Potato chips, too. I read an article last month about a diet study done by twin brothers in the UK. One went on a very low carb diet, the other went on a low fat diet. They both lost weight (and felt crappy, LOL). The article finished with a statement that what gets us in trouble are foods that are a carb/fat combo, and I know that's true for me. I can eat a plain biscuit and stop there. But put butter on that thing, and it's Katie bar the door, I'm eating a dozen biscuits and stick of butter. Small baked potato? No problem. But french fries? It's like the world is ending tomorrow and I MUST EAT ALL THE POTATOES.
Last edited by HereIStand; 08-21-2015 at 12:56 AM.
I normally weigh every day but went out of town on Wed/Thurs and decided to forgo weighing at all until my next official WI on Monday. But I stopped at an Old Navy to look for jeans, and was crazy happy to discover that I can now comfortably wear size 12s! I decided my reward for getting to either my weight goal or size 10s is going to be a pair of jeans from Gap. I love their jeans but, ouch, pricey.
I think my walking program must be helping. And I think I'm increasing muscle mass because even though I didn't do much of anything except drive for a few hours and shop a bit, I was ravenous most of the day, so I hope that means my basal metabolic rate is increasing due to more muscle.
My friends that identify as having food addiction can’t be around certain foods - for example if someone is baking cookies or popping popcorn and those are trigger foods for them, their body has a really intense craving reaction and it’s very difficult for them not to partake. They also have trouble having certain foods in the house. The longer they are abstinent, the easier it gets - like after a year or two the “no” muscle is stronger.
Also for them having sugar or flour in their body triggers a binge reaction similar to how alcohol would for an alcoholic.
For me sugar doesn't do that at all, I can stop. And I generally don't have cravings or trigger foods. But the problem for me comes when I have a blood sugar swing that goes up and down, sugar or carbs are the easiest thing to correct that so it can create a dangerous cycle. So better for me to stay low glycemic.
It's all just interesting - The psychology and neurology of the brain and body, and the reward pathways.
Interesting topic...for me, smell is a very potent trigger of a lot of things, including hunger and memories. I would say it's more compulsion than addiction though. I may smell a delicious burger grilling and it will trigger hunger, but I don't necessarily have to eat a burger to satisfy the reaction.
I come from a long family history of nasty addiction though and it is something I am mindful of.
Even though I've been overweight my entire life I wouldn't say I have a food addiction. I can honestly say I've never opened and ate an entire big bag of Cool Ranch Doritos- even though they are my worst trigger food. Now that I'm older I have an internal gauge that stops me from crossing that fine line I guess. My weight piled on as a child b/c I was sedentary and we ate too much canned / boxed / frozen foods b/c it's what my folks could afford. I ate for comfort- now stress and boredom are the major issues that tend to send me towards food I shouldn't have.
Calling a spade a spade too - alcohol was a major factor in piling on this last time. I found craft beer - and while I wasn't drinking anywhere near "alcoholic " levels, each beer tended to have 190 - 300 calories PER beer! 2/3 beers was a meal+ :Lol:
It also led to poorer food choices - who wants a salad with their beer some...but realistically most people want fries and ribs or a greasy burger.
I am hoping I might be able to enjoy a beer or two from time to time in maintenance- we'll see
Ate a good, hardy breakfast his morning with a sprinkle of cheese on my eggs and 2 slices of turkey bacon. We're almost 1/2 way and I am still full and feel great!
Ready to ignore the Cracker Barrel cornbread and have a plain salad with mustard dressing
Last edited by hysteria_625; 08-21-2015 at 11:08 AM.
Oh my gosh Beth, I totally blame craft beer for a lot of my weight gain. I love good beer. I almost got a craft beer at the Phish concert last weekend, but I was good...I got something domestic and light, and only ONE. Wow. What a difference!
HIS Glad your muscle has increasing! I used to push my two sons in a sit-and-stand stroller up and down my hilly neighborhood and I noticed my arms were getting buff...I think it makes a huge difference in burning those calories.
3 big dogs Hot girl!
At the end of today, I will have been on maintenance a whole week. I have been weighing myself each day, but if it looks up if I keep up what I did the past week, I will be OK. That includes my one indulgence day of 2 alcoholic beverages, 1 and half biscuits from Red Lobster, and a fruit smoothie. Otherwise, I stayed lower carb Phase 3 during the week. Tomorrow is my son's 4th birthday party, and we're picking up the ice cream cake tonight. I plan on having a piece too! But no ice cream with the boys tonight. I rather save my indulgence for tomorrow.
3bigdogs so far, I haven't actually noticed a big water gain...less than 3 lbs and sometimes none at all depending on the day....but I have noticed that my tummy is more bloated than before, so there is definitely a difference. I lost weight on the real Phase 3, and I'm maintaining really well now on modified Phase 3. Ha! Now! That's only been a week! I have a lifetime! Oh well, I can do it.
after struggling for weeks I'm finally down 3.4 lbs this week
my home scale needs changing I think, my coach's scale showed losses all 3 weeks but at home showed gains (ticker is my home scale) but I'm happy to report I'm finally in the 130's and it feels amazing!!
Thanks so much everyone, can't tell you how much I've relied on the friendships here, such great support and information. The IP coaches are good for the most part but I'm not sure I would have gone this far on IP without this forum.
Btw, Beth you look great, loved seeing you on the before/after thread.
My nsv today is how easy it is to go upstairs now without carrying that extra 50lbs!
Linda, your trip sounds like a dream.
Miwi thanks for the reply re p3. Are you maintaining with modified p3?
Have a great weekend everyone! We are having a cool front today, only 96 degrees!
Sorry I have been away. I was on holidays with my family in British Columbia and it was awesome! I also went 100% off diet and stuffed in my mounth every single piece of carbs I could put my hands on! hehe I did it for a week and at the end of the week I was up 10lbs!!! I did not feel good eating that much so quickly I moved back to the IP diet which surprisingly I missed!! Is it the routine I am getting used to? Is it the healty benefits? I dont know!!
The good part is I came back this Wednesday and today - Sunday - nearly all th e 10lb are magically gone!!! I wonder if I gained just water weight or what but I looked quite puffed. Now I am back fitting in my jeans size 12 and feeling just as fabulous!! Perhaps all the wine I was drinking was making me get swolen, I dont know hehehe anyway, it was all worth it and I did it somewhat planned. Now I am back 100% and feeling very energized to lose another 40 lbs!!!
I hope you gals are having a good summer, I find it harder to diet this time of the year and cant wait for winter!! hehehe
...and I just want to say too I've been a huge proponent of staying OP on vacation...ie, not phasing off, not planning cheat days, etc...
Unfortunately over the last month or so, I've had some serious issues and fought tooth and nail to stay 95 - 100% OP - and this is at home, in my normal routine, and in a familiar environment. I've been HUNGRY - you know the 'gnaw your arm off' hungry. This stress, added on top of all the life stress has made me difficult at time.
I accept my role / responsibility in this...I always try to catch myself when I get snappy with others
A good example...I was so hungry Tuesday night while cooking dinner (this was the night I almost licked the mashed potato spoon) - I had munched on a couple celery sticks and had some salt, but it wasn't enough and wanted my protein...and DD10 comes and asks about having cornbread before dinner. I'm already hungry and now I want a bite of cornbread (one of my favorite foods). Now, who bought the cornbread Lesson learned about what not to have in the house for the remainder of P1...that said, I was so hungry and now had to fight off the urge to shove a slice of cornbread in my mouth...so poor DD10 didn't get a very nice response from mom
I have made a 100% fully conscious decision to NOT have this happen while we are away. Hopefully the extra afternoon protein / packet / Quest bar prevents this - if not, I am allowing myself leeway to stop it in its tracks (ie, eat more vegetables or an extra 1/2 bar or a pudding / or concentrate later in the afternoon)
Sorry again for these rambles - I know I don't have to justify anything to anyone, but we are all on this journey together and hopefully some of this benefits others maybe someone reads this who has btdt and has some sage advice
When I am super hungry I eat pure eggwhites or I eat a slice or 2 of lunchmeat. I talked about it with my coach and she said its fine and better than eat outside the diet. Make sure the lunchmeant is 0 sugar. It does not seem to affect my weight loss at all and it has helped me a lot in days I thought I could not do it. Eggwhites are a life saver to me!!!
NSV: I'm officially wearing size 12s! I bought two pairs of jeans at Old Navy on Thursday, and today I was able to fit in the thrifted Ralph Lauren capris I bought last month. This week I'm going to box up all my fat clothes and put them in storage or give away.
I think I mentioned last week that the scale has been moving a bit more slowly and my measurements haven't changed much.... But I did discover one area that I haven't measured but where I've been losing a LOT - my boobs. I needed new bras, and when I shopped for a couple this week, I found out I'm down from a size 42D to a 38B. I'm not lamenting it too much, as it will be easier to manage when I start my running program next month.
Miwi, thanks for sharing your maintenance journey. I think I'm probably less than 2 months from starting Phase 2, and it makes me nervous.
Well at least I figured out why I was ready to eat an elephant Friday / Saturday - TOM decided to make a surprise visit the second day of vacation all low carb / relatively OP eating, just a lot more of it. I reset MFP for 1200 calories while I'm away and so far have come in on target or a little under with exercise - and best of all, no grumpy episodes I've felt terrific and had energy to do everything we've done so far! On our way to take a copter ride over the beach!
Eta - we also bought a George Foreman grill - I've wanted one for awhile and am very glad we finally picked one up - did an amazing job on my curried chicken tonight and cooked it in about 10 minutes
Also - all my size 10's still fit...actually I don't feel like I have as much muffin top as I did when I tried them on the other week
Last edited by hysteria_625; 08-23-2015 at 09:48 PM.
some...but realistically most people want fries and ribs or a greasy burger. 
Absolutely planning on it 
Lesson learned about what not to have in the house for the remainder of P1...that said, I was so hungry and now had to fight off the urge to shove a slice of cornbread in my mouth...so poor DD10 didn't get a very nice response from mom 
all low carb / relatively OP eating, just a lot more of it. I reset MFP for 1200 calories while I'm away and so far have come in on target or a little under with exercise - and best of all, no grumpy episodes 