Man, oh man, have I been struggling the last few days...it's just been terrible hard to stay on my eating plan lately. WHY??? I seriously stayed 100% on plan with no cheating (really) for 6 months. Then I had a few tiny treats occasionally, but always got right back on track...but since Christmas, I have craved, I mean CRAVED sweets like there is no tomorrow. Over the last week I have given into urges fairly often, but got myself under control before much damage was done and still managed to lose weight on weigh day...But last night and 2 times today I gave into my cravings to out of control levels.. I just figured out my calories for today and I have had around 3003. Double what I normally eat (and all junk). I have been throwing away everything with sugar in it in the trash...but not until I shove some in my face first. My poor family! I'm not lonely, definitely not board, I'm not depressed, not PMSing. Could just getting a taste of all those forbidden sugar enriched treats on Christmas day be so powerful that my brain thinks I have to have them? My anxiety level has been pretty high lately, but it's often out of control. I almost think I'm TRYING to see how much I can eat to see a gain...Or maybe it's nothing but a simple sweet tooth. Ugh. Is there always a nut case reason for a binge?

Sugar is an addictive substance in the same physiological, chemical sense that drugs like heroin and crack are. Sounds like you got yourself re-addicted over Christmas. I know for myself, I'm simply an addict, and there's not necessarily any emotional quality to my sugar binging; the binging produces bad emotions, not the other way around. I suggest you quit sugar completely for at least a week or two (or as long as it takes), until the monkey's off your back.

Like WarMaiden said, it's easy to get "triggered" by overindulgence such as happens during the holidays. With some foods, I still have to be really careful or I'm off and running... With others, I've found that now I can have them as long as I keep it controlled.

That said, there may also be a depression component--Christmas letdown--quite common, I think.

And, just another thought--often overeating on sugary foods happens if one isn't eating enough of something else, like protein, or is keeping calories too low. Try shifting to more protein and see if that helps? Or add some vitamins in daily?

Jay

Thanks for your response Sarah. Do you think the heighten anxiety could be part of the addiction...I noticed after I binged the anxiety was completely gone for several hours then gradually worked back up.

Hummm...well it all started with a hand full of mixed nuts with a few m&m's mixed in. Thanks for your response.

Oh, nuts are one of my danger foods!

Jay

What is it with nuts??? They are one of my trigger foods too. It's like I can't stuff them in my face fast enough!! Almonds, Cashews,Pecans, Sunflower Seeds, whatever it may be, I go crazy if I start to eat them. Maybe it's the fat and natural sugars that make your body want more and more??
I think Almonds, and Pecans are my favorites!! It's making me drool just thinking about them!!
Cathy

I agree with the post-holidays-let down-syndrome. It is now January, months of rotten winter still stretch ahead, at least in my part of the world, the bills are coming in, and there ain't nothing fun or exciting on the calendar all of a sudden....just weighing portions and working out. If you have a touch of Seasonal AFfective Disorder like I do, it is even worse...low energy, cravings for carbs and comfort food. BLAH!!

Now while that statement is a bit of an exagerration, I do feel like that at times. I know that this time of year I have to find ways to keep busy - posting on 3FC, walking the dog, anything to keep me out of the kitchen. I have to get back on program after all the treats of the holidays and it is sort of like going through a sugar/fat detox. I just know I have to do it. It sucks, but I have to get that stuff out of my system. Good luck!

I just had one too that equated to 425 calories. It entailed marshmallows, four cookies, a few almonds, 15 chocolate covered raisins and two Mary Jane candies. Thank goodness I am still at 1715 calories for the day--which is still more than I should have eaten. If I had let myself do the peanut butter I was contemplating, things would really have gotten ugly.

Drinking water now...

I spent much of my life thinking I was fat because on some level I was messed up (psychologically). I think part of the reason I majored in psych in college and went on for my masters degree in psych was to figure myself out (of course, we joked in college that all psych students chose the field for that reason, as the only "odder" students than psych students were art and drama students).

Working with some very strange people (not only in the psych and social work field, but later in corporate america as well), I realized that I'm alot more mentally stable than I ever gave myself credit for (or at least there are alot of people out there far more crazier than I am). As a result, I've become more and more convinced that eating issues (at least for many folks, or maybe just me) are more often physiological than psychological.

That doesn't mean that I don't ever eat out of boredom (but hey, so do monkeys and tigers and rats in captivity).

Highly concentrated (high GI) carbohydrates, especially sugar trigger CRAZY hunger in me - it is a physiological response, that effects my psychological state. Being crazy didn't make me fat... being fat didn't make me crazy, but sugar sure seems to.

I was reading not too long ago that sexual arrousal, alcohol, many drugs and for some people, sugar all reduce brain activity in the judgement centers of the brain. So sugar, perhaps can actually reduce inhibitions, especially eating inhibitions, but even some social inhibitions. Maybe part of the reason sugar has become so central to holidays and social gatherings is because it makes people happier and friendlier (kind of like a few drinks, but even more socially acceptable - you don't have to worry about taking away anybody's keys at the end of the evening).

I think in a nutshell, it doesn't matter why sugar can be such a trigger food. Whether it's psychological, emotional comfort food - or whether it's physiologically addictive, some people have to avoid sugar or the cravings become unmanageable.

I've been fighting myself on this much of this past year, trying to convince myself that I can have an occasional high-carb treat, and that hasn't worked out for me very well. I've managed to maintain weight loss, and lose in tiny increments here and there (maybe not so tiny as I did lose 40 lbs in the last 13 to 14 months), but I'm sure I would have had better results if I hadn't kept trying to prove to myself (usually ver unsuccessfully) that I can have control over sugar.

I used to roll my eyes when I heard someone talk about having to avoid sugar like an addict or alcoholic avoids their problem substance. "Never have sugar again," well I thought that was just plain crazy, but more and more I really understand. The less processed gunk I eat, the better I feel and the more control I have over my eating.

I don't know if any of this is true for you, but if you're not sure - journal. It really does help (or at least it really helped me) in finding your personal triggers, and that knowledge can help make change easier.

I'm figuring out my "trigger" is when I over work and I'm just tired physically and emotionally. I think food is some sort of soothing drug or something to me in this state. I can eat right/clean for a time, then binge. When I binge I want to binge more. So it does appear that there's more to it then just darkness/psycho stuff. They say if you eat bad carbs and junk it makes you want more and more. And I've found that to be true. Clean it OUT of the house so at least at home you aren't tempted.

I have been having the same problem lately. I think that Christmas just got everyone off track and it is just going to take some time to get back on track!! Keep your head up LoriBell you have done so great!!

Thanks for all the heartfelt replies. There is a lot of brain power here at 3FC! I feel a lot better today. I started the day out with a good protein filled breakfast, a long hot shower and taking care of all my personal hygiene needs. Thinking back, I have been neglecting some of the basics. The more I eat the less I brush, floss, shave, comb, curl and apply. Anyone else do that? It's all or none with me sometimes.

Yeah, it goes together for me too. I think it's not so much cause and effect as it is that both come from the same place. But still, I can use either to help get me back on track with the other.

The average person thinks approximately 50,000 thoughts per day. If more than half of these thoughts throughout the day are about food, your natural inclination is to be eating more than half the day People who have the tendency to think frequently about food (whether they are on a diet, training for a competition, have a disease where food happens to be the center of it, etc) tend to eat more than those who only think about food when they're hungry.

While it is nearly impossible to know the reasons why you need to eat a particular food at a particular time, it’s very important to be in touch with that desire. Listen to the illusory voice of desire that says, "My urge to eat is something that must be filled." There is usually a reason within our body chemistry why we crave the foods we do. I've found from my personal experiences that before I binge, I start out ravenous. I legitimately want to stop being hungry. Then, if I allow myself to get more and more hungry, all rational decisions regarding food fly by and I'll eat huge, impulsive quantities of crap.

As everyone else said, sugar is addicting. For me, salty foods are addicting, too - it has been proven in some studies that salty foods are addicting because they make you want to eat more and more of 'em. And sweet/salty combos?!?! I might as well throw away the whole bag RIGHT NOW because I'll NEVER stop until it's GONE!

I don't think there is a DEEP, DARK psychological reason for binging in everyone (in some people, sure, but we're all different). Stress is definitely a trigger, as is depression, and even a hard day's work as horsey mentioned above. I believe the closest thing to something deep and dark is the fact that some of us (for reasons sometimes unknown) have a tendency towards self-sabatoge. We achieve success and then feel like we somehow are not worthy or that it will not last. I know I have this tendency due to having a very rough childhood and a rocky early adulthood. Now that I am successful and (according to some people) attractive , I have this fear that it will all be taken away. However, I do acknowledge the fact that thinking these thoughts is a highly counterproductive activity and try to focus my energy on to more positive things.

We ALL deserve success in our weight loss