Overeating, like drugs, alters brain

Good Luck! :)
 
What I have noticed is that since I've stopped smoking I can consume large amounts of chocolate. Once I start eating it I find it difficult to stop! What I think is happening is it is just replacing the drug effect that cigarettes used to give me! Now, I just have to NOT eat chocolate at all!!!
 
Yeah, there definitely has to be massive amounts of truth in this. Even if there is no physical substance causing the addiction, the psychological habit and feelings connected to food must reprogram the brain of those who overeat.
 
AmandaJayne said:
Interesting article. I reckon it will take at least a year (more like five) of careful eating to start undoing all the damage I have done to my 'brain circuits' after over thirty years of bad eating and dieting.

I am on day three of maintaining my 54lb weight loss... wish me luck lol.:rolleyes:




Overeating, Like Drug Use, Rewards And Alters Brain : NPR
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I agree with you Amanda:)
And I think the important thing that we can't forget is that we actually can undo all the damage (as you said) through mindfull eating. It isn't easy, it takes time but eventually it becomes second nature and the brain circuits reprogramme;)

By the way, congrats for your amazing weight loss =)

xx
 
Very interesting and reads true with me. I've often thought I have an addiciton to food which is a reason why I am currently in a state of what I think is a binge eating disorder. I've read many articles and bought books to try and change my way of thinking in the hope it will stop but I can never seem to find the courage or strength to do it and I find myself back on the binging.

Hopefully I'll get there one day?
 
Bella30 said:
Very interesting and reads true with me. I've often thought I have an addiciton to food which is a reason why I am currently in a state of what I think is a binge eating disorder. I've read many articles and bought books to try and change my way of thinking in the hope it will stop but I can never seem to find the courage or strength to do it and I find myself back on the binging.

Hopefully I'll get there one day?
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You'll get there Belle:)

Trust yourself you'll make it. Also, if the books aren't enough a therapist and/or an anonimous overeaters group may help! Just don't give up!
I also have some binging tendancies but they're a lot less noticeable nowadays.

Step by step you'll meet your goals;)

xx
 
Ah, thanks, Aline. I really do hope I beat it. I feelsad and ashamed that I've got myself it this mess and I really hope I do find a way out of it :)
 
i really hate myself because i have such an addictive personaity..i am addicted to food, the internet[esp minimins], diet fizzy drinks

sometimes i think i need rehab for food addciton[such a thing exists apparently
 
Stupid said:
i really hate myself because i have such an addictive personaity..i am addicted to food, the internet[esp minimins], diet fizzy drinks

sometimes i think i need rehab for food addciton[such a thing exists apparently
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Oh hun, I'm sorry you're feeling low... But having a negative attitude towards yourself won't help.
We all have strengh somewhere inside us. Attitude is everything in life, being positive, confident and embrace yourself are the best motivators you can find;)

Take care xx
 
Interesting article. My failure is eating when I dont need to, I am not hungry but I just want the "taste" of something in my mouth. If we could invent something that you could chew and tasted like chocolate or tasted like a roast dinner I think I would be happy :D
 
Very interesting article, and very true I think
 
Yes, but if your brain gets rewired in one way, then surely it can get 'de-wired' again. I think mine certainly has.

One thing is guilt about food. Change that guilty feeling and 'bad foods' lose their power over you. If I want chocolate now, I have it. Guess what? I rarely eat chocolate now. It has lost its power because I've simply changed how I think.
 
not quite sure about the fixing part, they said it happens in early life, which sounds depressingly like it's permanent after it happens. plus there is the whole thing about us being survivors of the successfull hunter-gatherers who could put on weight fast, and keep it on, thereby surviving cold winters, and long droughts.
My sister read somewhere that, this fact is one of the key factors in our addictive personalities, and our drive to take copious amounts off food. It was fine when we had to go out and hunt breakfast, not so much when we 'hunt' in Tesco now.

I managed to kick smoking cold turkey, by forcing myself to think of it as disgusting, and I don't get ANY cravings after 3 yrs (so there's light there for anyone who needs it ^^) I think it might be a matter of channeling the addiction into something other than food or drugs, and just knuckling down, I know it took months of me gritting my teeth, to stop smoking.
 
ajfromuk said:
Interesting article. My failure is eating when I dont need to, I am not hungry but I just want the "taste" of something in my mouth. If we could invent something that you could chew and tasted like chocolate or tasted like a roast dinner I think I would be happy :D
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They did actually, I remember seeing it on Richard and Judy some years ago. It was a spray that tasted of Roast Beef or Chocolate or whatever, you sprayed it onto celery or other salad things such as lettuce. According to the program it really did taste of what it was supposed to. Never heard of it again after that program.
 
Very interesting reading but not a surprise really.........I've always likened myself to a drug addict, except food is my drug......when i gave up drinking I cut it out completely, when I gave up smoking I stopped completely, but eating for me is like giving a heroin addict 3 syringes a day and saying just have that and nothing more......when I did Lighterlife, I was fine, I never ate a morsel of food for 6 months and was really happy and got to my goal weight, as soon as i started eating again it was like i was out of control.....within 9 months i had put it all back on and more :(
 
big-girl said:
Very interesting reading but not a surprise really.........I've always likened myself to a drug addict, except food is my drug......when i gave up drinking I cut it out completely, when I gave up smoking I stopped completely, but eating for me is like giving a heroin addict 3 syringes a day and saying just have that and nothing more......when I did Lighterlife, I was fine, I never ate a morsel of food for 6 months and was really happy and got to my goal weight, as soon as i started eating again it was like i was out of control.....within 9 months i had put it all back on and more :(
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Hia big-girl, and welcome to Minis.

I can so identify with what you've written. I am a 'trainee maintainer' after (yet again, sigh) losing over four stone, with w8 this time. Yes, I've done loads and loads and loads of diets over thirty odd years.

This time I decided to lose the weight quickly and stop at a place I was comfortable with (size 16/14) and attempt to stay at the same weight for a year or so, before deciding whether to lose a bit more.

It has been in at times incredibly easy or incredibly difficult.

It has been easy when I have kept away from certain carbs, sugary, bready, potatoey stuff, in particular. I have realised that these types of food set some sort of craving in me and so begins a gnawing, itching, niggly feeling inside which I want to 'feed' or placate with more of the same.

I so hate this feeling, it is unbearable and when it happens it gains enormous proportions and this is where I need the strength to say "NO". Happily, there are times when this happens:).

The consequence of giving in is that I am merely making my life even more difficult, rather like a hiker going on a walk and picking up heavy, bulky stones and lugging them along the path. Tiring, frustrating, exhausting, painful. It is further exacerbated when I gain some weight, leading to feelings of anxiety, depression, fear, helplessness, anger, anguish, the usual negativity.

So, what I am learning, slowly, is that if I CHOOSE to eat these things, there WILL be an unpleasent consequence. I have so resisted learning this lesson and even now will have my own personal pity party (everyone invited:D) where I will whinge to myself "it's not fair", lip pouting.

My choice then. But then it always has been our choice:rolleyes:.

The great thing I found about a liquid diet (no food) was that is was a relief to be away from food. I loved ketosis too, a wonderful high.

I wish you the best of luck with your continued struggles and successes, big-girl. I am glad you have found this forum, there are lots of other people here who are going through exactly what you are and have been, and will be.

You are not alone;).

AJ
 
Read most of that article. I agree with it. Like big-girl I done the exact same when I quit LL. I didn't 'refeed' and went back to old habits and was totally obsessed with eating anything that didn't move lol.

Kept trying to do a vlcd ever since and I can't get past day 4-5. Each time my confidence gets a bit lower. I dunno what my solution is.
 
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AmandaJayne said:
The great thing I found about a liquid diet (no food) was that is was a relief to be away from food. I loved ketosis too, a wonderful high.

Hi Amanda, that was the best thing about the diet, the relief to not have to deal with food.......I agree with everything you've said and I know the battle has to be won in my mind which is why I'm trying to try hypnosis now alongside sensible eating......my brain is my worst enemy:rolleyes:
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