Food Addiction and just need to talk

No Snacks, no sweets, no seconds. Except on Days that start with S. Too simple for you? Simple is why it works. Look here for questions, introductions, support, success stories.

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april1127
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Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2014 12:12 pm

Food Addiction and just need to talk

Post by april1127 » Wed Oct 15, 2014 12:30 pm

Hi
I am taking a chemical dependencies class at the local community college and we ended up talking about food addiction and if it was real. I think it is a real problem. I know with the No S Diet I have tried and tried to do the program and the side effects of eating less; food cravings, anxiety, light headed, feeling uncomfortable, wanting to beng eat, are the same feelings people have who withdrawal from drugs. Just not as extreme. I read that it takes 10 to 20 days to get over these symptoms. So if I can just bear through it for a month I would be set for the rest of my life.

I feel conflicted because I have been given the opportunity to work with a personal trainer free of charge and he says just focus on eating a protein or veggie at each meal. That at this point its ok to overeat and do whatever as long as I get in my protein or veggie. That is all great and wonderful but I want to succeed at the No S. Diet now. He says it would be to difficult. I know it sounds really stupid but more than anything I want to succeed at the No S Diet.

Amy C.
Posts: 44
Joined: Sat Aug 30, 2014 2:49 pm

Re: Food Addiction and just need to talk

Post by Amy C. » Wed Oct 15, 2014 6:29 pm

There is no conflict, as far as I can see. Why not eat a plateful of veggies with protein? Leave out the snacks between meals. The trainer already has you off the sugar laden food. What did he suggest for breakfast?

It seems he should be concentrating on the exercise.

april1127
Posts: 10
Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2014 12:12 pm

Post by april1127 » Wed Oct 15, 2014 6:41 pm

I decided not to work with the personal trainer because this is about me finding my own journey to weight loss not what other people think is right for me. What is right for me is the No S Diet and going by that plan and getting some much needed exercise. So if one day I don't feel like a protein or veggie for breakfast I can have a bowl of oatmeal instead because that is part of my plan.

This morning I read this quote and it seemed really appropriate.

"When Alice in Wonderland came to a fork in the road, she asked the Cheshire Cat which way she should go. He asked her where she was going. She said she did not know. He told her it did not matter which way she went if she didn't know where she was going. "

But you know where you are going, so it does matter which way you go."

MJ7910
Posts: 504
Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2012 1:17 am

Post by MJ7910 » Thu Oct 16, 2014 2:24 am

i think we make our best choices when we really listen to what we want. sometimes others can be very influential but we can choose to not be influenced by them and think about what our goals are. if your goal is to try No S, then do it. you might be able to incorporate some of the suggestions of what to eat for your three meals, so i wouldn't discount all of it.
Current BMI: 22.9. Height: 5'4.5"
Highest BMI: 25.5 in August 2011.
Lowest adult BMI: 20.8 in February 2012.

wosnes
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Joined: Mon Sep 18, 2006 3:38 pm
Location: Indianapolis, IN, USA

Post by wosnes » Thu Oct 16, 2014 2:30 pm

Your trainer might be on to something, but maybe not for the reasons he thinks. I don't know what you eat, but I posted this years ago. If you're eating a lot of processed foods, you might be getting plenty of calories but not a lot of nourishment which leads to the withdrawal type feelings.
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do. Not that the nature of the thing itself has changed but our power to do it is increased." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"You are what you eat -- so don't be Fast, Easy, Cheap or Fake."

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Blithe Morning
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Post by Blithe Morning » Sun Oct 19, 2014 12:36 pm

I have found it helpful to distinguish between guidelines and rules.

Rules are non-negotiables. If I don't follow them, it's a fail or - if that's too harsh - noncompliance.

Guidelines are suggestions. They help me make decisions within the rules. If I don't follow the guidelines, there is no "punishment" (i.e. strong language).

I don't think it's feasible let alone reasonable to have protein or veg at every meal for the rest of your life. There will be oatmeal days. There just will be. Can you have protein or veg at most of the meals? Sure. But not every meal.

oolala53
Posts: 10059
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 1:46 am
Location: San Diego, CA USA

Post by oolala53 » Thu Oct 23, 2014 6:43 am

I don't think it sounds stupid at all to say that more than anything you want to succeed at No s. I think it sounds quite wise.

With all due respect, although I know you need somehow to motivate yourself to get over the 21 day hump, you will be setting yourself up if you think the problems will go away after that time. For most people, it will take a lot longer. Most people have good times and harder times over the course of several months or even years. That is the NATURE of eating changes for MOST people. Eating is one of the most intractable habits ever. It takes the right balance between the perceived reward and the perceived difficulty, and a lot of details go into each of those. In essence, just about everyone is an "addict" when it comes to food, although these days I resist the term because for many people it decreases their belief that there is any hope. Not useful!

That recognition actually in my mind was all the MORE reason to surrender to No S years ago. It's possible something else might trip your switch but the odds are against it and this program follows all the rules for adjusting appetite, which is what we're talking about , if you don't have a medical condition: feed regularly with adequate amounts of food, allow for some flexibility without interpreting it as failure, and use long term. Value the concepts of moderation, hunger, and all-over pleasure in food. Devalue over time the value of being very full. Change the ratio of high quality to low quality food at a pace which feels doable.

Do not let yourself be discouraged by the addiction moniker. People get over "addictions" all the time, and they don't have to be abstinent from the beginning to do it. In fact, most aren't, and recognizing that can help offset the tendency to the WTH effect. (See the work of Stanton Peele. I think he rarely writes about food issues, but he has been a strong advocate of the "harm reduction" model for decades. )

People can scare themselves with terms like "withdrawal." Yeah, you can call those symptoms withdrawal, they're just basically what you described- very unpleasant but certainly not not like surgery or even a bad headache, and ultimately tolerable. It really helps just to try to change the attitude so that we don't believe we're carrying this terrible burden. Sure, it's not bed of roses, so we don't have to be down on ourselves for perceiving difficulty, but it's helpful to try to reframe it calmly. Keep reminding yourself that it's better than the alternative, which is feeling trapped by food, feeling cruddy from overeating, etc. Maximize the unpleasantness of overeating and minimize the discomfort of changing for 180 days. Then reconsider. :D
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

leafy_greens
Posts: 426
Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2010 8:18 pm

Re: Food Addiction and just need to talk

Post by leafy_greens » Fri Oct 24, 2014 6:56 pm

april1127 wrote:Hi
I am taking a chemical dependencies class at the local community college and we ended up talking about food addiction and if it was real. I think it is a real problem. I know with the No S Diet I have tried and tried to do the program and the side effects of eating less; food cravings, anxiety, light headed, feeling uncomfortable, wanting to beng eat, are the same feelings people have who withdrawal from drugs. Just not as extreme. I read that it takes 10 to 20 days to get over these symptoms. So if I can just bear through it for a month I would be set for the rest of my life.

I feel conflicted because I have been given the opportunity to work with a personal trainer free of charge and he says just focus on eating a protein or veggie at each meal. That at this point its ok to overeat and do whatever as long as I get in my protein or veggie. That is all great and wonderful but I want to succeed at the No S. Diet now. He says it would be to difficult. I know it sounds really stupid but more than anything I want to succeed at the No S Diet.
Yes, I totally agree! Food dependency is like a drug. Restricting food even to three meals can make me whiney and miserable. I have gone on and off No S for a long time. As long as three "perfect green" months and I still fall off the wagon over and over. It's just like life, nothing is ever perfect and you have to keep pushing along. After 20 days it may work for you, but if it doesn't, don't throw in the towel. Have realistic expectations.

You can follow your trainer's protein/veggie plans as long as it is part of your one plate, three times a day. Add more food if it's not enough to fill your plate.
"No S IS hard... It just turns out that everything else is harder." -oolala53

oolala53
Posts: 10059
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 1:46 am
Location: San Diego, CA USA

Post by oolala53 » Sat Oct 25, 2014 11:41 pm

The point is that even if overeating is like a drug, people change their drug habits, too. They get determined to expand into other areas of their lives, developing strength in non-substance abuse habits, and keep letting go of the drug habits. It is rarely a linear change. Unless you have a health reason to eat a lot less, it doesn't need to be dramatic. I can tell you from the other side that I'm pretty sure the fretting is not necessary to success, ESPECIALLY if there is a lot of fretting without any real change. In fact, fretting may be part of the entire pattern. Interrupt the pattern wherever you can!

I'm a little curious to know what you would have at your meals if NOT some protein and vegetables along with other foods. Were you balking at what he said to include or the fact that he allowed for overeating? That is actually not that far off No S, it's just that you do your "overeating" at mealtime on one plate.

Let the meal gaps and S-day only sugar do the talkin'!
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

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