Junk Food Addiction

Elspeth · Post by **Elspeth** » Mon Mar 29, 2010 5:12 pm

I thought this article was interesting: http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/fl- ... rint.story

Fortunately, human beings aren't rats, but it does explain why so many folks find it difficult to quit junk food.

clarinetgal · Post by **clarinetgal** » Mon Mar 29, 2010 6:12 pm

Wow! I think there's definitely some truth to that article. I know for me, the more junk food I eat, the more I crave it. I just got off of a one week period where I had huge cravings for chocolate for some reason, so I ate a bunch of it all week. Yesterday night, the cravings just went away, so now I'm back to wanting healthier foods again. It was a weird experience! I'm not at the point of doing full out Vanilla No S yet (I'm allowing myself a small portion of sweets, but I'm not doing snacks or seconds), but for this week, I'm going to go back to being very strict with how many sweets I allow myself. I've found that when I am stricter with the sweets, I don't crave them as much.

oliviamanda · Post by **oliviamanda** » Mon Mar 29, 2010 6:41 pm

I saw a similiar article on msnbc.com earlier today. It talked about how the rats went crazy for oreos and would not stop eating until they were through. Reminds me of my husband. Any sweet that isn't specifically for me on my S days, gets ploughed through by him. Luckily for him, he is not overweight. But he eats sweets like an addict. I'm glad I don't buy them and other junk food very often. I was in the market last night and almost bought him a pack of Newman's O's, but knew they'd all be gone in a 48hour period without me ever having one.

The article reminds me that these processed foods and refined sugars are so addictive, no wonder the average overweigh person doesn't want to do No S.

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Tue Mar 30, 2010 9:19 pm

This dovetails some info that inspired me to stick to No S. It became clear that never eating rich food wasn't an option. The alternative was moderation or bingeing. The mix of vegetables with some "highly palatable" food on a plate has proved to both satisfy and ameliorate the addictive affect of those foods. Ditto limiting the opportunities to have sugar.

I'm also on a diet site that has a diet team devoted to Living Binge Free. I just received a thank you email this weekend from a fellow member there I had recommended No S to. She's been at it a few weeks and says she has not felt so normal in years.

I think Reinhard should team up with some binge eating experts and come up with a possibly modified No S plan that allowed for a little more well-thought out rigor on S days.

In any case, thanks for the link.

Finnigan · Post by **Finnigan** » Wed Mar 31, 2010 3:09 pm

Ut! Looks like I'm late to the party. Sorry.

Too solid flesh · Post by **Too solid flesh** » Wed Mar 31, 2010 4:53 pm

Finnigan wrote:Ut! Looks like I'm late to the party. Sorry.

You made some interesting points, Finnigan, and I'm glad to have had the chance to read about this study more than once - it can take a while to absorb these things. Thank you.

RJLupin · Post by **RJLupin** » Thu Apr 01, 2010 3:38 am

I totally believe this. Before I started No S, I was binging on huge amounts of junk food (cookies, cake, ice cream) daily because it gave me an almost morphine-like high. It got to the point where I literally felt like I had no control over it, and I was miserable and depressed. Somehow I made it through the first few days of No S and managed to subdue my addiction, but I still have the thought, in the back of my mind, when something bad happens that "ice cream can make you feel better!" I doubt I will ever be free of that.