Obsession foods and their power
Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 5:00 pm
For those of us struggling here, I thought I would start a topic about foods that we could actually eat dangerous amounts of. By this I mean trigger foods that could destroy our best intentions and our lives.
We read over and over again about these foods on the daily boards:
Can't have them in the house
Eat the whole bag and want more
Have literally eaten this item until sick more than once (for me corn chips and bean dip)
If they are in the house, they call to you
Can't look at them in the store isle
Hate yourself while eating them
Haunt your days with gerbil wheel thoughts that no distraction seems to take away.
Many of us know what I mean by these foods. Mine are peanuts, corn chips and bean dip, potato chips, ice cream and buttered popcorn. I have eaten peanuts and chips until the salt has chapped my lips and burned the skin off the inside of my mouth. I have eaten ice cream until I have flu like symptoms the next day. I have eaten all of these foods long after craving is gone just because there is more. I have felt shame following binges on these foods.
Now I know there are some stock answers here. Carb cravings. I can eat bread, potatoes and sweetened cereals with no special cravings at all. They are not foods my mother calmed me with as a child. They are not foods that hold special meaning for me. They are foods I really like the taste of and can't stop eating.
I want to know why these foods have this hold over us. I love pork but I don't obsess about it. I love potato dumplings but I can eat one and not desire 20 more. So what sets my triggers apart. If I am honest, when I am indulging in those treats, I very soon get overwhelmed by the salt or the sugar but I keep eating more. I am also aware at some point that the enjoyment has ended but I keep going. Finally, I am hating myself and feeling awful about what I am doing but I keep going. That is moving into the alcohol and drug addiction category. So I asked myself what these foods do for people that makes them so attractive that they give their health over to these substances. I will list the ones I can think of and welcome additional thoughts from anyone reading this.
They seem to grab my attention so completely that they make any pain I experienced during the day, more bearable and sometimes make the pain go away for a while.
They are a quick easy fix that doesn't involve a lot of effort on my part.
They are a no risk fix. They work every time. At least for a while.
They don't make me face unpleasant truths about myself or my life. Again, temporarily.
There is something as yet undiscovered in the combination of ingredients in these foods that make them an addictive substance to me.
That is what I came up with. I think these trigger foods are so delicious to us that they work EVERY time to make us feel better. We get relief from something that seems intolerable and we get it cheaply and quickly.
So I am an addict when I am around these foods. Does that mean I can't ever have them again as long as I live? Seems harsh but cold turkey works for many drug addicts and alcoholics. They have to do the 12 step program to deal with their lives but even with that, they can never drink or use drugs again.
I can go without eating one of those foods for a long time. But if I then eat them again, I am almost instantly hooked. I tell myself I am going to have only 5 or 10 chips or whatever or only 1/2 cup of ice cream and quit. But one taste and it is over. Is this true addiction? Is never having these foods again the answer? If that is the case, I will have to man (or in my case, woman) up and give up these foods and avoid them at all cost.
Let me know your thoughts. I know those of you who have never really experienced this level of addiction to a food think this is a crazy post and will recommend practicing moderation. But for those of you who this resonates with, if you have overcome this addiction and if you have insight or advice to give, please chime in.
And let's have a vote too. Cold turkey-never eat it again or are there rules of engagement with these foods to keep them under control?
Weigh in? Excuse the pun.
We read over and over again about these foods on the daily boards:
Can't have them in the house
Eat the whole bag and want more
Have literally eaten this item until sick more than once (for me corn chips and bean dip)
If they are in the house, they call to you
Can't look at them in the store isle
Hate yourself while eating them
Haunt your days with gerbil wheel thoughts that no distraction seems to take away.
Many of us know what I mean by these foods. Mine are peanuts, corn chips and bean dip, potato chips, ice cream and buttered popcorn. I have eaten peanuts and chips until the salt has chapped my lips and burned the skin off the inside of my mouth. I have eaten ice cream until I have flu like symptoms the next day. I have eaten all of these foods long after craving is gone just because there is more. I have felt shame following binges on these foods.
Now I know there are some stock answers here. Carb cravings. I can eat bread, potatoes and sweetened cereals with no special cravings at all. They are not foods my mother calmed me with as a child. They are not foods that hold special meaning for me. They are foods I really like the taste of and can't stop eating.
I want to know why these foods have this hold over us. I love pork but I don't obsess about it. I love potato dumplings but I can eat one and not desire 20 more. So what sets my triggers apart. If I am honest, when I am indulging in those treats, I very soon get overwhelmed by the salt or the sugar but I keep eating more. I am also aware at some point that the enjoyment has ended but I keep going. Finally, I am hating myself and feeling awful about what I am doing but I keep going. That is moving into the alcohol and drug addiction category. So I asked myself what these foods do for people that makes them so attractive that they give their health over to these substances. I will list the ones I can think of and welcome additional thoughts from anyone reading this.
They seem to grab my attention so completely that they make any pain I experienced during the day, more bearable and sometimes make the pain go away for a while.
They are a quick easy fix that doesn't involve a lot of effort on my part.
They are a no risk fix. They work every time. At least for a while.
They don't make me face unpleasant truths about myself or my life. Again, temporarily.
There is something as yet undiscovered in the combination of ingredients in these foods that make them an addictive substance to me.
That is what I came up with. I think these trigger foods are so delicious to us that they work EVERY time to make us feel better. We get relief from something that seems intolerable and we get it cheaply and quickly.
So I am an addict when I am around these foods. Does that mean I can't ever have them again as long as I live? Seems harsh but cold turkey works for many drug addicts and alcoholics. They have to do the 12 step program to deal with their lives but even with that, they can never drink or use drugs again.
I can go without eating one of those foods for a long time. But if I then eat them again, I am almost instantly hooked. I tell myself I am going to have only 5 or 10 chips or whatever or only 1/2 cup of ice cream and quit. But one taste and it is over. Is this true addiction? Is never having these foods again the answer? If that is the case, I will have to man (or in my case, woman) up and give up these foods and avoid them at all cost.
Let me know your thoughts. I know those of you who have never really experienced this level of addiction to a food think this is a crazy post and will recommend practicing moderation. But for those of you who this resonates with, if you have overcome this addiction and if you have insight or advice to give, please chime in.
And let's have a vote too. Cold turkey-never eat it again or are there rules of engagement with these foods to keep them under control?
Weigh in? Excuse the pun.