Morning. I have always battled with my weight and my relationship with food. My start day is always Monday! Im sure people will identify with that. So before Monday i have eaten like a pig so i snaffle all the bad stuff in quantity as if that will help me cope with the new diet on Monday. In other words i binge eat. However this last 3 years i have been doing a degree so have almost given up dieting as its too stressful. But for some reason im still bingeing as if Monday is always round the corner. Sounds stupid. I shovel carbs and sweet things in such quantity.
Anyway, ive started the C25k in order to rejuvenate my fitness and stamina after sitting for 3 yrs (Im 59) promising myself that i will tackle the food stuff as its counter productive to the running. But im struggling. Im still clinging on to it like a starving beast. What doesnt help either is that 18 months ago i lost my sense of taste and smell after a virus and it hasnt come back. My mouth can only really make sense of sweetness so i guess thats another reason for craving sweet things. I just dont know how to break this psychological dependency on food.
Im posting here as it might resonate with some people who could throw me some ideas. Thanks
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Jasminflower59
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Hi Jasmin, there's an odd irony here in that you are obviously intelligent and yet you are making yourself unhappy with food and your food choices.
So is a sweet treat full off calories really a treat or is it your nemesis where you trick yourself that in some way it is satiating you when in reality it is your food choices that are keeping you unhappy...
Some people are over fed and undernourished so crave food even when they have just eaten.
So what can you do about it, think before you eat and remember we are all our own worst enemies when it comes to dealing with our faults/weaknesses. Maybe yours is escapism from the stress of studying but regardless you and only you have to take the first step of taking responsibility for what you do eat and don't beat yourself up when you do slip up.
You have taken the first step by seeing your problem and you can do it, one good way of dealing with low self esteem or whatever makes you feel the need to over eat is to tell your self that you're A-OK and remind yourself of this as you are A-OK.
I wish you well with this and please feel free to tell us how you get on.
Hmmmm. Ive been thinking about this all day. My sweet treats have become my right rather than treats and tend to often be in secret. Ive always thought it escapism but from what im not sure.
I think i eat mindlessly as a way of soothing myself rather like a drug. I feel safe if i have treats around me to go to. If i dont have them i feel nervous of dealing with feeling deprived, of not having that crutch. The feeling of sweetness and unctuousness keeps me ‘drugged up’ i guess so i just drift. Oh dear this is getting deep!
I know only i can make that first step and when i was much younger i had no problem. But now im older i feel at times that the strength has deserted me
Hey Jasmin, welcome to the human race and the most important thing for you to realise is that you are not alone in your feelings and subsequent actions...
And welcome to HE we are a friendly forum with a common interest in all things healthy eating.
When you say "I think I eat mindlessly as a way of soothing myself rather like a drug".
You just hit the nail on the head.
Sugar (refined sugar, the white stuff) is a massive problem and you will find it most processed foods and condiments.
Sugar is addictive and some studies even compare it to cocaine.
Copious amounts of sugar lead to obesity and health problems and even death.
So what I would do is try to limit the sugar intake. Look at the ingredients in food and if it has sugar, don't eat it... if it is refined sugar of course.
You say you like sweet treats. Substitute them for natural sweet treats.
When I first did this and was getting rid of a lot of sugar from my diet (biscuits and so on) there would always be the odd occasion where I might eat 1 biscuit or sweet and I could feel the nerves in my teeth retracting.
I could probably eat a bag of dates rather than a bag of Galaxy Minstrels now.
I have been studying for 3 years as well as a full time job as well as acquiring two young dogs (how stupid was that). Ive been so stressed with all of it that i suppose the sugar chocolate and carb fixes have numbed my feelings and masked how awful its been. Im coming to the end in July so im hoping to get my life back and take back some control.
A warm welcome to you - I hope you'll enjoy participating in the Healthy eating forum. Great to hear you've started the C25K - I hope it is going well.
Have a look at our various posts and topics and see what interests you.
Hi Jasmin, to quote Jerry "you are obviously intelligent and yet you are making yourself unhappy with food and your food choices"
I was recommended a little book called "Ditching Diets" (Gillian Riley) by an administrator on another forum.
I have found this book really helpful in understanding how people like you and me who are intelligent and should be able to make good decisions, get caught up in the cycle of eating unhealthy food, with behaviours around food that we don't want (and in my case foods I don't even enjoy). There is also guidance on how to work through the problem and change your mindset. I would say it's definitely worth a look to see if it would help you. You have the added complication of your altered taste but hopefully if you can get rid of the sweet junk you might be able to taste the sweetness in natural food a bit better.
Natural food rocks and yes ditch these so called "Diets".
Diets have sugar in them and sugar (refined sugar) can lead to obesity, health problems and even death... that is most likely why they are called DIEts.
Take the Slim Fast plan. Sounds great but it's packed with sugar. That aint gonna make you slim down at speed at all.
Thank you Fran. Im sure i have a Gillian Riley book somewhere but not that one. I will look it out. The nonsense of all this is that i am almost qualified as a Psychotherapist so you would think i could rationalise it out and eat healthier. But its a lifetime of bad habits and secret eating that im faced with. I would love to be able to clear my cupboards of ‘refined sugar’. Why cant i? Im clinging on as it gives me comfort. Why do i need comfort? Lord knows! But as i said before, only i can do it, no one can do it for me. And it all begins with that first step.
Im due out today on Wk3 Run 3 and its getting easier. That had its first difficult step and i did it. Will keep you posted 😊
You are misattributing a physiological phenomenon to a psychological cause. There is no underlying psychological issue here. As I'm sure you're aware with your background, our brains often fill in a justification or train of reasoning for instinctive behaviour after the fact, and that's what's happening with your eating habits.
You are addicted to sugary foods because your body has essentially lost its ability to access stored bodyfat. The net effect is that, in between meals, it think it's starving; what you describe as "comfort" is simply a label that you've assigned to the feeling associated with an elevation in blood sugar caused by food intake (which your body is failing to control properly).
Getting sugar out of your cupboards will not be enough. Drop in on the LCHF group and say hello; there are several people there who have been where you are now, and will have some concrete advice. This is completely fixable, but it does require following a fairly specific protocol to get your body firing on all cylinders again.
With respect I'd partially disagree with this, whilst I fully agree with your point regarding sugar addiction (as does Gillian Riley as mentioned above) for some people there is a psychological aspect too, our emotions can be affected by what we eat as well as our physical health, there can be a lot of complicated thoughts and feelings attached to what we eat and what we weigh. Not saying this is the case for everyone but for those this does affect it can be helpful to address it alongside the changes in eating you describe above. I'm sure I'm not the only person who knows what foods work best for my body but have sometimes struggled to get my head in the "right place"
Sure, a psychological component will inevitably emerge over time because you will develop new scripts around your physiological drives. But the same process will happen in reverse once you fix the underlying physiological cause.
I probably didn't explain myself very well. I was trying to point out that the proximate cause is not inside your head. Some people try to get their head in the "right place" without fixing their diet first. But you're right that the psychological corrections will not necessarily track in accurate tandem with dietary corrections! There was a poster a while back who experienced some body dysmorphia after losing a lot of weight (they "felt" they were still fat).
Shifting the way one looks at things, is the beginning of change. What we eat and when we eat is so connected to habit. Food is fuel and the micronutrients in food keep our body and mind functioning optimally. It's about finding out what foods work for you, and not against you. Processed food will always work against you. Sugar will always work against you. The desire to have more energy and vitality, can become habit. Learning about food and finding a group/coach to help with behavior modification (switching a bad habit for a good habit). You have a choice, you can change.
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Bonfire night pudding, 🐝
Improving fitness / eating healthy... but strict dietary restrictions! OAS
