It seems like everyday Bert - that guy inside my head who keeps convincing me to eat rubbish - lies to me.
Just flat out bald faced lies to me.
LOUNGE ROOM. 8:30 P.M.
B: "Dave"
Silence
B: "Daaave"
D: (sigh) "What!"
B: "You need some chocolate"
D: "No Bert, I really don't need chocolate"
B: "But imagine how good it will..."
D: "Shuttup! I don't want any chocolate"
B: "Mmmmm that mouth coating chocolatey delicious....."
D: "Shuttup, shuttup, SHUDDUP!!"
B: "I am SO sure you are going to be hungry soon and you really need that chocolate because being hungry is awful"
D: "Stop it..although I am a little hungry I think..."
B: "Chocolate its like a big hug and can't you already feel your stomach starting to feel hungry cause it's"
D: "No I..I..." *sigh* "But I ...no"
B: "You need to have it now. You need to feel better, you need that chocolate, just one more time won't matter, you need to have it now, your body is craving it, you will be so unhappy if you don't.."
D: "Arrrgghhh stop it..."
B: "Wow was that a hunger pang, your stomach feels empty, you really really need some chocolate, imagine how warm and comforting it will feel, how relaxed your body will get..."
D: "Oh screw it, gimme!"
---------------------------
Sound familiar?
Its way too familiar to me of late.
But you just have to remember that you are lying to yourself.
YOUR BODY DOES NOT NEED THAT CHOCOLATE/MUFFIN/PIE/ROLL/CHIP.
It just doesn't, it's your brain that wants it.
But you don't stick food in your brain do you?
So you don't want it - your brain does. Your body is fine, its satiated, it does not need any more food, nothing will change if you eat that (insert delicious thing here).
Nothing.
Except you will feel guilty, unhappy and your body will expand a little more.
You do not need that extra food. Your brain wants it. Your body doesn't it.
Food goes in your body. So listen to your body.
You do NOT need that food.
Say no.
Your body is perfectly content. You do not need that food.
Say no. Because you can.
Written by
Dave1961
25kg
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Yeah I sometimes get that, hormone related at times! It has been much better tho, since I'm eating more nuts ( in the form of nut butter on toast) and eggs.
I had a crap day yesterday, nothing seemed to satisfy me, so I guess , due to feeling crap I was prob 1500 cals over. ( Monday included)
Over a week it won't make a huge dent, I've spent the last two days resting so no excercise.
Today is better, I still feel a bit weak, work at 12, things will pan out.
Good luck Dave fitting the munch you monster if, as I said fab herbal tea soothes me
Hey Dave. I really think you would enjoy the book "brain over binge". It has an extensive website too which is full of free information, go check it out. It taught me to disconnect the urge to binge from the act of bingeing. It teaches you to hear the craving, identify it but not act on it.
Having those urges is a natural human reaction, and once you act on them it forms a habit, which reinforces the craving and makes it happen more frequently. But once you start to ignore them, you can break the habit and the urges and cravings diminish.
I promise it's possible. I used to binge constantly, sometimes daily. Sometimes I would even get up and do it before work. It took over my whole life. But it's very possible to get your life back. Right now I have chocolate in my fridge... and I trust myself enough not to sit down and eat it all in one go! This would have been unthinkable two years ago.
Dave, when you've lost all your weight what are you going to do with all your writing talent? I think you've got a really good book in you that would help loads of folk sort stuff out in their heads as well as giving them a good read. I'm just reading a few things by Ken Blanchard and he sounds just like you!
I love this sort of reasoning Dave - its pretty much the theory behind the book I mentioned in an earlier post- Taming the Feast Beast - by Jack and Lois Trimpey. That old feast beast has a lot to answer for - good on you for standing up to him !
Unfortunately, my voice isn't an inner dialogue but the irritating work colleague I sit next to. It's constant. Just now, she lobbed a packet of chocolate buttons at me. I've politely given them back and now she's all offended. LEAVE ME ALONE.
I think there's an added chemical complication sometimes. My big weakness is red wine which is both a drug and a food, not to mention a gateway to lots more food once my resolve gets dissolved by all the alcohol. There are chemical effects in certain foods such as chocolate too. There's been research about this - I'm sure I've seen things about chocolate having a beneficial effect (in pure form), which is probably why I feel okay still having dark chocolate on a regular basis (in small amounts). Bert's wrong to argue that it will stop you feeling hungry (he's lying about you being hungry when actually it's just a craving) but things like chocolate do actually make your brain feel better, although most commercially sold chocolate sends a range of signals from the fat and sugar that gets added as well. I think the key is to satiate your brain, while guarding against empty cravings and addictive chemicals. If a single glass of wine or a square of dark chocolate makes us feel good, and can be enjoyed without being adulterated with less healthy ingredients, or being consumed in quantities that become harmful to our bodies, then we'll all be okay I think, and Bert might calm down a bit too.
Oh I wish I could stop at just one piece of dark chocolate - I have even tried freezing the block and snapping off a piece at a time but the monster in me takes over. I just have train myself out of it and I'll have a look at the book someone mentioned earlier I am now testing out a new little tweak and increasing my days by one between eating something bad for me e.g. I now have to wait 3 days before I can have some chocolate (which will be Saturday). If I have more than I should its OK as long as I follow the 3 day rule.
After Saturday I have to wait 4 days...then 5 days...until I get to a week and then I'll stick to that for awhile and see how I feel.
Perhaps have a read of Robert Lustig's book "Fat Chance", which explains the way food affects our hormones and causes addiction/obesity etc. He's an American obesity specialist.
His U-tube lecture on what fructose does to our bodies is a very informative science lecture, but I found it requires a strong coffee to help you stay awake, unless you are a chemistry junky.
I found the knowledge helpful when fighting the sugar addiction! I now keep some very dark chocolate in the fridge, just for the occasional 'hit'.
As I mentioned to Ruth the little hit of dark chocolate does no good for me - the block disappears before I can blink. Abstinence is the only thing that works for me right now.
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Stop sabotaging! clean out the cupboard and fridge
Getting the most from Low Carb (LCHF)
Is it just me?
If I can do it there's hope for you all!
Will Power
