Food Addiction

[bipolarmom]

I looked elsewhere for support from this and got some rude judgements..

I'm not looking for "get professional help". I do regular therapy. I've been to support groups. That's not what I want, and I'm a little defensive now but hopefully I can find something here as everyone has been great in the past.

I have binge eating disorder, or a serious junk food addiction. And I want to stop it. I would ideally like to be eating clean, with maybe a cheat day once a week or a cheat meal once a week. But my goal is healthy meals cooked from scratch. I have low blood sugar so I have to eat every 3-4 hours, which is completely fine for me if those meals are healthy..

Anyway, I am at a loss because I've only ever lasted 2 weeks of eating healthy. I go through withdrawal from the junk food, and I get miserable, and I give up. And then it's back to binging. And then I make excuses for myself to keep binging. And I hate all of it.

Has anyone been there? I'm 5 months pregnant right now so it's tough to try anything. The hormonal changes make it hard for me to stick to anything, even exercise which I normally love. I am applying for health insurance soon so I can start seeing a naturopathic doctor, and the clinic also has massage, chiropractor, acupuncture, and a nutritionist. I'd like to see all of those. But it's probably not going to happen until after the baby comes in December.

I guess I'm just looking for support for the time being, because I'm tired of living this way.

 

[bipolarmom]

BTW, the other forum I posted on gave me the response of "processed food is healthy, and eating clean is stupid. Avoiding sugar and processed foods is unhealthy and you should tone down your obsession with clean eating." Basically, when I stated that I believe you need to feed your body to support your brain, I was told that I have been brainwashed by the media. I don't know, I just think I'd prefer to be consuming things that come from the earth, not things that are man-made and full of preservatives. This was met with intense negativity there, so hopefully here I will find more of what I'm looking for.

 

[kind2creatures]

I looked elsewhere for support from this and got some rude judgements..

I'm not looking for "get professional help". I do regular therapy.

I have binge eating disorder, or a serious junk food addiction. And I want to stop it. I would ideally like to be eating clean, with maybe a cheat day once a week or a cheat meal once a week. But my goal is healthy meals cooked from scratch.

Anyway, I am at a loss because I've only ever lasted 2 weeks of eating healthy. I go through withdrawal from the junk food, and I get miserable, and I give up. And then it's back to binging. And then I make excuses for myself to keep binging. And I hate all of it.

Has anyone been there? I'm 5 months pregnant right now so it's tough to try anything. The hormonal changes make it hard for me to stick to anything, even exercise which I normally love.

I guess I'm just looking for support for the time being, because I'm tired of living this way.

First and foremost, I'd like to congratulate you on being a near future mom-to-be! Wishing health and happiness for both you and your baby. :heart:

You won't get any professional advice or rude judgements from me, lol. I haven't had any serious eating disorders, but I can definitely relate to wanting the junk food or sweets, and overindulging.

I imagine that exercise for you at this time should be very mild for your health and the health of your baby. Even though I wouldn't recommend making any intense changes in your diet right now, it's good to mentally acknowledge the effect of your food intake on both of you.

L-Glutamine is a good supplement for controlling urges for sweets and carbohydrates, but you'd have to research if it's safe to use while pregnant.

I was just shopping at Costco yesterday, and I sampled a sweet potato french fry, very good...but I know it would be healthier if made at home.

There are many steps to take in having junk type foods in a more healthy manner. Using coconut oil or light olive oil for frying as opposed to vegetable oils or butter. Grilling in the oven, instead of frying. The list goes on and on, and is very doable with not much effort, only desire. I think there's a recipe on this forum (sweet potato fries), if so, I'll post the link.

Don't let it create too much stress for you, but a slow transition seems to be good advice. When you do indulge, make it a smaller portion.

Substitute a sweet or fatty food with one that is almost as good. You may laugh, but a plain greek yogurt like Fage, has no fat or sugars. If you add flax seeds, honey and lemon juice, you'll get a tasty and filling treat (or breakfast) that is rich in omega 3s, and antioxidants. Knudsen's sells an apple butter product that has not fats or chemicals, organic...that can be mixed with yogurt too.

Ideas are endless if you really want to make changes. Best of luck to you and your baby!

 

[kind2creatures]

Here's the sweet potato fries recipe I was thinking of...https://www.natmedtalk.com/showthread.php?t=20210

BTW, those folks on that other forum appear to be in denial and under the hold of the MSM themselves, lol. To each his own is my thought, but it's not the rational solution for health.

 

[mommysunshine]

Take dairy, soy, wheat and corn out of your diet. It may seem extreme BUT it is very common for people who struggle with food to have allergies to the very foods they are binging on. My guess is your binges aren't on vegetables, fruit, and beans.

 

[bipolarmom]

Thank you! I should've just come here first, people here are actually focused on their health and not just getting huge muscles.. lol. I am so close to throwing out all the processed food and just stocking up on fresh things, but I'll have to get creative with my picky 3 year old son. Maybe I could find recipes to recreate the snacks he loves but make them myself. He loves fruit, yogurt, meat, cheese, crackers, apple sauce, cereals, milk, water, etc. So he can eat pretty healthy but it's usually the premade stuff when it comes to yogurt and such. Maybe I could try making Greek yogurt with agave nectar and berries in it myself and see if he likes it the same. He loves smoothies so no issue there. He already eats whole grain for bread products, but I think if I was making my own bread and maybe even crackers it would be better for both of us. I guess it's just reaching that point that I find difficult.

A few weeks back, I set out to eat clean, healthy food. I was eating small meals 5 times a day(I have low blood sugar so need this anyway), and cooking everything from scratch. Then I got to Saturday and said might as well have a cheat day. I didn't even feel like cheating, but I forced myself to, and the next day I said "Hey, I feel fine! Might as well go back to eating whatever I want." Just like that I justify it for myself every time. And the funny thing is that I didn't even WANT to cheat before I did it.

I've been thinking of joining Overeaters Anonymous, although I'm worried being of average weight that I won't fit in.. I know that they provide really good support to people who want to change their eating habits and they even give you a sponsor to call when you want to binge..

I am desperate to try again, without the cheat day at all for maybe the first two weeks and then only one cheat meal once a week. Debt has been an issue as well, and food banks certainly don't provide healthy food to anyone. I've tried changing around my budget so hopefully this time it will work.. Obviously the goal is not to lose weight, being pregnant, but just to be healthy. If I do lose, I will just increase my intake to prevent that. I just wish this was easier to control.

 

[jfh]

I don't know what I would do if I were to toss out processed food from my diet. I'm pretty careful what processed food that I use. For example, I rate Amy's kitchen products highly. Mostly organic stuff in good measure. Love her spinach pizza. I just have to be careful with sodium.

I can't appreciate diets, unless it is due to health problems like diabetes. Otherwise, binges and cheats occur. Don't you all think so? People go too far too fast. Cutting out something immediately just doesn't work. Like stopping smoking. Difficult at best. But weaning oneself off, will find better results. I think the body goes under stress, and that causes the binges. I feel the same for fasting. Too much stress for the body.

 

[mommysunshine]

I can't appreciate diets, unless it is due to health problems like diabetes. Otherwise, binges and cheats occur. Don't you all think so? People go too far too fast. Cutting out something immediately just doesn't work. Like stopping smoking. Difficult at best. But weaning oneself off, will find better results. I think the body goes under stress, and that causes the binges. I feel the same for fasting. Too much stress for the body.

Food allergies are a HUGE health problem. I've been walking the path for the past 5 years since my daughter displayed obvious symptoms. Dairy and wheat act like opiates in the body just like certain drugs do. When the body becomes low it CRAVES that substance. I don't think binges or cravings are healthy or normal.

True story - we eliminated dairy from our diet because my daughter developed hives after eating it. We cut it all out - even processed food b/c most has some form of dairy. One night, I decided to add back some cheese into the meal. Not a minute after my husband began eating it his nose started to run. Interesting. Then later that evening I was so cranky which I hadn't felt in a very long time. Coincidence? No, no, no. We had nnoooooo idea we had reactions to food especially the ones we LOVED and craved.

The body will break free from the addiction and you'll realize how many food options are available that you hadn't even realized. It's fun.

Just start with dairy and wheat. What is there to lose?????

 

[jfh]

Just start with dairy and wheat. What is there to lose?????

Pizza, cheese burgers, mac and cheese, flour tortillas, yogurt, sour creme, pimento cheese spread. A lot. An awful lot.

I do know what you mean though. Elimination diets are sometimes very necessary and the only way to diagnose and illness due to allergy. But once it is discovered, reintroduction might be worth trying later. Allergies come and go throughout life.

 

[mommysunshine]

Maybe I could try making Greek yogurt with agave nectar and berries in it myself and see if he likes it the same. He loves smoothies so no issue there. He already eats whole grain for bread products, but I think if I was making my own bread and maybe even crackers it would be better for both of us. I guess it's just reaching that point that I find difficult.

The very two foods that you are thinking of making happen to be the two highest food allergens: wheat and dairy. Coincidence?

Pizza, cheese burgers, mac and cheese, flour tortillas, yogurt, sour creme, pimento cheese spread. A lot. An awful lot.

Yes, I know. I certainly know. But instead of foods that are potentially harming your body why not eat foods that don't harm it. If you're allergic to a food it literally kills your white blood cells. They attack the food that is in your blood steam and this process destroys the white blood cell.
Tests have shown decreased white blood cell counts after an allergic food has been consumed.

Beans and salsa, a stir fry with rice and vegetables, fresh fruit sprinkled with cinnamon, butternut squash, quinoa, etc. There's more food to eat than what we are in the habit of putting in our mouths.

We either eat because of habit or addiction or brainwashing, I mean marketing, from the industry that produces that food.

 

[pinballdoctor]

Have you ever wondered why you crave junk foods? Have you ever wondered why you over eat?

Most people think they are in control of their own body, and that simply is not true. You crave for a reason, and you over eat for a reason.

Lets see what logic brings... the more you eat, the more you stretch your stomach, thus, the more you need to eat in order to feel full... well that makes some sense, but its not true. people generally over eat for two reasons, first, the cravings are controlled by organisms in your body, and they "trick" your brain into making you think it is you who is craving... and secondly, the communication between stomach and brain is no longer working properly. This is why you can feel hungry shortly after eating..

The solution is simple... give your body what it is really craving... minerals. Once you give your body the raw materials that it needs (in optimal amounts) the cravings will stop, and junk foods will begin to taste bad. And when the cravings stop, the weight will begin to fall off.

Another word for craving is called pica. There was a woman who was addicted to eating laundry soap, and another who was addicted to eating chalk...you know, like the kind thats used on classroom blackboards..

The point is that chalk is made from calcium carbonate, and that tells me she was craving calcium, which is a mineral, and if she was to supplement with a good quality colloidal mineral each day, this "pica" would go away.

I stated in another post that if you gave colloidal minerals to a pica horse, it would stop chewing on the wooden gate.

...are we learning yet?

 

[mommysunshine]

Very good documentary - it goes into chemicals in the brain that affect the way we behave including food choices. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhnHFnajMB4

 

[bipolarmom]

Have you ever wondered why you crave junk foods? Have you ever wondered why you over eat?

Most people think they are in control of their own body, and that simply is not true. You crave for a reason, and you over eat for a reason.

Lets see what logic brings... the more you eat, the more you stretch your stomach, thus, the more you need to eat in order to feel full... well that makes some sense, but its not true. people generally over eat for two reasons, first, the cravings are controlled by organisms in your body, and they "trick" your brain into making you think it is you who is craving... and secondly, the communication between stomach and brain is no longer working properly. This is why you can feel hungry shortly after eating..

The solution is simple... give your body what it is really craving... minerals. Once you give your body the raw materials that it needs (in optimal amounts) the cravings will stop, and junk foods will begin to taste bad. And when the cravings stop, the weight will begin to fall off.

Another word for craving is called pica. There was a woman who was addicted to eating laundry soap, and another who was addicted to eating chalk...you know, like the kind thats used on classroom blackboards..

The point is that chalk is made from calcium carbonate, and that tells me she was craving calcium, which is a mineral, and if she was to supplement with a good quality colloidal mineral each day, this "pica" would go away.

I stated in another post that if you gave colloidal minerals to a pica horse, it would stop chewing on the wooden gate.

...are we learning yet?

I agree with this completely and when I was taking many vitamins and minerals I had no cravings anymore. But I can only take a prenatal, magnesium, fish oil, and probiotics safely right now. I'm going to try to listen to my body though, when I have cravings. If I crave sweets, I'll try fruit instead. I need to relearn how I think of my cravings.

 

[pinballdoctor]

I want to explain the three types of minerals.

First, there are the metallic minerals. These are found in most cheap multivitamins, and are basically ground up rocks. These would include oyster shell, eggshell, limestone, calcium carbonate, tums, types of clay, seabed minerals, etc. These metallic minerals are difficult for the body to absorb since we were not meant to absorb minerals this way. In fact, only about 10% of these minerals are absorbed while 90% passes right through the body, and if you are over 40, you will absorb only about 5%..

Here is an example. If you take 300 mg of calcium twice per day you would think you are getting 600 mg per day. However, if this is calcium lactate, a common metallic mineral, only 25% is metallic calcium while the remaining 75% is sugar or lactose. That means 600mg calcium equals 150 mg of metallic calcium, and you will only absorb about 15 mg, which is not enough to make any difference..

Secondly, there are chelated minerals. These are metallic minerals with an amino acid (protein or enzyme) wrapped around the metal atom. This increases the absorption to about 40% as opposed to metallic minerals.

The third type of minerals are colloidal minerals. This is the best way to get minerals into the body, as these are about 98% absorbed. These are in liquid form and can only be in liquid form.

Colloidal minerals are very small in size, thousands of times smaller than a red blood cell. These particals are negatively charged, while the intestines have a positive charge, and this is the perfect method of taking minerals into the body.

I hope this information concerning minerals will be put to good use.