actually it's not FOOD addiction....

**Jack** · 03-21-2007, 12:47 AM

......I'm thinking it was EATING addiction....

in my case at least.....

perhaps there is no real difference....yet somehow it SEEMS important....

anyone have any ideas?

My notion is, rather than never getting enough FOOD to eat, in spite of not being able to tamp any more down with a mop stick.....

it was the sensuality of EATING that was the trigger for repetative behavior....

Comments/discussion?

Jachut · 03-21-2007, 02:30 AM

No, for me it was most definitely self medication with sugar. I'd be wound up, stressed, just over the house, the kids etc etc, and the minute I had some privacy, I'd hit the caffeine and the sugar and I swear I could sit back, wait a minute and then feel it hit my bloodstream. All of a sudden the world would be a good place again.

Yes, I love eating, and I'm probably addicted to that to some degree since I have a tendency to overeat everything. But I certainly had an addiction to certain foods, which since I've given up, has eased and I dont look to them in times of stress anymore.

So for me - both. I need the band long term to control the eating, but I think I've broken the sugar habit.

Fauxnaif · 03-21-2007, 06:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jachut

No, for me it was most definitely self medication with sugar. I'd be wound up, stressed, just over the house, the kids etc etc, and the minute I had some privacy, I'd hit the caffeine and the sugar and I swear I could sit back, wait a minute and then feel it hit my bloodstream. All of a sudden the world would be a good place again.
.

I used to think I wasn't addicted to sugar. But now I really see myself seeking out something sweet after a particularly stressful day. It does calm me, much like some of the anti-anxiety medication I've taken in the past.

kyethra · 03-21-2007, 01:04 PM

Its all about the carbs for me. Mostly sugar. But some fats too. The good stuff, ya know. A juicy burger- fat. Pulled pork- both! (cause of the BBQ sauce). Ice cream. Sweet baked bread with butter- both!. Candy. Cake. Doughnuts. Cinnamon Rolls. Cookies (I love to bake cookies. And I have some killer recipes). Brownies. Ice Cream Cake. I actually don't really care for potatoe chips. On occasion I might want some pringles or maybe some corn chips because I really wanted the guacomole or cheese dip on the other end. But I actually dislike thin greasy potatoe chips-- its one of those few snack foods I can easily say no to! Other things, however, yummy! Cheese nips! Crackers, peanut butter anything, etc. Cheese anything! It all sounds good to me. Throw in some unhealthy drinks to wash it down and I say thats some good eating.

Now that I have the band its going to be easier for me to resist that stuff. Its going to be hard of course but easier. Why? Because I won't be so hungry all the time. Before I would get hungry or if I was trying to diet I would get HUNGRY like feed-me-Seymour kind of HUNGRY and those are really dangerous times, the binging sort of times. But so far this week I get satisfied with a little thing of applesauce. If I get satisfied with that that takes away the big monster hunger and thats a big component of those binges and giving in. Plus it takes me freaking forever to eat it. Its not going to be much of a binge if it takes me thrity minutes to eat five crackers, now is it? Thats too much time to think about what I am doing and my actions and how they effect me and other psychobable I can spew at myself. And of course there is also the calming compnent, the I deserve it component, the just this last time, the one bite for the road, etc thoughts... Well at least those are MY issues.

Jachut · 03-21-2007, 04:06 PM

I never got hungry like that. It was definitely headhunger or a need for sugar for me.

Yet the band has helped anyway. Who knows why!

the best me · 03-21-2007, 04:20 PM

It's best when the house is quiet, before anyone wakes up.

But back in college it was also good while sitting at the coffee shop in Addsion, Texas with a pile of books on the bench beside me, today's crossword puzzle waiting to distract me from my study woes. The waitress pours a cup. Ahhhh, the smell of coffee at 11pm on a Tuesday evening after waitressing through the dinner shift at the Mexican restaurant next door...mmmmm, a bit of sugar...and some more...then a few creamers...sit...stir, then stir the other way...rest the spoon on the saucer with the gold ring painted along the rim, and take a long warm sip. mmmmmm, all is right with the world.

And it isn't JUST the coffee. It's the process, the setting, the lighting, the mood, the ESCAPE.

Yup, for me it's eating, food is simply the catalyst to warm fuzzy, even sugar-induced escape. Soothing, relaxing, comforting, quiet, Me-time delishiousness. Speak to me...the process of food. Of eating. It's like Worship.

Even the band doesn't take away the need completely.

Wheetsin · 03-21-2007, 05:13 PM

The addiction studies are based on eating, not foods. Largely, anyway. Because it doesn't matter what we're eating, it's the act of eating that gets things fired up.

Then again, few obese people crave celery and baked chicken. For the most part the cravings are for unhealthy foods. But it doesn't matter, eating 10 pounds of anything is going to make you gain weight.

In the context of this question I might be inclined to think of it as an eating disorder manifested in a food addiction.

Jachut · 03-21-2007, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the best me

It's best when the house is quiet, before anyone wakes up.

But back in college it was also good while sitting at the coffee shop in Addsion, Texas with a pile of books on the bench beside me, today's crossword puzzle waiting to distract me from my study woes. The waitress pours a cup. Ahhhh, the smell of coffee at 11pm on a Tuesday evening after waitressing through the dinner shift at the Mexican restaurant next door...mmmmm, a bit of sugar...and some more...then a few creamers...sit...stir, then stir the other way...rest the spoon on the saucer with the gold ring painted along the rim, and take a long warm sip. mmmmmm, all is right with the world.

And it isn't JUST the coffee. It's the process, the setting, the lighting, the mood, the ESCAPE.

Yup, for me it's eating, food is simply the catalyst to warm fuzzy, even sugar-induced escape. Soothing, relaxing, comforting, quiet, Me-time delishiousness. Speak to me...the process of food. Of eating. It's like Worship.

Even the band doesn't take away the need completely.

I can identify with this SO much. Its the ritual and the quiet me time, something I just dont get. That's how I got fat. The minute the baby was asleep, the kids were at kinder or school, whatever age they happened to be, it was all about couch, coffee, and a taped episode of Melrose Place. Just the quietness of it all.

I do still need that, but I tend to do it with just the coffee now.

But I dont think its dysfunctional to need that time out. Life with a couple of kids as a full time student or worker is really hectic and its all about everyone else, very very rarely is it time for me. I love it when I get a quiet moment.

I think I get a lot of what I need in terms of me time now from running. Its why I've become addicted to that.

Davyna · 03-21-2007, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyethra

On occasion I might want some pringles or maybe some corn chips because I really wanted the guacomole or cheese dip on the other end.

LOL i can SO relate to this ;)

For me I think it could be an "eating" addiction. I just love to eat. I'm a quantity eater. I do have certain foods I like to eat but I'm not too terribly picky. If I don't feel stuffed and it's been about 2 hours since I ate, I just feel like eating.

Kinda weird really.

Tabithan · 03-21-2007, 06:54 PM

I agree - It is the eating addiction. Before my band, I could never turn food down - what do you mean? of course I can make room for a few more large bites. I've never thought of it this way...eating addiction not food addiction. Addicted to the idea of having something delicious (or not that delicious) in my mouth, being crunched, going into my belly, followed by the feeling of satiety, albeit for a minute. I am even getting hungry as i type. So long as it tastes good - sweet or salt, give it to me. Boy, this band is a life saver! Great topic.

FurEllie · 03-22-2007, 10:48 AM

Oh, I SO agree. I've found what I miss the most during all this liquid dieting is CRUNCH. I just want something to snap in my mouth! I DO love food - I love the tastes, the comfort, the enjoyment of it, but the EATING pat - chewing, biting, getting each flavor.....dang. There goes my day ;)

dotofoz · 03-22-2007, 10:54 AM

I guess I'm glad I have the band b/c now if I eat the wrong foods/not eat correctly, I get sick, physically sick. Maybe that's what I needed. The feeling is quite unpleasant so I try to avoid at all costs....

Mommy202 · 03-22-2007, 10:55 AM

I agree that it's not the food but the eating. For me, a recovering bulimic, I would binge on absolutely anything. I would eat a whole row of saltines for example. When I was in full binge mode I eat and eat and eat and then I would throw up and go back and eat more. Some days I would throw up three or four times. It was definately not the food but the act of eating (and because of my particular disorder, the act of throwing up as well)

Angel Eyes · 03-22-2007, 11:21 AM

I think it is all in the brain.
Does not the act of eating calm us? something about seratonin releasing or blocking in the brain, making us feel all calm. Like a drug addict taking heroine?
That is what I think anyway? I also feel the sugar addiction and see it in my kids. The more they eat, and it isnt' much, the more they ask or crave it. One of my children in particular, just like her mother.

I've mentioned it before and I will mention it again, whatever was in Phen Fen of the late 90's CURED me. I ate until I was satisfied and then literally found eating any more a chore. I hope I see a 'cure' in my lifetime. In the meantime, the band sure helps control my intake.

JLB · 03-22-2007, 01:57 PM

Interesting topic! I thought it was about the food but now I'm suspicous - maybe it's about the eating. As I approach my banding date I have been more aware of how I eat. I chew really fast and very little so I end up swallowing food that is half chewed. Sometimes I'm eating something really yummy, yet after eating the whole thing I realize I didn't even taste it. Weird! I tend to binge eat so I think that is really about eating not necessarily about food. However, I am an emotional eater as well so I always thought it was the food I wanted to help make everything better. Who knows. Something to ponder.