Food Addiction? I think so..

[Adam Dayton]

Re: Food Addiction? I think so..

I believe in this magical thing called self control as well.

If you want something bad enough you'll do what it takes to get whatever it is you want. Anybody who is overweight and says that they "can't lose weight" is full of ****. It might be much harder for you to lose weight than somebody else due to genetics, but fact is, anybody can lose weight if they want to bad enough.

Nicotine is highly addictive yet lots of people quit smoking....because they wanted to bad enough.

Most every single person who is overweight either 'wishes' to lose weight or 'wants' to lose weight. Those who 'want' to lose weight will lose the weight, those who 'wish' to lose weight won't.

True but you could say the same thing about any other addiction. A heroin or gambling addict can kick the habit if they really really really tried. The fact is it's hard and many times requires a new mindset that only therapy can help fix.

Also, not to change the subject but due to genetics some people will almost always be overweight.

[TheMatrix31]

Re: Food Addiction? I think so..

I definitely have an addiction to food.

[UNC_Pete]

Re: Food Addiction? I think so..

On a side note: My fiance used this site too and she is much like me: overweight most of her life. In her case, she was able to lose about 10% of her bodyweight in the same time.

If anything, this "diet" taught us to try to cook better for ourselves. We began to research here and there what were healtheir alternatives. This all didn't happen overnight, mind you, it was simply just making cuts that we could live with. For example: instead of whole beef we used extra lean. You'd be surprised as to the fact it doesn't taste any different. Other small things we changed: regular bread to wheat bread, real soda to diet soda but still in moderation, cooking with alternatives to oils & butters. We were more selective of our fast food & dining out choices... ex: instead of KFC we'd go Chickfila, drop the fries & add a side salad. Obviously we'd avoid deep fried food but every now and then we give in and enjoy it. What's life without some pleasure? We probably dine out still 3-4 times a month and to me, that's still living a normal life.

We still eat and eat like animals but it's much healthier. I mean, even at this point, I'm still eating a 2500 calorie a day diet and that's perfectly fine for someone my size. Every 2 weeks on my weigh in (which you do on the site), i adjust my daily calories and go from there. Slow & steady.

I'm going to get to everyones posts now as I wasn't at the PC much this weekend. Thanks for the link, I will definitely check it out. I know when I'm in the mood for "fast food" I'll choose a couple of things (when in diet mode)..

Wendy's grilled chicken sandwich with a baked potato is pretty good. KFC Honey BBQ chicken sandwich isn't bad either with a small fake mashed potatoes is pretty good to. I'm going to check that site out after replying. (I don't think it'd be fair to start such a subject and walk away from the thread..hah)

[UNC_Pete]

Re: Food Addiction? I think so..

A couple of things to keep in mind that may be helpful. I know a lot of us like our coffee fix, especially early in the day...but I've read studies indicating that caffeine can be a major appetite stimulant. Might be something to look at if you find that you're always hungry and you drink a lot of Joe. Also, not getting enough sleep can possibly cause you to constantly feel hungry. Apparently, lack of sleep does something to your body that prevents it from telling you that it's full and has had enough food.

Well thanks! I probably drink a few cans of Diet Dew plus get at most 6 hours of sleep at night. Maybe there is a correlation between when I start pigging out on stuff and how much Dew I drank that day and how much I slept that I wasn't aware of..

[UNC_Pete]

Re: Food Addiction? I think so..

I don't eat a ton of food but I tend to eat quite a bit of junk food and such. Luckily my metabolism is fast enough that i'm very slim so it's not a huge deal. It's actually nice once in a while to hear my parents telling me to actually STOP eating so much LOL

If I ever get to the point where I start gaining a ton of weight I can just as easily stop eating. I spent so much of my life not eating that I very nearly became one of those anorexic people with tons of health issues. I've said this before on here but I thank God that I saw that nutrition specialist that scared the crap out of me. If it wasn't for him I don't know where i'd be.

I will back up the OP a bit here that eating food can be an addiction. I find myself wanting to much on something a lot more then I used to and sometimes for no reason at all. I mean I wouldn't be hungry and i'd be scarfing down a bag of chips or cheesies!

That is where I find myself. I'll grab open some cookies or some baked bbq chips (yes, I actually like baked potato chips more than normal) and eat until I'm stuffed. One of the issues I have is that I was brought up a "happy plate" person, and I think that contributes a little. I need to feel full, not satisfied and without hunger.

[UNC_Pete]

Re: Food Addiction? I think so..

I don't necessarily agree that there are food addictions but more so that the mind and person have addiciton-like tendencies. Many times it's triggered by association: ex: I always eat when I'm (sad/happy/nervous). I always drink when I (want to have a good time/depressed/need to forget things). I always smoke after (sex/drinking/etc).

That is me. Had a tough day at work? I come home and have a beer or two.
A fight with the wife? Where are those cookies at? It's not like I'm thinking at the addictive tenancies when I do these things. However, I look back now and I realized it is all related.

[UNC_Pete]

Re: Food Addiction? I think so..

Wow that's really impressive if all those numbers are true. You basically went from being obese to being in a healthy weight range

Congrats from me as well, man!

[roadman]

Re: Food Addiction? I think so..

That is me. Had a tough day at work? I come home and have a beer or two.
A fight with the wife? Where are those cookies at? It's not like I'm thinking at the addictive tenancies when I do these things. However, I look back now and I realized it is all related.

A fair piece of advice is to substitute protein instead of cookie, chips or beer. I'm fighting the good fight you are and I'll eat some string cheese before a workout and make a carb fruit smoothie with protein after a workout.

I lost 6lbs last week just working out with weights and some cardio and keeping to protein, veggies and fruits.

For meats, it's mostly lean protein, chicken, fish, ground chicken, turkey, etc....

[UNC_Pete]

Re: Food Addiction? I think so..

I do need to intake more protein, that is for sure. I'll need to pickup some string cheese, that is a satisfying snack that I used to eat when on both WW and Atkins..

I am more of a chicken guy as well, but I do love me some cheeseburgers (I do make a hell of a cheeseburger.. :/)

I feel a little embarrassed to admit this one, but my breakfast was a carnation instant breakfast..lol

I've also signed up for livestrong but it says I can eat 2,980 calories and still lose 2 lbs a week..is that possible!?

[elgreazy1]

Re: Food Addiction? I think so..

I do need to intake more protein, that is for sure. I'll need to pickup some string cheese, that is a satisfying snack that I used to eat when on both WW and Atkins..

I am more of a chicken guy as well, but I do love me some cheeseburgers (I do make a hell of a cheeseburger.. :/)

I feel a little embarrassed to admit this one, but my breakfast was a carnation instant breakfast..lol

I've also signed up for livestrong but it says I can eat 2,980 calories and still lose 2 lbs a week..is that possible!?

Yes sir, it is possible, that's close to the caloric range I started. It makes absolutely no sense in our minds though, right? But believe me, our bodies are big and we need the calories to be able to function in a day. By doing a bit at a time you aren't going on a crash diet, you're simply modifiying and tweaking here and there. This gives you plenty of time to slowly make changes to your life, eating choices, etc.

It takes a deficit of 3500 calories to lose one pound of fat, that's 500 a day. If you think about it, that's like 30 minutes of exercise and one or two portions less of meal a day. The little things add up. The first few weeks you probably will not feel a major change, but so long as you are eating healthier you will begin to notice benefits. I didn't notice number loss in the weight category the first month but I noticed my clothes were fitting more comfortable. By month 2 or 3 I had lost 10 pounds without even noticing it.

One thing that really helped me make up for those calories was drinking protein shakes. Yes, they are borderline disgusting but they really give you what you need. In my case, they really help me maintain my 30/30/40 ratio of fat/carbs/protein that works well for my body. On top of that, it's low in fat and when mixed with water it gives your body the water you would otherwise have to consume on it's own.

Just take it slow and try to maximize your caloric intake. Say you really want a burger, well if you go to McDonalds you can get a $1 Cheesy McDouble but it'll cost you 390 calories, 19 grams of fat, carbs 33, protein 22 not to mention the insane amount of cholestoral & sodium that you intake. Conversely, you can make two small burgers using high fiber bread (check out Orowheat it's pretty tasty), extra lean ground beef, low-cal cheese and all the veggies you want (onions, lettuce, jalapenos, tomatoes, whatever you want really) and feel so much more full and intake so much less fat. The thing you want is to feel full while satisfying the crave for a specific type of food. My fiance and I do this for everything: homemade cookies, brownies, chicken, tacos, breakfast, etc.

It's not about restricting in anyway, it's about making substitutuions. But remember, everyone is human and there will be a day you REALLY want something so just do it, but make sure not to go overboard.

[ODogg]

Re: Food Addiction? I think so..

I'm 6 foot 270 pounds and am about 50-60 pounds overweight according to my doctor. He has told me to restrict my calories to 1500 per day. I tend to eat out of boredom more than any other reason. When I get upset the last thing I want is food. But I find myself looking to snack more than I should. After a couple of years of trying I've resigned myself to not being able to change this so now i'm focused on eating more fruits, vegetables, etc when I snack. My latest habit is bananas, oranges and lemons.

It's very frustrating as I've been battling my weight for about 5 years. I have very, very low self esteem due to the fact that I am overweight. I know I probably shouldn't because I've seen a lot of very happy folks that are my weight or heavier than me but I am. I have always disliked the "look" of overweight folks, even as a kid so for me to be an adult and overweight now really disgusts me.

I attribute that fact to the reason I'm 40 and still single. I cannot really try to get dates when I feel as if I'm a big whale. Again, irrational I know because I have seen far fatter guys with me who have girlfriends and/or wives but that's just how it is. In my mind if I am disgusted with how I look then why would any woman not be?

So yes this an issue that is very close to my heart. In fact I'd even venture to say that although i'm healthy despite being obese that this may end up ruining my life in the end anyways. Some days I honestly just don't even feel like getting out of bed because of it. I keep trying though and last week lost 4 pounds. It's very, very trying though as I've been working on this issue for years.

[stewaat]

Re: Food Addiction? I think so..

Well it's on you man. It's not easy to lose the weight but do you want to completely change your life for the better?

You didn't get that way overnight and you're not going to get where you want overnight.

Good luck man, hope you have your success story in here in a few months.

[roadman]

Re: Food Addiction? I think so..

You didn't get that way overnight and you're not going to get where you want overnight.

I think that is the key right there.

It's a marathon, not a sprint.

[ODogg]

Re: Food Addiction? I think so..

That's the main thing that's kept me going. My niece posted a picture of me from 2002 and I looked much worse, not just heavier but overall softer than I do now. I really started working out about 2004. I have lost a lot of weight and gained some back, it's a constant struggle.

The irony of being overweight is that most doctors tell you to lose the weight to reduce the risk of a heart attack/stroke but you can find yourself in my situation, healthy physically but so stressed about my weight issue that the stress alone could cause me to have health issues.

My doctor has actually told me that I should quit worrying so much about it and just keep doing what I'm doing as it's working but like I said, I can't stand physically being overweight and I'm trying to beat it. The problem though may be that my body type is just so resistant I may never be able to get where I want to get to, even though I'm working out and eating right.

[UNC_Pete]

Re: Food Addiction? I think so..

That's the main thing that's kept me going. My niece posted a picture of me from 2002 and I looked much worse, not just heavier but overall softer than I do now. I really started working out about 2004. I have lost a lot of weight and gained some back, it's a constant struggle.

The irony of being overweight is that most doctors tell you to lose the weight to reduce the risk of a heart attack/stroke but you can find yourself in my situation, healthy physically but so stressed about my weight issue that the stress alone could cause me to have health issues.

My doctor has actually told me that I should quit worrying so much about it and just keep doing what I'm doing as it's working but like I said, I can't stand physically being overweight and I'm trying to beat it. The problem though may be that my body type is just so resistant I may never be able to get where I want to get to, even though I'm working out and eating right.

Let's hope we both win with our struggle.

I'm happy, I definitely have always been, even being overweight. I just know I need to do something, I am a father now, so I need to get over this.

Lunchtime.. Maybe I will roll with some special K and some PB on wheat..