Login
Friday, March 29, 2024
Food Addiction

Food Addiction Blog

This blog is about food addiction and overcoming this debilitating disease. As one who fought with food addiction for many years, I understand how overwhelming this addiction can be. Having won my own battle, I wish to help others do the same. Feel free to register and begin posting your own entries. Together, we find strength in numbers!

Blog entries categorized under General Food Discussions

General Food Discussions

Subscribe to this category Subscribe to feed 29 posts in this category
Subcategories from this category: Supplements

Surviving The Holiday Temptations to Overeat

by Nick Mirrione
Nick Mirrione
Nick Mirrione is the co-author of the book, Who Is This Guy? The story of a 500
User is currently offline
on Saturday, 19 November 2011
General Food Discussions 0 Comments

You can do it. Take it one day at a time. Small portions, eat slowly, get up often and move around. You can have more later if you want to. No need to deny yourself the pleasure of family and food during the holidays. Where possible try to have foods prepared for you using the least harmful methods such as skim milk instead of cream, spray butter instead of cream sauces and remove the skin on the turkey. You really don't need the desert, but if you must have it try for the least harmful and keep the portions small. The key here is moderation not deprivation. Remember if you do good today you have a good chance that you will do good again tomorrow. I sometimes have anxiety attacks when confronted with all the food around the holidays. I try to keep myself busy with conversation, going for a walk or going outside to play with the kids. With me there is a fear factor, which I've learned to respect. I take it seriously and I know that this time of year has sent me off course in the past and I am determined to not let it happen this year. I hope that if you suffer from the same overeating disorders as I do that you are as determined as I am.

0 votes

The importance of routines

by Nick Mirrione
Nick Mirrione
Nick Mirrione is the co-author of the book, Who Is This Guy? The story of a 500
User is currently offline
on Tuesday, 01 November 2011
General Food Discussions 0 Comments

 I drive myself and everyone around me crazy. I am so rigid and find any disruption to my routine very hard to deal with.Recently we had some visitors at our house and my regular dinner time was caused to go off schedule. I reacted and behaved poorly because my routine was disrupted. People look at you and talk about you like you are ridiculous, and of course you are. People no matter how close to you they are or how much they think they know you have no idea how this disruption affects you.Even when explained it is difficult for someone who is not obsessive compulsive or  an addict to fully grasp the concept of our need to be rigid. I actually need to be this way, because left to just wing it, outside of my routine, history shows that I will take the path that more often than not leads me to places I would rather not go anywhere near.. I have a routine for everything. I have a morning routine. I have a routine at night to prepare for the morning. I have a sleep routine which is just the preparation of getting into bed relaxing and falling asleep, but if varied, I am not able to sleep as well as if I follow the routine.I have an eating routine and an exercise routine, which may vary from day to day but each variation is just a different routine within a routine. I even have a routine for how I wash my car.This strange behavior works for me and it may work for you if you need to replace the behavior which is not working for you now. Lets talk about it.

0 votes

More about Sugar

by Nick Mirrione
Nick Mirrione
Nick Mirrione is the co-author of the book, Who Is This Guy? The story of a 500
User is currently offline
on Saturday, 29 October 2011
General Food Discussions 0 Comments

You and I are addicts.We are addicted to food and we have certain trigger foods that cause us to crave more of the same. For me it is sugar and things that convert to sugar in my system.

What makes things more difficult for us is that we have an addiction that must be moderated. Alcoholics and drug addicts must abstain from their products of addiction, we can't do that.

Sugar works like a drug in that it stimulates the brain. Your body gets used to sugar and causes you to want to eat more, so you do. You keep increasing the intake to satisfy the cravings. To get off of sugar can cause your system to experience withdrawal effects similar to those of an addict on drugs or any other addictive product.

That's what sugar does to me. I've never had those ravenous cravings after eating chicken or eggs or fruits and vegetables. In fact if I cut sugar out of my eating program, within a couple of weeks, I have no cravings and no hunger. I have to force myself to eat when I am not hungry to insure that I get my 2000 calories per day that I need to maintain my energy levels.

You need to fully understand how these cravings work, but first, in order to beat back the cravings you must get on an eating program that does not include foods and drinks that contain sugar.

I invite those who have similar experiences especially with sugar to share.

0 votes

Sugar is the Enemy

by Nick Mirrione
Nick Mirrione
Nick Mirrione is the co-author of the book, Who Is This Guy? The story of a 500
User is currently offline
on Wednesday, 19 October 2011
General Food Discussions 1 Comment

 

Sugar is the enemy. Refined sugar and beverages sweetened with sugar (including fruit and vegetable juices) is the number one contributor to weight problems, gout, diabetes, heart disease and some forms of cancer; not to mention what it does to our teeth. Some even think that excess sugar can contribute to Macular Degeneration in older adults.  There is nothing good about sugar and beverages sweetened with sugar. They drive up your daily calorie intake and provide no nutritional value. They leave your body screaming for more of the same. Some say that artificial sweeteners are just as bad as or worse than sugar.  We’ll take that up at a later date. Personally, I would rather eat my calories than drink them so I choose to stick with water, coffee, tea or on occasion, I drink a limited amount of 4C or Crystal Light.

  As a gastric bypass patient, I have an increased sensitivity to sugar.  Too much sugar, which in my case, is more than a small candy bar or a few bites of a piece of cake during one sitting  can cause “dumping syndrome” which affects me in the following manner: cold sweats, a racing heart, which can cause speech impediments, headaches, nausea and in some cases, diarrhea.  In general, you feel like crap for a couple of hours and on every occasion, you say to yourself, “that piece of cake or candy bar wasn’t worth it”.  That’s how it affects me ten and a half years post surgery.  It is much more severe immediately following and shortly after surgery. 

 

0 votes

Eating After Surgery

by Nick Mirrione
Nick Mirrione
Nick Mirrione is the co-author of the book, Who Is This Guy? The story of a 500
User is currently offline
on Saturday, 01 October 2011
General Food Discussions 0 Comments

I am ten and a half years post surgery and I  still stay completely away from any and all fried foods. I also do not eat donuts or other bakery products unless they are homemade (low fat) and I know exactly what is in them ( no trans fats ) and what the calories are. I try to avoid processed sugars (candy and cakes) and I never drink my calories ( juices or soda). However I will drink juice if I juice it myself in my Juiceman.I will juice the fruits and vegetables that I don't like to eat but I know are good for me such as beets, blueberries, strawberries, parsley, broccoli stems and melons. I stay away from cream sauce of any kind. I limit my intake of pasta because for some reason it sits real heavy in my stomach and bothers me. I avoid white bread in any form (sliced,English muffin, bagel) and white pasta and sugar free beverages because they all trigger cravings for more of the same.  So I choose to stay away from them whenever possible. I eat red meat on a very limited basis and I almost never eat deli meats.

I do eat a lot of egg whites, canned tuna,fat free dairy ( cottage cheese, sliced cheese, milk ).  I eat baked chicken, baked or broiled white fish, turkey burgers and meatloaf, broiled scallops. I choose Beefstake lite Rye bread when I have bread and I eat a fair amount of bran and wheat based cereal. I eat baked sweet potato or baked sweet potato fries, and I eat yukon gold potato, mashed , with skim milk and fat free butter as well as fat free cheddar cheese for flavor. And lots of fruits and vegetables.

At some point in the near future I will post under a section called Eating Plan, what my 13 week eating plan is for the 13 weeks that began two days ago. Not that I expect anyone to follow my plan, but to hopefully subscribe to the concept that a plan is a very important element to success and you will design your own plan for eating within a time frame that works for you.

0 votes

Compulsive eating disorder.

by Diane
Diane
Diane has not set their biography yet
User is currently offline
on Thursday, 29 September 2011
General Food Discussions 0 Comments

I am also of the same behaviour and will surely be following your blog site.

I have lost, to date, a total of 74 lbs and I can tell you it has been a total dedication to concentration. 

I have to always pull myself back and look at the road ahead.  I feel a lot better with this weight gone and have

a lot more to go, but with the help of my WW support group and my friends and family - I am succeeding.

It has been a longer road than I originally thought, but understanding the reality of it, and a lot of on going soul

searching, I didn't get here in one week and it won't take one week to reach goal.  The goal is change of habits for a healthier life style.

With all this said - it doesn't mean that I don't fall off the wagon at times, but I have been able to get back on track.

Thank you for sharing your experience and the willingness to help others in the same boat.

 

 

2 votes

Overwhelming Task

by Nick Mirrione
Nick Mirrione
Nick Mirrione is the co-author of the book, Who Is This Guy? The story of a 500
User is currently offline
on Wednesday, 21 September 2011
General Food Discussions 0 Comments

When I weighed 456 pounds, getting to a normal weight seemed like a an impossible task. I figured that if i wanted to lose 260 pounds and i did it at a safe, healthy pace of two pounds a week it would take me 130 weeks or two and a half years. Did I have what it would take to stay focused that long? It didn't really take that long, because I was able to stay 100% focused. I did it in 17 and 1/2 months, 76 weeks, for an average loss of 3.42 pounds per week. I started out, of course, with some big weeks of 5 to 6 pounds and eventually settled into a groove of a steady loss of about 2 to 2 and 1/2 pounds per week. The primary problem with previous attempts was that, for one reason or another , I could never sustain the program I was on for more than a few weeks or even months at a time. I was always looking at the long term goal (that's the way I am wired) and it was so overwhelming and difficult and I lacked the mental toughness to bring it to the finish line.My solution to that problem was to shorten up the goals. I break my goals into 13 week periods. The 13 weeks works for me but you may find that that is still too long for you,but the point is that you need to find a plan that works and the components of the plan should include a specific written set of goals, a time frame with a start date and an end date, an eating plan and an exercise plan. We will talk more about these different components in future posts and of course I invite comments, questions and feedback that could help me, you and other readers.

0 votes

Managing Your Life So That You Can live Your Life

by Nick Mirrione
Nick Mirrione
Nick Mirrione is the co-author of the book, Who Is This Guy? The story of a 500
User is currently offline
on Wednesday, 21 September 2011
General Food Discussions 0 Comments

I never really feel like I am in control of my life or out of danger of falling off the wagon and returning to my old bad habits. The key for me is to stay totally focused on whatever compulsive behavior will consume my efforts and prevent me from overeating. I've also learned to recognize the patterns that lead to loss of control and I have so much respect for their power and strength that I no longer take them lightly but instead react right away. It's a full time job. I am a lot of work and I drive myself crazy because as I was out of control with my eating I am now out of control with my management of my intake, my exercise and my chronicling of everything related thereto. I divide my life into 13 week segments. So four times a year I write a new exercise program and a new eating plan. These go together with a set of goals for that segment which may include loosing a few pounds or gaining a few pounds by adding muscle or maintaining weight while loosing an inch on my waist. Whatever it is i feel it is easier to accomplish a goal if you have one. One of my problems is my inability or should I say extreme difficulty in making adjustments to my plans. I will normally build in as many as six cheat days into my 13 week eating plan, so that if an event comes up and my eating plan will be altered, then I have provided for that. If however my exercise routine is upset I can have great difficulty making the adjustment. I don't handle disruption to my routines very well, although I am better now than I used to be. For those of you who can relate to this unusual behavior, please share. For those who are not in this place yet, stay tuned and feel free  to jump in with questions.

3 votes

Stopping The Lifestyle Train Wreck Before It's Too Late

by Nick Mirrione
Nick Mirrione
Nick Mirrione is the co-author of the book, Who Is This Guy? The story of a 500
User is currently offline
on Tuesday, 20 September 2011
General Food Discussions 2 Comments

Hello, my name is Nick Mirrione and I am a foodaholic with compulsive self destructive behavior which to some looks like obsessive compulsive disorder.

1 vote