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!

Viewing entries tagged Overeating Disorders Subscribe to feed

Starting to get some Traction

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, 11 April 2012
General Food Discussions 2 Comments

Have had two good weeks in a row but not a great day on Easter Sunday.  So on Easter, I used one of my 7 "cheat" days that I allow during this 13 week program.  Easter was tough.  I ate too much of the good foods and also had some jelly beans and a small piece of the most fantastic vanilla cupcake with cream cheese and coconut frosting that I ever tasted.  I also had a couple of bites of a bunny cake with butter cream frosting.  Other then Easter day, I have been doing fairly well at avoiding the trigger foods.  When I avoid the trigger foods, it is easier for me to stay on the program.  When I am doing well on the eating program, I feel the results immediately; more energy, sleep better, I'm more relaxed and I feel better about myself.

The results also showed up on the scale.  During the three months that I have been struggling, I gained about 5 pounds.  Last week, the week ending Easter Sunday morning, I lost 3 of those pounds.  I have to be extra careful right now because there is a lot of stress involved in my life.  Business is not good and there are some health issues in the family that add to the stress.  It has been established that stress is a factor for those with eating difficulties, and I can attest to that.  Usually, I am able to counter balance the effects of stress by sticking to my regular exercise routine.

Nevertheless, the bottom line is I feel more in control of my eating now than I have in the past three months.  Not totally in control, but making progress and closing in on the struggle.  If anyone is having similar issues, please feel free to share with us how you are dealing or not dealing with it.

1 vote

Struggles Continue

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 Monday, 26 March 2012
General Food Discussions 0 Comments

I am now into my third month of trying to regain my focus.  I have good days and some that are not so good, but I have, for the most part, been able to avoid the out of control days.  A good day is one where I am able to stay within my comfortable range of 1800 to 2200 calories and a bad day is when I am eating 2200 to 2800 calories.  An out of control day means I have consumed over 2800 calories that day.

Was having dinner last month with my friends Buzz, Tom, Leo and George.  Buzz made the comment that he admired my discipline.  My initial response to that statement was to say that I had no discipline at all, which was why I had such a severe eating disorder.  I told him that what he was, in fact, witnessing was my obsessive compulsive behavior being used to my benefit to help me control my eating problem, rather than my eating problem controlling me. The fact is that I cannot do anything in moderation.  After forty years of trying to understand why I could not control my eating, I finally realized that there is no answer to that question.  My obsessive compulsive personality disorder is not curable, but I have found that the solution to this disorder is in redirecting my energy and focusing it in a positive way.

I have directed my obsessive compulsive behavior toward exercise and obsessing over my eating program.  Even when I am not entirely on track with my eating, as has been the case for the past three months, I am still focusing on what my eating habits should be and trying to get back on track. For some reason, my exercise program never seems to be a problem as it relates to desire or intensity of the workout.  I never seem to lose my focus as it relates to exercise.

Can anyone out there relate to what I am saying?  Please share your thoughts and experiences so we can get some dialogue going on the subject.  Maybe then, we can all understand it a little better.

 

 

0 votes

Still struggling

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, 14 February 2012
Excercise 0 Comments

Two more weeks have gone by and I am still trying to get back on track. The mornings start out good, but by noontime I start to feel the cravings begin and  have not been able to control the urges to eat those foods which are not included in my planned eating program.  I am at the point where I am getting angry with myself for being so stupid as to think that this time would be different; that this time I could stray from the plan just a little bit and get right back into it when I was ready.  Didn't ever happen that way before, and there's no reason to believe it will happen that way now.

I think that because I at least understand what is happening to me now, I can catch myself before too much damage is done. I am holding right now at 194 pounds, which is up two pounds.  I am deeply concerned about this problem and this little slip-up is very distracting. I devote way too much of my time each day to resisting temptations and cravings and I am having only moderate success.  I have been eating sandwiches and pizza in addition to my cottage cheese and tuna for lunch and one morning I had a bran muffin.  After dinner, I have been eating nuts and pretzels in addition to the normal bowl of bran based cereals.

I am desperately trying to get my focus back.  I know that if I can just get six or seven perfect days in a row, the cravings will go away and I will be back to focusing on eating right.  I am most comfortable when I am on the plan.  I am able to spend more time improving my business, enjoying my family, friends and hobbies and improving my relationship rather than worrying about loosing control. 

Do you have the same problem?  Please share how you deal with it.  I need help and any new insight I may gain from others is always appreciated.

0 votes

Holding on but still struggling

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, 04 February 2012
Excercise 0 Comments

I am now five weeks into this struggle of staying focused.  I haven't lost it, but I am certainly out of the groove I had been in since early July of 2011.  I have given in to temptation and eaten some things that I consider "trigger foods" which I had been staying away from completely for the last six months. The struggle goes on, with a couple of good days followed by a bad one. A good day is a day of strict eating, taking in around 1800 to 2000 calories of clean foods.  On a bad day I may hit 2700 to 2800 calories by eating stuff like a cookie or toast with butter and peanut butter or pizza in addition to lunch rather than for lunch.

I have kept my weight at 192 to 193 pounds, but it is not easy anymore.  When I was focused last year, it was effortless to maintain. The non-trigger foods that I ate exclusively did not make me crave the wrong foods.  I was never hungry, and, in fact, I had to eat at scheduled times to make sure that I ate enough each day to reach my proper caloric intake.  Now, I have this energy drain.  A person only has so much energy to expend each day. I probably have more energy than most people my age, but I am more at ease when that energy is directed at improving relationships with loved ones, improving my business or focusing on recreational activities. When I am struggling, that energy is used to fight off urges and I become consumed with fear and concern over loosing control.

It's a lot of work to stay focused, but it can be much more work to get your focus back if you loose it. I will keep you posted on how I am doing and I welcome any input, ideas or methods you or someone you know may have that has helped.

0 votes

Holiday Struggles

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, 17 January 2012
General Food Discussions 0 Comments

Typically, I would stray from my strict eating plan between Thanksgiving and New Years. I would convince myself by rationalizing that it was all about moderation and not deprivation.  Each year I would struggle to get back on track after the holidays ended. Some years I would accomplish this during January and other years I would battle to get back into my eating plan for four to six months, having experienced weight gain and frustration in the process.

This year I stayed focused until the last two weeks of the year when I got weak and had small helpings of deserts on three occasions. That was all that it took. I am now struggling to stop the cravings and variations in my eating habits that leave me feeling uncomfortable. The "hungry horrors" have driven my usual 1900 to 2100 daily calorie consumption to 2300 to 2800 per day. That means I've put on a few pounds and I look and feel softer.

As usual it was the sugar that got me started. On one occasion I had some chocolate covered pretzels, on another it was a very small piece of apple pie and one other time it was three bites of cake with frosting.  I was also having more bread than usual and adding snacks more often because the cravings were calling for more junk food. The impact of these trigger foods is immediate. They sabotage my efforts to eat clean and stay on track. First of all these trigger foods do not satisfy my appetite and, more importantly, they interfere with the signals that indicate that I am full.

I am not capable of putting the brakes on without difficulty. I am struggling right now to regain the strict clean eating program that I was on before the holidays. I was completely focused for six months before this hiccup. I will get back on track.  I am just concerned about the damage I may do before I am back in control. Do you have the same problem? If so, please share with us how you deal with it.

 

 

 

0 votes

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

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

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