Chocolate. Diet drinks. Caffeine. Cheese. Meat. Do these foods and others really hold us in their power, or is it all a figment of our imagination?
I’ve been very interested in this topic for a long time, as I jokingly call myself a chocoholic. Once upon a time it was the unusual day when I didn’t consume at least a pound of chocolate every 24 hours, if not more. If I wasn’t reaching my hand into the back of the pantry to snag some hidden Oreos, you might see me driving my minivan down my winding neighborhood road to make a quick stop at the convenience store for some candy. I convinced myself that my love of chocolate was an “addiction,” and as such couldn’t be conquered. But was I right?
To tell you the truth, that day many years ago, when I had my “aha moment,” I realized that conquering my obsession with chocolate was one of the first things I needed to take care of. Even if I made good food choices all day long, eating candy bar after candy bar wouldn’t help me lose weight, or improve my health. So I banned chocolate from my presence for a while. I gave myself a “time out” from chocolate until I felt I could better control myself around it. Looking back, I realize what I did was very similiar to what people who are struggling with a nicotine, drug, or alcohol addiction do. They remove the offending substance from their homes, their offices, and their lives.
It sounds easy enough, but it was really difficult. I threw away the candy I had hidden in my dresser drawers, the car, my purse, and the pantry. I even went as far as to get rid of cocoa powder because I knew I could easily combine cocoa powder with other ingredients to make brownies. I actually felt a pang in my heart as I watched the food go in the trash. I was sorely tempted to pull it out of the trash and save it. But I resisted.
Realizing how hard it was for me to get rid of the chocolate made me wonder if it was in fact addictive? And what of other foods? Can a food have an addictive quality? According to some quick research I did, the answer is a resounding yes. Here’s an article from the Telegraph, in which they review some of the findings of Professor David Kessler, who authored the book, The End of Overeating. He explains much more thoroughly than I can, how food additives can trigger a “bliss point” that makes it hard for us to resist eating certain foods.
I lost my weight long before this book came out, so actually learned the hard, unscientific way, that there were certain foods that I found very difficult to resist. For me, the main food was chocolate, but I also had a hard time learning to eat proper portions of foods that contained a lot of sodium, like crackers and chips. To break the addiction cycle, there were some definite steps I took.
- Got rid of the food from my house and car
- Stopped buying those foods
- Gave myself a specific period of time before I allowed myself to eat those foods
- Tried to reintroduce them in small quantities – as a test run
- Took time to really savor the flavor of the foods I loved
- Found alternative foods
I didn’t eat chocolate for about two months when I first started losing weight that last time. The first couple of days were hard. Really hard. Not only was I trying to make healthier choices, but I also gave up a love of mine. I can’t say that I went through withdrawal from chocolate, but I certainly missed it a LOT! After the first week, it started to get better, and I didn’t think about it all the time. After a month it was pretty easy, and the second month was a cinch.
When I reintroduced chocolate into my food variety, I did it by buying a little candy bar, and sharing it with the family. We all had a tiny piece and I loved it like I always had. But this time I felt proud of myself for just having a bit rather than frustrated with myself for eating 10 of them.
As the months went by I realized that I had finally broken my affair with chocolate. I could enjoy it – yes, but I didn’t have to eat pound after pound of it. Where are you on this subject? Do you think that certain foods hold addictive qualities for you? How do you handle them? Diane
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VITA MUFFINS
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SKINNY COWS
it sounds silly but these “low fat treats” where all the fat is replaces with SUGAR are my nemesis (whats the plural? nemesises?
I used to get them by the case to save money.
I learned my lesson when aforementioned case lasted mere moments (ok a weekend) in the domicile.
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SUGAR! Any type of processed sugar. I can not keep my hands off it it. The only chocolate that I can have in my house is carob unsweetened. I have cut out sugar until 2010. EVEN through Thanksgiving and Christmas. The moment that I put it into my mouth I going into binge mode. It’s been five days…today was a bit of a struggle..but man I feel so much better. NO SUGAR! ~M
Boy does this sound like me. I use to buy a Hersheys with almonds everytime I shopped and would usually finish it before I got home. I would tell myself it was healthy because it had almonds in it.I finally realized what a mistake this was and have stopped the bad habit.
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For me it is Diet Coke. I have not been able to give up this addiction and it has to be a fountain drink – no can or plastic bottle for me. I drive to the gas station every morning for my first one, sometimes go back for one in the afternoon and have to have one for dessert after dinner. I am planning a trip and don’t think they will have fountain drinks there and I don’t know if I will be fit to live with.
I (me personally) think for most of us it is salt, sugar, baking powder, baking soda. And think how many processed foods there are that have ALL of those.
And I would suspect (for many people) it isn’t just the chocolate – but the combination of the chocolate and sugar.
my kids are still eating chocolate – the youngest has worked her way up to the 75% and the middle child has worked her way up to the 90% – so their perceptage of chocolate has gone up and the amount of sugar has gone way down.
And one bar lasts them a long time – they break off little squares and eat those rather than eating a whole bar.
My mom LOVES chocolate but has to really watch her sugar and caffeine intake. She is eating the 85% but only has one little square a week. It is a thursday event for her.
I do eat 90% (one little square only) when I feel a migraine coming on. Don’t know if this is ‘all in my head’ or real – but it helps. And I only eat ONE square. I do not fool myself into thinking I can out eat the headache. And long ago – that IS what I thought – feed the pain.
my kids also love lite chocolate soy. And I buy one container for each of them – every two weeks. And they make it last for the full two weeks – drinking very tiny amounts a evenly spaced intervals. The cartons have their names on them – sitting side by side in the refrigerator.
We are also the family that packs all leftovers in individual containers in the refrigerator and the girls each have their own colored lids – so they have equal share of leftovers and can space them out for meals.
My husband grew up in a competitive food house (he was the youngest of 4 boys and they were all athletic and ate a lot of food).
I cut off the idea of having to over eat or be competitive over food and am also teaching portions and planning with my color coding method.
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You buying and eating all that chocolate at the store is something I have been guilty of as well. I have such a hard time resisting the idea of eating the chocolate. I am going to try some of your tips and see if those help me. I’ve cut back on the amount, but still find it hard to say no to.
For me it’s the chips and pretzels. I have learned that I totally crave the salt. Chocolate and sweets I can do without, but the chips get me every time. And it is so easy to eat too many chips at one time because they are so easy to eat.
I like your tips and the strategies that you used to try and get over the habit. I also like the term “time out” from chocolate.
Great post.
I don’t know that most foods are addictive in the same way drugs are, but I don’t know that they aren’t either. What I do know is that if they have a power over us which makes us feel as if we cannot resist them, then it doesn’t matter if we are chemically addicted to the food or if it is all in our heads.
I think your six points to break a food addiction are good advice. Thanks for sharing.
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I’m not sure if I’m really addicted to certain foods or I just eat them out of habit. Coffee might be the exception to this rule, because I can get a nasty headache if I don’t have at least a cup a day.
Peanut butter is one of my weaknesses. I broke up with peanut butter again last night as I was eating it by the spoonful. Not acceptable! So, I squirted dish washing detergent inside the jar and that was the end of that.
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I think in terms of a food addiction, it most likely is the same thing. We become dependent on the way a specific food substance makes us feel instead of becoming physically dependent on the way a chemical substance in the food itself. Little difference in the way it makes us crave it though ! Rather than an addiction to a certain food I seem to go through food phases, and right now it is ice water. I crave chewing on the ice, but hate drinking cold things !
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Hmmm, a ‘bliss point’ eh? I’m not sure it’s truly an addiction, but certain foods definitely act as triggers for overindulgence. Yes, chocolate can play a part, but the worst ones are usually the savoury, salty and fatty ones for me. Cheese is a hard thing to be moderate around, I struggle with certain salty nibbles (nuts and tortilla chips especially) and peanut butter is something I cannot trust myself to have in the house.
How to handle them? Well, ‘time out’ definitely started the ball rolling for me. I don’t avoid them altogether now but don’t keep them in the house as a general rule. If encountered in social situations, I allow myself a small amount if I ‘really’ want it and keep up an internal running commentary to myself about how much more I would enjoy the ‘good’ things available as an alternative. It doesn’t always work, but that is improving over time.
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I read David Kessler’s article & finding quite a few months ago… maybe even close to a year & I do understand them but for me, I think what is addictive food wise is relative to the individual. What I love & want to eat is not what other’s may want. Like for you Diane, it was chocolate. Me, it is not that I dislike chocolate but I don’t like it enough to crave it. I am a cookie (spice, oatmeal, molasses, snickerdoodle.. ones like that) or bread type of person.
Also like you, I took similar steps. Stayed away from the food I loved for a while until I knew I could handle just one or two or the every so often. Even now after so many years, I do not bring food in the house that I know is a real addiction to me… that goes for even healthy food. Like the Go Lean granola cereal. It is good for you BUT too much of anything means weight gain.. so I don’t buy it anymore.
At least now I know I can have my treats & enjoy & get right back to it. The one thing I really do is chose what I really want & enjoy it. I don’t eat something just because it is there. I always ask myself do I really want this & if I do, I savor it like you do!
This is my hard time of year because I love all the pumpkin & spice goodies!
I’ve been staying away from the M&M’s now since June and I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to reintroduce those in my diet. I like your idea of sharing it with the family. Sort of takes all the secrecy and shame away. Maybe if I try that with an individual type bag rather than a lb. size bag (or 14 oz. or whatever they’re doing now) it won’t be so bad.
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Interesting post. For me, it has been chocolate, peanut butter, and Diet Coke. Interestingly, I have noticed that my chocolate cravings have plummeted since I started eating less processed food. I forget about wanting it, which never used to happen. Peanut butter I just don’t keep in the house. Diet Coke, though, I am still wrestling with. I suspect there is something addictive in it because I find it really hard to “quit.”
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Six words:
Hershey’s Dark Chocolate with Almonds Nuggets
(other flavors available, but this is the healthiest)
45 calories of chocolate heaven. I have the most adorable little stained glass oval box with purple flowers and a hummingbird in stained glass, and I put one Nugget in it a morning. At some point in the afternoon, I take it out, open it up, close my eyes, and enjoy the 45 calories of heaven. It does the trick.
The funny part? I didn’t like chocolate until about 6 months ago….1.5 years after I gave up wine. I went 57 years NOT liking chocolate. Suddenly, it’s the best thing possible. But I became a chocoholic 2 months before I started this journey, so I learned to eat in moderation. Except for this Sunday, when we are going to a Chocolate Convention. In preparation, I’m doubling my exercise this week when possible, and keeping calories to a bare minimum, and I intend to delicately sample, not over indulge.
Addictions? Darned right, Skippy. LOL :: hugs ::
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For me, it’s all about high fat foods like pizza. I probably should cut it out entirely but I can’t quite seem to. My best solution is to buy only what I feel okay with eating and not one slice more because I know I have no self-control. It works, but it’s still a struggle.
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My downfall is ice cream. I usually buy the low-fat variety, but then eat the equivalent of three or four servings (those serving sizes are so stingy!). Obviously, I haven’t broken my addiction.
Before, it was Coke or Dr. Pepper for me. So badly that my last intern would bring me Dr. Pepper (okay….and a couple of donuts) in the morning after a particularly bad day before. He knew that would put me in a great mood.
I banished it and I have proudly been “leaded” free since March 2009. I still drink “unleaded” but not nearly at the frequency that I enjoyed my leaded drinks.
It was so bad that there were jokes in my office about pre-Coke Melissa and after-Coke Melissa. LOL!
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I used to be “addicted” to Diet Coke. At one point, I drank unbelievable amounts of it. And I thought I couldn’t give it up. But guess what? I could! I haven’t had a Diet Coke in a long time now.
I also love salty snacks. But I now pay close attention to portion size, and I don’t ever eat out of the bag anymore. I have realized that I can be satisfied with a small amount. I really pay attention to the ingredient list and buy truly whole wheat crackers without lots of additives, etc.
Another food I used to eat a lot of is cheese. I still love cheese, but again, I have learned to be happy with just a little bit. I love serving just a few, very thin slices of cheese on a pretty plate. Such a nice treat!
In the end, I think it’s all about being mindful before you start eating. As always, great post and great info, Diane!
I don’t know if I can pinpoint one food or food group that I am addicted to, I am usually OK with eating most of my favorites (e.g. peanut butter, baked goods, toast, deep fried things) in moderation. But one thing that does derail me is overeating in general. No matter what the food was that I indulged in… once I eat too much, it can lead to more overeating. It’s almost like I am addicted to feeling FULL. FULL is something I rarely am when I’m eating healthy… satisfied, yes often, but not usually FULL, and sometimes it is great to have that stuffed belly feeling (until the regrets kick in anyway…)
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I stopped drinking soda back in June and honestly, since then all my “cravings” for chips and chocolate disappeared with it.
I would have never guessed I could live without chocolate, I LOVE chocolate. Even as a little kid I used to secretly eat it, my grandmother could tell you stories about all the wrappers she found behind the sofa in my playroom and now… I cant remember the last time I had chocolate.
I don’t want it. I don’t crave it and I’m not going to eat any just to see if I can be powerful enough to stop after one!
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Oh, I think “addiction” is the perfect word for how so many of these foods have power over us. Having kicked my diet soda (six or seven cans a day) and coffee (several cups each morning), I can assure you that what I had was a classic addiction. Consuming them affected my mood, and I didn’t feel “right” unless I had them. It’s very empowering to rid yourself of these addictions.
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The only thing I’ve really felt addicted to was caffeine, but mainly because if I don’t have my coffee in the morning I get a nasty headache.
However there are trigger foods that I’ve had to stay away from because it gets hard for me to stop eating them once I’ve started. Brownies, McD’s french fries and Lays plain potato chips. Yikes! Must be the sugars and salts for me too. I don’t really analyze things like that too much.
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I am absolutely certain I am addicted to sugar and carbohydrates. I realized at one point I had to cut out sugar, pasta and cereal. Cereal is the worst, I don’t know why. I almost never keep cereal in the house anymore and I try to avoid sugar. I’ve gotten a lot better about pasta.
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I must admit that sugar is definitely an addiction for me. When i eat some the craving i get for more is terrible. So i just tend to stay well away from it!
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The new book that I read (review on my blog yesterday) reveals how certain foods activate the pleasure centers in our brains, the same way that narcotics and cigarettes do. Sugar is definitely a problem for me, as is caffeine. The funny thing is that they’re interchangeable. Sugar will make me crave caffeine and vice versa.
Spot on again, Diane!! I really hope you can help people change their habits with all the useful suggestions you have learned to apply in your life!
Yes, I think some foods are addictive, mainly sugars and some carbs. Not only for checmical reasons, but emotional ones as well.
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For me, sugar begets more sugar, so I try to stay away from it. I do think some foods are more addictive than others, but not all are bad, e.g. I had a serious cherry addiction going early in the summer!
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I agree with the chocolate or sweets. It was a hard week when I cut them out and as long as I don’t have them in my house I’m fine. They tend to make me want to munch and never feel satisfied while they are in my system.
(I love your blog, You are giving me so much motivation, thank you)
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You’re right. Those first few days are the worst when you’re trying to eliminate something from your diet. But it does seem to work after a while and gets easier with time.
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mine is plain ole ‘bread’ …. i just love it, especially warm toast slathered with butter.
i’m actually going at it the other way around – i have decided to limit myself to 2 pieces of toast daily.. thats it. i tried going cold turkey once, but i ended up hogging on more calories than usual. So, i’m trying to ease into leaving it.
don’t know how good an idea it is but hopefully it will work. when i don’t ban a food, i don’t crave it constantly. thats the logic i’m trying to work with.
Sugar is something that I think I am addicted to…especially chocolate! I have been killing the cravings by having VitaMuffin deep chocolate or VitaBrownies. They are a small quantity and only 1 Weight Watcher point:)
I have something for you on my blog:)
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If I eat chocolate two or more days in a row, even just a small amount, I start craving sweets really badly. I try to allow myself the indulgence every so often, but know to stop at one day now!
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I can tell you without hesitation that I was addicted — firmly addicted — to quite a few things before I had gastric bypass surgery. Top of the list was definitely Diet Pepsi. I *couldn’t live* without 8-10 a day. Then I gave it up — cold turkey — and never went back. Now, on the rarest of occasions when I “take a hit” off of my husband’s can, it does nothing for me. Zilch. So, I beat that one.
Then there was the “white bread” addiction. Bagels, to be precise. I could eat 5 of those puppies in a single day — toasted, plain, with butter, without butter, with creme cheese, with creme cheese AND butter. Once I ate one I *couldn’t stop myself* from having another…and another…and another. Then I had surgery, and BAM — I CAN’T eat white bread (or bagels or toast or fluffy french bread, fresh out of the oven, or sourdough from San Francisco. Nope. It turns into concrete in my stomach and creates a really, really big pain. So, essentially, I kicked the bread addiction, too.
Then there was white cake with butter cream frosting. If I was having a bad day, I’d go buy a single slice at the store (in one of those noisy, horrible little clear plastic clamshell containers), then take it out to my car, where I’d eat it in the parking lot (using one of the fast food restaurant utensils I’d hoard for just such an occasion.) Guess what? I can’t do that anymore — too much sugar — makes me dump. So, I kicked the white cake addiction, too.
So, reading all of that probably makes you think that I’ve kicked all of the addictions to the curb and I’m just sailing through life eating little bits of only healthy stuff, blah, blah, blah.
Not so fast. Just as surely as I developed “addictions” to Diet Pepsi, White Bread and White Cake with Butter Cream Frosting before surgery, I’ve flirted with NEW (safer!?) addictions, like popcorn, Snapeas and no-sugar added Fudgsicles.
Here’s what I’ve learned: I’m an addict.
It’s not the food — it’s me. I can develop an addiction to pretty much anything on the planet (except egg plant and broccoli), which tells me I have some more work to do in the inside. I seriously doubt it’s physiological, at this point. I mean, pre-surgery, I’d have argued that it was (and, my chemistry being what it was, doctors would probably have agreed.) But, now — post-surgery — my chemistry is completely different, and all of those “physical” needs have been peeled away to reveal the most potent one of all: EMOTIONAL NEEDS.
On the positive side, it’s really nice to know that this is a battle I can win. I mean, before, I was able to blame it on physiology, but now I can only blame it on…well…my character, I guess.
Ewww…that could be a negative side, too
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I actually did that with chips. In the last 2 years I’ve given up chips for lent. ALL varieties, including potato chips, doritos, cheetos, pretzels, etc… I was like you Diane, I missed it the first few days, but each day it got easier. One thing that I never thought about was if my kids were eating chips, say out of the bag, I would just reach my hand in without even thinking about it! That’s so many wasted calories!
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I have had a bad addiction when it comes to pop– and there is something about pop that you have to have something to go with it. And that’s when I get myself into trouble. I had a terrible time with wanting doughnuts and pop– something sugary with something even more sugary. I am also a chocoholic– and in fact still have something chocolate every day. Though now, it is a little more balanced. I have always loved ice cream, so I’ll have these 80 cal fudge bars or blue bunny makes these fudge bars that are 45 cals each, so I’ll have 2! (That’s what the serving size is!) So I do get my chocolate “fix” every day, plus every once in awhile I’ll have a few dark chocolate hershey kisses too.
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Oh my goodness things are totally addictive! Luckily I learned that my coke drinking habit I had years ago was an addiction and since I’ve cut it out haven’t wanted it since.
I have a real problem with mini peanut butter cups. They just can’t come into the house. I also find at times I have to remove ‘normal’ foods from the house periodically, because I can overeat healthy foods as well. Cashews are one of those things that I have to put on hiatus, as well as granola.
Cold cereal is going away for a while as I have been snacking on it too much. Sometimes I just have to get it away for a while and then reintroduce it. I know my brain gets addicted to things.
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Mine’s chocolate – and it’s at WORK all the time. I stress eat and find that i’ve had a healthy day… except for 2 hershey’s kisses and a reese’s cup. Grrr. I want to try this – a no-chocolate week! (at this point i’ll be doing good to get through a day….) Hmmm. When shall I try this – i’m scared! haha
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Does pork roast count?
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Sugar. Definitely sugar. I haven’t broken my addiction to sugar completely, but I have learned to limit it to once in a while and smaller portions. I eat more fruit when I want something sweet now. And there are certain foods that I just don’t bring into my house anymore either. That’s made a world of difference.
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I just finished writing a similar post for tomorrow. Of course mine is an in process. Every week I find something else that I am addicted to and need to forgo. I love your insights. Once again, thank you for showing me that I can do this and what it could look like on the other side.
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Cereal is my downfall. I try to keep my super-faves out of the house completely. I used to love all the sugary varieties but now find I can polish off the not-so-sugary varieties just as quickly.
hmmm… great topic, I guess i’d be chocolate too, but I like the good stuff, truffles, pastries etc… oh and hot chocolate in the winter… I guess I’ll need to avoid that this year
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Yes from my own personal experience I realized there was an addictive quality surrounding my behaviors around food. And there is a genetic link between alcoholics and compulsive overeaters. All of this was before I recently read Kessler’s book. Its a great book and has the scientific proof. I recognized myself and finally came to accept myself and my issues with weight and food.
Finally had a chance to listen to your interview with Sean. Excellent!
Stop by my blog – I have an “Over the Top” blog award for you.
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Fantastic post. Yes – there are foods that I can’t have around, and with all my kids grown and an understanding hubby, I’m able to keep the house mostly free from those things.
What struck me most about this post was that you didn’t acquire an attitude of “I can never have certain foods again – ever”. I was in a 12 step program that basically promoted that all or none mentality, and I know I don’t want that level of rigidity in my life. Your method of “time out” with eventual reintroduction of certain foods in small quantities as a test run is brilliant. I can really use that information. Thanks!
I so love chocolate now and again…I had one yesterday while sitting at the airport waiting to board the plane home…didnt feel guilty at all as I knew it had been months since I last had one and felt like a good ol fashion South African chocolate..
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