[BodiPUA]

Hey guys,

Has anyone got problems with bingeing on sweets, in particular chocolate, when they're a little down or bored(don't say "the whole world")?

Whenever my life isn't interesting enough to distract me or isn't particularly rich and fulfilling, I find myself bingeing like a menopausal woman. Once a day in some disembodied mental state I'll go the shop, buy 250g of Maltesters then eat the entire lot in one go, then feel weird and bad afterwards.

Obviously instead of good old fashioned self-discipline, of which I have little, I'm instead looking for quick fixes and shortcuts. Basically has anyone found a drug or supplement that can be taken to limit these urges? Given that they say chocolate releases dopamine I actually wondered if low doses of antidepressants would help!

Cheers
B

[Saweeep]

How often does this happen?

Do you eat healthily the rest of the time?

[thedavidgt]

1) Eat it very slowly. Take stupidly small nibbles. Don't chew, just let the bites melt into non existence in your mouth. Focus real hard on the experience of eating that one piece of candy. Go at about 1 Malteser in 30 seconds. 1 piece of chocolate in 2 minutes.

2) Eat something else that tastes good but is healthy. Often when you're in the process of eating something your taste buds become too "lazy" to crave another taste.

3) Change your state to something other than bored. Go into a dark room and Google some scary movie scenes. Take a cold shower. Grab a strand of hair on your head (or even better, pubes) and pull it out very slowly.

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I used to be really into sugary foods and shit too.

[Onto]

I have a terrible longing for sweets and can binge with the best of them.

One thing that's helped is keeping whole natural almonds in the house. For some reason this satisfies my need to "chew". When I must have sweets, I get bluberries and red grapefruit. It's natural and good for you.

Stay away from triggers that will bring on the binging. Mine is alcohol, and to a much lesser extent spicy food.

[Doctor]

I had advice, but you explicitly stated that you don't want to put in any effort and just want a shortcut. Now I have no advice for you other than quit being like every other lazy ass in the world that wants a magical shortcut or magical pill to control something as simple as "I'm bored and I want chocolate". I'm sure buzzfeed has articles on 10 tips to break your chocolate addiction.

[BodiPUA]

Haha, perhaps I was a little tongue in cheek. What I really meant was that I'm not averse to trying a biochemical route as well as a psychological one.
Go for it.

[BortimusPrime]

The longer you go without eating sweets the easier it gets since your taste adapts to respond to the lower amounts of sugar in healthy stuff like fruit. Eventually even carrots start tasting good.

[Chaos]

(08-18-2014 08:30 PM)BortimusPrime Wrote:  

The longer you go without eating sweets the easier it gets since your taste adapts to respond to the lower amounts of sugar in healthy stuff like fruit. Eventually even carrots start tasting good.

Exactly. When I was a teen I ate sweets like no tomorrow and I craved then every day. Later in life when I started dieting and cut away all the carbs my sweet tooth disappeared very quickly, maybe within two weeks. I simply didn't want anything sweet anymore.

Nowadays I don't follow such a strict diet but I still can't eat anything really sweet.
Like Bortimnusprime stated, nowadays even a glass of fresh carrotjuice can taste very sweet.

Stay off everything that tastes sweet for a while.

[bojangles]

Bodi dude, try nuts - almonds, cashews, pistachios etc

[The Reactionary Tree]

bojangles is right. just pop a handful of nuts in your mouth to fight off hunger

Try these if you still want some chocolate flavor: http://www.emeraldnuts.com/product/cocoa-roast-almonds/

[Beyond Borders]

I'm like this with ice cream.

Pint of Ben n' Jerry's is the death of me.

[TheFinalEpic]

Get the 5 calorie jellos, they help me avoid getting into too much trouble.

[heavy]

If I don't drink beer in the evening, I crave ice cream like BB. I wouldn't say I binge on it though.

I think the key is here:
"Whenever my life isn't interesting enough to distract me..."

Make your life busier and/or plan for slow times. For instance, I need to plan out how I'm going to spend my evenings when I have nothing going, or I end up wasting time on the computer and eating. This can be a 5 minute to do list before I leave work or even walk in my apartment.

Importantly, it's not a "should do" list, it's just to make sure my default when I walk in isn't to sit on the couch and open the computer. It could be to simply read a book or go for a walk.

I'm really ADD, and for me, I need to use my physical body to direct my mind. Once I'm studying Spanish or reading or cleaning I'm very focused on the task at hand...just as if I fail to plan, I'm very focused on wasting time and eating.

I don't think it's the sweets at all, I think it's the distraction and boredom. I believe most cigarette smokers have the same problem.

[Frank]

Out of curiosity, what about drinking? Do you crave more sweet stuff when you lay off the booze?

Apparently the two are correlated.

[bojangles]

Try tinder and those sexy women in Northern England haha

[Virtus]

same boat

what works for me is this. also helps immensely with intermittent fasting i do

Go to your doctor and ask for welbutrin/buproprion for smoking cessation / say you started smoking because of some anxiousness in your life and they will prescribe it. kills mild cravings like eating / smoking pretty well by saturating d2 receptors. if you can get a hold of cabergoline from india then use that too. that one works on saturating d1 and a little d2

do your own research

https://www.google.com/search?q=bodyreco...donald.com

[BodiPUA]

Thanks for all the advice guys, particularly calihunter as that is exactly what I'm after.

Yes, if my life was more interesting and full I'd binge less, I've proven this theory many times, but I can't always be living to the max and would like to not pork up every time life gets boring. The reason I asked for any input regarding biochemical means is because I am convinced that certain people are far more susceptible to cravings and bingeing than others. It seems the world is divided into two people: those for whom food is fuel, and those whom obsess about it.

I'm currently reading "The Food and Feelings Workbook" in an attempt to understand bingeing and cravings and it's very.... American... it asserts that all food dysfunction is due to emotional issues and using food deprivation/gorging as a means to escape uncomfortable feelings. I think there's something in this definitely, but I don't think it's the end of the story. I think a lot of people self-medicate with 'bad' food and I think the reason is not solely about emotional control, I think that this food actually does something chemical in the brain. Your hindbrain gets used to this and viciously demands a repeat dose whenever it feels low.

I've tried a lifetime to stop sweet bingeing and always thought it was mental, but now I'm interested to see, if like calihunter suggested, there's some kind of chemical that will make the whole process easier. A bit like how electronic cigarettes help smokers give up: they get the nicotine so they don't get cravings but the physical sensations of the cigarette are removed, which breaks the psychological connection.

[kaotic]

Yes I have that problem sometimes. Once you've gone for so long without they seem strange.

Hell I enjoy fruits and sweet veggies more than ever !

[Kvothe]

I suggest peanut nuts. They can boost testosterone levels too.

[Giovonny]

I have a terrible sweet tooth. Smoking weed at night does not help.

I get fat around my waist sometimes because of too many sweets.

I have learned to keep a lot of fresh fruit close by.

When a get an urge for something sweet, I try to grab a few peaches, grapes, mangos, papayas, watermelon, etc.

I sometimes freeze the fruit and use it to make smoothies.

I also make fake ice cream sometimes with frozen bananas, walnuts, and cinnamon.

This article describes other flavors of "fake ice cream":

http://www.oneingredientchef.com/one-ing...ice-cream/

[Barry Scrotada]

Second Giovanni on the blended fruit smoothies. Get a giant bag of frozen blue/black/strawberries/peaches, should last a few weeks. Add bananas for the creamy consistency, or milk, ice, cinnamon, nuts to change up the texture.

I need something sweet too to cleanse the palate after a meal. I keep a big bucket of twizzlers (brand of red licorice) around for that. Yes it is still a candy, but one or two twists are a better choice than a handful of oreos. Going from an old habit of after dinner cookies to water or hot tea can be a big jump, so it works as a 'shift down'.

[Beyond Borders]

(08-20-2014 04:51 PM)Giovonny Wrote:  

I get fat around my waist sometimes because of too many sweets.

I have learned to keep a lot of fresh fruit close by.

When a get an urge for something sweet, I try to grab a few peaches, grapes, mangos, papayas, watermelon, etc.

I sometimes freeze the fruit and use it to make smoothies.

I have an uneducated, unsubstantiated theory that when you crave certain flavors, there's a good chance your body needs nutrients associated with that flavor - perhaps due to a deficiency.

So for instance, if you're craving ice cream, you probably need to put some fruit in your system. If you're craving something savory, you could probably use some red meat in your body. Our cravings must have a purpose - we've just confused them by addicting ourselves to intense artificial flavors over the years.

There are plenty of holes in the idea, of course, but maybe there's something to it.

[Chaos]

^Then I would like to know why after almost a week of stomach flu I started to have gigantic cravings for Western junkfood and weed.

[Beyond Borders]

(08-21-2014 04:10 AM)Chaos Wrote:  

^Then I would like to know why after almost a week of stomach flu I started to have gigantic cravings for Western junkfood and weed.

I said there were holes. And last time I checked ice cream was junk food too....

But again the junkfood could be a craving for something else that has been transformed into a craving for junkfood due to years of eating junkfood. Your system is confused (according to the psuedo-theory). What type of junkfood are you craving?

It could also be that you need food in your system and some calories to restore your energy. Your body is translating that into junkfood cravings, but you really just need sustenance. Hard to say.

Weed, on the other hand, has medicinal properties. But it's also an addicting substance, and that could be why you're "craving" it.

The idea about a nutrients/cravings link doesn't suddenly render addictive substances like alcohol, weed, and tobacco non-addictive.

But again, the idea isn't based on anything substantial. Just something I've leaned on in my life, and it has rung true for me.

I'm not here to argue it or "prove it" - was just throwing it out there as a possibility.

[RawGod]

Ha, I did it today. Stressed out with my work and binged on carbs. Candy and whole bag of chips. Got back on track with a bodyweight workout and green juice but I lost a couple of hours of productivity.

I think it's due to a desire for a dopamine hit when there is just nothing else providing immediate positive feedback.