Expert: Matthew Cook - 3/25/2010

Question
I think I have sugar addiction... I eat in secret, I can't control my cravings and I am obsessed with when I'll get my next "fix".  If I manage to obstain it doesn't last more than a few days or week at most.  I am overweight about 30 pounds.  I work out regularly and about five days a week, but can't seem to get my diet in check.  I know all the tips about staying full on healthy high fiber foods, avoiding trigger foods and driving past trigger stores, keeping hands busy, chewing gum... It does not help!  Nothing seems to.  I don't know how to kick the habit.  I will be seeing my doctor next weekend for a routine matter and am considering mentioning this.  However I'm wondering if you can provide some insight I haven't tried.  If not, do you know what types of treatments or advice a doctor is likely to suggest, so I'm a bit more prepared...  Thank you.

Sarah

Answer
Hello Sarah,

I’ll suggest some more ideas but you’ll have to forgive me if you know these ones as well!

The first thing is to understand what might be happening in your body – how the foods that you eat can affect your blood sugar and brain chemistry. Have a read of the pages I have written about this at:
http://www.coping-with-binge-eating.com/food-cravings.html
http://www.coping-with-binge-eating.com/sugar-addiction.html
These discuss some of the current theories that explain how sugar and high carb/fatty foods can seem to have such an addictive hold over us.

(Kathleen DesMaison explains a lot of this really well in her book Potatoes Not Prozac)

One main point that comes out through what you write is the ongoing conflict of trying to ‘abstain’ as you call it, and ‘avoiding’ foods. When you read the above page on sugar ‘addiction’, you can start to understand why cutting something out completely and suddenly can just make the cravings worse (it can literally be like a withdrawal symptom).  Add this to the emotional response that can happen when we deprive ourselves of something - that it seems to make the thing all the more desirable - and you have a powerful effect.

The trouble is that we cant avoid food altogether like we can with drugs or alcohol – we need food to survive and the types of food we might crave are all around us. Hence the terrible tension and constant battle that you find yourself fighting.

So rather than ‘abstaining’ and ‘avoiding’, have you tried allowing yourself to enjoy the foods you desire, but in less of an all-or-nothing way? I’m sure you have heard of Mindful eating. The idea would be to have a piece of chocolate (or whatever it is that does it for you) but to eat it really slowly, concentrating on noticing and enjoying all the flavours and sensations. Eat it, but eat it like a gourmet! You could even timetable these small indulgencies into your day, which gets rid of the psychological pressure of not knowing when you might ‘give in’ and get your next fix.

You can find out more about Mindful eating here:http://www.eatingthemoment.com/mindful-emotional-eating/

If you are eating healthily and exercising adequately the rest of the time, then your body should be able to cope with such small treats quite readily. And the point is that if it helps break the restrict/binge/restrict/binge cycle, then your overall calorie intake will go down compared to when you are bingeing.

The obvious question is then: how do you stop this small treat triggering off a full-blown binge?

Make sure you are still having regular healthy meals (including the essential breakfast) to ensure that genuine physical hunger is not the problem. When you then get a craving, you could decide to have a small amount of the food you crave but have something else with it…such as a few nuts and seeds, or some fruit and yoghurt, something nutritious. This way you will have the feeling of eating (but it will include food that’s doing you some good) and you will be having that particular food you crave (but a lot less of it). Try having the more nutritious food first to take the edge of any craving, and then have a small amount of the food you crave…but eat it mindfully.

The point of all this is to slowly (and this can take some time so the other part of this jigsaw is time and being patient with yourself) reduce the ‘kick’ or the ‘high’ that the sugary foods are giving you. It is also to get out of the mindset that says that this food is ‘bad’ or that you shouldn’t have it. This way you can gradually reduce the amount of these foods you have and come to a more balanced and relaxed way of eating.

You also mention that “I eat in secret” which suggests a feeling of shame. Another aspect of food cravings are of course the emotional aspects that can play a part in disordered eating. Have a read of:
http://www.coping-with-binge-eating.com/emotional-eating.html

It is good that you are going to see you doctor and I would mention what you describe to them. What will they do? They may want to do some blood tests to rule out any underlying medical influences (such as blood sugar or hormone problems?). They may also discuss a possible referral to see a specialist who could assess you properly for an eating disorder. Don’t let this frighten you. This is obviously causing you a lot of distress and I am glad you are looking for help.

A last minor point – you mention using chewing gum – the trouble with this is that if over-used, it can stimulate your digestive system (as your body thinks you are eating and so your stomach acids start flowing) and so just increases your appetite (like having a starter before a main meal) and so makes the problem worse!

Please post back if you have any further questions, or if I have not been clear about anything I have mentioned here.

Good luck with seeing your doctor, and good health


Matt C