I was excited because I was getting married in 9 months, during which I planned on losing 40 pounds. I wanted to look svelte and trim for my husband on our wedding day. The months passed by pretty quickly, and alas, no radical changes were registering on my bathroom weight scale. It appeared that my food cravings had completely overpowered my desire to lose weight. That was the moment I knew I had a problem.
The subject of food addiction is a tricky one. Some people equate food addiction with emotional eating, and they aren't too far off. The problem lies within those intense food cravings that always seem to kill a diet. Finding out what food cravings mean lends some clue as to how to overcome them.
A food cravings originates from our body; it is strictly a physical occurrence. Chew this over in your mind for a second: Is there ever a time when you have a strong craving for raw vegetables during moments of emotional turmoil? Yeah, I didn't think so--neither do I! There is a reason why you and I always crave foods that have high contents of fat and sugar. That reason is opioids.
An opioid is simply a chemical that is released into the blood stream once those sugary and fatty foods have been broken down. These chemicals cause a mild euphoria when they bind to the receptors in the brain that cause feelings of pleasure.
As many of us have experienced, our brains and bodies are being introduced to these foods which cause the release of opioids at a very young age. The longer we eat these foods, the more the brain and body begins to depend on them for normal function. It is during this time that our brains start to signal for these foods during times of "need".
An "addictive response" in the brain, as Kay Sheppard calls it in her book, looks something like this: Identified need -- thirst -- decision -- eat binge food
Triggers of food cravings are the same things as identified needs. As soon as you sense a food craving coming on, take a few moments to discern the true reason behind that food craving. Could it be that you are angry, sad, lacking physical intimacy, or thirsty? Remember that pacifying a food craving by giving into it is not an answer to the problem. Giving into the food craving will actually make the problem worse.
The subject of food addiction is a tricky one. Some people equate food addiction with emotional eating, and they aren't too far off. The problem lies within those intense food cravings that always seem to kill a diet. Finding out what food cravings mean lends some clue as to how to overcome them.
A food cravings originates from our body; it is strictly a physical occurrence. Chew this over in your mind for a second: Is there ever a time when you have a strong craving for raw vegetables during moments of emotional turmoil? Yeah, I didn't think so--neither do I! There is a reason why you and I always crave foods that have high contents of fat and sugar. That reason is opioids.
An opioid is simply a chemical that is released into the blood stream once those sugary and fatty foods have been broken down. These chemicals cause a mild euphoria when they bind to the receptors in the brain that cause feelings of pleasure.
As many of us have experienced, our brains and bodies are being introduced to these foods which cause the release of opioids at a very young age. The longer we eat these foods, the more the brain and body begins to depend on them for normal function. It is during this time that our brains start to signal for these foods during times of "need".
An "addictive response" in the brain, as Kay Sheppard calls it in her book, looks something like this: Identified need -- thirst -- decision -- eat binge food
Triggers of food cravings are the same things as identified needs. As soon as you sense a food craving coming on, take a few moments to discern the true reason behind that food craving. Could it be that you are angry, sad, lacking physical intimacy, or thirsty? Remember that pacifying a food craving by giving into it is not an answer to the problem. Giving into the food craving will actually make the problem worse.
About the Author:
Learn more about how to stop food cravings. Stop by Michelle Casey's website where you can find out all about breaking sugar addiction and what it can do for you.
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