I struggle horribly with my addiction to sugary and fatty foods (especially cheese and chocolate and ohhh I love crisps).
There is no balance in my life. I can only eat loads of it or none of it (I’ve spent 25 years testing this theory).
Tonight I ate a healthy, light supper and STILL I am watching the clock and thinking to myself “If I leave now I can be at the supermarket in 5 mins” which would undoubtedly lead too a mini-binge (I don’t do huge binges anymore thank goodness) on crisps and chocolate.
So instead, to stop me walking up the road and buying junk, I’m sat at my lap-top writing a blog post, talking about food, good wholesome organic food, vibrant and delicious veggies and fruits, that I love the taste of which will nourish my body…..yet I still crave crap.
I am a HUGE believer in the commonly shared phrase on social media “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food…” (Hippocrates circa 410 BC – although how accurate this is to the original phrase used by this great physician one can only guess) and I know that eating crap makes me fat and makes my body ill but I’ve yet to understand this strange mind of mine.
BUT I also eat mounds of healthy, earth friendly produce and I really do believe that this will heal my body and eventually the cravings will become ancient history, much like Hippocrates…. so I persevere.
Today my weekly medicine delivery arrived. Another organic original veg box from my favourite producer “Riverford Organics”.
And it was the mesmerising Romanesco and it’s Mandelbrotesque florets that reminded me of nature’s perfect plan for everything if only we would let it do it’s own stuff and stop interfering. And that is why I’ve really strived to buy organic in recent months. £18 a week is an investment in my health and this beautiful planet we live on.
This is all sounding rather “preachy” isn’t it…. anyone that knows me in real-life will know it’s not. As an imperfect, emotional, complex person I sometimes have to talk through my thoughts openly via my computer instead of subjecting my colleagues, friends and family to a barrage of intense discussions face to face.
As I finish this post, the supermarket is now closed which thankfully means a chocolate and crisp binge has been diverted. There is a smell of an organic spelt loaf freshly baking in my bread machine, wafting up the stairs and I will enjoy a slice of that in bed with a cup of tea.
Thank you for listening…
Much love, C xxxxxxx
PS: The AMAZING black figs in my Riverford box last week. It’s taken me 51 years to taste a fresh, soft, sweet black fig. You NEED to try these! I read that figs were also grown and produced in the UK in the 1940s which quite frankly astounded me!
Please buy the borage plant and see what it can do
I’ve never tried borage…if I see it I’ll buy and taste! 🙂
Graet Blog. I to feel the same, but still those little rotter’s are everywhere. I did hear that if you imagine eating those rich and creamy things, you can make yourself feel full, hence I dream all day.
Hahaha! I try NOT to think of them as I’ll WANT them! xxx
Substitutes are one way I get myself over cravings. For example, instead of buying potato chips, saute some potato slices in a little olive oil: https://greenstarsproject.org/2017/09/08/potato-chips-snacks-sustainable-compostable-packaging/. For chocolate, I find that having some dark chocolate around often helps. It helps me get over the craving but is not so deliciously sweet that I want to eat it all 😉
I have two friends that grow fig trees.
They both ordered them from QVC. It’s a TV shopping channel.
The man down the street from me used to wrap and cover his every winter.
He has since passed away so I should talk to the realtor about those trees as it would be a shame to cut it down!
I have similar problems that I am working on redirecting (again). I’ve had a lot of success in the past with popcorn (homemade) and pickled vegetables to get past the salty cravings. I like pickles that I make because I can cater to my own tastes, they have no extra crap and I get another serving of veggies. Another thing my son and I have done in the past is to slice up a potato (like a hassleback dish) and then over-microwave them. Add some salt. While potatoes aren’t the healthiest vegetable, they do have nutrients and there is no added oil.
When it comes to sweets, I haven’t found a perfect solution. Chocolate chips help but if I have a whole bag in the house, it’s not as easy to keep from eating too much.
Carolyn, I have been following you for about 2 years now. I have the same problems of wanting the junk. More times than not I can resist. It helps not to buy the things I know I would eat a whole package of. You are my inspiration. And I also just tried my first fresh black fig several weeks ago [I am 64]. Good luck to all of us who struggle.
I found this a couple of days ago at http://perfecthealthdiet.com/the-diet/. Looks simple enough. I should be able to put together a meal plan. I don’t think I eat 4 pounds of food a day, but what I do eat isn’t always healthy. The worst thing I’ve done lately is bake bread. I put on 10 pounds in 2 weeks. No more bread for me. Carbs are addictive. I hope you can get back to where you were in January so you will feel better. ‘;D
On Wed, Sep 20, 2017 at 2:37 PM, The 1940’s Experiment wrote:
> Carolyn posted: ” I struggle horribly with my addiction to sugary and > fatty foods (especially cheese and chocolate and ohhh I love crisps). There > is no balance in my life. I can only eat loads of it or none of it (I’ve > spent 25 years testing this theory). Tonigh” >
It’s very tough to give up crisps. I gave them up 2 years and 3 months ago and I still occasionally have a craving for them but I do not indulge. At this point that would just mess with the amount of time I have NOT eaten them and I don’t want to lose that. I’ve also given up sugar 99% of the time but I do sometimes indulge in something sweet. Last night it was a teaspoon of sugar in my tea. First one I had in a couple of weeks. I try to eat fruit if I am having sugar cravings. Peaches are in season here now (Ontario, Canada) and I enjoy 2 of them daily. They taste so sweet now but I limit myself to 2 per day if I have them. Chocolate I will never give up but it has been a couple months since I’ve wanted any. I find the longer you keep away from sugar and sweets the less you’ll want them and for me it seems to be working. My health is more important to me right now and that is why I gave all those things up … to feel better and not end up in the hospital again.
Courage. The more good stuff you eat, the easier it will get. Eventually, you will crave what you eat and forget about everything else.
This is true Aunt Lili. I actually crave salads now.
https://polldaddy.com/js/rating/rating.js
https://polldaddy.com/js/rating/rating.jshttps://polldaddy.com/js/rating/rating.jsI want you to know I so much appreciate your honesty with your struggle. I am also trying to become healthy and lose weight. I went crazy on cheese last night because I got too hungry and tired. Was mad that it was taking longer to lose weight then I liked. Thank you…thank you for your blog. Lk
Figs are easy to grow, despite being perceived as tropical. It’s all down to getting the right variety. They grow best if the roots are contained, so can be grown in pots.
Those addicted to drugs or alcohol or nicotine are told that it’s not possible to cut down, it’s stop or nothing, but for those of us addicted to food that is exactly what we have to do. It’s no wonder that dieting is such a multi million pound industry.
Apparently we are all members of the same club. I find it hard to not buy the junk because the family still wants it. Just because I’m trying to change my lifestyle I cannot force it on them. So the struggle continues. Have to work on that voice in my head that keeps harping on sweet and salty. And like you I also love to eat fresh – veggies, fruit, etc. And figs… absolutely love them.
I, too, struggle with my food addictions. Sweets, especially chocolates, are my downfall! You are doing great! Stay strong! We are all rooting for you to succeed!
My son and I have been on a high fat diet. It’s brilliant as you can eat full fat butter, cream, cheese etc. Fat is good for you. We have been conned for years by the food industries about low calorie..low fat diets. It is sugar that is indeed addictive and what’s more keeps you hungry. The science behind it is that sugar takes away your natural full feeling.. the hormones that tell you when you have had enough. A full fat diet means that after a couple of weeks you actually ‘want’ to eat less. Believe me I am one greedy woman. Result.. My son has lost 3 stone and I have lost 2 stone..eating lots of healthy fatty fish, bacon.,meats etc and lots of above ground greens. Sweet potato is better for you than white. Removing sugar means removing white bread, pasta, rice and limiting fruits to two small portions a day.pref berries. You are allowed a handful of nuts as well each day..plus a small square of 85% dark chocolate a day. Chocolate is good for you. This works for us and even if you are a vegetarian you can swop meat and fis for veggy alternative. We eat lots of fried buttery cabbage..lots of eggs and full fat greek yoghurt. We are both enjoying the best health and energy ever…!
https://polldaddy.com/js/rating/rating.jsDeprivation just makes me feel deprived. For over 25 years I constantly went on diets or health improvement plans which of course meant cutting out junk foods completely – which did not work at all. Within a few days (or if lucky weeks) I was back to snacking on potato chips and chocolate and other sweets.
I finally came to the conclusion that I was never going to succeed at weight loss if I was afraid of the food and unable to control myself and portion sizes. My Mom was 5 foot 5 inches tall and weighed 125 lbs for her entire adult life. She ate everything. In moderation.
About 12 years ago I decided to follow her example. I lost 110 lbs in two years. I was never hungry and I learned to eat controlled portions of all foods including junk like potato chips etc. I had 30 grams of potato chips every day for lunch for many months. Cut this amount down to 20 grams eventually and finally one day did not even want the chips. Same with chocolate and sweets which I had twice a week as part of my meal plans. If I craved something in between these days I followed the two bite rule. I eat a very healthy and balanced diet but when I crave things today I have them.
I forgot to mention in my post that I have found the WW2 food plan on this site very helpful over the years simply because if you consider portion control and control of your food selections as being very similar to rationing it all fits nicely. I do tweak the rationing a bit to suit my vegetarian status and my husbands’ omnivorous status but the basic concepts and and amounts and types of food used as the basic plan (as well as the recipes) really are valuable for weight control. And just as during WW2 this way of eating which greatly improved the health of the nation has also improved our health.
Just found your blog, after it was recommended to me. Can’t wait to browse through your recipes!
I’m also a few years into maintaining a largish weight loss, and while I don’t know your full story (haven’t read through a lot of posts yet), in this one you mention wanting to eat more after supper, and I wonder if you’ve heard of tried IF (intermittent fasting) yet? It’s the protocol I used during my weight loss phase, and one of the things that I did was cut out night time eating, which was a big issue for me. I started ‘closing’ my kitchen at 7pm sharp and after that I didn’t consume calories, (I would drink tea/coffee/diet soda after 7pm). The first few nights were rough, but shockingly I didn’t starve to death 🙂
A simple trick, but one that helped me tremendously, and it was one step in the process of me learning that I control food, it does not control me. Now almost 5 years into successful maintenance I still wrap up eating by 7pm. It’s habit now and eating later than that feels really weird lol.
Anyways, just wanted to chime in with that, in case it’s something that you haven’t heard of yet!