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 craving is rooted in our bodies; it is exclusively a physical happening. Ponder this for a minute: When do you ever just get a compelling urge to eat crisp, raw vegetables during moments of emotional upset? Um, how about, Never! I know I don't! There is an explanation as to why you and I crave only foods that are concentrated in fats 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.
Having been introduced foods that cause the release of these opioids at a very young age (as many of us have), the brain and body get used (in other words, addicted) to them, often signaling for those foods in times of "need".
Author of "Food Addiction: The Body Knows", Kay Sheppard, defines what she coined the "addictive response". Identified need -- decision -- eat addictive food.
This identified need is synonymous to the trigger of a food craving. If you begin to experience very intense foods cravings, take a minute to try to determine the true root of that food craving. Are you sad, angry, lacking in physical intimacy, or are you just thirsty? Make a mental note that giving into your food craving is not going to fix the problem. In fact, giving into the problem will only 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 craving is rooted in our bodies; it is exclusively a physical happening. Ponder this for a minute: When do you ever just get a compelling urge to eat crisp, raw vegetables during moments of emotional upset? Um, how about, Never! I know I don't! There is an explanation as to why you and I crave only foods that are concentrated in fats 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.
Having been introduced foods that cause the release of these opioids at a very young age (as many of us have), the brain and body get used (in other words, addicted) to them, often signaling for those foods in times of "need".
Author of "Food Addiction: The Body Knows", Kay Sheppard, defines what she coined the "addictive response". Identified need -- decision -- eat addictive food.
This identified need is synonymous to the trigger of a food craving. If you begin to experience very intense foods cravings, take a minute to try to determine the true root of that food craving. Are you sad, angry, lacking in physical intimacy, or are you just thirsty? Make a mental note that giving into your food craving is not going to fix the problem. In fact, giving into the problem will only make the problem worse!
About the Author:
Need help with your intense food cravings?, then visit www.curefoodaddiction.org to find the best advice on how to stop food cravings for you.
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