Re: Fixated on one food?

[Guest guest]

i agree with the others -- it's peppermint ice cream for you for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! for as long as you want!

i'd just add that if you tell yourself you can have it whenever you want, but ideally, try to be hungry when you eat it, so that you will be able to fully enjoy it... and focus on how good it tastes and feels so hopefully you stop when you are full -- you can remind yourself that you can have more as soon as you are hungry again... i dont even think you will have to worry about the weight. it's when you force yourself to have a " healthy " meal first that you run into problems!

just savor every bite and enjoy yourself!

abby

ps i am seriously into peanut butter & honey sandwiches right now. i'm having a lot of sandwiches for dinner. whoever said it's so great to enjoy a sandwich that isn't single sided... yes!

On Thu, Dec 11, 2008 at 3:26 PM, Intuitive.Eater. In.Training wrote:

OMG ! I had to stop and think " DID I WRITE THIS? AND I DON'T REMEMBER?? "

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE PEPPERMINT ICECREAM!

I actually didn't start eating it until this fall when I started IE, but when I went to the grocery store for my big shopping spree to buy whatever sounded good, Peppermint Ice Cream went in my basket. And it is soo good. I think i like it so much because it is so light and refreshing. I have gone thru 2 big 1/2 gallons already. Do you buy Blue Bell? All I have to say right now is YUM!

Bonnie

To: IntuitiveEating_Support Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 8:40:31 PM Subject: Fixated on one food?

Hi all! I'm new to the group and decided it was time to post and get some insight. I have struggled with my weight and my " eating issues " for years. Things have actually improved tremendously over the past

several years and I certainly don't beat myself up the way I used to. I am so happy to have found IE and know that it truly describes the relationship I want with food and my body.So with that said...has anyone every gotten totally fixated on one

food? For the past three years I have not been able to stop with peppermint ice cream with hot fudge. It's nuts!! The first year I gained twenty pounds over the holiday season. Luckily in February peppermint ice cream disappeared and the weight fell back off over

the spring and summer. Last winter, peppermint ice cream and I again became buddies. I gained thirty pounds over a 3-4 month period. I obviously knew it was happening but just couldn't stop. Of course now

there is a local company that has peppermint available year round. I had previously thought that the obsession came from the fact that I could only have the pep during a " limited time. " Apparently this

wasn't true, because for months I ate peppermint ice cream. Snack, dinner, often times breakfast. Sigh. Luckily the weight stayed pretty stable, but this has gotten crazy. I even tried counseling with a few

different therapists, all of whom seemed perplexed and recommended that I " just not buy it anymore. " Well, obviously that would be the easiest solution but that is so much harder than it sounds that I

can't even describe it! I feel so foolish saying that I'm hooked on ice cream! I am an intelligent and successful individual and I'm perplexed too!! I've tried to stop buying it several times, at one

point even going for a few weeks, but it quickly gets replaced by brownie batter/cookies/ other sweets and I decided that what I REALLY want it the peppermint ice cream and then it all begins again. I have driven to multiple stores in the driving snow in search of the pink

stuff. I try not to think about the " good " and the " bad " but the fact of the matter is--many times I am not providing my body with any real nutrition. I'm running on a tank of sugar and red dye!!! )

So if you're still reading--does anyone have ANY suggestions? I am at my wits end!!--The Peppermint Princess

[Guest guest]

Oh MAN! I was hooked on peppermint lattes last winter from Starbucks.

So good! And peppermint icecream is soo delicious!

Well first I am sorry that you had that experience with therapists. I

am not sure what type of therapist you went to but, unless you have

already, give a licensed social worker who has experience

with " eating issues " a try. They tend to focus more on acceptance and

the individual in their environment as opposed to diagnosing and a

focus on disease.

So I think everyone has given great advice. I wonder if you really

truely feel like you peppermint icecream is not a " bad " food item?

I would suggest allowing yourself to eat it whenever you want. If you

want to eat it for every meal all week then you should do that. Try

it for a week and see what happens.

I was dying to eat doritos for a longgg time. So last weekend I

finally bought a big bag of them and munched on it all weekend. By

Monday morning I was so over Doritos and was craving something with

more nutrients. In the past I would have obsessed over the Doritos

and then finally binged on it in secret and walked away from it

feeling ashamed and like I could eat another bag!

Hope that helps!

- K

[Guest guest]

Thank you all so much. You all are exactly right--even though I've

been eating peppermint ice cream whenever I want, I still feel bad

about it and consider it a " bad " food for me. My whole focus has been

on trying to figure out how to stop eating it--not on how much I'm

enjoying it! Now I'm really going to try to work on enjoying every

delicious (and yes! light and refreshing!) bite. I really don't want

to give it up--thank you for pointing that out. I like it!! A LOT!

>

> Hi all! I'm new to the group and decided it was time to post and

get

> some insight. I have struggled with my weight and my " eating

issues "

> for years. Things have actually improved tremendously over the past

> several years and I certainly don't beat myself up the way I used

to.

> I am so happy to have found IE and know that it truly describes the

> relationship I want with food and my body.

>

> So with that said...has anyone every gotten totally fixated on one

> food? For the past three years I have not been able to stop with

> peppermint ice cream with hot fudge. It's nuts!! The first year I

> gained twenty pounds over the holiday season. Luckily in February

> peppermint ice cream disappeared and the weight fell back off over

> the spring and summer. Last winter, peppermint ice cream and I

again

> became buddies. I gained thirty pounds over a 3-4 month period. I

> obviously knew it was happening but just couldn't stop. Of course

now

> there is a local company that has peppermint available year round.

I

> had previously thought that the obsession came from the fact that I

> could only have the pep during a " limited time. " Apparently this

> wasn't true, because for months I ate peppermint ice cream. Snack,

> dinner, often times breakfast. Sigh. Luckily the weight stayed

pretty

> stable, but this has gotten crazy. I even tried counseling with a

few

> different therapists, all of whom seemed perplexed and recommended

> that I " just not buy it anymore. " Well, obviously that would be the

> easiest solution but that is so much harder than it sounds that I

> can't even describe it! I feel so foolish saying that I'm hooked on

> ice cream! I am an intelligent and successful individual and I'm

> perplexed too!! I've tried to stop buying it several times, at one

> point even going for a few weeks, but it quickly gets replaced by

> brownie batter/cookies/other sweets and I decided that what I

REALLY

> want it the peppermint ice cream and then it all begins again. I

have

> driven to multiple stores in the driving snow in search of the pink

> stuff. I try not to think about the " good " and the " bad " but the

fact

> of the matter is--many times I am not providing my body with any

real

> nutrition. I'm running on a tank of sugar and red dye!!! )

>

> So if you're still reading--does anyone have ANY suggestions? I am

at

> my wits end!!

>

> --The Peppermint Princess

>

[Guest guest]

I totally agree with this. I read that book and I cannot recommend it enough!! It really hit home for me, and continues to help me recover.

Kim

IE since Aug 08

Subject: Re: Fixated on one food?To: IntuitiveEating_Support Date: Wednesday, December 17, 2008, 9:11 PM

How interesting. ..I was reviewing some pages in Eating By the Light of the Moon on Amazon.com last night that said basically what you said. The book says that "unlike such things as alcoholism and drug addiction, disordered eating is a process addiction. The woman [or man] with disordered eating is addicted to her [or his] eating behavior, and not the food itself...Food is not the problem....To recover from disordered eating, we must be willing to go beyond the food itself and discover the presence of the real hunger that underlines the urge to eat compulsively (pp. 33-34)". So what we are breaking is not a physical

addiction, but the emotional connection coupled with the feelings of guilt and judgement about it. It's more like overcoming your fear of water by dipping your feet in the baby pool, over and over again and learning through habituation that it's not scary after all.

[Guest guest]

Kim wrote:

> For me, the addictive part of an eating disorder is the behavior, not the

> food. I am still attending some OA meetings (I get some stuff out of it)

> and I hear people say things like " I could binge on lettuce " . This leads

> me to believe the behavior/thoughts around food are the " addiction " . If it

> were a particular food, then binging on something else wouldn't work, you

> know? Just my thoughts...I consider my eating disoder a process addiction,

> not a substance addiction.

I never said it wasn't a process addiction. I think it's a combination.

It might be different for different people as well, e. g. I never binged

on lettuce. It doesn't taste good enough for me. I ate lettuce instead

of chocolate because it is " healthy " and " low-calorie " or simply because

I didn't keep chocolate in the house " to be safe " , but it definitely

wasn't the same, so for me it's not only the process, but the substance

seems to be important as well. Otherwise bingeing on lettuce would work

for me, too.

Regards

s.

[Guest guest]

Kathy wrote:

> Why is it different with food?

--> It's so much more difficult with food because we have to have food

to physically live/survive. An alcoholic doesn't have to have alcohol

to physically survive; a drug addict doesn't have to have the drugs to

physically survive. You see? Food addiction is just a whole different

ball of wax, unfortunately...

Hope this helps~

Marla in Charlottesville, VA

[Guest guest]

Excelent post, Mikki! Very Well Said!

Alana

> >

> > .

> >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

S -

Yeah, I hear what you are saying. Food issues are so difficult - and as you are saying, different people experiece the disordered eating differently! No wonder it's such a challange for us to recover.

Thanks

Kim

IE since Aug 08> For me, the addictive part of an eating disorder is the behavior, not the> food. I am still attending some OA meetings (I get some stuff out of it)> and I hear people say things like "I could binge on lettuce". This leads> me to believe the behavior/thoughts around food are the "addiction". If it> were a particular food, then binging on something else wouldn't work, you> know? Just my thoughts...I consider my eating disoder a process addiction,> not a substance addiction. I never said it wasn't a process addiction. I think it's a combination.It might be different for different people as well, e. g. I never bingedon lettuce. It doesn't taste good enough for me. I ate lettuce insteadof chocolate because it is "healthy" and "low-calorie" or simply becauseI didn't keep

chocolate in the house "to be safe", but it definitelywasn't the same, so for me it's not only the process, but the substanceseems to be important as well. Otherwise bingeing on lettuce would workfor me, too.Regardss.

[Guest guest]

I am sorry you are feeling sick, and I understand what you are

saying. It's so much easier just to not keep the foods you love in

the house. But isn't that a sad thought? Aren't you making food the

enemy by saying that? 'I can't eat the foods I love because they

will make me feel fat.' I don't know about you, but that is

definitely the kind of thinking that got me here in the first place.

I want to be able to eat the foods I love, and not only that, but I

SHOULD be able to eat my favorite foods. Plenty of naturally thin

people I know are able to eat all things in moderation. So if it's

possible for them, it's possible for us too.

As for drugs and alcohol - you can pull a cold turkey with these

substances. When you're an alcoholic, you stop drinking alcohol.

When you're a drug addict, you give up the drugs. Stop buying them.

Keep them out of your house. Which is not easy, but at least it's an

absolute. NO DRUGS, NO ALCOHOL. Period.

When you're a food addict, you can't remove food from your life

completely, or you'll die. We must eat to survive. Hence, the

process of curing ourselves of the addiction must still involve food,

making the abuse almost impossible to give up. They don't tell

alcoholics to cut back on the alcohol or to limit themselves to one

or two drinks a day. Alcoholics don't have that kind of control over

their compulsion to drink too much alcohol. Food addicts, though?

We can't go cold turkey. We need our drug to survive. We have to

learn how to control our obsession without completely giving it up.

I think it's one of the most difficult things ever. However, freeing

yourself from the food obsession forever makes each and every setback

completely worth it, trust me. My relationship with food after about

a month of IE is so much better than it ever has been. And even

though there have been and will be rough patches, the food freedom is

in sight, and it's so beautiful.

I know you felt sick when you wrote this, but don't give up on IE.

Learn from your mistakes, and perhaps one day you WILL choose carrots

over chocolate. Anyting is possibe. But don't slip back into the

prison of diet mentality -- set yourself free.

<3----------

>

> > Why is it different with food?

>

> -->

>  It's so much more difficult with food because we have to have food

> to physically live/survive. An alcoholic doesn't have to have

alcohol

> to physically survive; a drug addict doesn't have to have the drugs

to

> physically survive. You see? Food addiction is just a whole

different

> ball of wax, unfortunately. ..

>

> Hope this helps~

> Marla in Charlottesville, VA

>

[Guest guest]

Excellent post !

Katcha

IEing since March 2007

>

> I am sorry you are feeling sick, and I understand what you are

> saying. It's so much easier just to not keep the foods you love in

> the house. But isn't that a sad thought? Aren't you making food the

> enemy by saying that? 'I can't eat the foods I love because they

> will make me feel fat.' I don't know about you, but that is

> definitely the kind of thinking that got me here in the first place.

>

> I want to be able to eat the foods I love, and not only that, but I

> SHOULD be able to eat my favorite foods. Plenty of naturally thin

> people I know are able to eat all things in moderation. So if it's

> possible for them, it's possible for us too.

>

> As for drugs and alcohol - you can pull a cold turkey with these

> substances. When you're an alcoholic, you stop drinking alcohol.

> When you're a drug addict, you give up the drugs. Stop buying them.

> Keep them out of your house. Which is not easy, but at least it's an

> absolute. NO DRUGS, NO ALCOHOL. Period.

>

> When you're a food addict, you can't remove food from your life

> completely, or you'll die. We must eat to survive. Hence, the

> process of curing ourselves of the addiction must still involve food,

> making the abuse almost impossible to give up. They don't tell

> alcoholics to cut back on the alcohol or to limit themselves to one

> or two drinks a day. Alcoholics don't have that kind of control over

> their compulsion to drink too much alcohol. Food addicts, though?

> We can't go cold turkey. We need our drug to survive. We have to

> learn how to control our obsession without completely giving it up.

>

> I think it's one of the most difficult things ever. However, freeing

> yourself from the food obsession forever makes each and every setback

> completely worth it, trust me. My relationship with food after about

> a month of IE is so much better than it ever has been. And even

> though there have been and will be rough patches, the food freedom is

> in sight, and it's so beautiful.

>

> I know you felt sick when you wrote this, but don't give up on IE.

> Learn from your mistakes, and perhaps one day you WILL choose carrots

> over chocolate. Anything is possible. But don't slip back into the

> prison of diet mentality -- set yourself free.

>

> <3----------

>