About a week and a half ago I stopped eating chips and hershey kisses, first they're bad for you and expensive, or at least how much I eat. Felt pretty good, started eating more fruit and it has been warm and sunny and fruit always tastes better in summer.

Well, yesterday and today it has been cool and I've been hungry so last night I ate a handful of pringles and about 6 kisses and felt immediately better.

Do you think that our bodies get used to certain things and they just don't like not having them anymore?

I love Coke. Real, full of sugar cokes.
I gave them up April 16, 2009.
I did it but I still want one every day.
So you can give it up, but it sure isn't easy. :roll:

The question is are we emotionally or physically addicted to certain foods? I think we are emotionally addicted.

Yes, yes I do! Especially chocolate and chips! Couldn't do without them either!!!!:!' I've just learned to to eat a lot less of junk stuff!!

Chocolate has caffeine in it just like coffee, and yes it can be addictive. But I think mostly it is a mental thing, we connect certains foods as "Comfort food" to us. I can't eat chocolate or drink coffee because they give me migraines; has to do with the way the coffee beans and chocolate are processed. So I found a substitute when I crave something sweet. I eat a couple Reeses White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, the small ones. It satisfies my sweet tooth. And when I crave something salty I eat some popcorn. If you don't overdo what you're eating, I don't see it as a problem.

Well I sure don't want to get "hooked" on them again, after all, I lost 6 pounds too so that salt and sugar was definitely not doing me any good.

I guess I'm just going to have to stop!

I think it is an emotional thing.

I lost 30 lbs. just by giving up sweets and chips. I did it for 6 months then went back to eating them and gained 14 lbs. back. I'm giving them up again and have already lost 5 lbs. since the first. Just keep reminding yourself that it's not good for you. After a while you won't crave them as much and they will start tasting nasty too.

I need my morning coffee, even decaf, to get me going - no sugar and just a little low fat milk will do it. Tried doing without it, drinking all kinds of teas instead or nothing at all but that hasn't worked. Bad thing about drinking tea it makes me run to the bathroom all morning long. It's a b---h getting old. May

ITA on the emotional attachment/hunger for such. We "think" we can't do without, and so!!! :)

Some Food for Thought via some sayings I've heard at WW over the years .....

"If hunger is not the question, then food is not the answer"

"Are you stuffing your face? or Facing your Stuff?

For those that go to WW, they know there are no forbidden foods and not must eat foods. We can all choose to eat what we want ... and are given the tools of the program to be able to personalize the program around our physical/hunger needs as well as the food emotional requirements!

Think ...
Portion Control ... not Portion Distortion!
as that's our true enemy, when we choose to eat th less healthier foods that we need/want emotionally.

I gave up on soft drinks completely. I love Pepsi and diet Sunkist. It was the carbonation that I loved. Now I drink carbonatd water. I have lost a couple pounds but would lose even more if I could give up my chocolate. LOL!! A baby has more willpower than I do when it comes to chocolate. LOL!!!

I gave up icecream and cookies for a while and lost 10 pounds with in 4 wks. But I crave my ice cream every night after supper sooooooooo I will not give it up and thats the way it is. However I am not over weight so guess I don't have to worry too much

just like a hard drug, our bodies can crave carbs and sugars. If you find a food that is like that for you, you must resist! otherwise, it keeps triggering the desire for more. for me, chocolate is one such food. it is also a highly intelligent food--can learn my name in the supermarket aisle, can jump into the cart, then continue to call me at home until I eat it. I've learned to cover my cart in that aisle! I refuse to bring any home.

I think it's like being addicted to anything. I stopped smoking on Feb. 14, 2011. It's been four months and the cravings are still there. Not as many, but they do show up every now and then. I have been avoiding processed sugars this year and everyday it gets a little easier. When I have that huge craving, I would eat that one piece of chocolate. But I had to make myself stop at one. I have been dying for a tasty cream donut lately. LOL. Good Luck, It will get easier :)

I am addicted to soft drinks! I prefer Coke Zero but will pretty much drink any except Dr. Pepper & Cherry Coke. I have tried to stop drinking it but it's so hard! I quit smoking almost 11 years ago and that was easier to do than to quit drinking soft drinks.

QuiltE, this is great!
"If hunger is not the question, then food is not the answer"

NYC - I love how you said that choc knows your name - it definitely feels like that!

I'm not overweight either just getting older and don't want to have to be on pills for anything if I can help it. I wonder if it's related more to discipline because everything is emotional anyway. Like, if I'm having a bad moment and I run for a kiss, I'm emotionally dependent on the comfort I think that kiss will bring. But if I have the discipline to not actually eat one, maybe I will have more control over how I react to the situation that made me feel like the kiss would resolve it.

I used to drink soda all the time and now I don’t even like it. The only time I have it is when at a friend’s and they offer it. I drink water all day, after my morning coffee that is. I used to eat lots of chocolate and lots of those lime tortilla chips every day! I don’t buy them so they aren’t there to tempt me. The only time I buy any of this stuff is when friends come over.

I finally broke my obsession with Diet Mountain Dew with my new one called Diet Green Tea......I crave it.

No, it is not physically impossible to give up certain foods. It is an emotional thing. We must have our comfort foods. I don't drink anything that has sugar in it, either diet or water. However, I WILL EAT my M&Ms every night when I sit down for the evening!!! It is a matter of choosing the lesser evil, sugar all day or handful of sugar at night. (At least that is the way I look at it!!)

I think the emotional aspect of addiction takes the longest to get over. I'm thinking it's very similar to quitting smoking. When I did it, it took at least two years before the occasional craving stopped.

I agree. I think we have convinced ourselfs that we "need" these foods and our bodys react accordingly. I'm fighting the same battle right now. I had done great for a couple months, eating fruits, veggies, whole grains. Stopped eating chips, most sugars laced foods and had actually lost weight. Then the stress of a few things happend and sent me back into a spiral I have been attempting to find my way back out of since. It is not so easy at this moment because my stress is telling my brain I "need" these food items. I'm trying though. It is a matter of telling our brain to make the right choice, when choosing between chips or a banana.

I gave up a lot to loose 92 lbs and I miss certain things 2 years later..lol..what I learned was to control how much!!

I think we have been "programmed" to think that so many of the "less than wonderful for us" foods have been considered treats.

I don't think it is physically - or mentally - impossible to give up certain foods - if one really chooses to do so.

(This is assuming one is getting enough essential nutrients to maintain a healthy body)

Yes, chocolate, and sunflower seeds in the shell. So I bought the mini chocolates and allow myself 2 a day, and only eat dry roasted, already shelled sunflower seeds. I have to admit, the hardest one is the seeds, I really love cracking those shells but I was going through 2 bags a day! The salt alone will kill ya!

I found once I started exercising every day I don't have the cravings I use to have. Not even chocolate and I love chocolate.

What she said!!!

I'm "attached" to Diet Coke. I thought it was just the caffeine, so started drinking half caf coffee in the a.m. since the full strength is too much for me. Well, I don't get the same "boost" from it. And when I have the Diet Coke, I feel happy. so I'm trying to limit the quantity, not the times per day. half a glass vs. full. So far so good.

I don't think its impossible to give them up. But, it is unpleasant. I have learned that moderation is the key. If I want chocolate, I have one square of a Lindt truffle bar or one round Lindt truffle -- richer than many whole candy bars. But, only one. My mother always taught me that it wasn't the "what" as much as the "how much" that gets us into trouble. That can be applied to many things, not just food.

Honestly, I've lost 54 pounds since last March. I still eat anything I want, just in small moderation. 6 kisses and 10 or so chips ISN'T going to hurt you!! Trust me, I know. Just don't eat them every single day.

I still eat chocolate and ice cream, I've never been a chip person, but I do like popcorn - just get the 94% fat free kind now, and if you put some Mrs. Dash on them, it'll be great.

If you have to have chocolate, (and who doesn't???) have one square of dark chocolate. It's much richer than milk choc, and it's good for you!!! It does take a little getting used to, but once you do, you'll be hooked. As far as the chips - I love them, too, but when you become really honest with yourself (I hate when that happens) you know how bad they are for you - physically and mentally - ah the guilt after eating them - been there! Try "Food Should Taste Good" Sweet Potato Chips. You can get them at BJ's, Costo, etc. They're not Lays, but still pretty darn good!

I think you hit the nail on the head - "Just don't eat them every single day." That's the hardest thing to get over. I believe we all know how hard habits are to break, but once you do, how much better you feel about everything is pretty neat!

Sounds like a good excuse to me.LOL
I actually like apples but am allergic to them, so find it very easy to avoid them.

I really think that certain foods - like chocolate and refined carbs - are an addiction. For me, once I start, it sets off a craving. So much better to stay away altogether.

I was sent to a nutritionist by my doctor who was concerned that I was headed on the road to diabetes. She gave me two bits of advice; watch my portions and if it has more sugar than protein, don't eat it. Over 14 months I have lost 28 pounds without feeling deprived. Was it hard to clean my cupboard and give up my Great Grains cereals and other sugary stuff? Yes!!!! Fortunately, I have a daughter-in-law who can eat all this stuff without dire consequences; she was the happy recipient. Technically for health reasons I am on a low-salt, low-fat and low-sugar diet. However, I occasionally do eat potato chips, real ice cream and so-called forbidden foods; I refuse to eat sugar-free jams and jellies, opt for low-sugar instead. You can give up these foods, but when the urge strikes, I find moderaton and the occasional "fix" works for me. Good Luck! .

Not sure it is a physical addiction but I am sure it is mental. I gave up chocolate for lent 4 years ago. It was really hard but I did it. I was eating chocolate all day every day. Over time the craving becomes less and less but never goes away. Now I eat it occasionally. It actually tastes better now because it is a special treat. I find the more I eat the more I seem to need.

I just learned I had diabetes so I'm dealing with a big life change. Nothing like seeing what diabetes can do to you to get you to give up some things you think you can't live without. I have to stop some things cold turkey because I know a little dab won't do, like ice cream.

Ditto here. I am a junk food addict.

I found that if I did without sugar for two weeks, I didn't crave it at all. But then when I ate one small piece of cake, the cravings came back big-time! But that's just me....

I have read each and every post before replying.

Sugar is very addictive. Unless you have that addiction it is somewhat hard to understand. Many alcoholics and drug addicts turn to sugar after quitting drinking and drugging. Ask a chemical dependency counselor, they will confirm this.

Some people can have a small amount of sugar and move on. Others cannot. Any number of foods can be a trigger food for some. Most seem to be foods with a high sugar content. Eating these foods can start a binge with a compulsive eater. Sugar is really just another drug to many. That is why our country is so overweight. There are lots of compulsive eaters in the US.

It really isn't about willpower for some of us. We have all the willpower in the world to do other things.

There are may reasons people overeat. Lots stem from emotional issues. Overeaters Anonymous deals with lots of stuff like this.

Good luck to all who deal with this. Stopping sugar and totally abstaining will help immensely.

I am a quitter.
If I notice an eating pattern I end up throwing out whatever is left of that certain food and I don't buy it again. I have also recently learned "eat to live don't live to eat". I still cook meals based on what I want to taste. But I don't keep eating because of the taste. I save the left overs, and I know that I can ALWAYS make it again if I want that taste!
However I don't have an addictive personallity. I quit smoking for six months with everyone around me still smoking. I started smoking again after one bad night with the attitude of "ha, I'll show you". Over the weekend I have quit smoking again, my husband started taking wellbutrin last week and one of the "side effects" is quiting (i just typed quilting) smoking. Well 160 dollars a month in my pocket doesn't sound bad so I just quit!