Roz Griffiths Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 Ok, i think i need some kind of intervention. I've been trying to eat paleo/primal for a few months now, since around October last year maybe? I can't exactly remember. I've read Primal Blueprint, ISWF, Cordain & Wolf, i own Practical Paleo, 500 Paleo Recipes, & a gigantic ring binder stuffed with recipes i've printed off Paleo sites on the internet. I know the reasons why this way of eating is good. I could probably write a book. I could certainly bore for England on the subject if you'd like. But i still keep sabotaging with chocolate binges. Bleurgh. Even though it makes me feel rubbish. I ate a load this afternoon & my ears are killing me (yeah, weird huh? If i eat too much sugar, even dried fruit, i get a big build-up of pressure behind my ears - think air travel or underwater) I completed a Whole30 this past January & i felt loads better, but i've still fallen off the chocolate wagon. I knew in myself that i should have extended to a Whole45 or maybe a Whole60, but to be honest, by that stage it would have been like telling a half-marathoner at mile 12 that they were actually running a marathon. I'm thinking to start again, but i feel like a bit of a burden and/or loony unless i'm making all my own food. ANY ideas?! Like i say, i know all the theory & i had all the daily emails & everything, but right now i feel i probably need actual locking up or something! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJB Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 Are you reaching for the chocolate because it's readily available in the house? If so, can you just get rid of it? Throw it away, give it away, run over it with your car?? I know I wouldn't have been successful on my W30 if I had chocolate or other sweets lurking in the pantry. Chocolate is clearly your food-without-brakes, and you just have to completely stop eating it for awhile until you feel like you can control yourself. Or maybe you'll never be able to, as sad as that might sound...I know I can never have a jar of peanut or almond butter in the house again. Why torture yourself with the temptation, just so you can feel guilty when you give in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyhoward Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 I hear ya peeps! Chocolate is definitely one of those items that I can't keep in the house, but I still find myself buying it more often than I should for a "treat". Why I even call it a treat when it's doing damage to my body I just can't explain. Yes, I can - cuz it's DELICIOUS! It's starting to not be worth it anymore though as the magic is wearing off and I want it back. I would second what JJB says and don't keep it in the house anymore. If you want to be free from the binges once and for all, I'd stay on the Whole30 until the urge is gone. It may take a while - for me I think it will - but freedom is worth it, chocolate is not. It's a momentary pleasure that steals from a lifetime of health and wellbeing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roz Griffiths Posted February 12, 2013 Author Share Posted February 12, 2013 My partner & kids have their own chocolate supplies, but i never eat those. I've managed to separate it out in my head as "not my food" & i don't go near it. Today though i deliberately went & bought some so i could eat it. It's like someone else doing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roz Griffiths Posted February 12, 2013 Author Share Posted February 12, 2013 It's a momentary pleasure that steals from a lifetime of health and wellbeing. Ooh, i like that one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyhoward Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 My partner & kids have their own chocolate supplies, but i never eat those. I've managed to separate it out in my head as "not my food" & i don't go near it. Today though i deliberately went & bought some so i could eat it. It's like someone else doing it. I know! I also can't tell you how many times I've eaten a candy bar only to look down and see that it's gone and I can't really remember eating it or what it tastes like. That's how I know how mindless I'm being and that it's just me giving in to my spoiled-brat brain when it complains that it wants sugar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moluv Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 Are you bingeing on milk chocolate or really dark chocolate? I think really dark is easy to just have a little and let it melt in your mouth but the milk chocolate just feels too good too stop. I have roasted cacao nibs from a fair trade supplier that I enjoy in moderation as well as brewing chocolate to make a bitter drink with. Chocolate itself isn't really addicting in and of itself it's the processing of it which is designed to make you overindulge and overspend- rage against the machine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaseyD Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 That sounds like an allergic reaction to something. I had the ear thing happen to me for years until a test revealed I was allergic to dairy. So, something in those foods is causing a reaction in you, which means you really need to get them out of your diet. Maybe it would help to have a doctor run allergy tests and fructose malabsorption (since you mention fruit) tests on you to see what's going on. If you get a hit on something, that might motivate you further to get those things out of your diet. I'd have to disagree with the above comment that chocolate in itself isn't addictive. There are actually a couple of compounds in chocolate that can be addictive in the brain. It's been a long time since I've read up on this, so I'd have to look it up to tell you what. Have you ever felt euphoric after eating chocolate - particularly after eating dark chocolate? That's a compound in the chocolate (not the sugar) doing it to you. To some of us, it is pretty dangerous territory to even indulge in extra dark chocolate that is considered healthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roz Griffiths Posted February 12, 2013 Author Share Posted February 12, 2013 Are you bingeing on milk chocolate or really dark chocolate? I think really dark is easy to just have a little and let it melt in your mouth but the milk chocolate just feels too good too stop. I have roasted cacao nibs from a fair trade supplier that I enjoy in moderation as well as brewing chocolate to make a bitter drink with. Chocolate itself isn't really addicting in and of itself it's the processing of it which is designed to make you overindulge and overspend- rage against the machine! My *worst* binges are with milk chocolate, but on occasions when i've made a point of only-eating-80%-chocolate, I've discovered I'm quite capable of over eating that as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roz Griffiths Posted February 12, 2013 Author Share Posted February 12, 2013 That sounds like an allergic reaction to something. I had the ear thing happen to me for years until a test revealed I was allergic to dairy. So, something in those foods is causing a reaction in you, which means you really need to get them out of your diet. Maybe it would help to have a doctor run allergy tests and fructose malabsorption (since you mention fruit) tests on you to see what's going on. If you get a hit on something, that might motivate you further to get those things out of your diet. I'd have to disagree with the above comment that chocolate in itself isn't addictive. There are actually a couple of compounds in chocolate that can be addictive in the brain. It's been a long time since I've read up on this, so I'd have to look it up to tell you what. Have you ever felt euphoric after eating chocolate - particularly after eating dark chocolate? That's a compound in the chocolate (not the sugar) doing it to you. To some of us, it is pretty dangerous territory to even indulge in extra dark chocolate that is considered healthy. I totally agree with the allergy thing. I suspect it's easier in the States though than here in the UK to get blood tests done "just to see". Downside to a free health service i guess! I have felt quite spaced out if I've over indulged on the dark chocolate. Not in a good way. Can i blame my mum? I was a really fussy eater as a kid & she'd get me to eat things by mixing them with chocolate :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moluv Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 Yeah, it makes sense that chocolate has addictive compounds especially since it contains caffeine, but without the added processing and sugar I think the natural bitterness and rough mouthfeel of cacao serves as sufficient brakes to keep one from overindulging. Similarly, black coffee is addictive but caramel machiatos are ADDICTIVE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsStick Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 I usually get a sore throat or ear pain if I have sugar. It's a mucus production thing with dairy, but with sugar I think it's a straight feeding-the-bacteria that just happen to be living in the area thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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