Day 3

Yesterday was a good day. I was pleased that I was able to maintain my diet while at work. I brought my lunch, dinner (I work 12 hour shifts) and healthy snacks. I ate only what I brought despite all the yummy candy that was laying around. I started making myself a fruit smoothy in the mornings and I really like them!
I was telling my coworkers yesterday that what I am doing is not a diet. It. is. a. lifestyle. change. Right now I'm not eating out, or eating anything extra that's not on my diet because I know it'll trigger my impulse to eat and I may just fall off the wagon.
I purchased a book on tape about food addiction. Listening to the book, they compared food addiction to food compulsion. I definitely think I could actually have food compulsion. The beginning of the book was barely able to hold my attention. "I already know all this stuff!" I thought! The book went over the basics....very basics. But as the chapters continued to ramble on, a lot of good information came through. Did you know food can illicit the same type of dopamine release in the brain as an illicit drug can in drug addicts? Who knew!
The book states that a lot of people, though they may be unconscious of it, turn to food because they feel lonely and get this- eating a certain kind of food (i.e. McDonalds french fries for me)- can actually stimulate the same areas of the brain that is stimulated when they feel like someone loves them!
When these pathways in the brain get use to that feeling after eating a trigger food, the brain correlates food with pleasure. Therefore, when you are sad, depressed, stressed- the brain thinks you need food to feel better - and the brain can actually try to convince you that you are hungry! The book states there are ways to train yourself to be able to tell whether you have actual hunger or compulsive eating. I may post those tomorrow, I'm still listening to that portion of the book.
The best sentence in the book states: Food DOES NOT love you back! Interesting....


The book I referenced is Food Addiction: Conquering Your Addiction Successfully; How To Get Out Of The Clutches Of Food Addiction For Good by Petra Ortiz