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Yesterday I shared my theory about why we are–or why we feel like we are–addicted to some foods.

I just finished reading Skinny Bitch, which I will add to my Amazon sidebar. It preaches a vegan lifestyle, and paints some vivid pictures about not only what animal products to do our bodies, but the terrible things people do to turn those animals into products.

As convincing as the book is–and I have a vegan roommate, so I hear this stuff all the time, too–I went right out and ate eggs and beef the weekend I was reading it (while a guest in someone else’s home for the weekend) without much of a second thought.

During that same weekend, though, I also found myself eating uncontrollably. Was it because I was in the middle of a 10-day trip out of town? Was I nervous? Was I afraid I was going to starve? I didn’t feel anxious. I just couldn’t stop thinking about food. I felt like an addict. What’s up with that?

So for a week I am going to try to get unaddicted to food and see where I’m at. I’m following the Skinny Bitch diet for the most part, which is within the limits of the Weight Watchers Core Plan, so I feel confident that I will lose weight (which I need to do).

My plan this week:

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Beans
• Nuts and Seeds (but not peanuts)
• Rice (especially brown)
• Oats
• My whole grain puffed cereal
• …All in any quantities I want.

Why rice and oats, but not other grains? Except for my puffed cereal (which tastes like styrofoam but I love it anyway), I feel addicted to corn and anything made with wheat flour. And potatoes? I discovered that I could live without potatoes while I was losing weight, so with the occasional exception, “potatoes are dead to me.”

So at the end of the day Thursday I will let you know how I’m doing on my Food Addiction Detox Diet.

A side note:
If my theory is on the right track, why am I not addicted to broccoli? Why doesn’t my brain say, “Mmm, vitamins and minerals! Let’s get some more of that!”? Maybe these addictions are blocking out the good cravings. This is another part of my theory. More about that later.

I hear people talk about addictions to food–sometimes as a serious illness, like something akin to an allergy, and other times as something psychological. What ever food allergies I may have, they seem to be somewhere in between–just physical enough to be persistent, but psychological enough to feel like demons. If I can get “off” of a food, such as baked goods, it only takes one “fix” and I am back on again.

So, I believe ther4e is something to this food addiction thing, whether it is physical or psychological. It is something to be reckoned with. My own theory–completely unsubstantiated by science (but maybe I will find a study that backs me up) is that when a food feeds us well (as baked goods do–we can digest them easily and they give us energy!), or brains remember what that food tastes like and gives us cravings for more. Our brain says, “That was not only delicious, but it gave us lots of energy without a lot of effort! Let’s go find some more of that!”

However, the brain isn’t keeping track of calories eaten or extra pounds of fat already stored. If it were that smart on that subconscious level where cravings happen, it would turn off the craving for me. But it isn’t. Instead, I have to be that smart on the conscious level. That takes a lot of hard work.

Anyway, tomorrow I will blog about what I am trying this week to get unaddicted to the foods that taunt my subconscious.

I’ve been on the road for most of the last 2 weeks on a business trip. In this information age, why couldn’t I log on and blog? No reason–I just didn’t.

I did gain some weight, I think, while I was away, although generally I was pretty good until the last two days. Those business dinners, when the whole group wants to have Mexican, are too hard to pass up? What can I do, say, “No, I’ll stay in my hotel room. You guys go ahead.” Or, “No thanks, no margarita for me.” It sounds logical, but it never works.

I shouldn’t say “never.” It worked while I was losing. But it rarely works now. Where is my fortitude?

So I am working now to get on the right track again. More about that in my next post.