Chocolate problem, self soothing

[picklemewalnuts]

I've lost a lot of weight on a sensible diet.
But...

When the going gets tough I can't control my craving for carbs- preferably bread and butter, chocolate, crisps.

Do you have any suggestions for substitute dopamine/serotonin hits, or whatever it is I get from chocolate?

It's really serious. I can't afford to put weight back on.
I have a chronic health condition so please don't suggest running!

I do lots of healthy mindful things.

What else can I do to break that cycle/association?

No idea but I’d love to know too!

I have a diary which i write down all the emotions in when I want to binge eat. Sometimes just getting them out helps.

Then I do. The yoga with adriene "meditation you can do anywhere".

Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't! Binge eating is hard and not talked about enough imo.

Have you tried dark chocolate?

I eat Aldi 85% and at most I can manage two bars as it's very rich. If I was to eat milk chocolate I could eat lots and lots.

Practical CBT tools to deal with feelings and break unhelpful habit.
Healthy ways to vent and deal with emotional stress and pain like exercise and journaling
Better food substitutes such as low carb sugar free bars (Grenade Carb Killa is amazing), sugar free sweets and hard candy.

I subscribed to a craft chocolate subscription. So we have much less of it in the house, what we have is really fancy and it’s much healthier that what we would buy in the shops.

It means I’ve gone from binge eating a whole block at once several times a week to really savouring one or two squares.

Would recommend 😂

Fruit tea sometimes hits a couple of the same spots for me.

I didn't buy my trigger food in the house. The bread I chose is a healthy type with so much fibre it's not that exciting to eat. I don't know about how other are affected but I had binge trigger food, maybe when you binge anything will do, for me I had specific weaknesses that would get me out of bed in the middle of the night and that's white fluffy bread and I haven't bought in like three years now. I buy healthy boring breads.

I use nurtricheck and eat in a calorie deficit and have all those things each day. 😊
Helps me stick to my plan and I really look forward to them.

Lots of responses, thank you. I'll read and think and read and think a bit more.

It is bingeing, you're right PPs!

Wildthings, I'm glad that works for you but it's a world away from what I'm experiencing.

What kind of a thing is grenade carb kills? Is it a nut dense chocolaty bar?

The thing is, none of the things that are supposed to be 'so rich you can't eat much' or a worthy substitute for the thing you can't have seem to actually satisfy.

I have a fridge full of mullerlights I can eat if I want something sweet. They stave it off but not reliably.

If I eat something rich instead- well I just don't get full! So I still eat much too much of the richer food.

I have my stratgies for healthier eating and they work most of the time. But the damage I can do in a miserable hour undoes a week's worth of healthy eating.

It's been a tough week. I've tried to stay on track but have eaten two large bars of chocolate. Several slices of bread and butter. All the skinny crunch substitute bars.

It's like as I can hold off for so long, eating substitutes and healthy alternatives. Then I get a bit extra tired/stressed and bam. A months fricken treats in one go.

I could do with an actual direct comfort hit. Like, having a dummy, or smoking.

The sensible, grown up approach is yoga and a healthy diet so you don't get to that point in the first place. I do all that, but in the heat of the moment it's no help.

Feeling really glum today.

I'm sorry.
I hope you find a helpful way forward💐

OP, have you considered hypnosis? I have struggled with sugar addiction all my life and about 20 years ago things were really bad - I couldn't even embark on a diet as I could not stop with bread and chocolate. I am not woo or even particularly alternative, but but out of desperation, I had one session of hypnosis (although she said she'd do more for free if the first didn't work) and 45 mins later that was it. I didn't touch either for nearly two years.

In the end I was broken by a pack of cadbury mini eggs at Easter, but it was never as bad again. Feel free to PM me if you like.

I agree with the dark chocolate sub. You really can't eat too much of it.

I don't mean to be rude, but if cheap chocolate is your trigger why are there two large bars of it in the house? I order a big bag of giant buttons every time I do the online shop, but only ever one bag and when it's gone, it's gone.

One I bought at the supermarket and ate on the way home. Plain chocolate, mint fondant. The other was an unexpected gift which again I ate on the way home. That was a posh brand, with toasted hazelnuts in. That's two bars in two days, plus bread and butter. The damage happens so fast.

I'm under significant stress, which is why I've crumpled and my usual strategies aren't doing it for me.

But stress is part of life.

I had a hypnotic gastric band. It didn't really take. I probably could use self hypnosis techniques again. I managed to kick an ice cream habit that way. I'll have to try again for chocolate.

But the real hole is the hit from bread/chocolate. That hit of calm, peace, and soothing that you get. I was tearful when I started on the bread, but a few mouthfuls really calmed me down.

I didn't get any nurturing as a child. I am great at rationalising and managing emotions, but not at experiencing them. Everyone thinks I'm wise, and so thoughtful and self aware. I'm a great listener, compassionate and helpful. I'm told I'm really soothing to be around.

I'm sure that's at the root of it. But it doesn't really help me now.

The only thing that broke my sugar habit was going keto for a while, absolutely cold turkey. I just don't want it anymore. It wasn't easy.

Not keto anymore but never have chocolate / sweets / coke any more.

I'm still a bit overweight (wine) but the sugar switch has been turned off.

Abel & cole do a nice dried mango dipped half in dark chocolate. I also use milky olong tea which smells and tastes milky but is not. Its a dutch thing.

I was keto for a while, Goose. I broke at a family wedding cream tea, and couldn't get back on the wagon.

I feel agitated, like a I need a drink or something. I have no problem with alcohol. Can smoke once every year or so, at parties. Food though...

I'd look at therapy to help you learn how to experience your emotions rather than using bingeing to avoid them. I don't think this is a diet issue.

I also like the Stop Binge Eating podcast by Kirsten Sarfde.

Have a look at JJ Virgin. Her resources are aimed at resetting insulin sensitivity and knocking sugar cravings on the head. The science behind it is fascinating.

oooooh is it the Aldi mint fondant bar? Yup, that's going to be tricky. I just have to limit the damage by only buying one and splitting it with my husband.

Re the nurturing, maybe a weighted blanket and an Options hot chocolate, with a bit of extra milk or a little cream?

Sorry I don't really suffer from this so I don't know ow if this would work but how about a banana with a little bit of chocolate spread. Would that satisfy cravings? They're quite "solid" so might work? Or something protein heavy like a choc protein bar? Most people can't really eat much protein...

I was going to say - what happens if you sit with those agitated and un-soothed feelings instead of trying to make them go away?

What is your diet like when you're on plan? Imo you need to build in the forbidden food occasionally so you don't feel like you've fallen off the wagon when you have it due to emotional eating. Perhaps look at trying to buy the small bar occasionally, or have a bath (so it's harder to get to the kitchen).

Also, try to be mindful when you do eat the food to sate the feelings. And before you run and grab the food, sit with the discomfort for a while. Acknowledge how you're feeling and what you're craving. And try to have something else, a hot choc with marshmallows is decadent but not a full cadburys bar decadent.

There's nothing I can't eat a lot of, @Swiftbushome ! But thanks for trying.

I'm going to have a milky frothy drink, as suggested by Chiasmi.

You are all right. I clearly haven't finished the emotional work I thought I'd done.

I'm disappointed, I won't lie, both in my own falling back into bad habits and in you lot for not finding me some equivalent to a nicotine patch!

I need, need, need...

I'm off for a hot shower, hot chocolate and a read/nap.

I also need to meal plan. I do better when the next few meals are all lined up. Less needy then.

Thanks all. And I'll keep reading in case someone remembers some holy grail comfort item!