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?

I can very much relate. I've lost 3 stone over the last year and regained 9lbs. I'd like to loose another 4 stone. I too have a sweet tooth.

I have learnt that for me, I managed to loose the most weight when I cut out sugar completely. I realised it was the sugar spikes giving me cravings. Now I've changed my diet and reintroduced sugar it's back! Hence gaining weight again.

I make these www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/no-bake-healthy-energy-ball-recipe-youtube--20266267056681247/ they do have agave in and a few dark chocolate chips per ball, but they also have chia seeds, flaxseed, oats and peanut butter (I use the type with only nuts and no oil). I had these while I was sugar free (and still now) and oddly didn't find they made me crave sugar but they were a delicious treat, and they are delicious. I'd have 2 or 3 a few times a week. My children love them too. They're so filling!

Planning your snacks is my most helpful suggestion. There are lots of healthy snack videos on YouTube of things that feel like treats. Make and freeze, keep in the fridge or box up, in the same way that one would batch cook. I find that this stops me from reaching for things that I shouldn't be having. I'm very much an "instant" person and don't manage to find time to make snacks on the go so will just reach for a biscuit if something isn't accessible. I make things like nutty granola bars or have walnuts if I want a sweet treat but I also try to have savoury snacks like hummus and veg sticks or olives. If I have things that i really love but that will fill me up, I feel like I'm having a treat and I'm not reaching for another snack. I also make smoothies and freeze into lolly moulds. I make a frozen banana and coffee drink too which is lovely - freeze a banana and then make some coffee and cool and blend up together. It's like having a frappe. I do try not to have more than 2 snacks a day though.

Make a list and stick it inside a kitchen cupboard to help keep you on track.

Have you had a look at some of the body coach healthy treats? (recipes online)

Check your macros too, I snack less if I've eaten meals that are well balanced and filling (body coach again)

Nowadays I get a sweet hit from protein bars, eg carb killa and also protein wafers from MyProtein.com

Good luck, cravings are the worst!

The three things I thought of have already been suggested.
Practicing urge surfing.
Booking a regular massage.
Trying CBD drinks ( I don't know how easy they are to get in the UK?)

But, @ItsDinah , I am quite sure we all know that a salad is better than a multipack of Flakes. But no thank you !!

Hmmm, shall I go and slice up cucumber, tomato and lettuce… or experience that ecstatic moment when the chocolate melts in the mouth…

I dislike “posh” chocolate as much as very cheap Kinnerton-type stuff. Good-for-you dark chocolate often has a sort of gritty consistency.

My only avoidance solutions are drinking water, the summer (as per pp) and not being in the house…

Yes. It's all true. Thank you.

I'll look into surfing the urge.
I'll reread Why we eat too much.
I may do a butter fast... but not until I've batch cooked meals and stocked up on allowed treats!

I meet the criteria for having a binge eating disorder. I thought I had it under control but it has come back to bite me on the bum.

I'm in bed with an electric blanket and a good book. The dinner is in the instant pot. The dog is curled up next to me. He's lovely, but needy, like everyone else in my life . Hey ho.

Thank you.

Gritty dark chocolate?!

I know an apple won't cut it but you wouldn't believe how nice is an apple cut into slices with a good teaspoon of peanut butter.

I also make these and freeze them:

www.waitrose.com/ecom/recipe/choc-nut-energy-bars

I'm a chocoholic especially when stressed. I get some montezuma's 100% black orange or mint chocolate and melt it with Lidl's sugar free muslei and make little chocolate rice crispie cakes. It's the only thing that stops me eating my own weight in Cadbury's layers of joy.

I’ve had counselling with an eating disorder specialist for exactly this. What helped was just sitting with that craving feeling and trying to understand where the craving was coming from, what feelings I was trying to suppress through eating. I wasn’t telling myself I couldn’t have it but just making myself sit with the craving for 10 mins before I ate. It was really uncomfortable but became easier and I can now ride out 8/10 craving episodes. It also helped knowing that even though I felt out of control, I wasn’t. Yes, it’s a craving but it doesn’t need to be met, sit with it, acknowledge it and move past it. It’s really bloody hard OP but you can do this.

Totally feel you OP. And I'm sorry but some of the other posters who are saying just eat a salad or just don't buy the food clearly don't understand what it's like. Like telling a heroin addict to just go for a walk to get a natural high instead. Nice thought but it's not going to work, is it?

I firmly believe binge eating is a mental health issue and a form of self harm. But it's not taken seriously, we're just greedy and lack willpower.

Hey OP, haven’t RTFT but have read all your updates.

I think it’s more difficult to control sweet tooth once you’ve tasted chocolate. Would it work for you if you ate chocolate only once a week without restricting amounts? “Cheat day” as they call it.
I highly recommend intermittent fasting to control mindless snacking. If not 16:8 then 14:10.

What also helps me is as soon as I finish dinner and a few squares of dark chocolate I immediately do my teeth for the night - after the faff of flossing, interdental brushes and electric toothbrush my teeth feel so clean and nice I don’t want to ruin it by eating/drinking anything other than water.

Hey OP, I feel exactly the same and your descriptions of having tried to find a solution time and time again but still feeling stuck resonate so much!

One unexpected thing I’ve found help when I really feel I need something soothing is actually a boiled sweet. They take ages to eat per calorie so you get a lot of the sensation of eating/keeps mouth occupied. Also, If you eat too many your mouth actually starts to hurt! I can eat a bar of chocolate in 30 seconds and I’m 500 calories down and feel I’ve totally messed up. I’m working on the emotional side but find 20-50 calories of hard sweets a useful tool. I have some bonfire toffee ones that are just great - I have considered my dentist probably doesn’t approve but dentists don’t approve of much!

Options hot chocolate really helps for me!

I'm a chocoholic! Serious one.
I got to 20 stone once.
Then I lost 9 stone in 9 months and have kept it off for 4 years because I replaced my fatty bars with protein bars. There's so many brands out there now that are yummy. They really satisfy my sweet tooth!

If will power doesn't work then remedial hypnosis will, by telling the part of the subconscious which is behaving like a greedy child to stop it!

I developed a bad biscuit habit last summer when a sciatica attack left me in a lot of pain and boredom so the only pleasure was found in the biscuit tin. I was a facilitator on a hypnosis training day so took part in a live demo and asked the trainer to stop me wanting to eat biscuits. Didn't even think about having one for 2 months and even now it's a small treat rather than a craving.

I don't know how your finances are and how you feel about the state of the planet/mountains of stuff argument...

Can I suggest consumerism? I have a list of things I want/need/mostly want and I buy one to cheer myself sometimes. Opiates and red wine also provide great chocolate replacement but I probably wouldn't recommend them.

Sorry op, you sound lovely. Chin up lass, rage rage.

Diet Coke works for me if I’m stressed. In itself it might not be great, but it’s zero calories so it’s better than gorging on chocolate/crisps/bread, etc.

@picklemewalnuts

Having overeaten for much of my adult life, I have had a lot of help from Gillian Riley's approach, based on her many years helping people give up smoking. It really made a difference to my own approach.

Nowadays, I genuinely notice myself pausing to consider how I'm going to feel after I've eaten something, rather than just mindlessly scoffing until I am sick.

Trying to avoid the addiction to sugar, or rather the addictive desire to eat just makes that desire stronger. Letting yourself feel the desire and not always giving in to it, makes you stronger.

Not easy, but very, very simple

https://eatingless.comm*

I totally get this. Craving, wanting chocolate. Alternatives ( apple and peanut butter, yoghurt and frozen raspberries) help sometimes, but sometimes I then think that I have earned the chocolate now! So I have both.

It's definitely an emotional craving for me, as a PP said. Wanting the nurture that I didn't have as a child.

This sometimes soothes me:

Also - acupressure mat.

I used to have this book, but never got round to reading it. Maybe something in there?

www.wob.com/en-gb/books/susan-albers-psy-d/50-ways-to-soothe-yourself-without-food/9781572246768#GOR003486857

Aw I really want to send you love and a great big hug.
I have binge eating disorder and it sucks. You've done really well to lose the weight and to be looking for alternatives.
I think hot chocolate drink sounds good. Would sucking your thumb help at all? Or googling resources for nurturing your inner child?

In a similar situation OP and I'm reading the replies eagerly!

It's not practical to do this always (hence why I'm eagerly reading replies), but it does work: have a nice warm shower, then just before you get out turn it cold. Ideally be fully under it, although that can take some building up. I think it works because the warm water is soothing and the cold water (if you stay under it after the initial shock) gives you a high.

Definitely not always practical though.

I've found too that online food shopping helps me not be in the supermarket at the "wrong" time and lets me think properly about what I want to buy. It's still tricky as the kids have things I shouldn't be adding to what I eat, but it's definitely better than visiting the supermarket any time after 2pm for me!

Totally agree. It's an emotional craving.

I looked into a course with an American woman who specialises in a tapping method ro stop binge eating (didn't end up doing it - over 10 grand!!) but she did this thing in a group chat where she got us to bite the thing we crave most (crisps, for me) and then she took us through a tapping routine and then suddenly stopped and said 'where are you?' - it was insane, honestly. I was in a pushchair in my home town, eating crisps while being pushed around by my Nan. I don't want crisps, I want the safety and happiness I felt being with her. It was so emotional. Everyone in the group was crying.

Such an eye opener.

If anyone's got an eating problem and a shit ton of cash to burn, I highly recommend it 😂

have you tried chocolate candles?

You can light them in small doses and enjoy a bit of a chocolate kick.

Or burn them long enough to put you off the whole idea of chocolate altogether!

Luckily I don't like chocolate

I found that partially defrosted mango tastes like ice cream! But this doesn't always stop me eating chocolate tbf. But it does some days.