Something that always strikes me when I’m Off The Sugar is how much less interested in eating I am. Which is disorientating, because food is my comfort.
It does go to show that I’m fat not because I don’t know how to eat properly, but because I don’t know how to comfort myself properly.
And that’s probably hard to empathise with if you’re not wired the same way.
But put it this way; I put diesel in the car the other day, and didn’t buy snacks. That’s unheard of for me. Petrol station = snacks. But not allowing myself chocolate or cakes limits the snacks to heavier choices, and I almost never snack because I’m actually hungry.
So I’m about to pop into Home Bargains for cat food, and will probably not buy any food, because the food I can have is of little interest to me.
Being allowed sugar makes my ADHD brain rely on it for a tiny dopamine hit, which is great for my brain, but shit for my body. My brain gets that little bit of what it wants, while the rest of me gets bigger and bigger.
But what’s in my head never shuts the fuck up, so my body can’t get a word in edgeways.
By weaning off the sugar, my body gets to have a say in what I want to eat, and that’s almost never sweet foods.
This is why it’s frustrating to fat people when thin people say “just don’t eat so much and get some exercise”.
If it were that easy, there would be no fat people.
I’m confident that a good 90% of weight issues are actually mental health issues, and just losing weight doesn’t fix that. I’ve lost weight a few times, and have always put it right back on again. I was thinner, but my brain was still a twat.
And so, because sugary foods are absolutely fucking EVERYWHERE, every time I walk into a shop, I have to try to silence the part of my brain that wants ALL OF THEM.
Every. Time.
And that’s exhausting. So you stop doing it because it’s easier to just buy some chocolate than fight your impulses.
You can’t explain that to people who have never experienced it.
I suppose it’s one of those things you can work on, but honestly, NO ONE has ever tried to teach me how.
I’ve been to Slimming World, several gyms, an actual NHS nutritionist for counselling, and none of those people have taught me how to reshape my thought processes.
They’ve taught me the biological mechanics of calories and fat, but I knew all that going in. I KNOW HOW TO EAT.
I don’t know how NOT to eat.
And how do you explain that?
@SANEAlex Fair play to you if that's working for you. I mean that with my whole heart.
But my brain is a noisy prick when it gets the idea that it wants to eat, and the way my ADHD works means that willpower is something other people have.
@DJDarren oh god, I feel this.
I lost about six an a half stones with Slimming World, then we moved and I ended up in a group and with a leader that I really didn't click with. Put about four of it back on. Thankfully, as it went on, I kept walking places and got slightly fitter in the process, so even though I'm back in 3–4XL T-shirts, I'm way more mobile than I was, so I'm calling it a win.
I don't have an ADHD diagnosis, but I'm sure I have executive dysfunction that fucks with my eating.
@crinolinerobot That’s a good point actually. I had a week off a few backs, and didn’t overeat any more than I would normally around my birthday. During the week, I ate three square meals and a few snacks.
When I’m bored at work, all I can think of is the chocolate they sell in the canteen next to my office. Not the sausage rolls or bacon sandwiches, because I’m not hungry for food. The sweets, because I’m hungry for dopamine.
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