How I lost 100 pounds by feeding cravings

Greetings on this lovely fall afternoon! A few days ago, I blogged about how I lost 100 pounds by feeding cravings. Yes, you read that correctly. If you follow this weight loss blog, you know that I like to write quirky, aphoristic titles. But it's not just to grab eyes. Fighting obesity is about breaking stereotypes and rethinking conventional wisdom to see if it really is wise. 

So, how I lost 100 pounds giving in to cravings: that just doesn't make sense, does it? That's how obesity started, was by indulging in said cravings, right? Yes and no. Cravings as those seeking gastric bypass on "My 600-lb Life" refer to, yes. Eating insane amounts of sugar, salty snacks, fried, processed and fast foods is a one way ticket to morbidly overweight. 

However, the cravings I'm referring to aren't for addictive high calorie, low nutritional value foods. Gastric bypass patients on "My 600-lb Life" confuse junk cravings with what their bodies really want: healthy food. I lost 100 pounds by yielding to those deep longings and also by really listening to what my body is requesting. 

The culprits that confuse us are sugar, salt and empty carbs.  All of these are highly addictive. So like heroin, they make us think we want and need them. Their voices scream pretty loudly. So loud that folks such as those on "My 600-lb Life" oblige them to the point of obesity. Only by listening past their noise can we hear the still small voice of our inner wisdom--call it the Holy Spirit, common sense or Al-Anon's higher power. 

Al-Anon has a lot to teach about weight loss. Intermittent fasting or calorie restricting, such as with the 1200 calorie diet I follow, are tools to achieve sobriety from food addiction. But it's about more than just calorie restricting. It's about what to eat. Listening to the body's plea for vegetables in many colors, whole grain fiber, protein and good carbs will lose weight and maintain a healthy weight. 

But having said all that, weight loss isn't just boring calorie restricting and salads. Cliffhanger alert: part of how I lost 100 pounds was by eating sugar and junk food. More later so stay tuned! 

How I lost 100 pounds and keep it off: do you want the good or bad news first?

 Hiya, friends! As you know, if you follow this blog that I lost 100 pounds 8 years ago (has it been that long??) When I first began to lose weight, I was warned that getting it off was the easy part but that keeping it off was harder. A few people even scoffed that I'd gain it back. Well, thank you, Queen Obvious and Miss Taken. First, it's clearly easier to begin than maintain a new habit and second, I did maintain my weight loss. And here's how: do you want the good or bad  news first? 

Okay, so I'll go with bad news. It's difficult to keep 100 pounds off. I gained some back. But the good news is it's not as hard as I thought. And indulging occasionally didn't plunge me back into obesity. I did gain some weight back after shoulder surgery and then lost some when I was sick with Covid 19. And then I lost some again and gained a bit, you get the picture. But more good news, I know what to do when I need to lose weight. Calorie restricting with a 1200 calorie diet has been the integral part of how I lost 100 pounds and kept it off. 

There were some Miss Nomers who said that calorie restricting doesn't lose weight. Apparently, it didn't work for them. However, the 1200 calorie diet worked for me. Dr. Now of "My 600-lb Life" uses it. So calorie restricting didn't work for you, or you didn't work at it? Because it's a mathematical and physical fact that less in means less on. 

Do I always follow it? Truthfully, no. But I do use portion control almost without thinking. It's become second nature to eat less. And eating less has had this cool effect of controlling hunger. I don't need as much to fill me up. In obesity, I could eat two and sometimes three plates of food. Now one is plenty. Calorie restricting helped me lose weight and redefine eating. Now I eat when I'm hungry. If I'm not, I don't. Gone is the mindless snacking urge. Food isn't a friend or a solace. It's fuel. But I do still give in to cravings and I'll discuss in another post how that's a good thing for weight loss and overall health. 

Food cravings lead to obesity but subside with weight loss

The reality TV show "My 600-lb Life" gives a good perspective into issues surrounding obesity. Two weight loss hindrances common to every participant are food addiction and food cravings. The morbidly obese gastric bypass patients talk about food as if it was heroin and hunger is withdrawal. One gal said she thinks about eating all day long. Another said there's a constant voice in her head yelling "I WANT CHOCOLATE!

Though I'm not as food addicted as the folks on "My 600-lb Life" I do understand cravings. This blog is devoted to sharing how I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass or other bariatric surgery. So clearly I've been overweight and struggled with overeating. And I've got a theory about cravings and obesity: the more overweight you are, the worse cravings get, but they subside as you lose weight. Said differently, it gets easier if you work your program (Al-Anon nod). 

Of course the reverse is true too: stronger cravings lead to greater obesity and mastering them is how you lose weight. Sadly, most of the gastric bypass patients on "My 600-lb Life" are, at the risk of sounding crass, incredibly immature, self-centered, weak-willed and lazy. But as they address these bad habits and  follow Dr. Now's 1200 calorie bariatric surgery diet, they find incredible weight loss. 

I was able to lose weight when I learned to control cravings instead of letting them control me. Getting on 1200 calorie diet helped too! I'll write more about how I lost 100 pounds and ways to curb hunger tomorrow. Here's to healthy weight loss one day at a time!

Identify cravings and comfort food for weight loss

Yesterday we talked about how eating releases endorphins (natural opioids). We also learned, based a Journal of Neuroscience study, that while some foods (protein shakes) give more of these feel good hormones, the user experience is less. In other words, many people feel better after eating pizza despite a lower endorphin payout. This can lead to obesity. So identifying your "comfort foods" AKA cravings can really help with weight loss. Here's how. 

I know I covered yesterday how we could use this information in weight loss. But after a conversation with my husband about endorphins, I realized there are other ways to utilize feel good hormones in weight loss. I told him about the pizza vs. protein shake trials and he said that wouldn't apply to him because pizza wasn't a favorite food. Bacon and sausage are his trigger foods. 

For me it was spot on because I LOVE pizza, to the point of craving it and then overeating when I do have it. Part of how I lost 100 pounds, was to find my eating triggers. It was never about emotional eating for me. It was that I love certain foods too much. To heal my obesity, I had to avoid eating chips, chocolate and pasta because I had trouble eating just a little. 

By identifying our own eating patterns, comfort foods and cravings, we can discover what triggers our over-eating. If you're the type that just can't stop with two cookies, then no cookies might be the solution. Or try making low calorie alternatives
, like I did with pizza. Weight loss looks different for each individual. So get to know yourself to develop a weight loss plan. 

Weird facts about overeating, endorphins, opioids and weight loss

Why do we eat? Because it feel good. Ergo we overeat because it feels really good, right? Ergo obesity is caused by over enjoyment of food, right? Well, yes and no. The TLC show "My 600-lb Life" folks always demonstrate raging food addiction but not to all foods. They overeat too much of certain foods. So clearly, some foods release more feel good hormones that others. Here are some weird facts about food-released endorphins which, if applied correctly, can aid weight loss.

So we know that eating produces endorphins AKA naturally occurring opioids AKA feel good hormones. But some foods produce MORE endorphins (here's the weird part) while also producing LESS enjoyment?! I know, right??

A study in the Journal of Neuroscience gave two groups of test subjects different meals: pizza and nutritional shakes (I know which group I'd rather be in LOL). Anyway, PET scans showed that the ones who got shakes had higher levels of opioids BUT they reported less pleasure than those who had pizza. The conclusion was that feelings of pleasure from food are independent from actual endorphin release. (Ya think??)

I'm no brain surgeon, but I coulda told them that. Pizza tastes better than diet shakes. It may have to do with the addictive properties in cheese and the MSG in sausage and pepperoni. This is probably why pizza is a comfort food. These are common things in junk food and why they cause such cravings. The endorphin rush is bigger but taste is what drives overeating. It's like Charlie the Tuna--Starkist doesn't want tunas with good taste but tunas that taste good!

Okay so now we know why we overeat. Great. But how do we stop it? We don't. I for one, like food and plan to continue eating the food I like. BUT, I can use the knowledge to strategize weight loss. For example, I can make foods I love--like pizza--using weight loss food swaps. Last night, I made a super low calorie pizza with reduced calorie thin crust, lowfat mozzarella and half the sauce and pepperoni.  

I also can avoid or limit super feel good foods that spur cravings. For example, I'm really jonesing for more of that pizza. I'm literally obsessing on it. So until I've lost weight, I may forego pizza. I'll just look for foods that give a similar if not quite so powerful zing. I can also use mind over platter and remember that I'm still getting the head rush whatever I eat. 

It's really important that we start curbing these food addictions because more people are getting fatter, finds the CDC. I always use "My 600-lb Life" because it provides a "laboratory" of dangerous habits that we can all learn from. It's time to get to the root of obesity and food addiction and get serious about weight loss. 

How to master hunger, cravings, food addiction for weight loss

Constant hunger: the struggle is real if you're trying to lose weight. But I do have a few "bytes" of good news from my 100 pound weight loss. It gets easier. When I was way overweight, my stomach was bigger and it required more food to fill it, or make it feel full, which is the real issue with hunger. When I am overweight, I don't "need" that much food. My stomach just thinks I do because it has expanded to accommodate the extra. 

Hunger is a tricky feeling and can really derail weigh loss if we let it. So are cravings. They are baffling, misleading and false. Listen to the folks with morbid obesity on shows like "My 600-lb Life." They talk about hunger and cravings as if they are crippling and debilitating. They talk as if hunger MUST be satisfied immediately or they will die. Well, that's logical because a food addiction is like any other drug addiction, especially if you're addicted to sugar. You feel like you are in its grip, that food is the master and you are the slave. Hunger pangs can actually hurt! 

But as with other drugs, that control is illusory. And hunger "pain" is doable. Yes Al-Anon says in the first step that we must recognize that we are powerless over people, places and things. But we are not powerless over ourselves. We CAN change. We can make changes that give us power over the things we've been slave to. With a food addiction, we can find ways to fill up that burn weight rather than adding it. We can control how much we eat, and so shrink our stomachs to normal sizes. We can eat to satisfy hunger and feel relatively full, rather overfilling our stomachs. After a while of doing this, the hunger pangs will lessen to a manageable level. 

I lost 100 pounds and I can promise that if you are willing to let yourself feel a little hungry and just eat to live, rather than living to eat, you WILL shed obesity. Weight loss, even huge 100 pound weight loss, is very attainable! God's peace to you all, Love, mar