A curious addiction

OK, I'll throw in my 2 pence worth. I think it has to do with carbs. We eat crisps (or any other carb - patatos, pasta (white), white bread - all heavily processed stuff), it digest very quickly, you get a little burst of energy and then there is nothing nutritional left and your body starts 'craving' for more, so you have some more crisps and the cycle continues.

So, yes, I agrree with you that it is not good for you but it is also a cycle that you set in motion without being aware of it. If, instead of carbs you have another snack that takes much longer to digest that carbs you will not get those cravings. On the eating 'plan' I am on there are saome great snacks. You have an apple with 2 spoons of peannut butter, once you get over the strange combination it is very moorish! Celeray stuffed with cottage cheese, a boiled egg and a tomato, a hand full of nuts. All these not only have a high nutritional value but the cheese/nuts/ peanutbutter all digest very slowly and give you prolonged energy and therefore you do not have 'carb cravings'.

So, how does that sound to a crispaholic?

Well, I do like healthy food so that sounds good to me. Will have to try the suggestions. 🙂

Interesting what you say about carb cravings. Maybe that really is my "problem".

Below where my 'wisdom' come from. My sisters OH had a heart problem at 50 and she was looking for a healthier way to live. After loads of investigating she came up with the South Beach Diet, not to loose weight but in order to live more healthily (even though the both lost the 'tube' around the midriff and there are 2 phases for people who want or need to loose weight). In the meantime the whole family is now eating SB as it is so normal and fits in with everyday life, no portion sizes etc. just knowing what food does to your body. They have been doing this for about 4 years now.

Dr. Agatston believes that excess consumption of so-called "bad 's ability to properly process fat or sugar. Agatston's diet minimizes consumption of bad fats and bad carbohydrates and encourages increased consumption of good fats and good carbohydrates.

There is loads to read about this all over the web. I ordered the book through Amazon and paid 1p + postage a few weeks ago!!!!!

I'm a crispaholic too, where for me its to do with my preference for savoury things rather than sweet. It has to be 'full fat' crisps, as the low fat variety is akin to eating cardboard (not that i've ever eaten cardboard mind!)

I also prefer potato crisps over corn ones, where one packet dosen't touch the sides of my belly but unless i've got a surplus of crisps in my house i have to make do -life just isn't fair *sob!*

Warmest wishes- calla lily x

Interesting... the South Beach diet just sounds like a fiddly form of the GI Diet. I think this form of "diet" is good as it is a lifelong one.

Amusingly... or thankfully... or annoyingly (if your opinion is that if it showed up quicker, you'd change your lifestyle quicker)... I am slim built. I am just concerned with the crap I sometimes eat.

Do you eat healthily apart from the crisps?

We all have our vices, and there is nothing wrong with that really, a little bit of what you fancy and all that.

Just wanted to add that carbohydrates also encourage the production of serotonin, the "feel good" chemical in the brain. So some people get addicted to this lifting of mood they feel when they eat carbohydrates, and end up eating more and more of them ie comfort eating.

I am slim built. I am just concerned with the crap I sometimes eat.

I could have written this myself! I am of slim build, have never been on diet (but there is a little roll around the midriff that needs watching!) but as age is creeping up on me I am getting more and more concerned with the 'junk' I eat. When I read this book it somehow made sense to me and as I have seen how easy it is for this to fit into your life I think I am willing to give this a go.

fiddly form of the GI Diet

There is a one page listing of GI numbers and he gives a brief explanation on it - but, as I know nothing about the Gi diet, other than the page I read, I can't compare these.

I wonder why it is so much easier for us to eat junk than real food - is it because it is easier to grab a packet of crisps then to wash an apple??? Is it easier to make a cup of coffee than to take a glass of water? How the mind works???

Do you eat healthily apart from the crisps?

We all have our vices, and there is nothing wrong with that really, a little bit of what you fancy and all that.

Just wanted to add that carbohydrates also encourage the production of serotonin, the "feel good" chemical in the brain. So some people get addicted to this lifting of mood they feel when they eat carbohydrates, and end up eating more and more of them ie comfort eating.

Ah, there is that.

Do I eat heathily? Nowadays, yes, just that I cannot have crisps in the house. 😀

I wonder why it is so much easier for us to eat junk than real food - is it because it is easier to grab a packet of crisps then to wash an apple??? Is it easier to make a cup of coffee than to take a glass of water? How the mind works???

Dunno about that. I do eat apples and drink water. Water is easier as I just pour it out of a bottle rather than having to boil water etc. Just more satisfying.

You know, the really weird thing is that years ago I went through a seriously long phase when I couldn't stop eating raw carrots! Not for any goody-two-shoes reason (it didn't replace junk - just went alongside it lol)
It was as bad as any cigs or alcohol compulsion: I'd be in the kitchen peeling off a carrot at 8 a.m, get through at least 4 or 5 more in the day, and top up before I went to bed. I'd actually feel a craving start and be reaching into the veg. rack!! I may have had to go to rehab if I hadn't managed to wean myself off them. Phew!
Anyone else had weird food addictions?(not including pregnancy, as that's a well-known time for odd cravings)

Phew, good thing you got off those or we would have had to change your name to Bunny!!!!!!:rollaugh::rollaugh:

:010:

HaHa Yes Jo, very good - I really liked that!

Now I want some crisps..

Me, too. 😀

I'm having some!

🙁

Tuesday is Tesco day for me. This desk is looking tempting, though...

🙁

Tuesday is Tesco day for me. This desk is looking tempting, though...

breath....in..out..three times..easy now....come on DFTP, you know if you eat that desk you'll get constipation and splinters:p

*sprinkles salt on the desk*

Mmmmmm.

Darren, I don't know if salt and chemicals are part of the addiction - well, they must be. But I definitely read a couple of years ago that research had discovered that crunchy foods are psychologically attractive and have an effect on the brain. Hence also why crisps are attractive, and also why McCoys are more attractive still - the thickness and crinkles make them more crunchy.

I'd really try to deal with this somewhat though! Crisps are deadly-unhealthy (from someone who has them once in a while): one of the scariest things is to read that their particular kind of fat will start to ossify the brain, literally leading to some impairment of IQ, mental flexibility, (and maybe even alzheimers?) when older.

V

Dagnammit!

So this desk is probably healthier after all.

BTW what is so special about crisp fat? The Tesco ones sounded healthier but were still very satisfying.

not so convinced about the above explanations:rolleyes:

for me it is the salt:eek: I prefer plain crisps..... but will eat any 'non-meat' flavours if I HAVE to.... lol. I am convinced that it is the salt as I eat so little salt in my diet..... rarely cook with it and very very rarely put it on at the table. so.............. I convince myself that my body NEEDS the salt and sit and eat my crisps with relish (not the pickle type):o

having said that I suppose I eat a multibag of 6 in two to three weeks ............... so not really addicted am I?:p

all in moderation ..... I do think that 24 bags in 2 days is a little excessive Darren. do you need to talk about it???................. over a bag of salt and vinegar?

blessings, Marcie x

ps..... don't eat the desk Darren......... wood lies very heavy on the stomach and will take quite some time to digest

That's just it though. I found the unsalted version just as satisfying, which was a real surprise to me as I'd always assumed the salt and flavourings were the addictive part of the things.

I also can't stop eating jaffa cakes. Yes, it's all coming out now!

I also can't stop eating jaffa cakes. Yes, it's all coming out now!

It's very brave to make all these confessions, Darren. Jaffa cakes too? So you go both ways? That's sweet, not savoury. :rolleyes:

Just a thought. 😉 Do you ever try eating real food? Like things that come as you see them off trees or out of the ground? In this house, a huge fruit bowl in the morning is empty by evening. It just goes, goes, goes.

V

It's very brave to make all these confessions, Darren. Jaffa cakes too? So you go both ways? That's sweet, not savoury. :rolleyes:

Just a thought. 😉 Do you ever try eating real food? Like things that come as you see them off trees or out of the ground? In this house, a huge fruit bowl in the morning is empty by evening. It just goes, goes, goes.

That's impressive. I assume there's more than just you. I do get my 5 a day. My usual lunch involves couscous, seeds and various green things. Occasionally, I'll eat something meat-like (25% of the meals). I really do eat healthily... I just have these odd cravings. Oh, another one is mushrooms. I start washing them and can smell them... then I just must eat them.

:hidesbehindsofa:

And as for sofas...

now you've all done it to me... I have to go get a handful of potato chips - which I assume are these mysterious crisps -

More on what my opinions/findings are later. for now, I must crunch.

Years ago I used to crave crisps and if I had one packet I had to have another and another and another - didn't matter what flavour - turned out I had a potassium deficiency and once that was sorted out I stopped craving the crisps - think it was the salt - obviously with a potassium deficiency.

Just thought I'd share my crisp experience - and now I never eat them.

Hi Darren, I saw this and thought of you! lol

Amazing fact

Did you know you consume more calories in eating half a packet of crisps than you do in eating a full packet?

In the act of eating a whole packet you burn off the extra calories.

This isn't actually true, but it does make people stop and think.

Stay away from Marmite crisps. Eat a packet of those and before you know it you'll be lying on the floor gibbering and staring at fingers plastered in savoury crisp crumbs. Around you will be a small mountain of empty yellow packets and the lingering aroma of yeast extract.

Years ago I used to crave crisps and if I had one packet I had to have another and another and another - didn't matter what flavour - turned out I had a potassium deficiency and once that was sorted out I stopped craving the crisps - think it was the salt - obviously with a potassium deficiency.

Just thought I'd share my crisp experience - and now I never eat them.

How do I know if I have a potassium deficiency, then? 🙂