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Ask HN: Food Addiction

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Re: Ask HN: Food Addiction

#61

Post by Gortal278 »

> I'd love to know if anyone has been able to completely replace food with protein powders and vitamins, hospital liquid diet, or any other alternative. The idea here is to abstain from food for a full year and then restart eating normally with a light balanced diet with a nutritionist's help.

This just screams eat-disorder territory. I'd recommend you go seek out professional help and work with some experts on getting you thinking about food right, then locking your diet and eating down. Your not going to solve this with green protein smoothies and starving yourself.

Re: Ask HN: Food Addiction

#62

Post by magnetowasright »

Please reach out to a psychologist or eating disorder specialist. Talk to your GP about the physical stuff anyway, but please discuss the other stuff in your post with them as well.

I have been in therapy for a while and this is one thing I struggle with a lot. It’s really tough and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

Re: Ask HN: Food Addiction

#63

Post by loxs »

nradov wrote: post #51
loxs wrote: post #42

I am in my second year of controlling my weight. Down ~30kg and I am in the healthy range now for more than 6 months. So far it seems to be sustainable. I am in a paid fitness (online) group and I have learned a lot, though it's still up to me to find ways to fit into the requirements... Here are some random observations that seem to work for ME (might be different for you). - Nothing "extreme" works for me, as it's…

Eating a uniform diet every day is an easy way to get the macronutrients exactly right, but it risks deficiencies in some micronutrients. Look into the details and verify whether you're getting everything you should have, or consider adding some micronutrient supplements.

Did you miss that I explicitly stated "for several months" and not "forever"? It's enough to get you kickstarted and then you can begin varying (and also you will learn a lot about yourself during that time)

Re: Ask HN: Food Addiction

#64

Post by mdp2021 »

Georgelemental wrote: post #59
mdp2021 wrote: post #43

> I'd love to know if anyone has been able to completely replace food with protein powders and vitamins, hospital liquid diet, or any other alternative. The idea here is to abstain from food for a full year and then restart eating normally with a light balanced diet with a nutritionist's help Please, please, please: live naturally. Respect nature. You are made of nature. Treat yourself properly. If it is unnatural, d…

I'm not sure "forcing yourself to the healthiest diet/lifestyle ever" is actually a good idea, because there is no one healthiest diet or lifestyle for everyone at all times that we know all the details of. IMO much better to aim for simply "healthy" or "very healthy" as a habit you stick to long-term.

Of course. The idea was presented in terms consistent with those of the poster.

Re: Ask HN: Food Addiction

#65

Post by nradov »

loxs wrote: post #63
nradov wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Eating a uniform diet every day is an easy way to get the macronutrients exactly right, but it risks deficiencies in some micronutrients. Look into the details and verify whether you're getting everything you should have, or consider adding some micronutrient supplements.

Did you miss that I explicitly stated "for several months" and not "forever"? It's enough to get you kickstarted and then you can begin varying (and also you will learn a lot about yourself during that time)

I didn't miss it. Micronutrient deficiencies can start to be a problem in a matter of weeks.

Re: Ask HN: Food Addiction

#66

Post by eimrine »

nonrandomstring wrote: post #29

Sounds like you're really working hard, and digging deep. It also sounds like you might be experiencing addiction replacement/displacement, when you "overcome" one thing and shift the focus on to something new [2]. People can go through the whole gamut - alcohol, drugs, gambling, pornography, and still end up in something more socially "acceptable" like shopping or phone overuse. Even the act of "overcoming" can itse…

> Don't get addicted to therapy

For example, don't use amphetamines xD

Re: Ask HN: Food Addiction

#67

Post by loxs »

nradov wrote: post #65
loxs wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you miss that I explicitly stated "for several months" and not "forever"? It's enough to get you kickstarted and then you can begin varying (and also you will learn a lot about yourself during that time)

I didn't miss it. Micronutrient deficiencies can start to be a problem in a matter of weeks.

Do you have a good study on the topic? In the fitness group I am a member, we do regular bloodwork and they have never seen such a thing in their 10 years of experience. On the contrary, most of the micronutrients/vitamins readings become (a lot) better after several months of the initial "uniform" diet. It includes all the veggies you can eat, though it's somewhat uniform and based on the season and market availability/price. Actually, in my first months being a member, I calculated that I received many thousands times more vitamins/minerals from food, compared to my previous years.

For example, I can eat more than half a kilo of kale in a day, over many days. This is like 20x the daily dose of vit K, 2.5x the daily dose of vit C, 1x the daily dose of vit A, etc. Then I'll rotate to kohlrabi for some time, then to cabbage, etc, etc.

Compared to my former pizza diet, this is insane. Indeed, thousands of times more micronutrients.

Re: Ask HN: Food Addiction

#68

Post by foobarbaz33 »

> The idea here is to abstain from food for a full year

I'm not a diet expert but... how about not.

You can maintain a reasonable weight without doing extreme things. Cut sugary drinks and deserts. Stop snacking. Eat good meals, just not super huge.

Don't freak out every time you feel the slightest hunger/appetite.

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