Is Sugar Addicting?

Marci Anderson - Sunday, February 14, 2010
Is sugar addicting? I recently received an email from a friend who had this question. She felt that she was completely addicted to sugar and wanted to know my recommendations on how best to detox her system.  Little did she know, she was asking a question that researchers and scientists seriously debate.  Just google the term "sugar addiction" and you'll see a litany of results and no real consensus.

According to a Wikipedia article on the topic, the real issue is that no one can actually agree on a definition for the term "addiction."  I did find a pretty decent article from Penn State on sugar addiction.  If you're interested in the topic, I highly recommend you read it. It's only a page.

But on a more practical level, many people do feel as if they are totally addicted to sugar.  So if you fall in to that category here are a few bits of information and some strategies that may be helpful to you.

  • The physiological consequences of eating candy, chocolate, and other high sugar foods are a rise in serotonin and endorphins which make you feel good.  This sensation doesn't last long and may be part of what encourages you to want to eat more of it.
  • Consider the company you keep while eating high sugar foods. An encouraging companion, alcoholic beverage, or social occasion will encourage you to eat more.
  • Create a healthy environment.  If you find that once you start eating sweets you just can't stop, consider what you keep stored at home.  Rather than a jumbo bag of M&Ms, go out and buy a small pack when a craving hits.
  • If you find yourself reaching for sweets after every meal try skipping your sugary treat just once.  Distract yourself after your meal and check in a few hours later.  How do you feel?
  • Try to eat chocolate mindfully with this exercise

These are just a handful of basic suggestions. If you feel like you have a serious addiction to sugar, consider working with a dietitian that has experience working with binge eating, emotional eating, compulsive eating, or disordered eating behaviors. A little structure, support, and guidance may be helpful.

So on this Valentine's Day select a small portion of your favorite treat, sit back, relax, be present, and enjoy.
Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) | Permalink

Healthy Weight Week

Marci Anderson - Tuesday, January 19, 2010
You might not know it, but this week has been officially named "Healthy Weight Week."  As a dietitian in Cambridge who specializes in the treatment of eating disorders and works predominantly with women who struggle with their weight and body image issues, I'm pretty sensitive to the topic of weight.

It's been my experience that pre-occupation with weight and body size is extremely unhealthy and incredibly unproductive.  I've worked with clinically obese/morbidly obese clients who agonize over their excess pounds and fear the implications it has for their health. 

On the flip side, I've worked with plenty of women who appear to have very normal/healthy body weights but also obsess over their desire to be thinner.  This results in hours spent at the gym accompanied with guilt about they did/did not eat the day before.  

Or more commonly for many of my nutrition clients, their weight and body obsession leads to eating which becomes disordered to the point of starvation, binging, purging, laxative abuse, etc.

It saddens me to see the number of women who waste their precious time thinking, agonizing, and lamenting over their bodies and what they put into them. So naturally, I have mixed feelings about an entire week focused on that very topic.

However, when I found the website for the Healthy Weight Network I was thrilled to find out what they intend "Healthy Weight Week" to be about:

The 17th annual H ealthy Weight Week is a time to celebrate healthy living habits that last a lifetime and prevent eating and weight problems, rather than intensifying them, as diets do.

Traditionally many Americans begin a diet the first week in January and "blow" it the second week. Healthy Weight Week, the third week, is a time to stop dieting for good and help people normalize their lives. It’s a welcome antedote to the dieting and bingeing that typically begin the New Year!
Healthy Weight Week promotes healthy nondiet lifestyles for children and adults of every size. It helps them move ahead to healthy habits they can live with long term – sound, reasonable habits that allow them to live well and get on with their lives. Eat well, live actively, and feel good about yourself and others.

It's my philosophy that your "healthy weight" is:
  • Partially determined by your genetics
  • A range of a few pounds that may vary depending on the time of month
  • Where your body goes naturally when you are eating when hungry, stopping when satisfied, and usually a result of physical rather than emotional or social hunger
  • Is supported by a moderate exercise program

It's also my philosophy that your "heathy weight" is NOT:
  • Determined by a scale, jeans size, or weight chart
  • Attained by calorie counting, low cal diets, and excessive exercise
  • Necessarily what you weighed when you graduated high school :)

So let's celebrate what it really means to find a healthy weight- treating your body with respect, feeding yourself appropriately, enjoying the movement of exercise, and trusting that your body will find it's natural healthy place.

If you are interested in learning more about this approach, here are a few books I HIGHLY recommend:

And a couple of websites to check out too:

Here's to a new look at what it means to find your "healthy weight."
Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) | Permalink

Mindless Eating & 80% Full

Marci Anderson - Thursday, September 24, 2009

I’m reading a book for my book club called “Mindless Eating” by Brian Wansink.  You’ve probably heard of it.  Professor Wansink has made his food lab at Cornell famous from such experiments including stale popcorn and endless soup bowls, to name a couple.

Essentially, he studies the subconscious cues which encourage all of us to overeat.  In his book he provides a multitude of suggestions to outsmart ourselves.  One of these suggestions I thought was particularly interesting.

Apparently, in the Japanese culture people eat until they are “no longer hungry.”  Yet we all know from experience that most Americans eat until they feel full, overfull, and often stuffed.  The concept of eating until “no longer hungry” has a phrase “hara hachi bu” which essentially means “eating until you are just 80% full.”

So as you dive into your next meal, pause half way through.  Can you envision your stomach and what 80% full might look like?  Take a step further.  Could you stop eating at 80%?  See if you can take this idea on as a challenge.  It’s not easy and it takes some practice.  But it feels pretty good to walk away from the table satisfied but not stuffed.

Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) | Permalink

1