Here's how I knew it was withdrawal...

[Glendora]

Okay, so, one week in only (on a restart), so take this for what it's worth...

I've had so many issues the first few days of LCing that I just haven't stuck to it until now. Depression (have a thread on that), fatigue but most of all that "I will never have such-and-such taste again" feeling.

Well, I was having that feeling a few days in and I just sat down and thought, "What is it I'm missing? Sweet? Texture?" and I thought of LC alternatives that covered both those bases nicely. And yet I kept thinking, "No, no, that won't do it, it has to be actual cake, an actual banana," etc.

That's when a lightbulb went off. I didn't want the taste, I didn't want the texture, I didn't want the "party" feel of having something yummy and it wasn't physical hunger. If I could address all those things on LC but was still whining about it...then what I was obviously missing was the actual drugged wheat feeling.

It's not about food, it's about addiction (for me). That was such a revelation. Didn't binge on wheat-y and sugary foods, did enjoy every bite of what I had, and am feeling much better these past few days!

Just thought I'd share for anyone struggling with the same issues. Actually...putting it down flatly to addiction, it isn't a struggle at all. I'm hungry, I eat. I want sweet, I use liquid Splenda within reason. I want texture, I have a MIM.

I have toyed with the idea of wheat addiction and overconsumption of carbs addiction (which gives its own high) before but it just really hit home for me this time.

[Nancy LC]

I think you'd really get a lot out of "Wheat Belly". He talks about the addiction aspect of wheat.

Anyway, congrats on figuring out where that insidious little voice was coming from!

I did not suffer from wheat withdrawals like I know some people do. Maybe it had something to do with the aversion training I had myself do. Have you tried that? Picture something disgusting when you think of, or smell/see, wheat products. Worms crawling around on it, green mold growing, a skull and crossbones, etc.

Now when I smell something like bagels or bread I think, "Wow, that poison smells really good." I have NO desire to eat it.

[Glendora]

Aversion therapy...no, I haven't tried it...or maybe I inadvertently did, thinking of wheat as just a substance I wanted to shoot up with, so to speak. :p NOT appealing...and it seems to have lost its magic that way.

A drug coated in different colors or (often artificial) flavorings but...still just a drug.

I'm so glad you don't struggle with that; not everybody does, many people can just enjoy wheat once in a while and be fine with it. This is just my own personal thing, something I've suspected for a loooooooong time but have been hiding from. I was helpless against refined carbs, wheat more than any others, even as a small child.

[JDJD2004]

Wow, Glendora! I know exactly what you mean. I've been battling that inner "voice" all week, too. I restarted last Monday. Makes total sense to me.

[DiscDiva]

That's why it takes only one bite for me and I am on a downward spiral! I concur with Nancy LC; I consider it poisonous to my body and well being so I will not ever eat another bite of wheat or other grain again. I learned my lesson.

[kaylakala]

You hit the nail on the head! Same here totally addicted.

[algts]

That's why it takes only one bite for me and I am on a downward spiral! I concur with Nancy LC; I consider it poisonous to my body and well being so I will not ever eat another bite of wheat or other grain again. I learned my lesson.Me, too!! One bite is a death spiral. I just have to step away every time...

[Glendora]

Yup. It's not "one little bite" for me. It's never been "one little bite" for me. That one taste and I am face-down in a bowl full of corn chips, with half a chocolate cake, a half-gallon of ice cream and a Big Mac (the meal, not the sandwich) on the side.

I literally can not stop once I start, I have actually thrown up from how much I've eaten but I still couldn't stop. I remember one night hanging out with my roommate in her room watching TV and eating tons of Chinese food. I literally was lying on my side to find a pocket to stuff more food in. They all laughed, inside I was dying.

It's actually very, very scary. I've cried while bingeing. That's sad.

It's actually a miracle that I'm only 218 lbs.!

[Nancy LC]

Much easier to not start than it is to stop! I have that issue with random things like chips, M&M's and assorted crap. Once I start, I'm hooked into it until it is gone or I leave where it is served. I just cannot even take that first bite. It doesn't really even call to me that loudly.

[Saskia]

Thanks Glendora, for telling this. I just started,and have always this huge urge to eat sweet stuff. Cookies, chocolat, more cookies, bread with Nutella....and 1 cookie is not enough. Spaggetti and macaroni....love it. And always ate too much of it.I even make iced coffee and put a huge spoon of nutella in it because I just love that taste.
so now I have to think twice before I grab to something like this and think about what you say. :-)

[mike_d]

Now when I smell something like bagels or bread I think, "Wow, that poison smells really good." I have NO desire to eat it.Good, idea. I get that same effect from the grocery bread isle's chemical smell or driving by a sickly sweet smelling KK doughnut shoppe.

[KristyRusi]

i wrote this like 4 paragraph explination for my opinion... however the thread masters ate it...

the gist...
after 6 months... the ONE and ONLY food that has no substitution for me is Pizza....

I have the self-control of a nun, and haven't cheated not ONCE on my plan so far. But one day i will eat Pizza again.. that's just that. And that thought alone is all that keeps me going. Even if it takes 10 years to get to my goal weight, on that day 10 years from today i will eat pizza...

Its principle at this point lol.
If i can wait an intagible amount of time to eat pizza, then i have the selfcontrol NOT to go into a downward spiral when i finally do.. That's just my opinion of course and i know everyone is different. :)