.. I just can't stop doing it. My head says 'eat raw! stay hydrated!' etc, but I am practically on auto-pilot the moment I get stressed and reach for the junkfood. Even as I'm eating it, my head is saying 'this is so unhealthy!' but at the same time I'm thinking 'it's not the end of the world. finish the cupcake. be healthy tomorrow'. It's starting to get really bad.

Part of the problem is my work- computers (ughhhh). A few weeks ago I was in a job that started me drinking coffee! Only on very rare occasions do I touch the stuff. I ended up drinking between 1-2 a day. I think I'm using cupcakes and other junk to replace the coffee drinking.

hi suspendedindefinetely

have u thought about preparing foods and taking them in little plastic containers to work?

that way, you got something to look FORWARD to that is

1) yummy
AND
2) healthy

plus you get to practically GLOWWW with pride knowing that YOU made it

As far as the coffee thing... ditto.

Think of your absolutely FAVORITE raw smoothies,beverages etc. If you are having a hard time, get a recipe book or look on the recipe section in this site etc. or other sites and get some ideas.

I used to work at a place where junk food seemed to be the law of the land.
I actually decided to say "what the heck"

I brought my juicer AND food processor to work.

I used to make fresh veggie juices ( during break) and other raw blended items like Jicama pudding ( just throw some in the food processor and voila).

Nobody minded. Everyone wanted to try some of my food.
I was happy.

I don't do that any more. I am a little more private now cuz I'm more selfish and I like to just do my own thing instead of playing 24 questions.

So... I have a Coleman thing in my car ( you know... those camping things that you put ice in and you can put food in and it keeps cold and fresh)

Anyhoo... I make food in advance ( mostly salads and juice) and I put it in the Coleman thing and put it in the trunk of my car. I feel a sense of confidence,
happiness and security when I do this cuz its doing something nice for myself and i just lurrrves to be NICE to myself


OLE!!

HEY suspended

I consulted my magic green crystal ball and said " Yo crystalique... what's going to happen with suspended, huh?"

My crystal ball sincerely replied:

"Suspended will be dancing in joylicious laugher and bliss while making gorgeous
tempting rawlicious foods, expertly creating and blending sumptuous liquid elixirs and making everyone else want to PURCHASE her food at work."

My crystal ball is rarely wrong.
Prove crystalique right

Let us know how your blissful adventure is unfolding. I want RECIPES and pics of your FOOD! ( HA HA.. just kidding....welll... uh... maybe


OLE!

One way I like to look at this is that I picture my mind as a muscle.
If you are constantly giving in to cravings,you are training the part of your brain that "gives in". If you refuse to give in to cravings,you are training the part of your mind that "refuses to give in."
Each part will respond the same way,growing stronger each and every time.

But I do struggle with it too so I understand

Vinny

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I work from home so I don't have much of an excuse I'm just not very good at restraining myself round junky comfort garbage! I encounter a problem with my work and BAM! I need some junk to distract me!

On the plus side- I did an hour and half of exercise earlier, my lunch was salad, celery, cucumber and some sweet potato (which was cooked, but it helped fill me up and stop me reaching for rubbish!) and replaced dinner with pecan mylk with raw carob and raw hemp. I'm even thinking of doing some more exercise tonight, so thank you for the encouragement

hey suspended

well looks like you made a major improvement in a short period of time
so you ought to be super proud of yourself

the beverage sounds totally yummilicious divine
wow...

see... my crystal ball knows what its doing

haha yeah, will have to get you to consult your crystal ball for the lottery numbers

[www.nzherald.co.nz]
Obesity similar to drug addiction
Professor Paul Kenny at the Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, Florida found that overconsumption of highly pleasurable food triggers addiction-like neuroadaptive responses in brain reward circuitries, driving the development of compulsive eating. Thus pointing to the same underlying neurobiological mechanisms for drug addiction and obesity. Scientists have found that a "cafe-style" diet of fatty, sugary food may be addictive in the same way as heroin or cocaine, according to a study showing that laboratory rats will endure painful electric shocks to satisfy their craving for high-calorie snacks. They would even prefer to starve themselves for two weeks rather than eat the "salad bar option" of the typical rodent food eaten by rats that had never had junk food. Those rats showing addiction-like behavior towards junk food had fewer dopamine D2 receptors in a part of the brain called the striatum compared to ordinary rats. These receptors are responsible for triggering a response to dopamine, a neurochemical that transmits signals between certain brain cells involved in the feeling of pleasure towards things like food, sex and drugs. The rats compensated for the fall in receptors by eating more junk food in order to stimulate the less-sensitive pleasure-reward pathway in the brain, in order to enjoy the same chemical "high" felt in their brains. Thus one of the main corresponding neurobiological mechanisms for drug addiction and obesity is fewer D2 receptors in the striatum of the human brain.

mmmmm...pass me another helping of coke, yeah and dont forget the heroine gravy!!!...

Its crazy stuff, yeah ive read stuff about that be4 too, thats why I try to keep all processed fats and sugars out of my diet, cause they are bad AND addictive...

jananabanana

that makes sense

poor blind mice

Janabanana Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> [www.nzherald.co.nz]
> fm?c_id=6&objectid=10635131
> Obesity similar to drug addiction
> Professor Paul Kenny at the Scripps Research
> Institute in Jupiter, Florida found that
> overconsumption of highly pleasurable food
> triggers addiction-like neuroadaptive responses in
> brain reward circuitries, driving the development
> of compulsive eating.

My other half recently got given a massive bag of Cadbury's chocolate. Because I'm AR-motivated vegan, I resisted eating it, but the smell of that chocolate was insane. It smelt like the most beautiful, richest, luxurious smell imaginable! It sounds very weird, but I kept having this urge to stick my nose in the bag and inhale!

Makes me sometimes wonder what else they put in there, LOL. I know a lot of girls who have their Cadburys Dairy Milk fix for PMT!

There is this chocolate store in old town arcata, its about 90 miles from where I live...that place is heaven on earth...I never knew what real chocolate was till i walked in there, sees candy is great, but THIS chocolate store makes sees candy look like the really cheap wal-mart heart boxes of chocolates you see around valentines day... you walk in, and just the smell is as wonderful as eating any other chocolates ive ever had, if not better...I love chocolate...mmmmm...*gets a cup of cocoa to stave off chocolate craving* lol

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Haha, yeah the chocolatey smell is something else allright! Brings back memories of watching Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory as a kid, and wishing I got to be Augustus Gloop in a chocolate waterfall!

Maybe Shazzie and David Wolfe can make that their next project- a raw cacao waterfall

Angela Stokes-Monarch has a book on her journey from morbid obesity to raw foods called "Raw Emotions" and describes how you must confront the psychological issues surrounding hunger. I haven't read it but would truly like to, however it's not available at any of my local libraries, and I don't buy new books too often these days. If you have $30 to spare, Amazon is carrying it and you might be able to get some sort of deal on rawfoodworld.com.

@suspended, yeah, my first bite of their chocolate, was like a religious experience, I just sat down and slowly enjoyed every last tiny bit of it...Im just glad they are really expensive, so I can never really afford to buy more than a few pieces at a time when I find myself in that area...hahahahahaa...blarg, im gonna stop talking about delicious chocolate now though, im sure this isnt helping either of us...lol

It's much cheaper(in the long run) to buy a 30 pound bag of cocoa husk mulch for the garden than to focus on the edible kind of chocolate. When I went to the gardening store and the fellow showed me the various kinds of mulch, we both lingered over the cocoa one, dazedly inhaling for a long minute, and then walked off, seemingly sated and more alert. What a revelation that gardening store outing was!

wow, that sounds pretty awesome mmmmmmmmm....

hey tamukhs

cocoa husk? huh? inhaling?

u mean the papery skin thing?

u mean they use it for gardening?

wow!

must be SUPER expensive