Cannabis

[PaleenaParticipant]

Hi,

I just wanted to ask everyone here if they ever tried weed and if it made it worse or better. I have been using cannabis almost on a daily basis for about 4 years, and during this time I had my first year of no binges.

Recently I have been REALLY bad again… and starting to think that maybe it was not the cannabis that helped me back then but something else. Also I have done some research and apparently cannabis messes with your appetite receptors… Not sure that to think.

[stay at home momParticipant]

Hi Paleena,

My hubby used a lot of weed in the past. He used it because he used to do lots of manual labor (cut wood, construction) and also because it made his mood better. When he smoked, he would not eat at all for hours and hours, and ate less altogether although he did get those ‘munchies’. But what else would you expect after not eating for half a day???

Now that he does not smoke…he eats a lot more food, esp. chocolate, and is generally in a poor mood (which he blames on his job). He won’t try St. John’s wort though, nor will he exercise regularly.

[stay at home momParticipant]

Hi Paleena,

Responding to the appetite-receptor derangement issue…I think lots of things mess with it (food itself, mood, drugs..) For me, mood is the major one. Anything that alters the dopamine traffic in the limbic part of the brain.

For me, I think I’ve settled the food issue because I’ve tested different ways of eating and decided that a high fat, moderate protein, lower starch diet suits my body the best. It also allows me to eat my fav foods in moderation everyday (chocolate, nuts, chips cooked in veg oil, whole grains), and obtain weight control.

As for mood, I know that any unstopped negative thinking pattern starts to decrease the dopamine levels in the brain (I swear I could feel it). So, when I focus on my unfashionable apple-shape, it makes me think why bother at food control if I’ll still be an apple-shape skinny person??? But when I turn around my thinking toward the positive end of the spectrum, and focus on the fact my pants fit better now…it maintains my motivation. Same with when I overeat..if I think “I overeat everyday…why should I bother to try to change this?” is de-motivating. But if I think “Well, I had another unplanned snack but it really comforted me and I think I needed it. Tomorrow, I’ll try to talk to someone instead of the extra snack”. I think you get my point about trying to challenge one’s negative thoughts and not believe every single thought you have.

[stay at home momParticipant]

Hey Paleena: You mentioned in an older post that you were chronically exercising as well during the time you stopped bingeing. May be this is the key factor that connects exercise-better mood–stop bingeing. Of all the things you could be addicted to, I think an hour or two exercise per day would be the least harmful (most people would say it’s health-promoting!). I guess at first, it might increase your appetite so that your meals are somewhat larger, but you’d be burning it off with all the walking/exercising you’re doing. There’s not much we can do about being compulsive…but at least there would be harm reduction.

Helen

[PaleenaParticipant]

Hi Helen,

I understand that you just have to get into the swing of things and get back to it (the exercise) but at the moment everything is just so GREY… I totally understand what you said about consuming all the time. Being an Economics graduate doesnt help either because you really SEE the mechanisms of greed, I really do just feel like a machine..creating misery and havoc around me.

I have done some travel around asia, thailand was the worst, little girls just being used and so brainwashed that they see absolutely nothing wrong with what is happening to them. I have now returned to London and it is really depressing to see our feeble attempts at charity.

I am starting to volunteer at the moment and looking for work in the voluntary sector.

Actually I was talking with my mum, and she said that having me and my brother gave her a sense of purpose. What did you experience when you had your kids?

p.s. I am not planning on getting pregnant any time soon just wanted to know what you thought

[stay at home momParticipant]

Hi Paleena,

Yeah, I do sense a strong sense of purpose along with a sense of dread that this life will hurt them…but I guess all parents fear harm to their kids. Because I am not an auntie to anyone, I am happy that I have children. But I don’t care for grandkids…I hope my boys find a spouse eventually but like you say there’s a lot of misery and garbage on this planet and I don’t see the sense in trying to perpetrate humanity under these conditions. It’s heroic just to make sure the ones still living are treated decently.

I’m glad to hear that you have a life as a volunteer. The weather is improving so that always helps to get physically moving. It’s also a time of year we naturally want to eat more veggies and salads as it becomes in season. I find it hard to eat the tasteless fruit and vegs available in winter.

Helen

[stay at home momParticipant]

Paleena: I remembered another ‘trick’ for when your binge phase is over and you’re back to eating regular meals.

Korean families often have a brothy soup at meals, and this fills the stomach to full capacity sooner than just eating solids. Generally, Korean ladies are not obese. I should be doing this too but am too lazy to make soup most days

[stay at home momParticipant]

oops, cut myself off before I finished.

Anyways, borscht is the perfect soup to start a meal if you love it (I do!). I don’t ever have just soup and bread for a meal though because it’s not enough calories and then you’re hungry in an hour again. If you don’t like cooking, may be your mom can make you a big batch of soup if you bring her the groceries

Helen

[PaleenaParticipant]

Hi, I think that one of the things that really scares me about having kids, is that I am worried that I might inadvertently pass on my food issues to them. My nan was a ballet dancer with a daily diet of two raw eggs mixed with 200g of sugar per day. My mum was anorexic in her earlier days because my nan didnt want a porker in the family. Despite what she went through she still commented on me putting on weight when I was 15 which resulted in my first restrictive period and sparked a lot of this. Since, she has actually apologized, and she has told me that it was because she loved and and she didnt want me to put on weight and then obsess about losing it (i think that it makes some kind of sense) so she didnt mean it.

I am hoping that if/when I have kids I will be able to break this cycle.

[stay at home momParticipant]

Hi Paleena: Thanks for the cooking lesson for borscht (I was cutting up raw beets!). I think it is a hard cycle to break but not impossible. I haven’t given any thought to how I will handle it if I start seeing signs of bingeing in my own kids. I’m just trying to train them into good eating habits and not being too anal about sweets…if I eat apple pie or ice cream, then my son gets a portion too. I think it’s true, like for your mum, when a parent sees a sign of weakness that she has herself, she tries to overcontrol/ overcorrect it…and it leads to further problems. I’m glad your mum came clean and apologized to you.

[stay at home momParticipant]

Paleena:

re: GI based eating plans.

I was reading about it too. The problem with GI tables is that you can measure different values for a given food depending on other biologic variables. Also, they don’t always show the actual glycemic load (GL) of a typical portion. What is more helpful is the insulin index of a food but there has been only limited research and measurements. The insulin index shows that even meat and stuff with GI= zero will still generate an insulin response, but one that is much lower than for starches. This is because with anything we eat, there has to been insulin to get the fuel into cells. I am not committed to the low-carb concept enough to count carbs…I’m more of a mod-carb eater.

[stay at home momParticipant]

Hi Paleena,

Yeah– 1100 kcals/day is not even enough to run your metabolism.

The problem with emptying your lipid stores too quickly: the fat then fails to send enough leptin to your brain, which fails to shut off the PYY (neuropeptide switch). The PYY switch being on is what causes the voracious feeding behavior. Yes- your body takes revenge on you for being hasty.

Your 2000 plan sounds great because it’ll be close to your daily energy expense…and like Jacqui says, this is a relative ‘diet’ for your body b/c it’ll totally reduce the binge calories…thus weight loss will happen from not bingeing.

Helen

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