Ask HN: Food Addiction
I was able to stopped smoking, drinking alcohol and playing video games by just getting rid of all the "paraphernalia" and quitting cold turkey. After a good year or so of complete abstinence, I was able to introduce those things back in my life and exercise moderation. I could drink socially and play video games without harming my work productivity, etc.
Now I'm struggling with food addiction, which ended up being my escape valve and receiving all my obsession after I quit everything else.
I've tried fasting and I was able to do 18h fasts daily with no problem and even go over a week without eating, just on water and herbal tea. But that completely messed up my habits, metabolism and relationship with food, and I'm now struggling to follow a schedule and any kind of diet.
So I was looking for a way to "quit food" without the unpleasant side effect of death. This is not about weight, I'm a bit overweight yes, but I exercise and am able to keep a decent shape. The real problem is that my blood work is starting to approach the higher ends of what is considered ok. And I'd love to avoid becoming diabetic and obese in my later life.
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.
Has anyone done this or is familiar with the supporting science? What is recommended or non-obvious mistakes to avoid?
Thanks!
68 comments
[ 8.9 ms ] story [ 335 ms ] threadHilarious that the FDA threw a fit over it.
Milk thistle (as a supplement) is a popular glutathione precursor. There are others but I don't remember them because milk thistle worked for me, so that's what I used.
If I were trying to help a child, I would likely start by removing particleboard furniture and other sources of off-gassing from their environment as a means to lighten the load on their liver.
Though to be frank, I did that for me as well, on top of supplements because I was very sick at the time.
https://www.europeanreview.org/article/27898
Among other things.
I eat something closer to a low-carb diet now (<100 net carbs) a day, and am super happy with it. I naturally gravitate away from consuming carb-intensive meals on a regular basis unless it is for a specific reason. I still eat and enjoy things like pasta and chips, but they no longer have the same pull they used to.
Maybe go see a doctor who deals in both nutrition and disordered eating, they exist, see what he or she thinks.
I'd be wary of going without "real" food for a year. Fiber and plants in general feel like such an important part of my diet, and the pleasure of eating for an hour and feeling full of healthy food seems like a healthy part of life. Relegating sugar to a condiment at best is an important step toward being able to notice the compulsion to eat, and then do something else instead.
What you're proposing sounds interesting but also something I wouldn't opt for myself. Everyone is different, though, and we're for the most part free to try things. I keep a journal and that helps me be more aware and forgive myself when I don't do exactly what I'd prefer. Helps obviate regret.
My default at this point is to delay breakfast, ideally until mid-afternoon, and have one more meal a few hours later, with the family. Sometimes I skip that if I'm still full from the break-fast. It's taken months of practice, and I'm not as regimented as I'd like, but it's better than before.
I hope you find something that works.
Lots of people doing it are doing it for the same reasons as you, so you'll find support if you need it.
There's a paradox in there. My suggestion would be to explore that.
Your blood work is showing you are healthy. It doesn't sound like there's any need to change your diet.
It's the modern day smoking, just because everyone is doing it, doesn't mean it's good.
This is called restricting, and it's classic eating disorder behavior.
> 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 is incredibly dangerous. Don't do this.
Get a nutritionist, and seek professional help to recover from your food addiction/eating disorder. Most importantly, do what they say.
The internet is rife with people who have active eating disorders and will make yours worse in an effort to justify their own unhealthy behavior. It's almost never a good idea to take the internet's advice on psychiatric matters, but in this area it is especially dangerous.
Get off the internet and get professional help.
Most people would recognize this as intermittent fasting by itself, but with the rest of it this sounds problematic. I’m not sure you can just replace one addiction with another without looking to the root of the issue.
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 itself be an obsessive (control desire) act.
I'll second the comments saying maybe talk to a therapist [2]
What you're looking for is a "hole" (feels like an inadequacy or deprivation threat). When you hit it and deal with it, the other stuff will fall into line. Good luck.
[1] https://www.addictioncenter.com/community/addiction-replacem...
[2] Don't get addicted to therapy :)
For example, don't use amphetamines xD
Eating only powdered protein low quality and fake stuff will mess you up and your kidneys. So I once choose coma patient food. It comes in many varieties for all ages and is cheap in bulk. It is complete, tastes medium awful and you only feel horrible for the first few days. Then just drained, zombified and mildly happy until you can't take this stuff anymore. High fibre content is important.
More concretely:
- Identify why you need an "escape valve". Understand that having an escape valve that dominates your life negatively is the problem, not the shape that valve takes
- Identify the triggers that push you to the escape valve. Both the long-term triggers (for example, it could be being stressed or unhappy) and the immediate habit triggers (for example, it could be seeing paraphernalia or being extremely hungry). Try to reduce the long-term triggers. Try to develop new habits around the immediate triggers (trigger still exists, but habit response is something you want to do). Being aware of your habit loop is IMO important for improving how you react to triggers (therapy can be really helpful here)
I admitted defeat. I love food.
But then I quit all of the shitty stuff, no more sweet stuff, no more sodas, no more potato chips.
Weight went down, but I stagnated again. Then I started again with High Intensity training - and that's it, food still goes in, food gets burned down.
Never felt better.
So the "simple" solution is to just eat normally and try not to worry about it. Unfortunately that can be much, much harder said than done. In your case it seems like you are already in crisis, having already done a week-long water and tea fast and now actively considering a year-long liquid and vitamin diet. These are huge red flags. They may seem reasonable to you in your current mental state but they are major warning signs.
I strongly encourage you to seek professional mental help as soon as you can. I discourage you from trying to be your own therapist, unfortunately that can turn into an obsession on its own.
Disregard all comments here that focus on food instead of mental health.
I'm very sorry you are struggling. Good luck.
I would really recommend watching this podcast episode: https://youtu.be/C-H4KwoKaOc
It goes into the science of different macronutrients and how they effect your body.
A quick tldw: Eat lots more of protein and fiber, they will make you feel full and we don’t get enough of it unlike sugar/carbs that are everywhere in modern diets.
What you are describing has all the hallmarks of a psychological condition (eating disorder) and not a physical condition (poor diet).
You should not attempt to treat this yourself, and you should especially not attempt to treat it by changing your eating habits. Changing you eating habits will not treat a psychological disorder. Eat a healthy balanced diet, and seek medical care if you are having trouble with that.
Otherwise it's like trying to fix a flat tire by changing your oil.