food triggers - overeating related

[ktgrok]

So, I know that processed foods, sugar, etc cause me to want to continue eating and to overeat. 

But lately I noticed a trend - if I have bacon, I experience the same thing. Any ideas why? Can sodium do the same thing? Or maybe MSG? Or?

 

[EKS]

It's because bacon is really, really yummy.   

Also the stuff that's in bacon is the same stuff that they use to make the processed food yummy, so there's that.  Have you read The Dorito Effect?

[ktgrok]

4 minutes ago, EKS said:

It's because bacon is really, really yummy.   

Also the stuff that's in bacon is the same stuff that they use to make the processed food yummy, so there's that.  Have you read The Dorito Effect?

I haven't. I guess I was thinking of bacon as pretty simple - meat, salt, etc. 

i just noticed that my normal breakfast of an egg or two with roasted or sauteed veggies does not trigger food cravings - I often don't finish the plate - almost never if I made two eggs. But If I add just a half slice of bacon, I'm hungry all morning! It is VERY drastic. (and one more reason that we need to realize that obesity and overeating are biological, not psychological! I'm not any more bored/angry/hurting/depressed/self hating/etc when I eat half a slice of bacon than when I don't. I just happened to have bacon in the house that day, lol)

[EKS]

The smoking adds stuff that isn't listed in the ingredients.  But the fat and salt are pretty good on their own.

[prairiewindmomma]

You might hunt down the book Excitotoxins. But, I’d be prepared to eat only all natural foods from there on out. I found the book about additives and what it does to our bodies pretty horrifying and revolting. 

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

I'm agreeing with the others- bacon has pretty much every hallmark of an addictive processed food: intense flavor, salt, sugar, fat, texture (chewy-crunchy).  It's cool that you were able to identify the culprit!  

[ktgrok]

22 minutes ago, happysmileylady said:

Could it be that you aren't hungry all morning, but thirsty?  Salty foods can make you thirsty and sometimes it can be hard to distinguish thirst from hunger.  

Maybe - but would half a slice do that? I mean, that doesn't seem like enough salt for that. 

11 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

You might hunt down the book Excitotoxins. But, I’d be prepared to eat only all natural foods from there on out. I found the book about additives and what it does to our bodies pretty horrifying and revolting. 

Yeah.....years and years ago I noticed that foods like, Breyers ice cream that was just normal ingredients did not cause weight gain like chips, fries, etc. And that restaurant food is the worst. 

5 minutes ago, Monica_in_Switzerland said:

I'm agreeing with the others- bacon has pretty much every hallmark of an addictive processed food: intense flavor, salt, sugar, fat, texture (chewy-crunchy).  It's cool that you were able to identify the culprit!  

ugh. but....bacon!

[Kassia]

I'm actually like that with just about anything I eat.  If I'm eating eggs, I want more when I'm done.  An apple, pretzels, a sandwich, cereal, whatever...I like eating and don't want to stop.  I make myself stop by telling myself that no matter how much I eat, I'll ALWAYS want more and the feeling will pass once I distract myself.  

[Katy]

Bacon is usually cured with sugar, so it's the full effect of all processed foods- sugar, salt, fat, crunchy, MSG...  It's pretty much the ultimate bliss point food in terms of overeating in the moment.

PLUS chances are given how much weight you have lost in the past, you likely have a genetic thing where you have less insulin receptors on certain classes of smooth muscle cells, so when you eat a lot of saturated fat it blocks those insulin receptors and lowers insulin sensitivity.  Some people have tons of receptors per cell and therefore NO reaction to saturated fat (those are the people low carb diets work for).  Others find that our blood sugar skyrockets far more than eating sugar when we have a high dose of saturated fat, which then makes me ravenously hungry a couple hours later.

[ktgrok]

29 minutes ago, Kassia said:

I'm actually like that with just about anything I eat.  If I'm eating eggs, I want more when I'm done.  An apple, pretzels, a sandwich, cereal, whatever...I like eating and don't want to stop.  I make myself stop by telling myself that no matter how much I eat, I'll ALWAYS want more and the feeling will pass once I distract myself.  

Ah, see if I have JUST eggs and veggies, I'm good. If I have bread with it, I'm hungry again. If I have bacon, I'm hungry again. If lunch has potatos, I'm hungry again, etc. It's usually carbs - bacon is the first I've noticed otherwise...but if I think hard, it really is probably processed stuff in general. 

16 minutes ago, Katy said:

Bacon is usually cured with sugar, so it's the full effect of all processed foods- sugar, salt, fat, crunchy, MSG...  It's pretty much the ultimate bliss point food in terms of overeating in the moment.

PLUS chances are given how much weight you have lost in the past, you likely have a genetic thing where you have less insulin receptors on certain classes of smooth muscle cells, so when you eat a lot of saturated fat it blocks those insulin receptors and lowers insulin sensitivity.  Some people have tons of receptors per cell and therefore NO reaction to saturated fat (those are the people low carb diets work for).  Others find that our blood sugar skyrockets far more than eating sugar when we have a high dose of saturated fat, which then makes me ravenously hungry a couple hours later.

I did check that it has 0 grams of sugar, but I'm betting it has other stuff, like MSG and random chemicals. 

The insulin receptors make sense, but this is an immediate effect...like in minutes. Would it be that quick?

I will have ot maybe check blood sugar after high fat meals and see if that is the case - if it is the fat or the salt or something else. It could be both. 

[ktgrok]

19 minutes ago, happysmileylady said:

I dunno, but it would be easy to test out...just drink a big old glass of water when you start feeling hungry.  

Well, due to my surgery I have to kind of sip slowly through the day....I will say it is REALLY hot here now, even the house doesn't full cool off during the day with the AC, so dehydration is very possible. 

[Katy]

53 minutes ago, Ktgrok said:

Ah, see if I have JUST eggs and veggies, I'm good. If I have bread with it, I'm hungry again. If I have bacon, I'm hungry again. If lunch has potatos, I'm hungry again, etc. It's usually carbs - bacon is the first I've noticed otherwise...but if I think hard, it really is probably processed stuff in general. 

I did check that it has 0 grams of sugar, but I'm betting it has other stuff, like MSG and random chemicals. 

The insulin receptors make sense, but this is an immediate effect...like in minutes. Would it be that quick?

I will have ot maybe check blood sugar after high fat meals and see if that is the case - if it is the fat or the salt or something else. It could be both. 

 

The physical hunger thing isn't there for me immediately, but the bliss-point pleasure-trap want-more is there immediately, if that makes sense.

Then again I did a fair amount of intermittent fasting before I had kids so I might be more in tune with the difference between the types of hunger.  I think bliss point hunger is more difficult to control, especially if I'm stressed out.  Last night a kid woke up in the middle of the night and I was up for an extra hour, right after I'd fallen asleep.  I demolished all the cookies left in the main pantry just to manage my urge to put the kid back in bed screaming and wake up the whole house.

Edited June 25, 2020 by Katy
I'm still too tired to function

[ktgrok]

2 minutes ago, Katy said:

 

The physical hunger thing isn't there for me immediately, but the bliss-point pleasure-trap want-more is there immediately, if that makes sense.

Then again I did a fair amount of intermittent fasting before I had kids so I might be more in tune with the difference between the types of hunger.  I think bliss point hunger is more difficult to control, especially if I'm stressed out.  Last night a kid woke up in the middle of the night and I was up for an extra hour, right after I'd fallen asleep.  I demolished all the cookies left in the main pantry just to manage my urge to put the kid back in bed screaming and wake up the whole house.

Yeah, that is an evening thing for me - and almost always requires sugar. 

[Katy]

Katie, How do you have time to write?  I'd like to do camp nano but I've tried so many times before and always fall off the wagon a few days in.

I guess I'd need to get all daytime chores done during the day and try to write after DH goes to bed to get anything done.  Sorry for the hijack, I should probably go start a new thread.

[Carol in Cal.]

See, I think bacon is basically its own food group.  Kind of like chocolate.

[ktgrok]

1 hour ago, Katy said:

Katie, How do you have time to write?  I'd like to do camp nano but I've tried so many times before and always fall off the wagon a few days in.

I guess I'd need to get all daytime chores done during the day and try to write after DH goes to bed to get anything done.  Sorry for the hijack, I should probably go start a new thread.

I don't, lol. Either the writing suffers, or the schooling does, or the housework does, on the regular 🙂