Saturday 21 June 2008

The Sprinkles Diet

The Sprinkles diet as mentioned on Diet Blog and The Fit Shack is being billed as the latest fad diet and when I first read this this morning I tended to agree.

However due to an appointment yesterday I then researched lack of sense of smell and overeating. I found a condition called Ansomia, which I have self diagnosed.

I wasn't going to write about this here but as this diet has appeared today, it seemed like a sign. Below is a copy of the comment I left on The Fit Shack site.

-----------------------------


Yesterday was at my first appointment with an eating disorder psychologist (for overeating/binge eating).

After many questions and answers delving into my past, I mentioned that I considered a while ago that maybe my lack of sense of smell (of at least 15 years) might be the reason I overeat, you know, always searching for a smell or taste to satisfy my hunger. I told the psychologist that I had dismissed it because I didn't want to look for an excuse for my inability to control my food intake.

The psychologist said that it may well be a contributing factor, among others and shouldn't be dismissed.

So yesterday, I would have totally dismissed this as a fad diet, today I am thinking this may be worth exploring, along with (now that I understand it may be an issue) stimulating other senses, ie making my meals as colourful as possible, adding more spices to my foods, eating it even more slowly and appreciating the texture and what little taste I have.

--------------------------------------------

It was a big step for me to go and see a psychologist for overeating. I am managing to maintain my weight (a little higher than I would like it to be, but still a huge improvement on where I was) by eating well for a few weeks and then then totally blowing it with a binge which could last a couple of weeks, so I am fluctuating on an almost monthly basis by about 3kg.

I had decided that enough was enough, I don't want to live like this anymore. I have tried so hard to do this myself and got totally frustrated that I didn't think it could hurt to see if there might be a reason that I can't figure out myself.

I am hoping that this is the start of the end and that I can move on healthily.

4 comments:

Kek said...

Good for you Claire, for taking some positive action. Having a reduced sense of smell must make food quite disappointing. :o(

Just on the Diet Blog article, this opening sentence annoyed me:

If healthy food tasted good, perhaps we wouldn't be facing an obesity crisis.

Yeah, let's perpetuate the myth that healthy food tastes bad or just has no taste... that's helpful!

I'm a big fan of using herbs and spices and things like mustard, garlic, chilli and fish sauce to add flavour to my food - always have been. I'd go nuts if I had to eat boring grilled protein and steamed veg all the time (does anybody actually DO that?). So the "sprinkles" theory isn't at all surprising, really.

Good luck with your quest for some answers.

Yummy Mummy said...

WOW!!! I missed that article on Diet blog...

Great step in the right direction! Sometimes it really helps to get help!

JoLynn Braley said...

Hi and thanks for the link to my article at The Fit Shack!

I think it's Awesome that you're seeking therapy, that's a really big step. I honestly would not recommend using those sprinkles though - they contain "natural flavor" which is another name for MSG. They also contain maltodextrin, which often contains MSG, and the fact that these ingredients are included makes a lot of sense because MSG is a taste enhancer.

You can research this yourself, there is a bunch of info online (and I have links in my article) and I Highly Recommend reading Excitotoxins by Dr. Russell L. Blaylock. MSG is linked to Alzheimers, Parkinsons, and a host of other health problems.

Oh, and if you really want to try to enhance the flavors of your food, why not do it without MSG? Here's something I found through the comments on the post on Diet-Blog that you can check out -
http://bodyflexsupportgroup.yuku.com/topic/516/t/Anyone-remember-the-Sprinkle-Thin-spices-combos-posted-here.html

I'm not completely sure about the ingred. of the parm cheese but the others are just spices along with the cocoa powder. Unless that cheese contains hidden MSG this way you'd be doing something to enhance flavor much more naturally.

Good luck with everything! :) I know exactly how much pain is involved in emotional eating, compulsive overeating, and binge eating because I've done them all myself. What works for me is staying off of processed foods and eating whole foods - whole foods don't contain all of that gunk (sugar, salt, MSG, white flour, + more additives...) that triggers food addictions and binging.

All the best,

JoLynn Braley

Debstar said...

I wouldn't have guessed in a million years that you binged. It's pretty gutsy to reveal it to us. I hope the psycologist helps you get to a much better place.