Addicted?

[JustMe28]

Hello, everyone. I don't want to come off as dumb or naive, but I was wondering is it really possible to be addicted to chocolate and Pepsi? It seems like every single day I am craving chocolate and Pepsi. Moreso the chocolate than the Pepsi. To be specific, I crave 3 Musketeers bars. Is it possible to be addicted to something like this? And if so, how do you change the way you think about it?

 

[Robinrs]

Oh YEAH! Chocolate and Pepsi both contain caffeine which is as addictive as cocaine!

Ask a total addict, that's me!

Here is an interesting essay I found on this subject on Innerbody.com:

Caffeine Addiction

Technically, a drug is a chemical substance used to prevent or cure disease or to enhance a person's physical or mental welfare. In fact, people use caffeine for all of these purposes and caffeine can do all of these things, but usually in a very limited way. Caffeine is the most popular drug in the world. Though caffeine is a chemical used for both medical and nonmedical reasons, most often it is used non-medically for its stimulating effect on mood and behavior. Drugs that are taken to alter mood or change behavior are known as "psychoactive drugs." Heroin, cocaine, marijuana, nicotine, alcohol, and caffeine are all psychoactive drugs. Pure caffeine is a bitter-tasting, white powder that resembles corn- starch. It is moderately soluble in water at body temperature and is easily soluble in boiling water. It was first isolated from coffee in 1820 and from tea in 1827 and given the name "theine." Soon after that, it was recognized that the mood-altering and behavior-altering properties of both coffee and tea came from caffeine. After coffee and tea, the next most important source is soft drinks, and the next, cocoa and chocolate. The final important source is in prescription and over-the-counter drugs. People who regularly consume large amounts of coffee (more than five cups a day) often find their system has adapted to this amount, so that their "tolerance" to the substance increases; the result is that they must increase their intake to have any stimulating effect. Also, if such people go without coffee for some time - as little as a few hours in some cases - they may suffer from withdrawal symptoms, such as fatigue, headaches, and irritability due to their physical and psychological dependence on the drug.

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I had to wean myself off caffeine, slowly. I'm still in the process of it. I only drink water now, and decaffeinated coffee. That was a hard change. As for chocolate, I now eat it WITHOUT sugar, so the second addiction is eliminated, which allows me to eat less.

Good luck! I used to pride myself for never taking drugs in my lifetime and found out I was an "addict" nonetheless. You are far from being alone in this one, though. Hang in there!

Robinrs

 

[gshoemate]

Yep, I am to chocolate and it's hard to get off it. Thats why I keep falling off of Atkins. I take a supplement that was suggested in the Atkins book, it's call L-glutine, I don't have the craving when I take it but if I forget....look out. I raid the cupboards and eat alot of junk food, including chocolate. I don't know if you are on any type of diet but what I have found helps me (when I remember to do it) is I take a chocolate Atkins shake and pour it into a plastic water bottle with a lid. Then I put it in the fridge where I can see it first thing. So when I go in to get a bite of chocolate (which I do often out of habit) I take a few drinks of the shake and that seems to do the trick.

 

[DoomBuggieDriver]

I am also very addicted to chocolate and caffene-with me it's Coke. With Coke I just stopped cold turkey, and I have one small Coke once a week at the Sunday lunch we have after church. It was very hard to get away from it-I had headaches etc., but I have found it was really well worth it. I would drink a ton of it and still be thirtsy, which makes sense as Coke and other sodas can't provide what water can!

As for the chocolate, now that's a different story. I have decided to have a chocolate protien shake every day or every couple days take the place of the real thing, which is just OK. Every couple weeks I will have a small candy bar or a bit of hot fudge-yum. But I find I can't keep these things in the house or I'll cheat. It has to be an extra effort to get them, and a couple times I found in the time it takes to drive to the convenience store or ice cream stand, I have talked myself out of it!

So good luck with your battles-we're out here if you need support.
Kathy