Dieting and Food Addiction

I have talked before in this blog about my addiction to food. One of the problems with food addictions is you can't go cold turkey like an alcoholic or drug addict can. You are forced to eat something just by the nature of how your body works. For me this means a diet I can use and stick with for a long time. I'm sure you know how most diets go. You are all excited about losing weight and you are gung-ho to get started with the new diet you found. You start out the morning following it exactly and it doesn't seem too bad. You get to lunch and everything is still going well. Then the afternoon hits and the hunger pangs start. You use every bit of will power you have to stay away from the candy machine down the hall. OK. So far, so good. Then you get home, you are starved and can't wait to get something in your stomach. This is where I fall down as I think I'll just nibble a little bit on this and then I have a bite of that and before you know it I have consumed all the calories I am allowed for the whole week.
Dieting is not fun and so we actually need a lifestyle change to accomplish long term weight loss. I have been concentrating on no carb foods in my menus and that really seems to be helping. Like I said above you can't just quit eating like another kind of addict can stop their behavior. Cigarette smokers do not need cigarettes in order to survive. In fact cigarettes are a poison to your body and it functions better without them. So you can't go cold turkey. What then?
If you eat too much and you feel food has control over your life you can treat certain foods the way other addicted people treat their addictive substances. When an alcoholic decides to dry out he or she realizes they can never take another drink. Even one could lead them down the road to activating their addictive behavior. Sometimes they have to use every ounce of will power they have to stop from taking that first drink. You can use this method when you are on a particular diet and trying to lose weight.
For example, if you wanted to lose 10 pounds in a month you could make it your goal to never, ever eat desert during that time. That means no nibbling, no tasting, and no sneaking a small bite. Instead, you would approach it like an alcoholic who is fighting his or her addiction. Absolutely positively you do not let yourself get any where near desert. This way you don't stop eating everything you just completley stop eating the foods you chose.