Losing willpower at night and eating

May 5 2016 by in About membership, Addiction, Q&A

Do you have a hard time controlling cravings for food – in particular sweet or processed foods? Do you experience lack of control over your eating?

Our addiction expert Bitten Jonsson, RN, knows a lot about how to get back into control. Here are three member questions answered by her. For example, what do you do if you lose all willpower at night and end up eating things you shouldn’t?

Addiction Roller Coaster

Dear Bitten,
I hope you are well. Your videos and talks are inspirational and I thank you for your advice.

I’ve had a horrible virus for 7 weeks coupled with a trip to Berlin I have fallen off the wagon good proper I can’t seem to get back on. For a while all I could taste was sweet things thus I’ve been living off sugary carbs & pizza. I have gained over a stone and feel quite despondent ? I don’t feel like I can start all over again.

This has been my problem for years; I have been in this cycle and I always find a reason to eat badly. I’m a sugar and carb addict and I think I need additional help. I have looked for groups to join but they all seem to have a religious and/or spiritual connection and that’s just not me. Can you recommend anyone who could help? I live in Manchester in the north of England and I’m willing to travel for help. I’m 51 and at the tail end of the menopause and I want to get a grip before my health is seriously affected.

Thank you in advance,
Jan

Jan, what you describe is the typical roller coaster for us addicts and a virus is very tough on or bodies, it drains our adrenals and we feel wired and tired and then our brain scream for a quick fix. On top of that you were travelling. Which also takes a lot of energy. And you are in menopause which needs to be dealt with.

It sound like you need neuronutrient therapy at this point to restore your energy to start with. I agree that many support grops still do not have focus on what I call a Holistic Approach, but i am absolutely convinced that we addicts need to get spiritualt tools to be able to both improve and sustain our wellness and recovery.

If we read the definition by ASAM/ American Society of Addiction Medicine, we addicts have a physical brain illness that results in physical, phsycological, social and spiritual consequences. I have explained this several time to other people here. But we can not comprehend what we need until we have repaired our broken chemistry. Right now you need help with that.

I suggest that you get help from one of my top counselors in Sweden, she will be able to work with you thru Skype to start with. Her English is excellent. If this is an option please send me an email to bitten.jonsson@bittensaddiction.com

Bitten

Losing Willpower at Night

Dear Bitten,
after struggeling for years I broke my carb addiction and have no headaches and cravings anymore. I stick to my LCHF plan and all could be so wonderful. But my plan works only until 9pm. After the family goes to bed, my Mr. Hyde comes out and I repeat the way to the fridge on and on. I know, it’s a kind of emotional problem, because I DON’T WANT to keep me from eating all the carbs in the house during that time.

It’s not a weakness of willpower, the willpower is totally gone!!! During daytime I have full control and feel alright.

After 4 years, there were almost 1500 days of trying and I lost 1400 of them. I try the next day even harder and fail in the evening for sure. My family and friends blame me for being weak. So what is your kind advice?

Thanks in advance,
Thorsten from Germany

Dear Thorsten, first of all, you are not week at all, You have a brain illness. Your reward system is wired in a way that is different from others. We as addicts need to accept that. I wonder if my book Zucker, nein danke, from 2004, still is available in Germany. Now there is a lot of new research available that shows how sugar can be 8 times more addictive than cocaine. Not everyone reacts to it addictively but many, many do…

I suggest that you do not have any ”dangerous” foods in your house to start with. If our reptilian brain knows it’s there, it will create a craving that no willpower can stop. We are like missiles, locked on target. Second you need to develop a strategy for the evenings. Call someone at 8.30 pm, who understands addiction and tell about your cravings. How does it feel, what are your thoughts right now, what are your urges?

This is why we need support groups. There is no meaning telling a color blind about red, so it has to be someone that has the same problem, but this ahead of you in recovery. Do pick up the book Staying Sober by Terence T Gorski. It is about alcohol but change that word to sugar/carbs and you’ll get the idea.

Wish you freedom from the sugar drug. Read up on other answers to and you see my point.

My very best, Bitten

Sleep Deprivation and Addiction

I’ve been watching all of your videos, only three more to go, and you keep saying how we should avoid getting too tired. I have a cyclical problem with this. I have four little kids. The youngest is five months old and breastfeeding multiple times during the night. I have severe sleep apnea, largely due to weight, so I don’t sleep well when I do try to sleep. The sleep I get at night is all the sleep I get, as napping during the day might result in complete chaos with a 2-year old, 3-year old and 5-year old in charge. Being too tired is a big reason why my sugar cravings are so bad right now. I don’t see how I can get more rest out of my day. It wouldn’t be so bad if the kids all napped at the same time but currently the baby is out of sync and is taking what would have been my nap time with a need to care for her.

Jana, I understand your problem, This is a very tough situation. Let me start with addressing your sleep deprivation. If you suffer from sleepapnea I suggest you start by reading about what happens when we ”over”breathe at this site: http://www.consciousbreathing.com/ If we are stressed, this is a stressful situation, we crave sugar and the more sugar you eat the worse it gets. So taping your mouth at night will improve your sleeping and I know it sounds crazy but it works. During the day use the ”relaxator” whenever you have a chance. You will have more energy and will be better at slowly improve your eating. I assume you know how to eat ? Then of course maybe have someone help out with cooking would be great. Take one day at a time. This period will pass and you need a lot of energy now…

My best, Bitten

More About Food Addiction

First Part of Our Sugar Addiction Video Course – Free for All!

MEMBERS ONLY

What Is Sugar Addiction? – Bitten Jonsson

One Day in A Sugar Addict's Life – Bitten Jonsson

MEMBERS ONLY

It's Not About Willpower – Bitten Jonsson

MEMBERS ONLY

MEMBERS ONLY

The 3 Stages of Sugar Addiction – Bitten Jonsson

MEMBERS ONLY

MEMBERS ONLY

MEMBERS ONLY

MEMBERS ONLY

Don't Act on False Emotions – Bitten Jonsson

MEMBERS ONLY

If You Fail to Plan, You Plan to Fail – Bitten Jonsson

MEMBERS ONLY

How to Reach Long-Term Recovery – Bitten Jonsson

MEMBERS ONLY

The First Steps to Treatment – Bitten Jonsson

Name

Provider / Domain

Expiration

Description

ckdc-premium

.dietdoctor.com

1 month

app-banner

.dietdoctor.dev.dietdoctor.com

1 day

This cookie shows whether user closed the App Banner prompt

_gaexp

Google LLC

dietdoctor.com

1 year

Used to determine a user's inclusion in an experiment and the expiry of experiments a user has been included in.

_gaexp

Google LLC

.dietdoctor.com

1 year

Used to determine a user's inclusion in an experiment and the expiry of experiments a user has been included in.

_opt_awcid

.dietdoctor.com

3 days

_opt_awmid

.dietdoctor.com

3 days

_opt_awgid

.dietdoctor.com

3 days

_opt_awkid

.dietdoctor.com

3 days

_opt_utmc

.dietdoctor.com

3 days

_opt_expid

.dietdoctor.com

25 seconds

gtm_auth

.dietdoctor.com

3 days

gtm_debug

.dietdoctor.com

3 days

gtm_experiment

.dietdoctor.com

3 days

gtm_preview

.dietdoctor.com

3 days

_hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress

Hotjar Ltd

.dietdoctor.com

30 minutes

The cookie is set so Hotjar can track the beginning of the user's journey for a total session count. It does not contain any identifiable information.

_ga

Google LLC

.dietdoctor.com

2 years

This cookie name is associated with Google Universal Analytics - which is a significant update to Google's more commonly used analytics service. This cookie is used to distinguish unique users by assigning a randomly generated number as a client identifier. It is included in each page request in a site and used to calculate visitor, session and campaign data for the sites analytics reports.

_dc_gtm_UA-3268327-1

.dietdoctor.com

1 minute

This cookie is associated with sites using Google Tag Manager to load other scripts and code into a page. Where it is used it may be regarded as Strictly Necessary as without it, other scripts may not function correctly. The end of the name is a unique number which is also an identifier for an associated Google Analytics account.

_hjFirstSeen

Hotjar Ltd

.dietdoctor.com

30 minutes

The cookie is set so Hotjar can track the beginning of the user's journey for a total session count. It does not contain any identifiable information.

_dc_gtm_UA-22012422-2

.dietdoctor.com

1 minute

AWSELBCORS

Amazon.com Inc.

www.podbean.com

5 minutes

The cookies AWSELB and AWSELBCORS are functionally the same cookies. The latter has an explicit SameSite attribute set because of changes made from Chrome 80 and upwards.

_ga_YMCP8KW9S4

.dietdoctor.com

2 years

_hjIncludedInSessionSample

Hotjar Ltd

www.dietdoctor.com

2 minutes

This cookie is set to let Hotjar know whether that visitor is included in the data sampling defined by your site's daily session limit

__cf_bm

Cloudflare Inc.

.vimeo.com

30 minutes

This cookie is used to distinguish between humans and bots. This is beneficial for the website, in order to make valid reports on the use of their website.

_gid

Google LLC

.dietdoctor.com

1 day

This cookie is set by Google Analytics. It stores and update a unique value for each page visited and is used to count and track pageviews.

CookieScriptConsent

CookieScript

www.dietdoctor.com

1 year

This cookie is used by Cookie-Script.com service to remember visitor cookie consent preferences. It is necessary for Cookie-Script.com cookie banner to work properly.

__cf_bm

Cloudflare Inc.

.podbean.com

30 minutes

This cookie is used to distinguish between humans and bots. This is beneficial for the website, in order to make valid reports on the use of their website.

_hjIncludedInPageviewSample

Hotjar Ltd

www.dietdoctor.com

2 minutes

This cookie is set to let Hotjar know whether that visitor is included in the data sampling defined by your site's pageview limit.

_dc_gtm_UA-22012422-1

.dietdoctor.com

1 minute

_gaexp_rc

.dietdoctor.com

25 seconds

Name

Provider / Domain

Expiration

Description

IDE

Google LLC

.doubleclick.net

1 year

This cookie is set by Doubleclick and carries out information about how the end user uses the website and any advertising that the end user may have seen before visiting the said website.

_uetvid

Microsoft Corporation

.dietdoctor.com

1 year

This is a cookie utilised by Microsoft Bing Ads and is a tracking cookie. It allows us to engage with a user that has previously visited our website.

loc

Oracle Corporation

.addthis.com

1 year 1 month

Stores the visitors geolocation to record location of sharer

test_cookie

Google LLC

.doubleclick.net

15 minutes

This cookie is set by DoubleClick (which is owned by Google) to determine if the website visitor's browser supports cookies.

_gcl_au

Google LLC

.dietdoctor.com

3 months

Used by Google AdSense for experimenting with advertisement efficiency across websites using their services

_uetsid

Microsoft Corporation

.dietdoctor.com

1 day

This cookie is used by Bing to determine what ads should be shown that may be relevant to the end user perusing the site.

uvc

Oracle Corporation

.addthis.com

1 year 1 month

Tracks how often a user interacts with AddThis

YSC

Google LLC

.youtube.com

Session

This cookie is set by YouTube to track views of embedded videos.

MUID

Microsoft Corporation

.bing.com

1 year

This cookie is widely used my Microsoft as a unique user identifier. It can be set by embedded microsoft scripts. Widely believed to sync across many different Microsoft domains, allowing user tracking.

_fbp

Meta Platform Inc.

.dietdoctor.com

3 months

Used by Facebook to deliver a series of advertisement products such as real time bidding from third party advertisers

VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE

Google LLC

.youtube.com

6 months

This cookie is set by Youtube to keep track of user preferences for Youtube videos embedded in sites;it can also determine whether the website visitor is using the new or old version of the Youtube interface.

Name

Provider / Domain

Expiration

Description

_ga_7S1SXKKDKN

.dietdoctor.com

2 years

Name

Provider / Domain

Expiration

Description

_hjSession_1945121

.dietdoctor.com

30 minutes

_hjSessionUser_1945121

.dietdoctor.com

1 year

_ga_Y4DLH4EPXM

.dietdoctor.com

2 years