I would say "Sorry to hear that, Sugardude", but it's more productive to try to understand what happened and look forward. So it might be helpful if you could first describe your experience in a bit more detail, then we can get the good thinkers on this forum to offer some suggestions.
I am assuming that it was sweet foods or beverages that triggered your binge, right? Can you say more about which specific foods got you going? Do you think it was sugar or sweet taste in general, was this a response to very specific trigger foods, as Heidi has been describing in her Non-Addictive Food Diet? Also, what were the circumstances, and what might have been the triggers or contextual cues that set you off? Did you eat in a social setting or by yourself? What was your pattern of eating -- did you satisfy the urge by binge eating non stop, or did the urge build up progressively with each bite or portion?
I'm struck especially by your comment that "there was no way to stop the urge". I think this leaves us with two main possibilities:
1. The urge is due to a
nutrient deficiency or chemical imbalance.
2. The urge is a very strongly
conditioned behavioral response.
If #1 is true, then behavioral deconditioning is unlikely to be helpful, because your body truly needs something it is not getting. The only solution is to address the deficiency. You would have to figure that out either by going to a doctor & getting blood tests, or just try to address this by trial and error. Taking glutamine was a good idea, but apparently that does not always work for you. There are multiple deficiencies that have been proven to be associated with cravings, including mineral deficiencies (especially chromium, magnesium, and zinc) and Vitamin B deficiencies (especially niacin). If that is true, you should consider taking mineral and vitamin supplements. Here are some good links on that topic:
http://www.diabeteslibrary.org/View.aspx?url=Article819http://www.purehealthmd.com/nutrition/healthy-eating/sweeteners/stop-sugar-cravings.htmlHowever, if supplements don't resolve the problem, or you believe #2 is true, then a deconditioning technique may be your best bet. From the posts here on the forum and in the blog, I think your best bet for deconditioning is a "multi-pronged" approach, combining two or more of the best ideas, as Heidi has suggested. In that case I would suggest the following:
1. Direct cue exposure, including looking, smelling and even "enlightened tasting" by chewing a spitting out the sugary food. I think Heidi's ideas about this make sense, and she speaks from personal experience about food addictions. To make cue exposure work you need to set aside a non-stressed time to do it repeatedly and frequently over a few days. Within a one hour period, do it 4-6 times, waiting each time until the urge starts to come back, then re-expose. Then do it the next day. Use different sugary foods, and do it different times of day or in different rooms. It is key to vary the context and make the exposure realistic, except don't eat -- spit out! The exposure itself will diminish the urge! One or two times won't do the job. Have an alternate activity planned to do right after your cue exposure sessions. Heidi has a good test for success: the food should start to taste different!
After you succeed in dampening the urge and changing the flavor, you should try eating a small amount, very small, and stop dead in your tracks. Do this on multiple occasions -- only a bite or two; then go do something else, hopeful fun and pleasureable. Build up until eating is normal.
Cue exposure sounds hard. But unless you bite the bullet and do this, your only alternative is abstinence, which I think is too difficult and always leaves you vulnerable to relapse. If you can succeed with cue exposure, I think you have a long term solution.
2. Increasing a sustained sense of pleasure in your life. Do you find that you are more resitant to sweets when things are going well and you are generally feeling good? I tend to agree with Heidi that we give into addictive urges when we are low in pleasure (i.e. when our dopamine and serotin levels are low). Sugar generates dopamine and serotinin quickly, but the effect is short-lived and leads to a rebounding crash in neurotransmitter levels, which re-stokes the cycle.
To combat this, I would suggest adding physically stressful, strenuous or otherwise unpleasant activities into your daily routine, to generate endorphins and a sustained pleasure that will make you more resistant to cravings. This pleasure will also replenish your dopamine and serotinin levels in a sustained manner. Take a look at my post on the opponent-process theory of emotions for the explanation of how this works. Try different things: intense exercise (even going for fast-paced walks), very hot saunas or cold showers, even unpleasant or very spicy foods.
A final thought: Seven pounds quickly gained over two days is most likely not fat, and is probably a lot of glycogen and water. So if you can get back on the program, it will come back off in a few days.
