Oreos More Addictive Than Cocaine? Study Shows Cookies Might Produce More Pleasure Than Coke In Rats

I have long known that processed sugars were not good for me, yet I have had no problem continuing to ingest insane amounts of junk food over the years. Just today, I was in a situation that would have sent me spiraling out of control just a few short weeks ago. For many years, I have worked jobs that

required me to be in the car most of the day. I never ate breakfast, but I would have my morning Mountain Dew. By around 11am, the beverage would be partially digested, leaving my stomach feeling like a gaping hole of hunger.

I remembered back when this sort of situation would leave me feeling absolutely powerless. Like I had no other option but to hit the closest drive thru. Not just that, but then I'd pull get up to the window to order and decide that i am so hungry, I can't JUST have the Double Quarter Pounder and large fries, I NEED to have a 10 pc nugget too, and a large Coke. The first bite tasted so amazing. The second bite, a little less amazing. By the time I was finished, I would have consumed around 3,000 calories in a single sitting. This was my life, every day.

Today I found myself out and about, I had already drank my breakfast smoothie, and my snack smoothie. I expected to be home by lunch, but ended up taking longer than expected. So now I am driving around many drive thru restaurants that used to be in my eyes the "only solution". Today. I was determined not to let the smell of french fries or cheeseburgers get the best of me. I did end up pulling into McDonald's, but I did not let my stomach tell me what I was going to be eating today.

I took my time, looked over the menu, and decided that I was going to feed my body what it NEEDED at the time, not what my brain told me sounded good at the time. I ended up getting a McWrap with grilled chicken, no dressing, just veggies. I had never had one of them before, and it was quite good, and only 330 calories.

I have finally learned my lesson. For far too long, I have been a victim of circumstance. You CAN choose to hit the drive thru, but you have to make up your mind that you won't just get what your brain thinks will taste good, you have to get what your body needs.

The food industry specifically manufactures food products that are highly addictive. They want us to eat more. Below is an article that I found that helps illustrate the point I just made.

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Oreos More Addictive Than Cocaine? Study Shows Cookies Might Produce More Pleasure Than Coke In Rats
By Simon McCormack
Posted: 10/18/2013 12:55 pm EDT  |  Updated: 10/18/2013 1:53 pm EDT


Put down that bag of Oreos and pick up that crack pipe. Just kidding -- please, please don't.

But there is evidence that, at least in one respect, Oreo cookies may be more addictive than cocaine.

As the Christian Science Monitor reports, researchers at Connecticut College designed a rat maze with Oreos on one side and rice cakes on the other. The rats spent a lot more time hanging out and eating the Oreos than feeding on the rice cakes.

In a similar test, the researchers also measured which side of the maze rats preferred when on one side they were offered injections of saline and on the other, there were injections of cocaine or morphine. The rats spent just as much time on the cocaine and morphine side of the maze as they did on the Oreo side in the other experiment.

In both experiments, researchers monitored brain activity in the rats, according to a press release on the findings.

They used immunohistochemistry to measure the expression of a protein called c-Fos, a marker of neuronal activation, in the nucleus accumbens, or the brain’s “pleasure center.”
The researchers found that "Oreos activated significantly more neurons" than cocaine.

"This correlated well with our behavioral results and lends support to the hypothesis that high-fat/high-sugar foods are addictive,” Joseph Schroeder, associate professor of psychology at Connecticut College, said.

Keith Humphreys, professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, told The Huffington Post he's skeptical of the study's findings.

"The cornerstone of scientific quality is peer-review," Humphreys said in an email to HuffPost. "This study hasn't been published in a peer-reviewed journal. It has not even been presented at a conference. All I know is that they put a press release making a series of claims based on a study, the details of which they have not shared with their colleagues. On principle, that makes me doubt their conclusions."

Humphreys also said there are limits to comparisons between food and drugs.

"There is no doubt that foods and drugs can produce activity in similar parts of the brain," Humphreys said. "However, addiction is about negative consequences such as overdose and death, and that's not parallel for drugs and food. If a heavy heroin user stops using heroin, he is better off. If a heavy eater stops eating, he dies."

It's beautiful outside! Get up and get moving!

I LOVE spring time! Can anyone agree?

A couple weeks ago I planted some Tulips in our front yard with the help of my three little helpers. The last few days, I have been having them help me water them, reminding them that they were the ones that planted the flowers. They get so excited seeing something that they did turn into something so beautiful.

We are hosting the Elders tomorrow night for dinner. One of the Elders is finishing his mission here and heading back home to Hawaii in a couple weeks, so it's sort of a farewell party. Since it will be one of his last weeks here, I told him that he had to pick what we ate for dinner. He opted for steaks, I subsequently promised that we would do a BBQ if weather allowed.

According to the weather reports, it is supposed to be up to 78 degrees here today, which means we'll be doing a BBQ. That also means that we will be outside, so I guess I have to mow my lawn for the first time this year. I have been procrastinating thus far. Normally our grass struggles to grow at all, but right now it is thick and green.

Right as I remembered that I need to mow my lawn, a daily reminder notification popped up on the screen of my phone reminding me to "get up and get moving". I guess that's a sign! I think I'll find a way to make it fun with my boys. Not sure how I will do that yet, but I plan on it!

Yesterday I was brutalized by my trainer. I made the mistake of telling her about my excellent progress in the last couple weeks in my workouts at home. She put the boots to me yesterday for sure! Some may use that as an excuse to not work out, but I will use it as fuel to increase the intensity today. Each day, we should be striving to do better than the day before. Do 5 more sit-ups, 3 more push ups. Bump up the intensity on the treadmill for the last 10 minutes.

Kick it into high gear!

It's almost summer time, I plan on spending most of my time outdoors this year and I want to be comfortable doing it!

Update:

While mowing the lawn this morning I had a "moment". I remember mowing the lawn last year, I would sweat more, and I always felt like I put all of my effort into mowing the lawn. Sometimes I would mow just the front, or just the back. I wouldn't always do the whole lawn because it was seemingly too much to handle. Today, I did it all at once. I even had enough energy to clean up the yard a bit more than I usually would. After that was all done, I even cleaned out my truck. I cleaned the inside of my windows, every square inch. When I was younger, I used to clean my car inside and out twice a week. My car was my image, and I was proud of it. Since I have kids now, I have used them as an excuse to not get back into shape, among other things.

I realized once again today that I can do what I want. No matter what it is. I used to think those were only words. Like what professional trainers told to olympic athletes before a competition, I never thought it pertained to me.

No matter what obstacles may be in your way, you CAN do whatever you put your mind to it.

While this weight loss journey starts as a means to an end, a way to lose weight, you will find out for yourself that it is SO MUCH MORE! Losing the weight is only 10% of the overall journey. Don't be afraid. Take that first step and don't look back.

When I first started on this journey, I could not complete a single push up. Now, I can do 20 or more. I didn't set that as a goal, but when I did the push ups, I burst into tears. What an amazing moment for me. I have been trapped under all these layers of fat for so many years, I finally saw the old me coming back. I saw the ME that used to wash his 20 year old rusted car twice weekly because I was proud of what I was able to accomplish even through all the trials that I had to face growing up.

Most people don't know who I am. They may know that my name is Ryan, but my story is so much bigger than my name. I am not just "that fat guy". When I look in the mirror I see a fat person, but inside I feel the old me coming out. I can't wait to peel back the layers of fat and reveal the real ME that I used to be. You just wait people.

Start with "losing weight" as your goal. Before long, you will find the person inside that you have subconsciously hidden inside for so many years. You will realize how miserable of an existence you have been putting yourself through. You just accept it as it now because you don't think you can change. I am here to tell you, YOU CAN!

Change today so you can have a better tomorrow!

Need some motivation?

I was reading today about some incredible people who have lost a large amount of weight and I got inspired. I hope to have an amazing success story like this one day!

Huffington Post January 2014
Name: Marie Dozier
Age: 30
Height: 5'7"
Before Weight: 271 pounds

How I Gained It: My abuse of sugar, as a substance to provide me that rush, began as a small child. I knew I had a problem because I could never understand why all of my friends were able to have entire pantries full of snacks and treats at all times. The pantry would not stay stocked in my house for longer than a day because instead of eating treats occasionally, I would eat until the entire stock was gone. This continued to be an on-and-off struggle for me throughout my adolescence and into early adulthood, but reached its peak when I entered into an extremely unhappy and dysfunctional marriage. What started as a problem with overindulgence and lack of moderation became a full-fledged addiction. For about two years, I stuffed my emotions down by filling myself with food: cheap, easily accessible, nutrient-deficient junk food. I ate from fast-food restaurants daily and made frequent trips to the grocery stores for chips, candy and cakes. I'd go to the movies by myself with a giant purse full of binge food just so I could get my high in private. I would only binge in private. But what I kept trying to hide from others became extremely apparent when I continued to gain weight and topped the scale at 271 pounds.

I was tired of living the miserable existence that comes with having over 100 pounds of excess body weight. I was tired of being uncomfortable, unattractive and alienated. It was very unpleasant for me, physically, to have to carry around the heavy burden of morbid obesity. Simple tasks, such as getting in and out of the car, carrying groceries into the house or putting away laundry were exhausting and torturous. I was uncomfortable in every single thing I did, from breathing to sleeping. Every moment of my existence was terribly burdensome.

I also felt a lot of shame as a morbidly obese person. I wore the same outfit every day because I couldn't bring myself to go out and purchase anything for the size that I was. I left my house to either go to work or go get food, but otherwise I was on my couch, in front of the TV, with food. I couldn't do anything I wanted to do because I was uncomfortable in my own skin, and therefore uncomfortable around other people. It kept me from making friends, participating in activities that I would have otherwise enjoyed. I was a perpetual loner.

Breaking Point: July 27, 2007 is when I "snapped" and decided that I had to get the weight off once and for all. Food issues and my morbid obesity was a form of slavery, and I was determined to break free in order to live the life I desired. I had finally grown weary of starting over every single day. I knew my youth was going to be gone soon. I rationalized that if I was going to enjoy my youth at all, it was now or never.

How I Lost It: Losing weight is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. The journey began slowly. I became more mindful of what I was putting into my body. I slowly began replacing soda with water, candy bars with high-fiber snacks, fast food with home-cooked meals. I began by eliminating fast food and food that comes from packages (like chips and candies) and working through the process of learning to "eat clean". It was not easy at all, considering I had pretty much been living off of fast food and junk food for years. Breaking any addiction requires a certain amount of suffering, and suffer I did. It was misery. I experienced legitimate withdrawal symptoms. I had intense cravings. This was beyond just "being on a diet". It felt like I was in detox for the first six months. During those six months, I lost about 40 pounds.


In 2008, I joined SparkPeople and began to look through the success stories and food logs of fit and healthy members. I tried to mimic how they ate, which changed my diet dramatically. I began to eat significantly more fruit and vegetables and increased my exercise. I started walking in the neighborhood and going to the gym. This was also another difficult thing for me to do, because I had become so accustomed to living a sedentary lifestyle. But, every day, I forced myself to do some type of exercise. I was walking more, doing the elliptical trainer at the gym and hiking three miles at a time. Eventually I was able to start running for a few minutes, here and there, on the treadmill at the gym. My weight continued to drop, and I began to start feeling better about myself. It wasn't long before I started running outside. Next, I ran my first 5K, then 10K, then half marathon. A year later I was running a full 26.2 miles!

I experimented with many diets throughout the process of losing weight, but have indeed made this a lifestyle change. When I first began my journey, I had little expectations of transforming my life from a morbidly obese, sedentary person to a fit and healthy person. I felt somewhat hopeless. When I found SparkPeople, it really drove home the possibility that I could make lasting changes and achieve success. It took about two years to lose the bulk of the weight and then another three years of "ups and downs" in maintenance. Then, in the last two years, I have finally lost the last 30 pounds to reach a comfortable weight.

Now, I love and enjoy healthy, nutritious, fresh foods on a daily basis. I really enjoy food and the experience of eating, but it's no longer a destructive behavior that causes guilt, shame and weight gain. I feel fueled, nourished and energized! I exercise every single day, and don't even have to force myself to anymore; it is now a habit and a consistent aspect of my life. I participate in sports and fitness classes that keep me engaged and that I consider fun. I take my dog hiking in the woods. I run races. I do yoga.

I am a better person because of my weight loss. I have more energy to keep up with my two young daughters. I have confidence to be a good wife to my husband. I have a better work ethic because I'm more fit, rested and can move about with ease. I no longer shy away from opportunities to socialize, such as going to church or birthday parties. I have been able to travel and see the world -- something I never would have done as my obese self. I am able to do things I never dreamed possible. I'm in the perfect career now, working as a psychiatric nurse to help others with addictions, and finally, I look cute in a pair of jeans! Fighting that battle and overcoming my food addiction was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. But I believe I'm a stronger person for it and have learned incredibly valuable life lessons that continue to help me grow and mature into a healthy, whole, happy and content individual. I am no longer a slave to my addiction. That is very liberating!

http://goo.gl/U0uoY2

Today is going to be a bit crazy

This morning I woke up feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the things that I have to do today. My wife got into a car accident last night so I am tasked with taking the van into the insurance company for their adjuster to give us an estimate. Now that I am sitting here typing this, I am realizing that I shouldn't have to make any effort to get the van fixed, they should have to come to my house right? It wasn't Katy's fault, so why should we have to jump through hoops?

Well here it is 9:30 am and I have an appt at 11am about 20 minutes from here to get the van looked at. I then have to feed the kids between the time the van is done being looked at and 12:40 when they have to be to school, then I rush to the Gym to meet my personal trainer for my 1:00 session. Right when the session is over, I go home and shower quickly and make it back to pick up the kids just in time for school to get out.

This kind of day is all it used to take to get me to make an excuse to not follow through with my fitness and health plans for the day. Not anymore! Every step is a choice.

This morning I was a bit bothered that we ran out of carrots and haven't made it to the store to buy more, but I was not about to let that be the reason that I didn't make my smoothies this morning, I just used more celery. The taste of celery juice is very strong, but by having the freshly juiced orange in the juice, the celery taste is pretty well masked.

I have a goal to lose 3 pounds this week, no more 1-2 pound weeks! Who is going to join me?

I have had dozens of people ask me what I put in my smoothies so I put together a video to show the whole process. It is a bit modified due to the fact that I didn't have carrots, but you get the point!

Quote of the day: 

"It takes a while to change your body, it only takes a split second to change your mind"

Recovering food addict

Today I feel good. I woke up this morning ready to greet the day. I drank my fruit and veggie smoothie while at my computer writing, and for once I remembered to take my fat burning pill.

I am down a total of 29 pounds since starting my journey officially in mid January 2014. I started a video blog that I intend to do regular updates to help people that may want some support to lose weight. I'll be the first to tell you, it is NOT easy. But the more prepared you are, the better off you will be.

Today was business as usual in my house, my oldest (who is now 5) went back to school today, which meant I had to drop him off at school. The OLD me would have simply came back home and gotten to work at the computer, or even sat on the couch for some TV time. Today, I drove all the way home, I saw the basketball hoop in my front yard which reminded me to get some exercise. I picked up a football and soccer ball and took my 4 year old twins to the park. I planned on playing ball, but they saw the playground and had other plans. I was a bit discouraged at first because for once, I made the decision to "get moving" as my phone reminder kept playing every hour. Here we were at a park, with a soccer ball and football, and all my boys wanted to do was play on the playground. I don't mind them playing, but I really wanted to get my heart rate up and burn some calories.

I have been a victim of circumstance for too long. I was talking to my sister on the phone and was talking to her about being a "victim of circumstance" and how important it was to recognize and make different choices.

For far too long, with the work that I have done I am always out and about. If I got hungry, I would find the closest drive thru and grab myself a bite to go. That usually meant eating more calories in one sitting than I should have all day long. The thing is, if you find yourself in that situation, remember the phrase "make good choices" I don't have to be a "victim of circumstance" anymore. The other day I was in that position, I thought I had no other choice but to choose between Mcdonald's and Wendy's. I was so upset that I had no other choices, until I remembered that Jimmy John's delivered. I was on the way home and had mere minutes to get ready before running out the door to an important meeting with my church organization.

Today I found myself in the same situation, I was once again, a Victim of my current circumstance. But I was not going to let my circumstance win me over!

I am in control! You have to remember that!
Your health is WORTH IT!

YOU are worth it.

Instead of claiming defeat, I opted to walk laps around the playground. After about 10 minutes, one of my boys joined me. He insisted on walking with me, hand in hand. The other boy joined us just a moment later. Not too long after that, Parker reminded me that we brought the soccer ball, and he asked if we could play with it. I was excited to see that he remembered, and that he wanted to play soccer with me. I think I was rubbing off on him, I was influencing him.

Just last year, I would give every excuse to not have to play ball because I simply didn't want to. I didn't have enough energy. I would sweat just looking at a basketball. Now, I have more energy, I WANT to play ball. I find every excuse to play anything that I can. This afternoon we played ball at the park for 45 minutes, after my wife got home from work, I went to the gym and burned 800 calories on the treadmill. If that wasn't enough, I came home and the kids were still out with Katy visiting friends. I saw the basketball hoop there, and a lonely basketball so I decided to play for a few minutes.

I kept hearing my trainer in my head "get hour heart rate up", "keep moving", "get off the couch and burn some calories".

I still have a LONG way to go on this journey of mine, but I AM WORTH IT.

If you struggle to make time in your day for exercise, please schedule some time for YOU. because YOU ARE WORTH IT!

Go to Ross, buy a Kettle Bell or a medicine / weighted ball. Start TODAY. Do a few sit-ups or crunches. Do a few push ups. You don't have to spend hours in the gym to make a difference. Just make sure that you make your time count. If you are doing crunches, even if you can only do 5, do them. Do them with all your might, make yourself sweat. Sweat is healing water!

"Pain is temporary, quitting is forever". When I first started working out again a few months back, I could only do 15 sit ups. now I do 100 daily. When I was in my teens and early twenties, I did 1000 nightly before bed.

You have to start somewhere, make the FIRST STEP.

Each step is a choice, make lots of great choices and your destination will astound you.

I really hope to motivate someone out there that is struggling like I used to. I used to think that I could never have a "beach body". I am here to say, YOU CAN with some hard work and dedication. I am almost 3 months in and down 29 pounds. My plan is to be down another 70 in the next 8 months. What is YOUR goal? If you don't have one, set one TODAY!

Another day for small wins

For the last two days, I have not had my usual smoothie for breakfast and lunch. We ran out of veggies completely, and my wife and I have both been very busy so we haven't had a chance to get to the grocery store. I went back to my old smoothies which were just fruit. BIG mistake! I didn't realize how much the veggies really helped me feel full all day long.

Yesterday, I finished my morning smoothie and within minutes was craving FOOD again. I was quite frustrated to say the least. Here I am trying to lose weight, and my body is craving food and I KNOW that I can't eat. For lunch, I ate chicken. Just chicken. For early dinner, I ate two home made egg and ham burritos on wheat tortillas. With what I had, I think I did ok, but I was so OFF all day long. What a horrible feeling.


Last night, we loaded up on carrots and celery and made our smoothies as usual. I went to bad absolutely excited that I would get to wake up and drink my smoothies, and for breakfast, it did not disappoint! This morning, I woke up earlier than normal and followed the rule of having my breakfast within 30 minutes of waking up. That meant that my normal 11-12 lunch time was not going to work out. I felt a NEED to eat more in between. As I looked through the fridge, my eyes locked in on the zucchini and asparagus on the middle shelf. After some short preparation, I have now had my snack and filled my body's desire to eat.

On this journey of mine, there will always be bumps in the road. Like any other addiction, there are always temptation. Temptation does not have to win. Pave your road with small wins and BIG changes will follow.

Feeling enthusiastic!

This morning I woke up feeling like a whole new person. I hopped on the scale, even though my trainer constantly instructs me not to. I looked down, 278.0 is what the scale read. For the first time in nearly 10 years I am below 280 pounds.

When I look back at myself 10 years ago I was very fit and active. I had no reason to diet and exercise, I hate but I wanted and never gain an ounce only because every day at work I was working out for 10 to 12 hours.

I used to wear muscle shirts, I used to be comfortable enough to buy shirts one or two sizes too small for me. I used to feel good about myself, I used to be able to eat but I wanted and never think twice. Only in recent years has it really affected me the way it does now. When I looked down on that scale not too long ago and saw that I was 300 pounds I gasped. I asked myself, how can I let myself get this way. I did this to myself and how? By changing the way I live my life, but not changing what I put in my mouth.

Today I am wearing a shirt that I love. I bought it about a year and a half ago in an effort to feel good about myself, The only problem is that it made me realize how out of shape I truly am. Today I've taken some time to reflect back on what I used to be like how are used to feel every day, and how much I used to enjoy the feeling of soreness after working out.

At first it seems difficult to understand that I was going to have to lose at least 100 pounds to get back to where I'd be comfortable. Now that I've gotten started, I take it one data time. One day, one meal, and when I'm working out I take it one minute at a time.

Saturday mornings are very difficult for me to justify getting up and going to the gym, because I always have other things I should be doing. If I make the decision not to go to the gym on Saturday morning, I at least work out in the morning in my own living room. This morning, my wife and I together worked out to a YouTube video that we found using our kettle bells. One of the exercises I chose to do even after the YouTube routine was complete, was push-ups. Six weeks ago when I first started this journey I was unable to do even one push-up. I couldn't support my own bodyweight, not for 1 inch up for 1 inch down. This morning I hit a milestone, I did a push-up, but not just one, I couldn't just stop at one. I pushed myself through to complete 20 push-ups, I don't remember the last time I was able to do something like that.

Yesterday I exercised a lot, I worked out for probably three hours. I didn't eat anything extra, I need exactly as I normally would.  That dinner we had pasta with pasta sauce and chicken, for our veggie we had lots of asparagus. I truly do love eating right, it just feels so good to know that I ate what my body needs. Now I'm not saying that I don't have struggles, as a matter fact last night the couple hours after dinner while we were out and about waiting for our photos to be edited my wife and I were both feeling very hungry. We drove around for several minutes looking for a place that we could stop and get something as a snack that wouldn't completely unravel our day. My wife made a suggestion after just a couple of moments, that we should just chill piece of gum and drink a water. So I hop in the back of the van and got us each a 20 ounce bottle of water, I chugged mine like there was no tomorrow and I chewed my gum happily. A few minutes later, I actually felt full. I didn't feel the need to eat anything else the rest of the night. When I woke up this morning and weighed myself and saw that I had lost 2 pounds over just the last 24 hours, I was astonished. That is what losing weight is all about.

Losing weight is taking things one data time and in some cases one minute at a time. The small wins are the wins that will keep you moving forward. Reword yourself often and you won't regret it. My wife and I have a goal to each lose 100 pounds by this Christmas. If we reach that goal, we are going to be treating each other to a cruise for the first time ever. 

I remember in high school gym class being the best at set ups. I could you more sit ups faster than anyone else in my class. I never realized how out of shape I was until my trainer asked me to do some sit ups. The first day I completed 15 sit ups, and that was excruciating. I had to push myself through each one individually. On Thursday, when I did sit ups again I was able to complete 30 set ups in the same 60 seconds that I completed 15 sit ups just one week prior. Just last night there was something on the floor in front of me that I needed to retrieve for my son, for many years I haven't been able to lean straightforward and pick something up off the floor I have to either use my feet, or lean to the site down to get it. The last night, I leaned down using my abs to pull me from the chair not my hand push against the back of the chair, and I retrieve the toy. These seemingly stupid little things that so many people take for granted, are so difficult for those of us who have put on weight. It is such an emotional thing for me to make even these small changes, I can't wait to see what my next milestones are.

I'm writing this blog as my personal journal and a journal for all of those who would like to read. I hope that somebody out there who is struggling to lose weight, or struggling to find the motivation to start their own journey finds even the smallest amount of inspiration from my experiences.