Just a Bite of Cookie Can Trigger a Binge

it starts with a cookie at smoother health coaching

It starts with a cookie.

You give yourself permission, “I’ll just have one.” 

Then another and another. 

“It’s just this one time.”

“Everyone else is eating them.”

[Insert additional justifications here]

For many people, this is no big deal – a one-off or even something that’s never really noticed.

For the food/carb addict however, even one bite can be the spark that starts the fire. 

More permissions follow and suddenly you notice that all the rules you’ve been diligently sticking to have flown out the window.

You’re mindlessly eating anything “that’s there” and hoping that this next thing will finally hit the spot so you can stop.

Food addictions, intense cravings and binge eating are real things. In a recent poll, 22% of women age 50 to 64 and 18% of women age 50 to 80 met the criteria for addiction to highly processed foods based on a University of Michigan poll following the Yale Food Addiction Scale.

The most commonly reported symptom in older adults was intense cravings. Almost 1 in 4 (24%) said that at least once a week they had such a strong urge to eat a highly processed food that they couldn’t think of anything else. And 19% said that at least 2 to 3 times a week they had tried and failed to cut down on, or stop eating, these kinds of foods.

For further reading on food addictions, see my posts: Why Do We Keep Craving and Taming Your Carb Monster.

It takes a real conscious effort to get back on track and a plan of action to do so. We need tools, tricks, and strategies to kick the “bad” habits and thoughts and replace them with “good” ones.

And sometimes we have those things at the ready and still need some support and encouragement to put them into ACTION. 

One thing that I am very proud of is that both of my programs teach the ideal way of eating that works in the case of food addiction. Abstinence is the most successful approach to freeing yourself from food cravings and many “diet” plans out there muck things up when removing trigger foods is temporary, adding them back in during later “phases” of the program.

While we are all sad at the thought of never eating our beloved treats again, let’s think of it from a different perspective. The sweets and junk food we eat today are not a natural part of our human diet. Because we can eat them and not immediately drop dead, we think that they are safe to eat. But the internal damage that they are doing to our bodies is why we are so sick, unfit, aging quickly and dependent on medications.

They are a slow poison, and the person who binges gets a bigger dose than those that maintain some control.

Within the first couple of weeks of my program, my clients are already noticing how much better they feel. They are sleeping better, less edgy, their stomach issues have calmed down, their energy is much higher, their bellies are full and they are no longer obsessing about food.

Food is now the fuel it was intended to be and their bodies have begun to thrive.

They are typically surprised that the simple eating, moving and lifestyle changes that we make have made them less symptomatic of the myriad of health issues that they were facing.

It is all connected. Our physical health, our mental health, and how we age.

And most of those problems are food fix-able. 🧡🥩💪🏼

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Today’s ONE Task:

Call a friend or loved one and catch up.

Pretty self explanatory, but may I suggest doing this by FaceTime or a video call? (WhatsApp, Skype, etc.)

I’ve been calling my mother using FaceTime lately and it really helps the connection when you get the facial expressions along with the words.

Texts and emails are great, but real time banter truly can’t be beat.

The tone, the body language, the animation, the laughs – that’s what makes it special.

➤ Who did YOU reach out to for your call? Did you FaceTime with each other? Did that make a difference to how you speak regularly? How did you feel afterwards?

Let us know how your ONE Task went in the comments below ⇣⇣

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Menopausal Health Reset Self-Guided 12 weeks back to fit and fab @SmootherHealth

The Menopausal Health Reset is my signature 12 week program that you can get started on tomorrow by signing up today. It is self-guided, with fresh content delivered daily either online or right to your smartphone through the MyCoach app, available for Android or iOS.

I will be with you every step of the way with direct messaging and access to our private client community – all within the program.

You’ll get all the information you need at a tried-and-true pace that will bring you lifetime results with your new eating, moving and lifestyle habits that work especially well for women after menopause.

When you graduate you’ll feel confident that you have all the tools you need to keep you #AgingAwesomely.

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The Metabolic Kickstart 21•Day Challenge was designed for those who have let their healthy habits slide and want to get back on track, giving insulin resistance a swift kick in the pants. This fast paced course provides daily education along with eating, moving and lifestyle challenges either online or right to your smartphone through the MyCoach app, available for Android or iOS.

Metabolic Kickstart 21•Day Challenge @Smootherhealth

I will join you on your short journey within the program through direct messaging and our private client community, with plenty of information you can download to keep.

Short time. Small price. Results that get noticed. There’s just no excuse why you can’t start #AgingAwesomely today.

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I’m Coach Cherie Ó and I work with women just like you, using quick and simple eating, movement and lifestyle changes to lose weight and bring out that super-woman inside. You may not be able to leap tall buildings, but you will feel body confident in your super, sexy bad-ass self to take on whatever comes your way, even if its just enjoying life to the fullest in your Second Half. 🧡 

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