Addict?

From Katie's blog

'Ironically, some people who are sensitive to wheat products crave these foods and have trouble not overeating them. Addictive eating can occur with any food, but wheat seems to be a particularly common addictive food, as most nutrition counselors and members of Overeaters Anonymous will attest. Wheat contains opioids, substances with amino-acid sequences very similar to those in narcotic-like drugs. These substances can set the stage for addictions, overeating and binge eating - what I call "grain-o-mania" and "grain gluttony"--in people with undetected wheat sensitivity. If patients eat many forms of wheat throughout each day and say they can't give up wheat, that's a surefire sign to suspect hidden wheat sensitivity. Typically, cravings lift and other symptoms improve after four or five days on a wheat-free diet.' Melissa Dianne Smith

Thinking back, I have been like this since childhood when it comes to grains. I would come home from school and eat slice after slice of toast. I can also down bowl after bowl of cereal without feeling satisfied. When preparing for comps in the past I haven't eaten grains, so haven't had any problem controlling what I eat. But in my off seasons, as the weather gets colder, I reach for carbs, and they tend to be grain based. Maybe that would explain why every year around autumn I feel like I have trouble controlling what I'm eating.

'Carbohydrate addicts need to minimize their grain and sugar intake in order to break their addiction. If you are a carb addict you should focus on getting your carbs from vegetables and small amounts of fruit.

If you eat grains, it best to eat whole grains that you cook such as brown rice, wild rice, quinoa, teff, amaranth, barley, oat groats, kasha. These whole grains require a lot of chewing and the digestive enzymes have to work hard to get through the different layers of the grain to break it down.' source

Armed with this knowledge, perhaps things will be different from now on.