Thanks! I agree.  I have already started thinking and planning about what kinds of food I want to put in to my body when I am done with this cleanse.  It's going to be tough, but I am determined to make healthier choices and I really want to think it through when I put something in to my mouth.  I am excited for the changes and know they will help me out alot!   

Yes I admit that I do have a food addiction/obsession.  It's the one thing I think about day and night.  I've had several addictions before such as smoking, heavy painkillers, etc.  I was able to overcome those addictions with shear determination, but I must say, my food addiction is amongst the worst!  At times I feel like it's the only comfort I have or the only thing that makes me happy.  But I am glad I found this forum, hopefully by expressing myself freely and sharing my experiences with others we could overcome this ADDICTION once and for all.

Hey everyone. I just found this by chance. But anyway. I am on my 2nd day and I absolutely love it. I wanted to start cleansing because of 2 reasons...helping me through bulimia and starting new and becoming a vegan. Though i'm only on day 2, I feel great and food doesn't seem to control me anymore. It's just the HABIT of eating that gnaws at me. I think I'll be posting here a lot, just because. Mmmmk.

Habitual eating habits are hard to break, almost all addictions are based on some sort of association and this is often below the radar of our conscious attention. Food often reinforces our comfort zones and makes us feel good, so when we want to relax or break free of stress we often grab a bite to eat.

One of the best practices to break this trend is the Buddhist practice of "Mindfullness" or conscious attention. Bringing "Mindfulness" into play before we put anything in our mouths helps us to to learn to attune to our bodies and distinguish between real physical hunger (where your stomach is rumbling and you physically need to eat) and psychological hunger (where cues such as emotions, settings, social occasions and sights and smells of food encourage you to eat). Physical hunger is a useful and appropriate cue to eat - psychological hunger is not.

"Mindfulness" also enables us to eat much slower, actually savoring and thoroughly enjoying each bite of food. Eating in this manner gives our brain time to register the sense of fullness. It is a proven fact that it takes about 20 - 30 minutes for our brains to register this sense of fullness, no matter how much we put in our stomachs during that time. People who eat slowly and mindfully are much less likely to overeat.