Does anyone else have dreams about eating? Twice now I’ve dreamt of suddenly realising I’ve eaten something (chocolate bar/doughnut holes) without thinking about it, realising what I’d done with absolute horror. In the case of the chocolate bar (Chunky KitKat) I had to fish the wrapper out of the garbage to look at the calorie count!

Is it because I’ve started to relax ever so slightly and tested myself having sugar in my tea (yuck, won’t do that again); allowing myself to have toast and marmalade (scrape of it) once a week; and today a chocolate baton just to see if I enjoyed it. I did.

I do admire those who post on the forum that they will never go back to that old way of eating; that they have no desire for the carbs or sweet things any more. I can’t see that will ever be me. Not only do I enjoy eating that stuff, but I also enjoy cooking it as well, and that means tasting. I just hope that I can manage not to overdo things. In fact, I would like to be able to have the occasional taste and leave it at that. Of course, if I can’t, then I guess it is the wagon for me.

So, if I do eat a chocolate, or have toast and marmalade, I will do it mindfully and enjoy/savour every bite.

Yours in dreams of food

Crabbycams

Hi crabby, when I first started this diet and was menu planning, food shopping and thinking about the diet night and day I used to dream about food. It does wear off. Having said that, I gave up smoking 25 years ago and I still smoke in my dreams. Funny thing is I know it is a dream and that I will still be a non-smoker in the morning so I just enjoy it while it lasts.

Hi crabby, I’ve never actually dreamt of doing that but I have experienced it in real life (although less mindlessly than I used to as I now recognise this when it happens). The book I have just picked up called the carbohydrate addict’s diet recognises 4 states of hunger in someone predisposed to become a carbohydrate addict, and one of those hungers was called subconscious hunger. I have actually found myself tucking into something in the past and had no idea why. I wasn’t hungry, I didn’t crave it, I just found myself eating it. Now I would recognise (I hope) the lack of hunger and that would be enough to give me pause, but I have still had at least two days in the past four months of maintenance where I was almost a helpless passenger as my body seemed to be in charge and eating anything and everything. Maybe dreaming of the situation without actually experiencing it will help you when it next happens to you, if it does. From my experience, the next day if you just carry on as normal and don’t worry about it there is no problem with weight increase.