I ate two tubs of Pringles today.

[Amazinggg]

I am worried about my heart, my blood pressure, my salt levels... I don't even know what I should be worried about

I am a bit addicted. I'm not overweight, about 9.5 stone and 5'6" but about once a week I just binge and it's always bloody Pringles. They have been on buy one get one free at my local supermarket for the last month so I buy them, thinking I'll have one tub (which is already excessive) and have eaten two several times now. I wake in the night feeling awful, and I'm genuinely worried I'll have a heart attack or something.

Please, someone, scare me into stopping. What is this shite doing to me?

[Elibean]

Next time you want to buy/eat Pringles, ask yourself what you're feeling - bored? Angry? Lonely? And try and find another way to comfort or deal with that feeling

And if you do eat too many pringles, drink plenty of water to offset the salt.

And if you must buy some, buy one small mini tub (which is a wind-up, because Pringles are made to be addictive - personally, I find it easier not to buy them in the first place!).

[babyrose]

I love crisps but I've completely stopped by them cos I would eat 3/4 bags a day. I found that I was more likely to buy them at that time of the month.

[dufflefluffle]

It's the MSG!! I hate pringles but really once I pop I can't stop!!!
So I never buy them. Cursed things

[SugarMouse1]

Could you just buy two mini tubs instead?

So then at least its not that bad?

Or at a push buy the 'light' ones?

[solarbright]

Can you substitute something else that you like but that's not quite as artery-clogging? Oven chips with extra salt? You know, something you're unlikely to binge on in quite the same way, but will still enjoy.
And I highly doubt you're going to have a heart attack from the Pringles! Don't add stress to the mix. It's done, so forget it. Just try not to buy them a the supermarket next time.

[cupcake78]

Pringles are like the snack equivalent of crack! Resistance is futile, once that top comes the battle is lost,

[WandaDoff]

They even admit it. 'Once you pop, you can't stop'

MSG, I hate you so much.

[buildingmycorestrength]

Eventually the racing heart in the night outweighed the momentary pleasure for me. They felt bad for me.

[Prawntoast]

Don't eat them.

articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/07/the-shocking-true-story-of-how-pringles-are-made.aspx

[dyslexicdespot]

Could you start to order food online instead of going to the supermarket/ shops?

I only place an order when I am full. It's much easier to avoid temptation when you are not hungry and when you are forced to think about your purchases.

Also swapping the Pringles for homemade popcorn ( without butter ) and / or nuts might help.

[alanyoung]

So you want to be scared into giving them up. My weight increase was due to a) sitting at computers for hours every day and b) eating too much chocolate.

As a result I have high blood pressure and an enlarged heart (larger than 97% of other people my age, apparently, and that was determined by an MRI scan). This is not as I tried to suggest because I am a kind, generous person, but because my heart is working overtime to force the blood through my arteries. I am not diabetic yet, but would have been soon if I had not done something about it.

I have recently given up all sweet things - ice creams, biscuits, chocolate, cake, fizzy drinks etc and instead I am eating much more healthy food. When I get hungry I have a drop of milk and a small handful of raisins, which takes away the hunger pangs.

By sticking to this regime and doing more walking and work in the garden, I have lost 12.5 kg and counting over the last few months.

So, yes, you could have a heart attack. You could have high blood pressure. You could have high cholesterol. You could have an enlarged heart. And you could soon be diabetic.

Is that scary enough????

By the way, I see you give your measurements in imperial units. Don't do that. Instead, convert these to metric (60 kg and and 1.68 m in your case) and then you can work out your Body Mass Index (BMI) by dividing your body mass in kg by your height in metres and again by your height in metres (in your case, that is 60/1.68/1.68 = 21.25). Your BMI should be between 20 and 25, so you are well inside that range - at the moment. Go over 25 and you are officially fat (you may prefer to say 'overweight') and over 30 you are officially obese.

At the moment, you are okay, but the danger comes, of course, if you continue this habit and your BMI slowly increases. Obesity creeps up on us in unexpected ways.

By the way, I am not medically qualified so if you are worried about anything medical, seek the advice of a professional. (That last bit is just to cover myself, but I guess you knew that already!).

[alanyoung]

By the way, people tell me to just have one chocolate, or one cake etc. They are just being nice to me, I know that, but these offers are misguided because I know that if had just one piece of chocolate today, for example, tomorrow I would be back on it full time.

I have devised a script that I now give them and it shuts them up straight away. It sounds a little ungrateful, I know, but it works and you do have to look after your heart, don't you. This is what I say:

'That's very kind of you to offer me chocolate and I appreciate your offer, but if I have just a small piece today I will be back on it full time tomorrow and then I will become addicted again and I will start to put on weight. That will increase my risk of a heart attack, so if I do have one, it will be your fault. Are you prepared to take that responsibility?'

I know it sounds cruel, but it does work.

[mummytolucas411]

I'm going to offer a different perspective and say it really isn't that big a deal? I consider myself to be pretty healthy on a day to day basis but at least once a week I binge. Usually when my boyfriend is here, we will end up eating a few bags of sweets of something. Of course it isn't good for you but some people do this on a daily basis! A lot of people have the occasional binge!

[dyslexicdespot]

I don't think that an occasional binge is necessarily harmful, depending on what it is that you binge on. The OP likes a snack that contains a tremendous amount of junk. I think she is right to be concerned.