Might As Well Face It, You’re Addicted to Food…Or Are You?
By Elisa Zied, MS, RD, CDN
My mother has always described herself as a ‘food addict.’ Although she has successfully lost and kept off more than 100 pounds, she still considers food her nemesis. Before I became a registered dietitian, I often rolled my eyes whenever my mother spoke of feeling powerless. I, too, lost weight (more than 30 pounds) and have kept it off for years, but unlike my mother, I have learned to eat and enjoy appropriate portions, and never feel guilt when I eat.
Always on the search for scientific evidence to understand the complexities of food, nutrition and the art of eating, I realize that my mother may have known best. “There’s a strong possibility that food addiction exists,” according to Ashley N. Gearhardt, MS, MPhil, a Yale Psychology doctoral student. “For years, we’ve been uncovering similarities between substance dependence and obesity, and studies have suggested that some individuals may be addicted to highly processed foods” says Gearhardt.
Last week, Gearhardt and colleagues published a study in the Archives of General Psychiatry. They found that women who qualified as ‘food addicts’ showed brain responses similar to those found in alcohol and drugs addicts when they were shown food cues—in this case, a picture of a chocolate milkshake. Instead of relying on individual’s self-identifications as food ‘addicts’ or ‘cravers,’ Gearhardt and colleagues used the Yale Food Addiction Scale, a 25-item questionnaire, to assess signs of substance-dependence (such as tolerance, withdrawal, and loss of control) in eating behavior. Those who experience 3 or more symptoms in the past year and have a clinically significant impairment or distress would be diagnosed with “Food Addiction.”
Gearhardt acknowledges we need more research to determine whether or not people can truly be addicted to food, but she hopes ‘food addiction’ will someday qualify as a disease. She says “...we can remove some of the stigma and personal blame associated with being overweight and hopefully create comprehensive treatments to overcome the condition.”
According to Sunny Sea Gold, author of Food: The Good Girl’s Drug, “Food hasn’t been proven to be addictive in the same way drugs are; the science isn’t quite there yet.” But Gold, who overcame binge eating disorder, does believe that people can use food just like they would alcohol, drugs, or sex. “They can become dependent on food as a distraction, as a coping mechanism, and as something they comfort themselves with...I know I did” she adds.
For those who think they may be addicted to food, Gold suggests the following:
- Identify what food means to you. Gold recommends the book The End of Overeating by David Kessler, MD; it explains why so many of us find it so difficult to resist certain foods and why it’s so easy to overindulge.
- Seek support. “I don’t think I would have been able to heal completely without the wisdom and support of the people in my support group.” If face-to-face support is not for you, Gold suggests seeking a support group that offers online or phone “meetings.” Her support web site, healthygirl.org, can also be helpful, as can Overeaters Anonymous or Food Addicts Anonymous.
- Forget labels. Gold discourages getting hung up on labels like ‘addiction’ or ‘eating disorder.’ She says “At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter whether your relationship with food is an addiction or a full blown eating disorder, or if you’re just a little “weird” about food—it will have similar effects on your life and body.” Gold adds “If your relationship with food makes you miserable, it’s time to do something about it.”
Your thoughts....
Might you be ‘addicted to food’? What helps you overcome it?
Elisa Zied, MS, RD, CDN, is a nationally recognized registered dietitian and award-winning author of "Nutrition At Your Fingertips," "Feed Your Family Right!," and "So What Can I Eat?!." She is also a past national media spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. For more information, go to www.elisazied.com. Follow Elisa on Twitter/elisazied and on Facebook.
Comments
I have always considered myself a food addict. I depended on food for comfort all my life. Even now after losing over 100 lbs and keeping it off for years, I have to be very aware of what I am doing in regard to food. If I get angry I can open the refrigerator and eat some fattening treat while I am ranting. Afterward, I realize what I did and can hardly believe it. I almost don't even remember the exact moment I lost it. When I first changed my eating habits, it felt like a withdrawal. I felt I lost my best friend. Now, this does need a lot more research, because I also feel it was a learned behavior from childhood. My family did use food to comfort me. All I can say is that I did finally fight the urge to turn to food every time things went wrong for me. I give in very infrequently and can stop the insanity before it gets out of hand and I regain the weight I lost. Learning the word STOP has helped me the most. When I am aware, I say STOP and then think about why I want to eat. I know I am not really hungry. Then I find another way to vent anger, feel less alone, etc. I work on a project in the house, take a walk, take a shower, get away from the food. You have to help yourself. It is not easy to do, but it can be done and gets easier with time.
Kathleen DesMaissons helps with my sugar addiction or sensitivity that sounds like an addiction to food. She has a great explanation of the chemistry involved and 7 steps that saved my health.
I think its totally possible to become addicted to food, and I don't think its that uncommon. I was a food addict/emotional eaters from the time I was 5-6-7ish to last year. I could not control myself around food, whenever I saw an attractive looking food I white knuckle it just to stop myself from taking a 'bite' (which would never end up just being one bite). I learned these habits as a child- as far as how I was using food for every reason but hunger- pleasure/soothe myself/etc. I had to unlearn these behaviors and it was difficult. But I was definitely addicted to my comfort foods, and to eating, more so then my friends or my parents or the average normal eater, I NEEDED to eat 3 times a day because I relied on those meals for my happiness. I never had a relaxed attitude towards food, I constantly wanted and needed to eat. Dieting basically turned me into a binge eater, I was not a binger before dieting. I just overate and ate when I wasn't hungry- once I started dieting- I would binge upon thousands of calories at a time- eat until I was stuffed- eat everything in sight- eat really fast- etc etc. Then I had eating disorders for years until I stopped dieting. It took me a while to unravel my eating habits and connect to my natural hunger, I don't consider myself an addict anymore. Its possible to come back from being a food addict! But its not easy! I kept a log and whenever I had the urge to eat, id write down various things like my hunger level, what was going on at the moment I felt like eating, how I was feeling, etc. VERY ENLIGHTENING! Often I'd realize why I was emotionally eating like an addict.
I think its pretty easy to fall in an addictive pattern as a coping mechanism, with food with alcohol etc. The fact that modern foods are unnatural and designed to be addictive doesn't help. I doubt us food addicts are addicted to broccoli (well, unless we're on a diet. When I dieted I couldn't stop myself from overeating on plan foods).
I already have to watch the grossly obese live off of my taxes making "food addiction" an officially recognised disease would be a disaster. I don't care if it has scientific backing to support it's existence.
If it weren't for calorie counting I would certainly overeat but keeping track keeps me from doing that! I certainly have a food addiction and have since I was a child. I'm not sure if it's a disease but I do feel somewhat powerless over food.
I can say that SUGAR is definitely an addiction - there are studies to prove that. It is the only craving I've ever had and I've seen my health decline because of it. It took getting off of sugar to realize the impact it can have on everything from thyroid to cognition and joint pain, inflammation etc. But at the end of the day it's still just a label to describe a behavior or "syndrome," and it's an observation about how some people respond. It means learning to recognize it and control it. Admitting it exists is simply more helpful in finding support from others who suffer with it too!
I am quite convinced I was a sugar and simple carb addict - and once addicted to something the solution is to remove it from your life plain and simple. I struggled with this for years - telling myself moderation was key, but sugar and carb addiction was wreaking havoc on my body - even when I was in a healthy weight range.
I have been without ANY sugar now for months and I have more energy, my mind is clearer, and I have no more radical mood swings. It feels like getting clean off of a drug would feel in my mind and I can't go back. I gave up sugar before, then went back and said oh I can have a little bit once in awhile and slowly that gave way to more and then a little more and then before I knew it I was a full blown "sugar junkie" again.
Being recently diagnosed with Celiac also helped in an odd way because having to avoid wheat and gluten in all products makes it much more difficult to mindlessly buy the box crap that is so addictive. Wheat/gluten free and sugar free has changed my life in so many ways! I won't say it isn't challenging - it most certainly is - but it's worth it to feel this awesome for the first time in my life.
I think it is interesting that part of the definition of a "food addiction" contains the phrase "addicted to highly processed foods."
How many of us are addicted to foods in their natural state? Well, for me, maybe oatmeal - but most of the time, that's processed (flavored, sweetened, instant). But I would bet very few people are addicted to spinach or collard greens (fixed without bacon or cream sauces), or radishes, or even plain fish or soybeans. When was the last time you overate to oblivion, say - apples?
However, give me a box of doughnuts, or a bag of candy, or a chocolate cake, and I've got a real problem. I can't stop with just one serving or 3 bites, or whatever rule I set up for myself.
I lost over 100 pounds eating only natural proteins, vegetables, beans, nuts, and fruits. I didn't even start craving food until I added back grains (i.e., cereals and breads). It was like a trigger that started the binge eating behaviors again. Now I fight every day to stay away from that stuff so I don't regain the weight.
It makes sense. Drugs and alcohol are highly processed substances. That's why methamphetamine is made in a "lab". For people with genes, or whatever, for addiction, eating highly processed foods is probably the very same as ingesting alcohol and drugs. It's just that these foods affect the body size before they affect brain activity. Even Dr. Oz had a segment showing how processed foods and chemicals might be a cause of Alzheimer's Disease.
So I've joined the natural foods movement, the local food co-op, and countless others who are shying away from processed foods, for good reasons. It's not easy - they are hard to find, and the enemy lurks everywhere, not only at McDonald's or Frito-Lay.
At one time, Weight Watchers had a program called The Core Plan, based only on natural foods. I lost almost 50 pounds on that program. But they did away with the plan - now I wonder why. Was it too hard to follow? Is our culture set up to keep us enslaved to processed foods, to keep the economy running? Did the big food companies put pressure on the group? Makes you wonder, doesn't it?
I prefer natural food and sweets without limits by using daily my calorie counter to lose weight and keep normal. It is easy to follow natural way of having wealthy weight. How to reach it? I made a quick review about this here: caloriecounterloseweight.com
:)
Original Post by: breakandenter
Making ?food addiction? An officially recognised disease in any western country would doom it's population, it would give all the benefit cheats in britain (where I live) another way to get out of working.
I already have to watch the grossly obese live off of my taxes making "food addiction" an officially recognised disease would be a disaster. I don't care if it has scientific backing to support it's existence.
Just because they make food an addiction doesnt mean people are going to stop working! I highly doubt there going to put it up there with mental illnesses or anything, because being addicted to food doesnt mean you cant work. It just means then...they will hopefully find something to help people with the horrible unstopable cravings.
And before you get all high and mighty, im sure every one of those people fighting to make food an addiction pay THERE TAXES as well...your not the only one who pays taxes.
Original Post by: duminkalaI do think that people can be addicted to food. I certainly think I have been addicted to food most of my life ... it's my best friend, it makes me happy when I'm feeling low ... I remember being a teenager and I would buy chocolates and hide them in my bag coz I knew that the evening blues would set in every day after school and then I would take out my chocolate and it would make me feel better (somehow)!
I've also made myself many promises of how I would not overeat in the morning, but at the sight of food, I constantly break my own promises to myself. The last four years have been a process of trying to corrct 30 years of poor eating behaviour. I have had some successes and many many failures, but day by day I am "renewing my mind" about food, about my body and about what it means to be free from the tyranny of food and to make GOOD CHOICES! SO I guess that makes me a recovering FOODAHOLIC!
I've spoken to many of my friends, and often they can't identify with this feeling of being powerless in the face of food.
One of the things that has helped me tremendously in the battle with food is tending to my spiritual wellbeing ... my connection with God on a dailly basis seems to fill up my internal tank and I am less inclined to eat badly on the days when I take time in the morning to read the Bible, and pray! So my thoughts are that addiction to food must be integrally linked to a fundamental vacuum in the human soul for relationship with the Divine and with other people.
Well said. Your words were like they came directly from my mouth!
I seriously thought at a time that I was addicted to chocolate. Then I had a severe case of Candida and had to stop eating sugar all together in any shape or form for 3 months. 2 weeks in I did have symptoms like going off a drug, so maybe I really was addicted. However, I still managed to stick it out for 3 months. Willpower is the word, no matter what.
I think you can be addicted to processed foods and sugar. I went off sugar, white flower and processed purchased foods and felt better. I went on vacation and started eating the bread and sugar again and now I want something sweet every day. Wheat bread or white bread both affect my blood sugar and grains also. I can eat sourdough or rye bread without a huge rise. I am trying to eat when hungry and stop when full and just enough that I will be hungry 3 hours later. The nutritionist put me on 3 meals and 3 snacks a day. But they want me to eat 45g carb at meals and 15g carbs at snacks. This is too much for me. I have looked at the foodloversfatloss system where you eat 1 protein, 1 fast carb and 1 slow carb in reasonable portions. This really helps me. I have in the past turned to food and eaten seconds just because it tasted so good and not really still hungry. There are several Christian based programs on eating when hungry and stopping when full The Weigh Down Diet and The Eden Diet are two of them. I agree with duminkala about turning to Bible Study and prayer to help daily and when you are faced with certain situations.
Wow, thats amazing. I never thought food could be an addiction, its just something that never crossed my mind. I always just thought I was weak, pitiful and nuts! I dont keep junk food in my house (as much as my husband hates that) but I once told him (im a smoker) that me having a craving for junk food is so strong and so overpowering that it almost feels like if I havent had a smoke in 24 hours. The feeling of you almost HAVE to have the food, feeling like withdraw, to the point thats all I can think about and I have to fight with myself to NOT go to the store and get what I want! I just always thought I was stupid and weak! I dont have a problem staying away from unhealthy meals, like say lasagna or burgers and fries. I still make my husband his unhealthy dinners, because its not right to punish him since he doesnt need to loose weight. And I make myself a seperate dinner, but ive never really had a problem with that, I can stay away from the dinners. Its just when it comes to that junk food, and it mostly hits me after dinnertime. I kinda feel a bit better now knowing maybe its not me being nuts!
Food addiction is very obvious. just take the movie SuperSize Me for example. He eats nothing but McD for a whole month and even He says that he got massive headaches whenever he didn't have his McD. He was addicted to the sugar and processed foods. Period.
I am addicted to food. No denying it. I had the gastric banding and have lost over 70 lbs., and now the evil sugar demon is rearing its ugly head again. I know what I'm supposed to eat. I have it on hand. But, it seems when I am stressed (even at the smallest of things) I reach for the forbidden as tho it is a life boat. Why? I have read everything I can get my hands on. I plan to start OA next week. I also plan to attend the next meeting of the lapband support group. I need/want to lost at least 50 more pounds. As soon as the scale starts to do down, I have this urge to reverse it. Oh, I also plan to see a counselor to help me find out why I want to self destruct. Addict? Oh yeah.
I'd like to see more research on this too. I definitely believe that food companies put way too much sugar, salt & fat into processed foods which in turn keeps us coming back for more.
Weight Watchers' Core has evolved into Simply Filling Technique, which i am following now. You eat Power Foods (foods without processed sugar, refined carbs, high in fiber and lean protein). You have 49 weekly "Points" to eat items that are not Power Foods. I find that I am reaching for fruit more for snacks and really thinking about whether I'm hungry or not before reaching for food. Basically, if I'm not hungry enough to eat something healthy, I'm not really hungry.
This is they lifestyle I want to follow from now on.
I did mess up last night and ate a bunch of butterscotch chips. I tracked it and did a 5 mile workout this morning and am back on plan this morning. I thought about why I ate those chips last night while I was walking and realized I was disappointed with myself over only losing 1.4 pounds last week!!! How silly is that? But, I'm proud of myself for thinking it through and getting back on the wagon, so to speak.
I agree with the first poster, that we're trying to fill a vacuum in our lives. For me, I too amy trying to remember to ask for God's strength whenever I am looking for food to fill that hole. When I remember to ask, He provides. Obviously, I did not ask last night!
Becky
In my early 60's, and after dieting and yo-yo-ing my entire adult life, I have finally found the path to eathing healthy and losing weight. It was cutting out the "white" carbs in my food plan.
I felt like a drug addict around fresh hot mashed potatoes, bread out of the oven, rice just done, etc..etc....no control, cravings hitting so hard I could not stop myself.
Last November I read and absorbed Dr Steven Gundrys book, The Diet Evolution, basically a combination of the paleo diet and Atkins with a little Low G thrown in, I went on phase one of his diet, lost 12 lbs in two weeks and and nowI am down over 40 lbs and still going strong. the cravings are gone, I feel so much better and for the first time in my life, feel that I am in control, not the food!!
I have no doubt that people can be food addicts and also specific type of food addicts, but I don't think it should be called a disease. If that were the case than most the people in the world are coffee addicts and that is not a disease. Should it be? Seriously?
I think our "let's call it a disease and we can hide behind it and take no personal responsibility" is debilitating our society. I'm a dark chocolate addict. I crave it, I want, sometimes can't get enough of it, I'm depressed when I run out and snappy and rude to my family when I've not had it for days not to mentions I have spent grocery money on personal chocolate, so yeah, I'm an addict, BUT, I would NEVER hide behind my addiction. Or say I'm addicted to chocolate therefore I can't lose weight. It's not my fault, I got the "disease" from my father. It's hereditary. I count those calories, work it in and DON'T blame my weight gain or loss on my addiction.
It's been proven that you CAN change your brain chemistry with positive affirmations. This whole "disease" thing just sounds like a crutch. I'm sorry, but I take FULL responsibility for my addiction and make sure it's in check.
french-tutor said: "I think it is interesting that part of the definition of a "food addiction" contains the phrase "addicted to highly processed foods."
How many of us are addicted to foods in their natural state?"
This is an excellent point! I believe there is something in/about processed food that can lead to addiction more readily than if the person only ate "whole" foods, like produce, or food made at home with natural ingredients.
It may sound a little conspiracy theory-esque, but I don't trust Big Business in any form. Cigarette companies know full well that nicotine is highly addictive, but they continue making cigarettes, because they make money.
It's innate for our bodies to crave salt, fat, and sugar - it's a survival mechanism. It's obvious then, that food manufacturers go heavy on these three things, because they know people will "get their fix" from their product.
Also I think it makes perfect sense for people to become addicted to food as a coping mechanism. There are definite similarities between getting addicted to eating as a means of escape, compared to drinking alcohol, or smoking dope, or snorting coke.
Using any of them causes a release of dopamine, which gives that "happy feeling," but they all also bring about negative effects, and dependence.
The problem with food is, it's legal for everyone (even children), it's readily available on a constant basis, and we need to eat to survive. So we can't completely abstain from food, ever, which is what people recovering from other addictions do. Food addicts don't have that option, which makes recovery even more difficult.
When you look at it like that, it's no wonder obesity is a huge health issue in Western culture.
Addressing the addiction/self medication side of obesity is key to ending the epidemic, and helping people to be truly healthy - physically as well as mentally.
Thanks for "listening" to me ramble. 
This is a well-timed article for me. I recently read where someone suggested that people who overeat have some of the same characteristics as those addicted to alcohol and drugs, so I started an Addiction Recovery program published by my church, which is based on AA's 12 Step Program but focuses on spirituality as well.
I love that a couple of other people have already commented on turning to God for help because that's exactly what I'm doing. It's so much easier to do the right thing when I'm doing it for the right reasons; when I try to lose weight to impress someone, it never works. Also, with addiction recovery, it's easier to recover from setbacks. With God, all things are possible!
Food addiction is real and I'm more than happy to agree with that! I know I am currently dealing with my own sugar/food addiction, and feeling it pretty bad right now.
BUT.
But I do disagree with making it a disease. I know for myself, it would become too easy to say it's that I have a food addiction disease, and not work my way through it and past it. Medication is not the answer! (the last thing we all need is more liver problems from medication) I'm about to eat my own words as I sayt this, but people need to work on their self control and learn that over eating is not a socially ok thing to do. If we lived in a shame society that said and thought that being over weight isn't ok, a lot of people would buckle under that and learn what it takes to not be food dependent. (of course, that could and would cause other problems in it's own ways, but that's why this is just a random example from a chocolate-starved sugar-addicts brain) *laughs at self*
I would be curious to see what research says about it being hereditary. I know most my family members struggle with food addiction, and I'd be curious if that's more from lack of self discipline training within the family, or a genetic trait. Either way, we have food issues, and this Easter won't help! ^_^ When I became gluten free, it helped for awhile, because I didn't know what I could eat . Now that I've figured out how to make my unhealthy, tasty, delicious calories again?.... >_> yeah.
My daughter had the gastric bypass about 12 years ago and replaced food with alcohol. She only recently has become sober, but not before the liver was destroyed. I have alcoholism in my family and in my husband's family. Our other children abstain due to health issues. There is a relationship, but it is at a psychological level, for sure.
We've had exchange students who do not understand American preoccupation with food. I think because our lifestyle (of instant gratification) seems to demand products that enable us to eat with the least amount of physical effort is killing us. I love the free enterprise system, but I can see how it will fill a market any way it can. It will take great restraint, or the fall of a free market system to take us back to conscious eating habits. I hope we can use our brains to help us eat better, however.
I don't know if I have a food addiction, but I do know that I think about food way too much. I try to use the mantra, "I will honor my body today and nourish it with healthy food" when I am feeling those cravings for unhealthy food or when I am just craving to eat healthy food when I am really not hungry and know that I should refrain from eating.
It's a constant struggle.
I have been addicted to food my entire life. The only time I have been able to feel completely free of intense cravings was when I eliminated every food I considered to be a craving trigger--and then stuck to that plan with profound discipline--never wavering. The first three days of staying away from craving triggers was the hardest--something akin to stopping smoking, I imagine. And then the next 2 weeks the cravings are less severe but still tough to deal with. When that 2 weeks has expired life feels much more manageable--but getting from day 1 to the end of day 14 is a gigantic feat of self-discipline, one of the hardest (but most worthwhile) things I've ever done. I felt mostly free from craving symptoms when I ate mostly low-carb vegetables, organic olive oil, certain nuts, with some fish and a little organic meat or an egg here and there. I could also handle 1/2 of a piece of organic fruit a few times a week. Another important component of ridding yourself from food cravings is to drink a LOT of water--which carries nutrients throughout the body and helps to eliminate toxins as the fat breaks down. When I followed this plan, the pounds melted off, and in time all my cravings went away--which was a VERY big deal.
I can only speak from experience--and not from science--but I believe the chemicals and pesticides we are exposed to in non-organic foods add to our food cravings. Also, studies have shown that if you're allergic/sensitive to a food, you will crave it. In my case that means I have strong cravings for gluten and dairy. And though I'm not allergic to sugar, like many of you, it causes me intense cravings.
By the way, the easiest way to be successful at eliminating your food cravings from your diet, is to elimnate them from your HOUSE. I lost all my weight when my husband had a job in another city. When we finally moved in together again, and I started eating things HE wanted for dinner--the pounds--and the cravings--started piling on again. Now I'm back to being fat, and feeling physically miserable--and how I HATE IT!
Morbidly obese individuals who are over 600 pounds who may be unable to work could already be receiving disability benefits, and are "on the dole" as some people say. If their physical state can be attributed to a disease, there may also be funds allocated to treating their addiction to get them back on the road to good health that would allow them to get OFF the dole and back into productive society. Isn't that worth a look?
It is interesting to find that we can become "addicted" to food. While reading this my mind was going through all the foods that I just can't seem to get enough of and asking myself is that food addiction? It is also good know that are resources out there to help everyone be better.
i definitely think i am addicted to food! it's sooo hard to control it!!! i'll have my mind made up that i'm only going to do 2 pieces of bacon and i end up with 4!! Food makes me feel good while eating it, i hum! a short time later i feel disgusted, ashamed and depressed!!! sigh!!! i don't know what's going to help!! when it comes to food i have no discipline!!! I'm praying this time will be different!
Lots of responses on this one and I'll repeat a previous post. Ya'll need to check out radiant recovery, a program developed by a woman who got her PHD studying sugar addiction...which really covers most of the types of food we're talking about....sugar, chocolate, bread, processed food etc, all of either are sugar, are made with a lot of sugar or break down into sugar as soon as they hit our stomach's digestive process. If you've taken the time to get involved with calorie count, you owe it to yourself to check out
http://www.radiantrecovery.com/
there is a free newsletter you can sign up for plus classes you can take.
Hope this helps.
In 1977 I read a book called The Woman Doctor's Diet for Women by Barbara Edelstein, M.D. She talked about how, what she called the universal overweight, gets so much pleasure from food that when she is deprived of this pleasure she becomes edgy, irritable, and unhappy. Then she said that food is used by these women as a tranquilizer. She also wrote that alcoholics and foodaholics have certain tendencies in common and the foodaholic cannot stop at one carbohydrate.
I am a substance abuse therapist so I deal with a lot of people talking twelve-steps and being "powerless" over their drug of choice. just recently I have been finding myself unable to say NO to that fifth cookie, or the sweet coffee house chai or other "treat" like snack crackers. and that, to me, is the definition of powerless- I cannot predict if I can NOT have something that I know isn't on my list, or will be able to limit myself to the amount I've set within my calorie quota.
I'm not a lot over weight, but my clothes are too tight and I'm no longer comfortable with the way I look nude, so losing ten pounds is my goal. every time I lose a couple, I eat a bunch of stuff and put it back on. sounds like an addict to me.
From reading all of these posts, I didn't feel like those who were admitting some type of addiction were using it as an excuse or hiding behind it so they can continue to eat more. Rather I felt like everyone who has felt like they could relate to having some sort of addiction was expressing themselves and the way they feel around food and how much they dislike it, hate it, and want to change.
I think addiction to food is very common, and as a woman with the normal stresses of life, kids, marriage, house, money, etc. It is easy to use food as a "feel good" crutch. Socially acceptable in so many ways and so easy to eat poorly.
I would love to be able to fill the voids in my life with "health and activity" rather than sweets or fast food or movies. This is my goal to gain control over what I eat and do simply because I can and I feel amazing when I do it.
I call coffee, red wine, popcorn and ice-cream the four food groups. Always gets a laugh. But these things I love. And treat with respect. All should be moderated.
Potatoe chips and cheezies are not allowed in the house. I don't know what's in Hawkins cheezies, but something evil. ha ha
I learned the connection between emotion and eating about 20 years ago through a weight watchers program--and this enlightened me. Coffee and wine are fatigue/boredom. Popcorn or crunch is aggitation/frustration and ice cream stuff is sad/hurting. And a little balm is A/OK fine.
I've learned that white flour products break down like sugar in the body and treat these things with caution. None of these things are 'food'. They're all food-stuff stuff.
Food is protein/veg/fruit. Low on the food chain. Closer to organic, free range or as I call it, "happy chicken" etc the better.
All the ups and downs, over eating, and ill effects of food stuff stuff are eliminated with a diet of protein/veg/fruit and exercize. And all are brought on quite quickly with them. So it's really a no brainer. That "stuff" is NOT food. It's drugs. And best not to do drugs on a regular basis. If one wants to play with that stuff, best to be aware of what it is and treat it with the caution it warrents and back to real life.
It's NOT FOOD. And it is produced by a profit minded medium whose only motive is to sell, sell, sell. Just say no. :)
I understand how you feel, but as a person that currently has been diagnosed with an eating disorder, I still maintain my job, I used to use food as my sourse of control, if things were bad i would eat until they seemed good again, and when things were good I would starve myself, so my new fatty baggage would disappear. During all that time i never left my job, called in, or lived off of other people's dimes. There are people out there that are down and out and use food as their only escape, and there ate people that just are lazy, but no matter how you twist and turn it, labeling a food addiction as a diesease is one of the only ways that some people will ever be able to properly cope with their issues.
Original Post by: kris82mOriginal Post by: breakandenter
Making ?food addiction? An officially recognised disease in any western country would doom it's population, it would give all the benefit cheats in britain (where I live) another way to get out of working.
I already have to watch the grossly obese live off of my taxes making "food addiction" an officially recognised disease would be a disaster. I don't care if it has scientific backing to support it's existence.Just because they make food an addiction doesnt mean people are going to stop working! I highly doubt there going to put it up there with mental illnesses or anything, because being addicted to food doesnt mean you cant work. It just means then...they will hopefully find something to help people with the horrible unstopable cravings.
And before you get all high and mighty, im sure every one of those people fighting to make food an addiction pay THERE TAXES as well...your not the only one who pays taxes.
FDo you live in the UK??
They already give benefits to Alcoholics, so they can easily buy their drug of choice and not work.
And there is already a family (in the news recently they want gastric band ops on the NHS) in the UK that are grossly obese saying they have no control over their eating and are on incapacity benefit an don't work.
I agree with the OP.
Sorry if that sounds harsh but that is just the way it is.
When I was about 18 and in my last year of high school I was planning to go on a choir weekend. My biggest concern was if I could buy enough TWIX (Raider in those days) to last the 3 days. After every choir practice I had to sneak to my room and get my TWIX-Fix. If that was not addiction I don't know what addiction is. I realized that my behavior was very weird and stopped eating chocolate altogether - just as any alcohol addict would need to do.
I find this a most interesting discussion!
As a psychiatric nurse, I note with interest that sex addiction is under serious discussion for inclusion in the next DSM ( the manual psychiatrists use for diagnoses). People who seek a lot of sex will qualify for treatment under national (e.g. Canada and the UK) health care coverage, and likely under private insurance plans. Can excessive shopping be far behind?
I wonder where the line can be drawn with regard to addiction...should any repetitive counter-productive behaviour be classified as an addiction?
In the end, we can call repetitive counterproductive behaviours whatever we want, but it is up to the individual to find a way to change them. It's not the label that will make the difference, it's the will to do things differently--using whatever kind of support works for each person.
People self-soothe with what is available. As one poster noted, immigrants from places where food is scarce and basic are amazed at the over-eating in wealthy countries. I worked in a poor country and home-made alcohol was the substance of choice. Abundant, salty, sugary , fatty food is legal, cheap and a great form of instant gratification in more prosperous countries. So yes, it can be 'addicting". Like watching hours of mindless TV, shopping, internet surfing and so on.
Each of us has to decide how we ultimately want to live.
When addicted to alcohol, you take away the alcohol. If addicted to drugs, you take away the drugs. Withdrawal is not pleasant. But what do you take away for food? YIKES!
I think the answer is you take away highly processed foods - sugar, white flour, refined grains, chemicals, and all this includes cookies, candy, cakes, most breakfast cereals, sweetened yogurts, deep fried anything - and get back to eating REAL food. I have heard people say that just getting off sugar and refined grains curbs their cravings for overeating.
But then you have to address the emotional issues, too. And the boredom issue - I know I eat just because I've got nothing else to do. I got laid off my job in October, and have struggled with overeating ever since then. I think treatment programs are in order, and many insurances in the USA do cover eating disorders under behavioral health. And why not? It's a destructive behavior. It may not kill you right out, but it will cause you to develop all kinds of expensive chronic diseases that your insurance does not want to have to pay for if it can be prevented. Things like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, stroke, all the things we fear and that make health coverage so expensive for all of us.
I heard a good one....with Alcohol you can put the cork in the bottle. But with food? You have to take the tiger out of the cage, three times a day, and feed it without getting hurt. ! HA HA HA. !!
I definitely think I am a food addict. I have lost almost 100 lbs and I STILL struggle with this every single day. Now, I can say I have gotten a lot better but even now just the smell of pizza drives me crazy to the point where I usually give in, and no I do not eat just 1 slice, we are talking 4-5 slices. Chocolate desserts and chocolate chip cookies do the same exact thing to me when I smell them baking. Once again, I dont eat 1 cookie which in itself is bad, I eat about 6-7. I feel helpless when it comes to things like that. Oh, and lets not even talk about donuts. Food addiction is real, and yes I have been eating these foods since I was very young, its almost like the worse the food is for you the more you want it. I hope one day I get past this and become free from the control of high fat food.
I hear you, bubbbles - you could be describing me. There's no controlling with just 3 bites or one small serving. It's the whole bag of chips, half the bag of Hershey's kisses, 4 doughnuts, 3 slices of cake, 4-5 slices of pizza. It's self-destructive behavior. And I find this behavior diminishes greatly when I'm totally off the sugar and white flour, for about 3-5 days straight. But have just ONE cookie, and here I go again!
My downfall is Little Debbie's brownies...and I've said many times it's like an addiction. I crave them. I can't buy a box, because I'll eat all of them within a few days.
I've kicked the habit before--if I go long enough without eating them, then I don't crave them anymore. I can't just have one now and then. When I moved to Italy, I missed them for several weeks after I got there. But after awhile, I found other things to eat and never missed them.
I need to just quit them altogether again. :)
I just posted about this study today on A Weight Lifted, Green Mountain at Fox Run's healthy weight loss blog for women tired of dieting: http://www.fitwoman.com/blog/is-food-addiction-real &nb sp; While we don't know everything about the concept of food addiction, our experience at Green Mountain is that healthy eating can take care of addictive-type urges around food for many people. We've seen so many women come to us convinced they're addicted to food, and leave believing in their ability to eat in moderation foods that challenged them before.
I strongly believe that I am addicted to food and that it is a disease. I found the solution almost 7 years ago when I joined OA. The format of the OA Meeting that I attend is the HOW Concept. I believe that this program has saved my life. By following a plan of eating and by using the tools of the program and living by the 12 Steps I have managed to lose 65 lbs and for the first time in my life I am maintaining this weight loss. In OA I have learned that physical recovery alone will not get me anywhere. I also need spiritual and emotional recovery. I eat no sugar and nothing with sugar in it unless it is fifth or beyond on the ingredients list, I do not eat white flour and I drink no alcohol. I found that once I quit eating sugar and white flour my food cravings and obsessive food thoughts disappeared. If ever I do have a craving (and I can't remember when the last food craving was) I know that all I need to do is pick up the phone and call someone in my OA Group.
Today I am a normal weight, I no longer have need for Blood Pressure medications, and my blood sugar has returned to normal.
Marian
I could have swore I was watching some documentary a year or two ago about the super obese where they claimed when you look at an MRI of a person who was super addicted to food and a person who was addicted to a drug, the same parts of the brain were active. I can't remember the documentary, but I found a research paper on it. After reading the paper I am sure the documentary was blowing it out of propotions to draw viewers.
Anyways if your instrested here is the key expert: "Craving-related changes in fMRI signal were identified in the hippocampus, insula, and caudate, 3 areas reported to be involved in drug craving (17,18) Thus, this work supports the common substrate hypothesis for food and drug cravings." The article can be found at: http://jn.nutrition.org/content/139/3/620.full
The side effects of allergy medications keep some people from using them. Natural remedies can be a great alternative, but some are more effective than others.
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I do think that people can be addicted to food. I certainly think I have been addicted to food most of my life ... it's my best friend, it makes me happy when I'm feeling low ... I remember being a teenager and I would buy chocolates and hide them in my bag coz I knew that the evening blues would set in every day after school and then I would take out my chocolate and it would make me feel better (somehow)!
I've also made myself many promises of how I would not overeat in the morning, but at the sight of food, I constantly break my own promises to myself. The last four years have been a process of trying to corrct 30 years of poor eating behaviour. I have had some successes and many many failures, but day by day I am "renewing my mind" about food, about my body and about what it means to be free from the tyranny of food and to make GOOD CHOICES! SO I guess that makes me a recovering FOODAHOLIC!
I've spoken to many of my friends, and often they can't identify with this feeling of being powerless in the face of food.
One of the things that has helped me tremendously in the battle with food is tending to my spiritual wellbeing ... my connection with God on a dailly basis seems to fill up my internal tank and I am less inclined to eat badly on the days when I take time in the morning to read the Bible, and pray! So my thoughts are that addiction to food must be integrally linked to a fundamental vacuum in the human soul for relationship with the Divine and with other people.