Addiction

pyrowill

cdgroves121 wrote: »

Yes. Just today, I had to pick up my daughter from school and take her directly to an appt, because of this I stopped at a fast food place to get her a quick bite. It was so hard to not get myself something too. I wasn't hungry, but Man that greasy food smelled wonderful! To resist eating one of her fries took everything I had.

Off topic I know but I can't resist to say that I think it's interesting that you decided that eating the fast food is bad for you but you are fine with your daughter having it. I'm not judging, I know there are many reasons why one would make that choice, and I'm not a parent so I can't put myself in anyones shoes. But perhaps something to think about.

Back on topic I don't believe food is addictive, because it simply isn't. A person can have an addictive personality and be inclined to eat a lot. But food isn't addictive. For example. Heroin IS addictive. There is no way you can regularly have heroin and just give up. Food on the other hand everyone eats daily. I think it's more a case of the people who can't control themselves look for justification in calling it an addiction (myself included).

One of the worst things about food compared to say giving up smoking is that you have to eat, it's not like how you can just stop cigarettes. You have to have a bit day in and day out, and that can be tough for many people.

So verdict, food isn;t addictive, people with addictive personalities latch onto it.

Mr_Knight

Pillowcrunch wrote: »

Does anyone think that food is an addiction? I love food, way too much. I feel like an addict. Opinions welcomed.

If you truly believe that, then get off the damn forums and get yourself into a 12 step program.

HeySwoleSister

oxers wrote: »

I think comparing garden variety cravings for junk food to an addiction is insulting both to people struggling with disordered eating and with actual addictions. Can you use food as an emotional crutch to avoid dealing with *kitten*? Yeah, absolutely. Is that the same as someone on heroin? God, no. Absolutely not.

Compulsive eating is a thing, keep in mind. It's an actual condition, but it's debilitating. It's life-destroying. People suffering from compulsive eating can knock out up to 15,000 calories a day during a binge. Compulsive overeaters often do lie, cheat and steal to support their habit, and they generally cannot stop without help. That's classic addiction territory right there. Struggling to pass up the cheeseburger when grabbing your kid a happy meal is not.

I agree with all of this. I had a flat ate who had an actual compulsive binging disorder. She would blackout binge on everything edible (and sometimes only barely edible) and not remember a thing the next day...but we'd find wrappers and empty containers hidden in weird places all over. She wasn't overweight by more than a few vanity pounds, she could pass by most temptations in normal circumstances....but, under stress, her disorder kicked in.


Trouble resisting temptation does not an addiction make.

softblondechick

Any activity or substance that interferes with normal activities of daily living can be classified as "addiction". There are people who are addicted to exercise, Internet use, cleaning...the activity provides a "self soothing" of some internal anxiety. This is the same in comparison to a substance, whether it is food or herion. The effect is similar, and the outcome of having negative life impacts...no one can argue that weighing 500 pounds affects someone's life negatively, and the fat person just needs to stop eating so much. Same as when we see an alcoholic, who has lost jobs, friends, has had numerous DUI's, "Just stop drinking".

People who have not had an addiction to an activity or substance can't wrap their head around why anyone would do something that creates so many life problems.

The crux of the issue is learning how to deal with the anxiety without the "addiction". Which is why so many diets fail, we are not changing "food", but patterns of behavior. Which is a discussion on chaining and "set and setting"...

I will end the rambling here...but yes, any activity, including eating can be addictive.

lemurcat12

herrspoons wrote: »

lemurcat12 wrote: »

herrspoons wrote: »

Lots of people think they are addicted to food. Most of them are just looking for a reason to fail that isn't their fault.

I think this is a big part of it, and to the extent people are trying to say they can't help it or can't change it, I think they should review how they think about people who are addicts. Because is "sorry I ruined your party, I'm just an alcoholic, couldn't help getting drunk and (insert whatever)" generally accepted or seen as a valid excuse? I wouldn't think so. So nor is food addiction.

As for "food is harder, you can't stop eating," my question is do you really binge on everything? Or are there specific foods you overeat because you like them and others you would never overeat? The latter is me and I got plenty fat and that's not addiction. Nor is emotional eating, which I've done too. Compulsive overeating or binging disorder, where you are eating contrary to any pleasure and in an out of control way? Yeah, at least much closer.

Binging doesn't mean eating 3 cookies instead of one, though. Many binge, but not all overweight people do and the term is overused on MFP, IMO.

To be clear, there most definitely are people with behavioural eating disorders. They're just not nearly as prevalent as this site's membership would suggest, even allowing for the inherent selection bias sites like this will have.

Agreed.

SwankyTomato

I would put it into the category of a compulsion in the realm of OCD. One side is anorexia, the other is binging.

lemurcat12

LettingTheSmallStuffGo wrote: »

According to addiction experts, yes food can be an addiction. medicalnewstoday.com/info/addiction/

And they aren't talking about anyone who has trouble stopping at one cupcake or craves a Big Mac. It's a much rarer and specific thing, unlike how it gets used here. If you read you will see that most of us conceded that there is such a thing. Doesn't mean the endless posts about being addicted to cookies because you like them so aren't misunderstanding what addiction is.

Most fat people aren't struggling with food addiction. It is thus a poor way to approach weight loss.

Pillowcrunch

jlisah wrote: »

Learned response or not, I do crave sweets and carbs when I am stressed. In my case, I was obese as a child so it's been a life long battle. I treated myself to a Dunkin' Donuts pumpkin latte last Fall, and it was super sweet. After the first sip, I was surprised at how much I just wanted to take sip after sip. I was appalled at how sweet it was and how my body was loving it. When I am stressed and I have sweets, I feel my whole body relax. In my head I imagine that's how an addict feels. There is a weight loss group, similar to AA, called Overeaters Anonymous.

I remember years ago when I was very serious about my diet; I hadn't eaten any high fat foods in quite a while. I remember eating a small piece of pizza. I literally moaned while eating it. It was that enjoyable. Have never forgotten that feeling.

Pillowcrunch

Addiction to food brings on totally different issues. Health issues, isolation, confidence issues etc.

AbsoluteTara79

Certain foods increase dopamine in the same ways that drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, etc. do. But the overall dopamine bang is much less. So I would say "addiction-like", but not addiction in the same way that we think about drug-addicts, gambling addicts, etc.

Howdoyoufeeltoday

If you've ever seen a binge eater or bulimic during one of their binge episodes then you know that eating to them is almost like any addiction. Now it might not be the actual food itself that's addictive but the eating/feelings/high you get from eating that's addictive. Is it the same kind of addiction, no, but it's just as real and just as dangerous. You can live without heroin or alcohol in your life once u get "clean" but food is something you need to survive.

*also, I think it's really sad that ppl are fighting over what should be classified as addiction and how it could possibly be offensive to ppl with "real" addictions to say that food is one of them. When did this world become a game of who's the sickest group of ppl out there? Sick is sick. There are different degrees and versions but putting such strict labels on illness just makes things worse.

khuddleston511

Yes food is can be an addiction. That's why they have support groups like over eaters anonymous.

lemurcat12

Howdoyoufeeltoday wrote: »

If you've ever seen a binge eater or bulimic during one of their binge episodes then you know that eating to them is almost like any addiction. Now it might not be the actual food itself that's addictive but the eating/feelings/high you get from eating that's addictive. Is it the same kind of addiction, no, but it's just as real and just as dangerous.

I agree with this, all but the insistence that it's a "harder" addiction (or whatever) to deal with, which seems to always get added and is likely untrue and certainly varies by person. Also IMO unhelpful.

*also, I think it's really sad that ppl are fighting over what should be classified as addiction and how it could possibly be offensive to ppl with "real" addictions to say that food is one of them. When did this world become a game of who's the sickest group of ppl out there? Sick is sick. There are different degrees and versions but putting such strict labels on illness just makes things worse.

Speaking for myself, the reason I object to the addiction term and think it's insensitive to real addicts (although that's not my main objection) is that most of the "I'm addicted" or "food is an addiction" posts aren't limited to stuff like compulsive overeating or real binging disorder but seem to think that addicts just really enjoy their drug and find it tempting. Finding the drug pleasurable isn't the essence of addiction at all. That's what I find to be an annoying misunderstanding/kind of insensitive (including to people who are suffering from a real binging disorder). I love naan and usually want to eat more than I should and struggle with that temptation and more than I should give in. That does not make me addicted to naan.

The other problem I have with the term, and perhaps more significant here, is that I think believing you are "an addict" or "can't help it" in a way different from others, tends to cause people to ignore the fact that everyone has temptations and must learn to deal with them and, especially, undermines their ability to succeed. It is important to believe that you can lose weight and that to the extent your habits with food are making that difficult for you, that you can change that. Often the view of "addiction" is a personal excuse for the person to be defeatist and decide that she can't change anything, so might as well not try, that she is different from others, can't exercise will power.

People who are truly suffering from compulsive overeating or binging would probably benefit from psychological help or support groups.

tennisdude2004

Pillowcrunch wrote: »

Does anyone think that food is an addiction? I love food, way too much. I feel like an addict. Opinions welcomed.

Yes eating food can be an addiction!

Howdoyoufeeltoday

lemurcat12 wrote: »

Howdoyoufeeltoday wrote: »

If you've ever seen a binge eater or bulimic during one of their binge episodes then you know that eating to them is almost like any addiction. Now it might not be the actual food itself that's addictive but the eating/feelings/high you get from eating that's addictive. Is it the same kind of addiction, no, but it's just as real and just as dangerous.

I agree with this, all but the insistence that it's a "harder" addiction (or whatever) to deal with, which seems to always get added and is likely untrue and certainly varies by person. Also IMO unhelpful.

*also, I think it's really sad that ppl are fighting over what should be classified as addiction and how it could possibly be offensive to ppl with "real" addictions to say that food is one of them. When did this world become a game of who's the sickest group of ppl out there? Sick is sick. There are different degrees and versions but putting such strict labels on illness just makes things worse.

Speaking for myself, the reason I object to the addiction term and think it's insensitive to real addicts (although that's not my main objection) is that most of the "I'm addicted" or "food is an addiction" posts aren't limited to stuff like compulsive overeating or real binging disorder but seem to think that addicts just really enjoy their drug and find it tempting. Finding the drug pleasurable isn't the essence of addiction at all. That's what I find to be an annoying misunderstanding/kind of insensitive (including to people who are suffering from a real binging disorder). I love naan and usually want to eat more than I should and struggle with that temptation and more than I should give in. That does not make me addicted to naan.

The other problem I have with the term, and perhaps more significant here, is that I think believing you are "an addict" or "can't help it" in a way different from others, tends to cause people to ignore the fact that everyone has temptations and must learn to deal with them and, especially, undermines their ability to succeed. It is important to believe that you can lose weight and that to the extent your habits with food are making that difficult for you, that you can change that. Often the view of "addiction" is a personal excuse for the person to be defeatist and decide that she can't change anything, so might as well not try, that she is different from others, can't exercise will power.

People who are truly suffering from compulsive overeating or binging would probably benefit from psychological help or support groups.

Not harder, just different. You can't simply take food away like you can other addictive substances.

No doubt people throw the term around like it's nothing, which I do agree it's wrong. There is a huge difference between loving cake and having binge disorder. Though some people I think just generally don't know how else to describe what they're feeling. I don't always approve but I deal with it. Though i do think that the people who "enjoy" the addiction are sick in their own right. Not to be classified as an addict maybe but still. This goes for the "pro ana/mia" movement too. It's twisted that anyone would want to have such a *kitten* disease and yet they glorify it. That's a mix of ignorance and sickness. Because no healthy person would put their body through hell like that. It becomes an addiction once you realize you've lost control over what you once thought you had control of. Same goes for binge eating. Again it's not the food that they're addicted to per say. In a bad binge you could be eating without even tasting your food. The word shouldn't be thrown around as an excuse to eat. Just set them straight and hope they understand.

jakichan

Not only do I think it is an addiction, think about this:

Almost any other type of addict - gambling, drugs, alcohol, whatever - would continue to live just fine if they stopped doing their addictive activity. However, you can die without eating.

In other words, many addicts talk about putting the tiger back in the cage. If you're a food addict then you get to take the tiger out of the cage 3 (or more) times a day for a walk!

RoseyandReady

It can be an addiction. 100%.

Pillowcrunch

Thanks everyone for the responses. I'm trying to be more aware. I certainly have engaged in boredom eating the last few months. I eat way too many carbs and empty calories. The end result for me anyway is weight gain. Working on it, regardless if its an addiction. It definitely involves behavior change.

hmm33502

SwankyTomato wrote: »

I would put it into the category of a compulsion in the realm of OCD. One side is anorexia, the other is binging.

Yes! Agreed!!
My initial response was yes to addiction, but the more I consider my relationship with food, it's more of an obsession. I think it really depends on the person!

spunmommy

I think you can be addicted to junk food to a certain extent. Eating fatty, salty and sugary things release endorphins which hit the pleasure centers of your brain which is the same place that light up when you use some drugs.

Food companies have spent billions on creating food that is hyper-palatable while removing/replacing nutrition with cheap industrial corn derivatives. Imagine sitting down with a package of Oreos. You could eat a quarter to a half of that container and either still be hungry or be hungry again shortly. Substitute the same amount of calories of chicken breast, I doubt you could even get it all down before your body hollers "uncle!"