Food addiction
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Whoah. It's worse than I thought ..0 -
I believe in food addictions just as much as drug addiction. It is real for some. I would classify it as a behavioral addiction. The human brain is an amazing part of the body.0
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Thanks nvsmomketo for the detailed explanation and personal testimony, I won't go on repeating what you have already written about withdrawal and physical symptoms.
From other comments here I gather that some folks doubt that one could be a food addict. People have opinions often based solely on their own experiences, rather than actual knowledge. I am jealous and wish I was like those people who don't have personal experiences of food addiction.
Overweight people are often viewed as having a low socioeconomic status, as being unintelligent, dirty, and lacking self control. Let's not lie to ourselves. We judge (to some extent without even realizing it). When a fat person dresses well, has a good job, is smart, or has a salad for lunch we see the person as a fraud. I do it too, shame on me.
Foods are not just fiber, vitamins, water, and flavor. While whole foods are best for our bodies, the foods we eat in our society are usually processed to some degree and are enhanced with derivatives from other food sources.
For example: Sugar (which by definition is a drug). We take the sugar molecules out of sugar beets or sugar cane and add them to another foods to make them sweet(er). That concentrated derivative, or extract of a plant, is addictive. I bet we can all name other plant extracts that are addictive...
I'm addicted to Sugar.
It's real. It's really real. Until I realized what was happening to me I thought that I just really loved sugar (you know... straight from the bag if I couldn't find a cookie) I thought that I had no self control. I thought that I was just a "pig" and eating my emotions.
At almost 50 years old I can look back on my life and eating habits and tell you that I am a food addict. The only constant thread that weaves through my life of weight loss and gain is excess sugar and flour. It hasn't mattered if I was happy, sad, or angry. I ate them to extreme. It didn't matter what my circumstances were or how aware I was of what it did to my body.... I ate it. I couldn't get enough. I was ashamed.
Food is not my best friend. I don't have a love for cooking or baking. I forget to eat when I am busy. I appear "normal" aside from the extra pounds (that I am loosing for the last time).
Cravings are your body's way of telling you it needs something, such as protein, salt, vitamins, and carbohydrates. For me, eating sugar or flour is not controlled by a craving. My body wants them in excessive amounts so I can keep getting my "fix". Like a drug. I wake up wanting sugar. I go to bed after eating sugar and then dream of eating sweets. This is not a self-control issue.
Once I start eating them, I'm consumed by thoughts and desires of eating sugary foods, or foods containing flour.
I can't eat them AT ALL or it triggers awful binges and food orgies that last for hours or days.
I am so tired of trying to loose the same 50 pounds only to gain it back as soon as I reintroduce my old foods (because everyone around me can have just one and stop... I should be able to too, right?) . I can't be trusted to eat just a little bit. I sneak food. I eat whenever I get a chance. I always always always choose desserts, sometimes skipping meals and only eating desserts for days on end. I usually don't realize I am doing it, because of denial, and because eating is expected. I would tell people that I have a HUGE sweet tooth (politically correct understatement)... and that donuts are the perfect food (sugar and bread). I'm tired of not feeling like I can control my desire to EAT, CHEW, or TASTE... only to be unsatisified and want more and more even though I am full and physically sick.
No, I am not unintelligent. No, I am not making it up.
It's hard to change the way I have always behaved toward food, especially when those around me don't have a problem with it.
Sometimes I still want it. But, if I don't eat it at all, I have a much easier time saying 'no'.
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sixfarmhicks wrote: »Thanks nvsmomketo for the detailed explanation and personal testimony, I won't go on repeating what you have already written about withdrawal and physical symptoms.
From other comments here I gather that some folks doubt that one could be a food addict. People have opinions often based solely on their own experiences, rather than actual knowledge. I am jealous and wish I was like those people who don't have personal experiences of food addiction.
Overweight people are often viewed as having a low socioeconomic status, as being unintelligent, dirty, and lacking self control. Let's not lie to ourselves. We judge (to some extent without even realizing it). When a fat person dresses well, has a good job, is smart, or has a salad for lunch we see the person as a fraud. I do it too, shame on me.
Foods are not just fiber, vitamins, water, and flavor. While whole foods are best for our bodies, the foods we eat in our society are usually processed to some degree and are enhanced with derivatives from other food sources.
For example: Sugar (which by definition is a drug). We take the sugar molecules out of sugar beets or sugar cane and add them to another foods to make them sweet(er). That concentrated derivative, or extract of a plant, is addictive. I bet we can all name other plant extracts that are addictive...
I'm addicted to Sugar.
It's real. It's really real. Until I realized what was happening to me I thought that I just really loved sugar (you know... straight from the bag if I couldn't find a cookie) I thought that I had no self control. I thought that I was just a "pig" and eating my emotions.
At almost 50 years old I can look back on my life and eating habits and tell you that I am a food addict. The only constant thread that weaves through my life of weight loss and gain is excess sugar and flour. It hasn't mattered if I was happy, sad, or angry. I ate them to extreme. It didn't matter what my circumstances were or how aware I was of what it did to my body.... I ate it. I couldn't get enough. I was ashamed.
Food is not my best friend. I don't have a love for cooking or baking. I forget to eat when I am busy. I appear "normal" aside from the extra pounds (that I am loosing for the last time).
Cravings are your body's way of telling you it needs something, such as protein, salt, vitamins, and carbohydrates. For me, eating sugar or flour is not controlled by a craving. My body wants them in excessive amounts so I can keep getting my "fix". Like a drug. I wake up wanting sugar. I go to bed after eating sugar and then dream of eating sweets. This is not a self-control issue.
Once I start eating them, I'm consumed by thoughts and desires of eating sugary foods, or foods containing flour.
I can't eat them AT ALL or it triggers awful binges and food orgies that last for hours or days.
I am so tired of trying to loose the same 50 pounds only to gain it back as soon as I reintroduce my old foods (because everyone around me can have just one and stop... I should be able to too, right?) . I can't be trusted to eat just a little bit. I sneak food. I eat whenever I get a chance. I always always always choose desserts, sometimes skipping meals and only eating desserts for days on end. I usually don't realize I am doing it, because of denial, and because eating is expected. I would tell people that I have a HUGE sweet tooth (politically correct understatement)... and that donuts are the perfect food (sugar and bread). I'm tired of not feeling like I can control my desire to EAT, CHEW, or TASTE... only to be unsatisified and want more and more even though I am full and physically sick.
No, I am not unintelligent. No, I am not making it up.
It's hard to change the way I have always behaved toward food, especially when those around me don't have a problem with it.
Sometimes I still want it. But, if I don't eat it at all, I have a much easier time saying 'no'.
This really resonated with me. Hopefully you've found peace.0 -
Food is definitely addictive. Especially high calorie foods like carbs, especially sugar. Studies have been done on brain activity and food. High calorie food lights up the 'pleasure' areas in your brain, in exactly the same way cocaine does. Trouble is the more you do it the bigger the 'hit' you need as you build up a tolerance. It's not fair to say that emotional addiction to food doesn't count. There is a chemical reaction in your brain that gives you pleasure when you eat and people use food to find this. It's basic substance abuse. And if anyone on here has cut the carbs cold turkey before you know how rubbish you feel for a few days so yes it definitely is addictive.0
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Food is definitely addictive. Especially high calorie foods like carbs, especially sugar. Studies have been done on brain activity and food. High calorie food lights up the 'pleasure' areas in your brain, in exactly the same way cocaine does. Trouble is the more you do it the bigger the 'hit' you need as you build up a tolerance. It's not fair to say that emotional addiction to food doesn't count. There is a chemical reaction in your brain that gives you pleasure when you eat and people use food to find this. It's basic substance abuse. And if anyone on here has cut the carbs cold turkey before you know how rubbish you feel for a few days so yes it definitely is addictive.
Your body resonates the same dopamine response with anything enjoyable.. sex, petting animals, etc..
Just because your body releases dopamine, doesn't mean you are addicted, it means you enjoy it.
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I don't think it's a thing0
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I believe it's real. Alcoholics & drug addicts achieve success by abstaining from their drug/drink. A food addict has to dabble in their drug daily, but learn how to do it correctly & lightly. Personally, I randomly taste &/or smell food that isn't there. Desire takes over from there. & you can't just say no- you eventually have to eat something to live.0
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Food is definitely addictive. Especially high calorie foods like carbs, especially sugar. Studies have been done on brain activity and food. High calorie food lights up the 'pleasure' areas in your brain, in exactly the same way cocaine does. Trouble is the more you do it the bigger the 'hit' you need as you build up a tolerance. It's not fair to say that emotional addiction to food doesn't count. There is a chemical reaction in your brain that gives you pleasure when you eat and people use food to find this. It's basic substance abuse. And if anyone on here has cut the carbs cold turkey before you know how rubbish you feel for a few days so yes it definitely is addictive.
I stopped looking for value in this post once I attempted to read the bolded sentence.0 -
no...lack of will power or self control does not equal addiction. most people have no idea what it's like to actually be an addict and they throw the term around very loosely. It's *kitten*.0
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Agree!! ^^LiftAllThePizzas wrote: »IMO it's like gluten intolerance: it exists but almost everyone who claims to have it is mistaken.
Answer your question OP, NO!!!
It's lack of self control!!
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Agree!! ^^LiftAllThePizzas wrote: »IMO it's like gluten intolerance: it exists but almost everyone who claims to have it is mistaken.
Answer your question OP, NO!!!
It's lack of self control!!
I think for some people it is much more complicated than a lack of self-control. That seems to just trivialize what some people go through to stop their over eating.
I had self-control over my eating long enough to lose 80lbs. Then somewhere along the way...I just couldn't do it any more...gained back more than half of it in a short period of time. This time I need more than self-control to make it work. I have had to take a hard long look at what caused me to gain it back.
Do I believe in food addictions??? Not so much but I do think that we use it to solve a whole lot of other needs. People use it to get a fix...a feeling of euphoria.
Some people find it easier...a lot less scary...to turn to food...than to have to face those problems that cause them to use food in an addictive manner.
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cwolfman13 wrote: »no...lack of will power or self control does not equal addiction. most people have no idea what it's like to actually be an addict and they throw the term around very loosely. It's *kitten*.
I was just thinking this!0 -
It is real. I researched it for my psychology courses. There was a post about it yesterday, I believe, that has some good info as well.
Think of it this way: when you eat certain foods (especially sugars, starches like white bread) you feel something. Some people get "high" on this feeling because your brain releases pleasure chemicals so you feel good. It doesn't happen with everyone, but certainly some people (myself included). When you stop eating those foods or don't get the same levels your brain is used to, those feel-good chemicals are not released so you end up feeling crappy. You get tired, grumpy, irritable, etc. Eating those foods makes you feel better. The addiction cycle continues.
Will people die if they don't eat those foods? No. Should they be admitted to the hospital? No. Should you file for disability? No. But it is a tough thing to deal with, especially when you're trying to lose weight or eat healthier.
My only advice is to keep your calories at an acceptable level & don't cut too much. Stick to your macros (I just use what MFP recommends but not always 100%.
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So, yeah I think someone could have a food addiction. Some people define "true" addictions as things on which you develop a physical dependence (as opposed to crutches that are solely mental). But, it's all the same to me. *shrugs*Addiction is a state characterized by compulsive engagement in rewarding stimuli0 -
I'm addicted to petting puppies. It releases the same chemical effect as sugar after all.0
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I will never deny that addiction...brb....going to the...ummm....bathroom.mantium999 wrote: »
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I will never deny that addiction...brb....going to the...ummm....bathroom.mantium999 wrote: »
Don't forget to log the calorie burn upon your return.0
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