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Fast Food Addiction - Can Anyone Else Relate?
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Not sure if you know how this works. OP made the claim that fast food addiction it's real and has done the research, therefore it's up to her to provide the evidence to back up her claim. So we'alls don't have any research to do, she does. Got it?Not that anyone should have to do y'alls research for you
Yeah, call me crazy, but I think proving your claim with peer reviewed research is important.Here's one peer-reviewed journal since that's so important
Did you actually read this study? Im guessing not. Because it doesn't prove that fast food addiction exists. So exactly what do you think this study proves? Did you read the above three citations referenced in the study? Again, I'm guessing not. The Colantuoni study is done on rats, The Grigson citation is a discussion, not a study, and it's behind a paywall, Del Parigi doesn't prove that fast food addiction exists either.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/23942659_Fast_Food_Addiction_and_Market_Power, "There is evidence from medical research that the nutrients in fast food are inherently addictive (Colantuoni et al., 2002; Grigson, 2002; Del Parigi et al., 2003). Some research suggests fast food firms have learned to exploit this fact in the design and pricing of their products (Drewnowski and Darmon, 2005; White et al., 2002)."
See the word I bolded? You may want to Google it and see what it means. Then get back to us if you still think this somehow proves that fast food addiction exists.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20648909, "One of the interesting new hypotheses for epidemic obesity is food addiction, which is associated with both substance-related disorder and eating disorder. Accumulating evidences have shown that there are many shared neural and hormonal pathways as well as distinct differences that may help researchers find why certain individuals overeat and become obese."
You should read them also, if you did you wouldn't have posted them as evidence of fast food addiction.Read them for yourselves
She doesn't, and either do you.but stop acting like she has no idea what she's talking about.
Umm... wrong.Fast food, as well as many types of processed foods and sugars are incredibly dangerous.
Managing real addiction, such as heroine and alcohol, is incredibly diffucult. Managing fake addictions, such as sugar and fast food, is as simple as "stop making excuses".Addictions can be managed just like anything else. But sometimes it's not as simple as just "stop making excuses."
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Not sure if you know how this works. OP made the claim that fast food addiction it's real and has done the research, therefore it's up to her to provide the evidence to back up her claim. So we'alls don't have any research to do, she does. Got it?Not that anyone should have to do y'alls research for you
Yeah, call me crazy, but I think proving your claim with peer reviewed research is important.Here's one peer-reviewed journal since that's so important
Did you actually read this study? Im guessing not. Because it doesn't prove that fast food addiction exists. So exactly what do you think this study proves? Did you read the above three citations referenced in the study? Again, I'm guessing not. The Colantuoni study is done on rats, The Grigson citation is a discussion, not a study, and it's behind a paywall, Del Parigi doesn't prove that fast food addiction exists either.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/23942659_Fast_Food_Addiction_and_Market_Power, "There is evidence from medical research that the nutrients in fast food are inherently addictive (Colantuoni et al., 2002; Grigson, 2002; Del Parigi et al., 2003). Some research suggests fast food firms have learned to exploit this fact in the design and pricing of their products (Drewnowski and Darmon, 2005; White et al., 2002)."
See the word I bolded? You may want to Google it and see what it means. Then get back to us if you still think this somehow proves that fast food addiction exists.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20648909, "One of the interesting new hypotheses for epidemic obesity is food addiction, which is associated with both substance-related disorder and eating disorder. Accumulating evidences have shown that there are many shared neural and hormonal pathways as well as distinct differences that may help researchers find why certain individuals overeat and become obese."
You should read them also, if you did you wouldn't have posted them as evidence of fast food addiction.Read them for yourselves
She doesn't, and either do you.but stop acting like she has no idea what she's talking about.
Umm... wrong.Fast food, as well as many types of processed foods and sugars are incredibly dangerous.
Managing real addiction, such as heroine and alcohol, is incredibly diffucult. Managing fake addictions, such as sugar and fast food, is as simple as "stop making excuses".Addictions can be managed just like anything else. But sometimes it's not as simple as just "stop making excuses."
Posts like this are where I miss having the "awesome" button.46 -
candylilacs wrote: »It's carbs and sugar! Can it not be addictive?
1) Sugar is carbs. And all carbs are eventually metabolized into simple sugars in the body.
2) Sugar is not addictive: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28330706
3) Fast foods are often very high in fat as are a lot of "treat" or "junk" foods. Why isn't fat getting the bad rap for being evil and addictive and fattening? Oh yeah, I forgot - because the keto fad.28 -
Having struggled with severe anorexia myself, I don't want to discount your struggles. I do think that disordered thoughts and feelings around food exist but I don't think addiction in the right word. If you feel that you might have a disordered relationship with food, please seek professional help.30
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Katherinelittle24 wrote: »Random Thought:
Who here is addicted to fast food? Yesterday, I kind of cheated on my weight loss program and had Burger King for the first time in a while. Now, at that very moment it felt good to have a hamburger again but than later in the evening, I felt disgusting. I felt bloated, heavy, depressed and felt like I didn't want to work out at all. Honesty, since then, I have felt this desire to get more fast food, and even though I was full after I had a meal at Burger King, I still wanted more....that's how terrible my addiction is. Fast Food is the devil haha sorry don't need to be dramatic but for those that are addicted to food, I'm sure you will understand.
Long story short, since November of 2017, I've lost 52lbs. I have a long way to go but when I started my weight loss journey, I was 400lbs. I became highly addicted to fast food. Even though I love to cook and I love all of the healthy delicious foods, I ate fast food about four days a week at least and that's how I became so obese. I wanted fast food every day and yesterday, I got a glimpse of the old me and it kind of scared me because thinking about how much I've worked on myself since then, and how much I can easily gain the weight I loss because of my terrible food addiction. After I had fast food, my mind has been thinking about it ever since. Does anyone else get these thoughts as well?
You might want to look into overeaters anonymous. Food addiction is real. Congratulations on your weight loss.20 -
Johnwelk, sorry didn't realize that one was behind a paywall, I used my school's journal search so I had access. And yes I did read it, no I did not say anything was proven, but my issue was that everyone was discounting what she said without having any actual reason to other than that she wasn't 'trying hard enough.'
Fast food in manufactured to be addictive, not saying that addiction is going to be on the same level as things such as drug or alcohol addiction, but it's something we need to take into consideration before jumping straight to the "wow not enough willpower I guess"-mentality.38 -
OP... I can relate to your struggle. I believe many of us obese in hopeful long term recovery do. If it de-rails your goals, dump it. If you can enjoy without having issues than do. I used to eat FF at least 3 times a week several years ago, now very rarely. Fast, or hyperpalitable foods in general just, might just be like a terrible relationship. They make you feel good for a moment, then afterwards you feel "dirty". Congrats on the we weight loss. Keep up the fight. Feel free to message me if I can do anything for you.4
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I agree there are ED's and some people have difficulty restricting foods and there are individual trigger foods for some people and there are behavioural issues - that doesnt make there be an addiction though.
i actually think it is quite trivialising to real physical addictions like opiates,alcohol, nicotine to say this
and yes there is an organisation called Over eaters Anonymous - but I notice they do not refer to food addiction either
In their own words "Overeaters Anonymous (OA) is a fellowship of individuals who, through shared experience, strength and hope, are recovering from compulsive overeating. We welcome everyone who wants to stop eating compulsively. .......
Our primary purpose is to abstain from compulsive overeating and to carry the message of recovery to those who still suffer.
OA caters for all who have a problem with their eating, such as compulsive overeaters, anorexics and bulimics."
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You aren't addicted, as fast food isn't an addicting substance. You just need to exercise some willpower.
I lost 65 pounds and still ate fast food. I just cut down from going after work on the weekends (both days, often) to once a week maximum, opting for smaller sandwiches and no fries (not worth the calories for what you get). It fits into my calories well.
Yup me too....listen to malibu! Self control not addiction!7 -
OP I know this is going to be hard but try not to get so defensive at what people are telling you.
You aren't addicted to fast food, because fast food, isn't one thing. Even if it were one thing, there isn't a single food, or ingredient, that is physically addictive, in the way that nicotine, caffeine, opiates, etc are addictive.
That said, a lot of people have strong emotional connections to certain foods, or certain situations. If you recall with fondness, a time when you used to eat fast food with abandon, with no regard to calories or impact on your weight, then it's possible when you do indulge in an old habit, that you feel compelled to over do it. Again, that doesn't make fast food addictive. You find it tasty, and difficult to moderate. You need to decide if you want to learn to moderate fast food, or other foods that you've cut out for your current plan, or if you're fine with restricting them forever, or for the foreseeable future.
A lot of people, when they decide to lose weight - take an extreme approach. They dramatically overhaul their diet (noun) in order to cut calories, eat healthier foods, take on an exercise program, etc. Some people do those things in small steps, some go big all at once. A lot of it is very dependent on the individual whether an extreme approach will be successful or more of a modest approach is sustainable in the long term. With regards to trigger foods, some people find that it's easier to avoid temptation if they cut them out completely. Some find that cutting out foods they really enjoy makes them want them even more, so trying to cut them out sets up binge restrict cycles or yo yo dieting.
You have to decide for yourself what the best long term strategy for you is, but I encourage you to look at the plan you've put together.... you said you cook and enjoy tasty foods, and that's great! Have you cut out too much of one thing - carbs, or fats, or sweets - such that you do feel tempted to indulge in fast food? Would a burger cooked at home with lean ground beef or turkey, toppings and oven baked fries been sufficient for your craving? Do you eat those sorts of things at home on your current plan?
Calling it an addiction to fast food, in my opinion, clouds your ability to understand the root cause of your issues with why you overindulged. If you even did overindulge, reading your OP it sounds like you had a burger and wanted another later. Did you give in? Have the cravings subsided now? Because I imagine a burger from BK is able to fit in your calories, and if you enjoyed it in the moment, maybe just focus on losing the feelings of guilt and trying to understand why you felt tempted so soon afterwards and how you're going to deal with that in the future.
Good luck.42 -
You aren't addicted, as fast food isn't an addicting substance. You just need to exercise some willpower.
I lost 65 pounds and still ate fast food. I just cut down from going after work on the weekends (both days, often) to once a week maximum, opting for smaller sandwiches and no fries (not worth the calories for what you get). It fits into my calories well.
This is awful advice. Of course it can be an addicting substance. By this logic you might think sex can't be addicting because it's not a substance either, or gambling because it's not a substance either, and yet there are lots of people who suffer from sex and love addiction, and gambling addictions. This is an ignorant statement to just boil it down to basically saying, "just stop doing it."38 -
chantalemarie wrote: »You aren't addicted, as fast food isn't an addicting substance. You just need to exercise some willpower.
I lost 65 pounds and still ate fast food. I just cut down from going after work on the weekends (both days, often) to once a week maximum, opting for smaller sandwiches and no fries (not worth the calories for what you get). It fits into my calories well.
This is awful advice. Of course it can be an addicting substance. By this logic you might think sex can't be addicting because it's not a substance either, or gambling because it's not a substance either, and yet there are lots of people who suffer from sex and love addiction, and gambling addictions. This is an ignorant statement to just boil it down to basically saying, "just stop doing it."
um, actually sex addiction is a very controversial thing that professionals and researchers don't all agree is actually a diagnosis (so bad example!)19 -
Muscleflex79 wrote: »chantalemarie wrote: »You aren't addicted, as fast food isn't an addicting substance. You just need to exercise some willpower.
I lost 65 pounds and still ate fast food. I just cut down from going after work on the weekends (both days, often) to once a week maximum, opting for smaller sandwiches and no fries (not worth the calories for what you get). It fits into my calories well.
This is awful advice. Of course it can be an addicting substance. By this logic you might think sex can't be addicting because it's not a substance either, or gambling because it's not a substance either, and yet there are lots of people who suffer from sex and love addiction, and gambling addictions. This is an ignorant statement to just boil it down to basically saying, "just stop doing it."
um, actually sex addiction is a very controversial thing that professionals and researchers don't all agree is actually a diagnosis (so bad example!)
Anything can be a bad example if you don't want to believe it. In any regard, good thing not ALL agree and there are some professionals that are willing to help those suffering. And if that still doesn't please you at least there was another type of addiction mentioned that millions suffer from as well (a good example!)14 -
chantalemarie wrote: »Muscleflex79 wrote: »chantalemarie wrote: »You aren't addicted, as fast food isn't an addicting substance. You just need to exercise some willpower.
I lost 65 pounds and still ate fast food. I just cut down from going after work on the weekends (both days, often) to once a week maximum, opting for smaller sandwiches and no fries (not worth the calories for what you get). It fits into my calories well.
This is awful advice. Of course it can be an addicting substance. By this logic you might think sex can't be addicting because it's not a substance either, or gambling because it's not a substance either, and yet there are lots of people who suffer from sex and love addiction, and gambling addictions. This is an ignorant statement to just boil it down to basically saying, "just stop doing it."
um, actually sex addiction is a very controversial thing that professionals and researchers don't all agree is actually a diagnosis (so bad example!)
Anything can be a bad example if you don't want to believe it. In any regard, good thing not ALL agree and there are some professionals that are willing to help those suffering. And if that still doesn't please you at least there was another type of addiction mentioned that millions suffer from as well (a good example!)
The examples you cited are behavioral addictions, not physical addictions like drugs and alcohol abuse. The OP said she has a fast food addiction, and blames the fast food, suggesting that it is the fast food itself which is addictive, meaning she thinks it's a physiological addiction. You agree - so please enlighten us, which ingredient in fast food is it that is physiologically addictive? Because I wasn't aware that all fast food restaurants used a single ingredient in every food that is prepared - no matter whether it is Taco Bell, Wendy's, Chipotle or Panera...29 -
I'd also add that people are very habitual. If you work hard to change your habits you can break this "addiction." I grew up adding lots of sugar to tea. Switched to artificial sweeteners and then stopped adding anything. But this was a conscious and somewhat hard fought habit change. As someone else suggested maybe give yourself one fast food visit per week and wean yourself from the foods you normally eat. Instead of a Value Meal, go down a size. Then instead of a regular meal, go down to a kids meal. Then maybe allow yourself a small burger. I bet you can beat this "habit" or "addiction" if you want to!10
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I was in denial about carb addiction for many years and wrecked my health.
People who try to cut out carbs for just 30 days learn more about carb addiction I expect.
The physical part of my carb addiction left after 2-3 hellish weeks. The mental/memory part I think may never go away but that is not a health issue I am finding.34 -
Everyone needs food to survive. Addicted to fast food, or is it just hard to resist?
You have been doing great! It is all a matter of choices that we make. There is nothing wrong with having a hamburger, or any other food. Fit it into you calorie allotment, and move on.
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GaleHawkins wrote: »I was in denial about carb addiction for many years and wrecked my health.
People who try to cut out carbs for just 30 days learn more about carb addiction I expect.
The physical part of my carb addiction left after 2-3 hellish weeks. The mental/memory part I think may never go away but that is not a health issue I am finding.
There is also no such thing as a carb addiction. If there were, people would be stealing carrot and potato peelings out of garbage dumpsters to feed their addiction, the same way that people will steal money to buy drugs or an alcoholic will drink mouthwash if they can't get their hands on their alcohol of choice.
Anyone who cuts out carbs for 30 days would be miserable indeed, since they would be eating nothing but meat and oil.
I never understand why people who have actually found success, the way that you seem to have Gale, want to still pin your previous troubles on an "addiction" which suggests it was the food to blame for your health issues all along. Why not just say, "I overindulged, I ate at dairy queen too often, I let myself go - and once I found a way of eating that worked for me, at a calorie appropriate level, my health is better overall". Putting everything on a perceived "carb addiction" diminishes the work that you did in order to improve your situation.
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Hi there,
While I understand the idea of feeling addicted to fast food, I also understand that the addiction is a product of long term habits. I started at over 350 pounds and it took me years to realize "bad" foods like fast food burgers weren't the issue. If you want Burger King, have it. Make it fit into your daily allotment, and move on. Don't beat yourself up, don't let food have the power to dictate where you go in life or how successful you are.
My first suggestion would be to find an ED educated therapist. I have BED, and it took a long time to find balance. I needed professional help to get there. Willpower wasn't enough to set long term consistent goals. If you ever need anyone to talk to, you can add me. 18 -
chantalemarie wrote: »You aren't addicted, as fast food isn't an addicting substance. You just need to exercise some willpower.
I lost 65 pounds and still ate fast food. I just cut down from going after work on the weekends (both days, often) to once a week maximum, opting for smaller sandwiches and no fries (not worth the calories for what you get). It fits into my calories well.
This is awful advice. Of course it can be an addicting substance. By this logic you might think sex can't be addicting because it's not a substance either, or gambling because it's not a substance either, and yet there are lots of people who suffer from sex and love addiction, and gambling addictions. This is an ignorant statement to just boil it down to basically saying, "just stop doing it."
Sex is something specific; gambling is also something specific, and saying you are addicted to fast food burgers and not homemade burgers seems akin to saying you are addicted to craps and not blackjack which people who take seriously gambling addiction would not accept (or addicted to wine, not beer or vodka).
More significantly, because I think the debate about whether fast food is addictive is NOT helpful to OP, who may well have a problem with compulsive overeating, good advice if someone is addicted to something is DON'T consume it. That's really what the discussion here comes down to. Is the problem for OP a particular substance she can avoid? (I think there's more to alcohol addiction, but as a non-practicing alcoholic, I'd say not drinking is a pretty significant thing -- realizing that for me it's best not to pick up a drink.) Or is it something broader, as if you have issues with FOOD or EATING you cannot stop doing that.
For some it seems simplistic -- highly palatable foods are addictive so don't consume them. But I think food issues are such that that could actually backfire (it doesn't really fit the addiction model), so saying "don't eat them ever" and telling yourself you cannot control it may well result in negative consequences -- self-fulfilling prophecy since they are off limits so you obsess, you believe you can't control it, so it's a good excuse if you have a bit to go nuts, you tell yourself you have already ruined everything so might as well go totally off the rails. Or you feel unnecessary shame (for having a burger?) so beat yourself up until you feel so worthless you stop trying.
These are possible problems with the addiction so never ever eat fast food (or highly palatable foods) again.
Again, OP didn't respond, but it struck me she was saying she couldn't have even a homemade burger, which makes me wonder if part of the issue is she's being more restrictive than necessary, which could backfire hard.
Anyway, seems to me that it's those claiming addiction model fits who are saying she should just never have a burger, and those who say "it's not really an addiction, it's about learning moderation" who are suggesting there may be ways to work on the tendencies to overeat, and that the answer is NOT just never have it (or claiming the issue is carbs and sugar, LOL).
I really wish the discussion was not about "addiction" but about how to deal with feelings of being out of control around food, which requires more specifics, People feel out of control around food for different reasons and in different ways. It's not that fast food is a dangerous substance akin to meth, that's a ridiculous and unhelpful way to think about it.23
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