Addicted to food, really?
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The term "addiction" has been watered down by society to be pretty much something that you want to do really, really badly.
Of course, there are real addictions out there. You know, the ones that will actually cause severe physiological reactions, including death. But let's not talk about those, and lump in all the other ones with them, such as food, sex, video games, etc.
When someone mentions they are "addicted" to something, it transfers the responsibility for the act. It's perfectly reasonable for someone with such an affliction to succumb to it, right?
Even if these other addictions didn't exist, I can certainly understand why people would want to think they did.0 -
People use the word "addiction" to justify a lack of willpower
How is having an addiction not a lack of willpower? An alcoholic picks up a drink due to lack of willpower, does s/he not? There is a compulsion to drink. That compulsion is only overcome by will or force.
no
Then how?0 -
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Addiction - Dependency, dependence, habit, problem
devotion to, dedication to, obsession with, infatuation with, passion for, love of, mania for, enslavement to
"a slavish addiction to fashion"
This is what Addiction means. It does not mean it has to be related to a drug. My husband has a game addiction that isn't a drug, but yet he is very much so addicted to playing his games.0 -
So OP, do people with bulimia and anorexia just lack control also? They lack the control to eat a healthy amount or lack control to purge?
While I don't think food addiction is as common as people tend to say it is, I still feel the OP is way off base. I think overeating would be better classified an eating disorder, rather than an addiction, but it doesn't mean it's not real. I've never been treated for an eating disorder but I too have been to the point where I get so caught up in losing weight I under eat a ton. And I've also been to the point where I make myself sick from eating TOO much. I've had moments, even recently, where I wanted something sweet at night so badly that I went to the store in my pj's to get something to binge on because it brought on an anxiety attack.
As always, there are plenty of people who will use it as an excuse but it does exist.0 -
People use the word "addiction" to justify a lack of willpower
Exactly what I was thinking. There's a difference between addiction and being unwilling to control your behavior. Someone said if they make one serving of pasta, they want to make 5 more. You're not addicted to the food. You're not going to go into withdrawals if you don't eat 5 more servings of pasta. You'll go to sleep and wake up tomorrow and be just fine. You have a bad HABIT, not an addiction.
That is actually not always true. Most people who are " addicted " to one or just a couple of specific foods do have withdrawal symptoms. I was heavily dependent on white rice and pasta. To the point that I would get anxious if there was no already prepared rice or pasta in the fridge, so I could eat it with all meals and as a " pacifier " inbetween. If there wasn't, I would cook either of them, no matter the time of night.I would obsess about it during my work day. Not every moment, but I would think about having enough rice/pasta in the fridge, having to buy some, having to prepare some and felt relieved when all those tasks were accomplished. If I would not have my " fix " of rice, pasta or in a pinch bread, I would have a head ache several hours later, or the next morning....and things were not just fine.
I was discovered to have severe thyroid problems and once they were addressed my physical need for simple carbs ( probably the readily accessible energy in them ) diminished, but I had gotten used to this way of eating and it took a lot longer to brake that dependence. Right now I am in the process to slowly re-introduce rice maybe once a month or fortnight, but I have not had pasta since March of this year, because I am not sure that I could stick to normal portions yet. It has obviously nothing to do with will power, because I obviously have it with other food items. I have never called it addiction, but I remember from being a hardcore smoker that there were very similar feelings and behaviors involved.0 -
Perhaps the OP should read some scientific research, as opposed to anecdotal/personal evidence.
One of the most famous pieces of research was by Ancel Keys et al - here are just some of the results:
Keys put 36 physically and mentally healthy men on a calorie controlled diet, with a moderate amount of exercise, and, in a matter of weeks, he turned them into physical and emotional wrecks (bulimics to all intents and purposes).
Physically, the men reported incessant hunger, weakness, exhaustion and they lost 21% of their strength in the first 12 weeks alone. They experienced dizziness, muscle wasting, hair loss and reduced coordination. Several withdrew from their university classes, because they simply didn’t have the energy or motivation to attend.
Psychologically, the men became obsessed with food, meal times and everything to do with eating (a number became chefs after the experiment; such was their interest in food). They had to ‘buddy up’ to avoid breaking their diets, as their drive to binge was so enormous. Before the buddy system was put in place, a couple did get hold of some forbidden food and binge and suffered extreme guilt and self-loathing as a result. (It is fair to assume, therefore, that, had this not been a confined experiment, all men would have given up on their ‘diet’). The men reported extreme depression, irritability, a sense of deprivation and they lost all interest in sex. (They actually lost all interest in anything other than food – such is the human drive to overcome hunger).
If you disregard the fact that the men in this experiment were starving for science and transpose the information to anyone who has ever dieted you will see that many people who report being "addicted" to food are experiencing those same feelings and physical phenomena.
Never underestimate the body's ability to drive you to gorge - if you have ever starved (either willingly through dieting or through environmental/financial circumstances) - you will have experienced the craving, gnawing need to eat as much as you can, when either your willpower collapses or when food becomes available.
Perhaps the OP's experience of being able to control his eating is down to the fact that his first diet (and, by the sounds of it, his last) was done in a sensible manner - a decision to sensibly control his portions, calorie intake and engage in some exercise.
My first diet was when I was fifteen and involved just not eating for as many days as I could manage. I was not overweight (by my standards today) and within a few months I was starving myself again to lose the weight again....This has been the pattern of my eating for almost 40 years.
If someone reports that they feel addicted to food, then I believe that their experiences of craving food, withdrawal symptoms when food is unavailable/withdrawn, overeating when they finally get their fix, could reasonably be likened to any other addiction you care to mention.
http://www.possibility.com/wiki/index.php?title=EffectsOfSemiStarvation0 -
What's with the "herself" and "she" cause men lack self control when it comes to food too too not just women.
The English language doesn't have a gender-neutral singular pronoun.
"Themselves" "them" or "they" lol
Sigh... The English language doesn't have a gender-neutral singular pronoun.0 -
you said it your self... compulsion.People use the word "addiction" to justify a lack of willpower
How is having an addiction not a lack of willpower? An alcoholic picks up a drink due to lack of willpower, does s/he not? There is a compulsion to drink. That compulsion is only overcome by will or force.
no
Then how?0 -
So OP, do people with bulimia and anorexia just lack control also? They lack the control to eat a healthy amount or lack control to purge?
While I don't think food addiction is as common as people tend to say it is, I still feel the OP is way off base. I think overeating would be better classified an eating disorder, rather than an addiction, but it doesn't mean it's not real. I've never been treated for an eating disorder but I too have been to the point where I get so caught up in losing weight I under eat a ton. And I've also been to the point where I make myself sick from eating TOO much. I've had moments, even recently, where I wanted something sweet at night so badly that I went to the store in my pj's to get something to binge on because it brought on an anxiety attack.
As always, there are plenty of people who will use it as an excuse but it does exist.
Overeating can be a BED (binge eating disorder). While in inpatient treatment I was around many people who had BEDs. Some of them would eat and eat and eat and they never got full. Some would eat and eat and eat then suddenly it would hit them that they were full and they would get sick. Supposedly, people with BED's have a hard time recognizing when they have had enough. Their brain doesn't say 'hey, you're full, now stop.'
With Bulimia (which is what I have, but I am bulimic non-purging type, meaning that I starve myself to make up for eating) we can sit down and eat thousands and thousands of calories worth of food and lose all control. I have hidden food so I could binge on it later. I have eaten food out of the trash because I ate every piece of food in my house and wanted more. Disgusting, right? Why would I do that if I weren't sick, you know? And I have been doing this since I was 13.
I have certain foods that I cannot be around because they "trigger" me. I don't have a ton of self control. I could sit down and rather than eating 1 or 2 pieces of pizza, I could eat the whole thing in a matter of minutes. But its all psychological. All of it. I had a good conversation with my doctor yesterday about how she believes I can beat this despite the fact that I have been going through it for so long because it is getting over the mental hurdle, which is WAY easier said than done.
But I do agree 110% that people use it as an excuse.0 -
I can't live without food.
In all seriousness, I don't think I've ever had an "addiction" to food, either. I got to be a tubby little hobbit by absently eating too much all the time, including when I was bored. It got to be a habit that was difficult to break, but at no point would I classify that as an addiction.0 -
Aren't you the special snowflake. You were barely overweight for a small portion of your life and claim there's no such thing as food addiction only lack of willpower. Gotta love anecdotal broscience BS.It was not like I eat some pasta, and was like "oh, my god I have to have more pasta"
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I do not think that anyone can be "addicted to food"
You weren't addicted to food, so nobody can be addicted to food. I can't give birth, so nobody can give birth. LOGIC!
I said think, which implies I am thinking and posing a topic for discussion...
read much?
If I was saying it was fact it would have read "I am not addicted to food; therefore, no one is addicted to food."
You are getting upset because people are pointing out what you said in your original post...which was something to the effect that no...food addiction doesn't exist and that many people use it as an excuse. You then asked for others opinions. I'm thinking that's what some are annoyed with.
well I said I would catch flack ...so my prediction came true ..
I simply took my experience and said I did not experience, and as such did not think it exists, but curious what others thought to expand my thinking on the subject...is that now how we all learn and progress? I never made a blanket statement that it must not exist, pretty big difference...
Here's another; I tried pretty much every illegal drug out there at one point or another and didn't become an addict of any of them. I guess all those drug addicts just lack willpower also.
Bottomline, not everyone reacts the same way to different substances.
What a dumbazz post to even start with.
Hmmmm overeact much ...? You do not even know my story, yet you seem to think to know what I have been through? Try being 50 pounds overweight, out of shape, and having to go through a year of chemotherapy and radiation...
Your probably just trolling...but seriously bro....grow the F up....0 -
I'd say food addiction exists, but only for a very select few. Like those who are so morbidly obese that they're incapable of standing up. If food has brought you to such a miserable existence and you STILL continue to eat in the same way, then it's likely an addiction.
All addictions have a 'reason' behind them, e.g. depression, abuse; and the end result is the person abusing their own body. Anorexics and severe over eaters are somewhat similar, except anorexics use their lack of eating as a method of gaining control, whereas over-eaters show a real lack of control.
However, I think most people who say "I'm addicted to food!" are using it as an excuse to not do anything about it. It's like a Get-Out-Of-Dieting free card they use to prevent being blamed for their physical state. And if you're addicted to food, you're not just addicted to gummy bears, you're addicted to stuffing yourself to the point of sickness.
Addiction = Sickness.
so I guess you are saying it cuts both ways...addiction for some, excuse for others..?0 -
Sugar/carbs/eating makes us feel good. We associate it with celebrating, happy times. It released endorphins that make us happy and we want to feel that way again. Some people crave this feeling so much that it presents like a food addiction. Eating disorders are mental disorders because it is all in our head. We eat an entire cake because we love the sugar rush and the feeling that rush produces. When the rush goes away we feel icky and want to eat some more. Or maybe we have been in that place where food was scarce and we would eat whatever was put in front of us, because we're afraid the next meal won't come. Or maybe we think we are worthless and food brings us comfort in some way. Or we just need to feel in control of some part of our lives. Much of our lives is governed by others and their actions. If we're late due to traffic, our boss being in a bad mood, the government threatening shut down, taxes going up, pricing going up, salaries decreasing, our kids school work/ home work, the lists goes on and on. We can control what we put in our mouth and how much of it. Some people think. Well at lest i can have this cake, and ice cream and candy bar, they cant' take that from me. Others go the extreme opposite and don't eat.
Maybe you don't think it's real, but it's very real. The food addiction is the way people who suffer from it express themselves, the actual problem is much much bigger.0 -
you said it your self... compulsion.People use the word "addiction" to justify a lack of willpower
How is having an addiction not a lack of willpower? An alcoholic picks up a drink due to lack of willpower, does s/he not? There is a compulsion to drink. That compulsion is only overcome by will or force.
no
Then how?
Sorry, I thought you were saying "no" to willpower being the method to break the compulsion. The one word answer was pretty nondescriptive, especially since you agree it's compulsion.
It's pretty hard to deny that there are those that feel compulsion to overeat.0 -
I am probably going to catch some major flack for this one, but oh well what the hell, I am used to it.
Reading through the threads I am reading a lot of "I can't eat carbs because it make me binge on more carbs", or "I can't eat sugary foods, because then I want more sugary foods and can't stop myself" or "I have to eat clean because I have a food addiction..." there are more but I think I have laid out the general thoughts that I have seen on the subject.
So I think back to when I was like 200# and totally out of shape...I was never "addicted to food" I mean I just ate way too much of foods that I liked and did zero exercise. It was not like I eat some pasta, and was like "oh, my god I have to have more pasta" I would just cook a crap ton of it and eat all of it. Now, I still eat pasta, ice cream etc on occasion, I just eat less of it and watch my calories and macros goals or the day. Its not like I make a serving of pasta and immediately want to make five more servings to eat. I have ice cream in the freezer right now, if I have a servicing I do not woof down the whole pint...
I do not think that anyone can be "addicted to food", it just seems like a strange concept to me. I mean if you do not have that food will you have withdrawals? I just think that it is an excuse that people use to tell themselves that they can't eat certain foods, or to just blame their obesity issue on something else, or to cover up an underlying mental health issue. I mean people binge, but to me that seems tied into more of a mental health issue or just bad relationship with food.
So I will toss it out to the MFP crowed..what do you all think ...food addictions yes, no, or total garbage..?????
i think it gives people an excuse - oh i have a food addiction that's why i'm the way i am. some not all do not want to be held responsible for anything including their own health. it's easier to blame something else whether real or not than to say i did this to myself.0 -
I don't believe in food addiction. It's a matter of self control and self discipline.
If you are addicted to something, then you start having adverse effects to not having it. When you go without over doing it on bad food, you start to feel better.
After how long? Talk to a true food addict, someone who has been tapping directly into the pleasure centers of their brain and releasing dopamine and pleasure response through the repeated use of food for a while. Talk to them the day after they try to stop overdoing it. Talk to them two days after. Talk to them a week after.
Will they eventually start feeling better? Yes. But then, "true" addicts to drugs, alcohol, etc., start to feel better after a while, too.
I'm totally okay with people saying "I think this is claimed more often than it's true," but saying it doesn't exist at all is ridiculous.
How on earth can doing something you have to do everyday be an addiction? If you are eating more than you need, its not because you are going to fall apart if you don't. It cause you just think it taste good and you can't control yourself (self-control). Your telling me if you lock a "food addict" in a room with nothing but pounds upon pound of something they don't think taste good but is FOOD, they would still eat it all up to satisfy their addiction? Stop it!0 -
I don't believe in food addiction. It's a matter of self control and self discipline.
If you are addicted to something, then you start having adverse effects to not having it. When you go without over doing it on bad food, you start to feel better.
After how long? Talk to a true food addict, someone who has been tapping directly into the pleasure centers of their brain and releasing dopamine and pleasure response through the repeated use of food for a while. Talk to them the day after they try to stop overdoing it. Talk to them two days after. Talk to them a week after.
Will they eventually start feeling better? Yes. But then, "true" addicts to drugs, alcohol, etc., start to feel better after a while, too.
I'm totally okay with people saying "I think this is claimed more often than it's true," but saying it doesn't exist at all is ridiculous.
How on earth can doing something you have to do everyday be an addiction? If you are eating more than you need, its not because you are going to fall apart if you don't. It cause you just think it taste good and you can't control yourself (self-control). Your telling me if you lock a "food addict" in a room with nothing but pounds upon pound of something they don't think taste good but is FOOD, they would still eat it all up to satisfy their addiction? Stop it!
...I've eaten food out of my trash can before just because it was food. YOU stop it.0 -
You can call it "lack of self control" or "excuses to eat" all you want but since there is studies
Done on the effect of food releasing chemicals in the brain that say YES it can be addicting.
You can be addicted to basically anything. If you spend all your time, thoughts, Money on food
Wouldn't that be an addiction? Overweight or not? Yes it would.
Argument over.0 -
People use the word "addiction" to justify a lack of willpower
So you're saying that say a Meth or other hard drug addict can't quit because they don't have enough willpower? Me thinks you need to look up the definition of addiction.0
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