Addicted to food, really?
Replies
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90% of the posts in this thread make me want to repeatedly bang my head against the wall.
hey, i have an idea-- let's start a thread on post partum depression, or on obsessive-compulsive disorder, or on pica, or on seasonal affective disorder, or on post-traumatic stress disorder, or on pyromania, or on borderline personality disorder... and invite ANYONE WHO HAS ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT BUT NO ACTUAL CLUE AS TO WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT to weigh in.
sounds brilliant!!!!!
its a free country, you can start whatever thread you choose..
If you do not like this one, then find another one...
did you seriously just start an argument with "its a free country"???
what are we, 12???0 -
I believe what you are suffering from is the same condition I suffered from...overeating...
Everyone who overeats is suffering from overeating.
The question is, why are they overeating?0 -
OP I don't know. I personally do not have a food addiction. I've had cravings. I make poor food choices when I feel stressed.
I LOVE ice cream. I could eat it every day. But I certainly don't have withdrawal symptoms when I don't have ice cream.
When I think of an addiction I think of ONE thing that someone has to have. Smoking, alcohol, pills.....
So if someone has a food addiction do they crave/over eat only eat one food?
Or is it that they just make poor food choices and oversize portions?0 -
At any rate, people who are addicted to food need to address the underlying issues before they're really going to be able to do anything about it. Treat the illness, not the symptom.
^^^^ This.0 -
Food addiction is very real, just the same as alcohol or drugs. If you go to the online site for OA, (http://www.therecoverygroup.org) and read their stories, then read some of the stories in the book "Alcoholics Anonymous", you can see striking similarities. The only difference is that OA's 'self medicate' using food, whereas AA's 'self medicate' using alcohol. Feel free to check out their site. I'll be more than happy to provide more info.
not rubbish . not garbage. not BS. addictions are REAL....0 -
At any rate, people who are addicted to food need to address the underlying issues before they're really going to be able to do anything about it. Treat the illness, not the symptom.
^^^^ This.
AGREED!!! the addiction is a symptom of a greater, underlying issue.0 -
Individuals are addicted to the chemicals created/released by the food. The emotional response some one gets to finishing a goal or failing at it. Is a cycle of chemical response. When you think of it on a chemical level, were all trying to get that fix. If individuals can be addicted to heroin why can't one be addicted to their emotional state.0
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I imagine you eat other things along with it though else the stretch and density receptors in your stomach would not be satisfied and give you the 'full' feeling. Most processed foods have so many calories packed into such small volumes that by the time your stomachs built in receptors are satisfied you have eaten nearly double the amount of calories recommended. While if you are eating lots of higher fiber veggies with low calories and higher volumes then you will fill up your stomach without going overboard on excessive calories. Carbs, especially simple sugars, taste so good because to primitive humans they represented an excellent calorie source that was not readily available.
Exactly. If you eat calorie-dense foods like ice cream to satisfaction it is trivial to consume 1400+ calories in one sitting. That's one single container of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. And that was just the day's dessert.0 -
Personally I refer to certain foods as 'binge triggers'.
There is certainly reliable research that shows the effects certain foods have on serotonin levels. If you eat something, and it changes your brain chemistry, there is always the possibility of self medicating with food and potential abuse. So while I'm not sure 'addiction' is the proper term, I understand where said people are coming from when they use it.0 -
It's not an addiction, it's a lack of self control. People don't have withdrawls from not eating one more oreo! It's an excuse because they can't control themselves. And before anyone jumps all over me for this, everyone on this site has had this problem at one point or another or we wouldn't be here. Some have just learned self control along the way...
You don't have withdrawal symptoms from not eating food because food addiction is a behavioral addiction not a physiological addiction.
This does not mean that if you put a plate of Oreo cookies in front of an addict they will find it very, very hard to only eat one Oreo cookie and leave the rest.
Yes, it is all about self-control. Every addiction is about self-control.0 -
Food addiction, if it were real, would be an extremely negative evolutionary trait and strongly selected against.
Which is exactly why it's not real.
How so? Our brains trigger reward mechanisms when we consume calorie-dense foods. This would be a positive evolutionary trait encouraging eating when high-value food is available.0 -
It's not an addiction, it's a lack of self control. People don't have withdrawls from not eating one more oreo! It's an excuse because they can't control themselves. And before anyone jumps all over me for this, everyone on this site has had this problem at one point or another or we wouldn't be here. Some have just learned self control along the way...
You don't have withdrawal symptoms from not eating food because food addiction is a behavioral addiction not a physiological addiction.
This does not mean that if you put a plate of Oreo cookies in front of an addict they will find it very, very hard to only eat one Oreo cookie and leave the rest.
Yes, it is all about self-control. Every addiction is about self-control.
So you're saying "food addicts" just don't want to stop eating?
I'll buy that.0 -
do you think that is more a mental thing or physical addiction?
The "mental thing" you are talking about is called a "behavioral addiction".0 -
90% of the posts in this thread make me want to repeatedly bang my head against the wall.
hey, i have an idea-- let's start a thread on post partum depression, or on obsessive-compulsive disorder, or on pica, or on seasonal affective disorder, or on post-traumatic stress disorder, or on pyromania, or on borderline personality disorder... and invite ANYONE WHO HAS ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT BUT NO ACTUAL CLUE AS TO WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT to weigh in.
sounds brilliant!!!!!
its a free country, you can start whatever thread you choose..
If you do not like this one, then find another one...
did you seriously just start an argument with "its a free country"???
what are we, 12???
I did and I will ...
You are free to leave and not come back at any time you so desire...0 -
I believe what you are suffering from is the same condition I suffered from...overeating...
Everyone who overeats is suffering from overeating.
The question is, why are they overeating?
I overate because I was an unhealthy SOB, and really did not care about what I was putting in me, and did not give a damn about working out...I thought working out was for "meatheads"...I mean I liked to get a Philly cheesesteak with mozzarella sticks and sometimes I would get a second cheesesteak LOL ...
Was I addicted to the cheese steak, or was it just an unhealthy way of eating, or was I lacking in willpower??? IDK ...which is I find this topic interesting...0 -
It's not an addiction, it's a lack of self control. People don't have withdrawls from not eating one more oreo! It's an excuse because they can't control themselves. And before anyone jumps all over me for this, everyone on this site has had this problem at one point or another or we wouldn't be here. Some have just learned self control along the way...
You don't have withdrawal symptoms from not eating food because food addiction is a behavioral addiction not a physiological addiction.
This does not mean that if you put a plate of Oreo cookies in front of an addict they will find it very, very hard to only eat one Oreo cookie and leave the rest.
Yes, it is all about self-control. Every addiction is about self-control.
So you're saying "food addicts" just don't want to stop eating?
I'll buy that.
Perhaps...I mean I could, and still can, eat a crap ton of food in one sitting. I am talking double cheeseburger with fries and some mozzarella sticks and maybe still be hungry, but I always got to a point where I was stuffed and wanted no more food.....Fast forward to now, I just do not eat that way except on very rare occasions...thanksgiving being one of them...0 -
If an addiction is defined only by chemical dependence, how do you explain gambling addicts?
I think people self diagnose themselves with a food addiction far more often than it actually occurs. But for a real food addict, eating causes a rush of good feelings. It is different in that you won't go through withdrawal since you won't stop eating completely.
It's a bit silly to say "well I'm not an addict so no one is." I personally just like food but it's not my place to just dismiss what could easily be a real affliction.0 -
You know, there's a reason that medical and mental health professionals refer to "addiction" in the case of heroin and not in the case of food.
This is incorrect. There most certainly are medical and mental health professionals that refer to food addiction.
Binge eating is now a disorder listed in the DSM-V.0 -
I overate because I was an unhealthy SOB, and really did not care about what I was putting in me, and did not give a damn about working out...I thought working out was for "meatheads"...I mean I liked to get a Philly cheesesteak with mozzarella sticks and sometimes I would get a second cheesesteak LOL ...
Was I addicted to the cheese steak, or was it just an unhealthy way of eating, or was I lacking in willpower??? IDK ...which is I find this topic interesting...
You weren't lacking in willpower because you said you didn't care about what you were putting in you. Willpower is forcing yourself to do, or not do, something against your own wishes. If you were eating two cheesesteaks and hating yourself for it even as you chewed (or regretted it so much afterwards that you considered barfing them up) and still couldn't control the compulsion, that might be addiction.0 -
You know, there's a reason that medical and mental health professionals refer to "addiction" in the case of heroin and not in the case of food.
This is incorrect. There most certainly are medical and mental health professionals that refer to food addiction.
Binge eating is now a disorder listed in the DSM-V.
This. Thank you. This is my field.0 -
:huh:0
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Since I began logging my meals, I've noticed some of these things myself that I also once thought were ridiculous. For instance, I can be doing just fine on a calorie-deficient diet, and as soon as I grab a couple of cheese crackers, potato chips, or a select few other food items (typically carb heavy), I get almost an insatiable desire for more, More, MORE of whatever it is. I can walk away from it, but it takes way more serious effort than it should.
So I don't know that it's actually addiction (at least not in my case), but there's something triggering a very strong, very immediate reaction in me that *feels* a lot like an outright need.0 -
I think food addiction is a completely legit illness . . . but I think it generally goes hand in hand with deeper emotional issues. I personally think it's a form of OCD, but that's just me.
And have you watched the show My Strange Addiction? People can be addicted to *anything.* Addiction is basically a way of saying that if you don't have or do something, you feel off or not right or like you're going to die or something like that. It doesn't matter if you won't actually die, it's the sense that you will that makes it an addiciton . . . if that makes sense.
At any rate, people who are addicted to food need to address the underlying issues before they're really going to be able to do anything about it. Treat the illness, not the symptom.
many cases of anorexia nervosa and most, if not all, cases of bulimia nervosa are examples of food addiction. you're right on, it is an obsessive compulsive disorder (though you do still need to take things on a case by case basis, i'm just talking generalities). over eating, binge eating, anorexia, bulimia-- they all are forms of food addiction because food is obsessed over. the reasons for the addiction are varied though. it can be neurological, biological, psychosematic, psychological, all of the above...
if someone truly believes that they have an addiction to food, who is anyone to question that? though severities obviously vary.0 -
So you're saying "food addicts" just don't want to stop eating?I'll buy that.
No, a behavioral addiction isn't when you don't want to stop doing something, it's when you can't even when you want to.
Like someone addicted to gambling doesn't wants to stop gambling but can't stop gambling, or someone addicted to pornography who wants to stop but can't stop using pornography.
Uncontrollable compulsive behavior.0 -
You know, there's a reason that medical and mental health professionals refer to "addiction" in the case of heroin and not in the case of food.
This is incorrect. There most certainly are medical and mental health professionals that refer to food addiction.
Binge eating is now a disorder listed in the DSM-V.
This. Thank you. This is my field.
And it's also "appeal to authority."0 -
I overate because I was an unhealthy SOB, and really did not care about what I was putting in me, and did not give a damn about working out...I thought working out was for "meatheads"...I mean I liked to get a Philly cheesesteak with mozzarella sticks and sometimes I would get a second cheesesteak LOL ...
Was I addicted to the cheese steak, or was it just an unhealthy way of eating, or was I lacking in willpower??? IDK ...which is I find this topic interesting...
OK, but eating without caring about the consequences is an entirely different situation.
Many people do bad things, but they aren't trying to stop doing them, either. They may or may not be addicted.
But if you want to stop and can't, that's when you've got an addiction.0 -
I just want to throw in that who cares if they call it an addiction or not? If a person lacks willpower, whoopdedoo. There are some foods I don't eat because I don't trust myself to have the willpower to stop at a healthy amount. Who cares? I didn't say everyone else in the world can't eat that one thing. Just that I am ok not eating it myself.
And I do believe food addiction exists. Whether a person has it *for real* or not isn't your problem. Same with any other thing people may say they have.0 -
I just want to throw in that who cares if they call it an addiction or not? If a person lacks willpower, whoopdedoo. There are some foods I don't eat because I don't trust myself to have the willpower to stop at a healthy amount. Who cares? I didn't say everyone else in the world can't eat that one thing. Just that I am ok not eating it myself.
And I do believe food addiction exists. Whether a person has it *for real* or not isn't your problem. Same with any other thing people may say they have.
Well, it isn't "whoopdedoo" to some people.
If someone "lacks willpower" and allows themselves to become overweight, it may be viewed differently than if they had an "addiction" (and therefore, no control over the consequences). Not to me, but society at large.0 -
like you, I can not overeat, BUT, that's not the same for everyone. People get addicted to all sorts of things and food is no different than any other addiction. Just because its not yours doesn't make it less real, OP.0
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I've made it through 6 pages of this recent thread on food addiction, and, based on the last go around on this topic, I've started keeping a picture log of the people who do not believe that food addiction is real.
Here's what I have so far:
http://i.imgur.com/3vYrsJp.jpg
Note I'm not keeping track of people without actual pictures, nor if I can't tell if they are for or against.
It seems so far that without exception everyone who does not believe food addiction is real appears to be presently in pretty good shape.
I don't know what to make of this exactly, but what I have been pondering is that it is entirely possible that these people have never had bad behavioral relationships with food and that is why they are in such good shape. I wonder how many of these people were ever obese.
And there certainly are some currently fit people who believe in food addiction, but there are also plenty of clearly overweight people who believe in it also.
Like I said, I've only made it to page 6 so far, but thus far there have been no fat people who do not believe that food addiction is real. I think that is interesting.0
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