How can i lose weight when im addicted to food?

conquertheself

LOL Omg this is my problem too. I also feel that I think of food a lot more when I am trying to not think of food. Especially sweets.

ianthy

Hi

If left to my own devices I can continue eating until I almost feel sick. I am convinced that I will always have to be watchful of what I eat and remind myself of when I am full. Food for me is the great friend and the support when things are not going well. Of course when things are going right - a big meal out is necc, so everything revolves around food. I have found certain foods seem to trigger continual/habitual = high carb foods esp breads and sweet foods. They are my continually on my watch list.

As other have suggested may be check in with a counsellor to address wider issues and then find a plan that works for you. Don't be too hard on yourself - you are making a start and that's what matters.

annettepiha

There's compelling research to suggest certain foods affect the brain's pleasure centers the same way addictive substances do, but experts disagree on whether the cravings rise to the level of addiction.

DING DING DING!!! The correct answer!

Food addiction is not about being addicted to ALL food. Certain foods excite the pleasure centers of the brain, and the major food companies know exactly which foods these are, and market the crap out of them. The usual suspects include concentrated sources of fat and sugar, as well as chocolate, cheese, caffeine, etc. There are also food chemicals which are added to food to make you think they are tasty and make you eat more. Those chemicals include MSG, and other concentrated naturally occurring substances that are similar.

From the book "The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions" written by Celine Steen and Joni Marie Newman.....There is a section on substituting dairy which introduces this notion. "Did you know that the human race is the only species on earth that consumes another mammal's milk for sustenance?...Milk's primary function is to provide high levels of nutrition, including fat, protein, carbohydrate, and calcium, to a newborn baby through breastfeeding before the baby is capable of consuming other foods. In nature, milk is meant to be consumed only by the offspring of the mother who is producing it. Milk contains high levels of casein, which is a protein known to have opiate-like effects. The purpose of this is to cause an addictive response in the infant so it will crave the mother's milk and continue to feed and nourish."

So this is just one example that the foods we eat can have naturally addictive properties. I completely agree that food is not the enemy here. BAD food is the enemy. Proper nutrition education and discipline will help to curb "addictive" eating and allow you to treat yourself in moderation.

SonicDeathMonkey80

Exercise and "willpower" alone will not solve the problem

Well, yeah they can. And do.

What happens when arthritis, injury and/or pregnancy throw a monkey wrench into the works?

Obviously you would have to adjust your intake to compensate for a lack of activity (or find a different activity), and I'm pretty sure you don't want to lose weight when you're pregnant.

But inactivity alone, in the presence of the kinds of hormones I'm speaking of will cause a loss of lean tissue and a gain of body fat (even under severe calorie restriction--and remember, it is unwise for any adult to go below 1,200 calories if they expect to stay adequately nourished). Women can't actually help gaining body fat during pregnancy and lactation (very high estrogen levels) unless they severely restrict calories (and that is very unwise, as you have pointed out). So, you take a woman who is already feeling crummy about having become obese during pregnancy and lactation and is having difficulty dealing with the stress (high cortisol) of being responsible for a newborn (along with the lack of sleep that that entails--also leading to belly-fat producing high cortisol) and "kick her in the pants"? Interesting that the ones advocating this "tough love" approach are athletic 30-something males. You don't even begin to understand.

I didn't say anything about maintaining muscle mass, nor did I say anything about eating <1200 calories. Sometimes we all need a kick in the pants. My ex wife put on 50lbs during her pregnancy (was 100 going into it) through eating like crap and not being active, and needed a c-section 5 weeks before the due date. I'm also in the military and know first hand that lots of wives blow up like ticks when pregnant and blame everything under the sun... for the next 5 years.

SanteMulberry

If "more helpful" means "ridiculing", "discrediting" and "disrespecting" the experiences of others, well then absolutely. People who think they know everything about everything even when they have ZERO personal experience with a subject are not helpful at all and, imo, are actually trying to sabotage people. What's the motivation to sabotage, I wonder?

I totally agree that everyone has power over themselves and food. Excuses and helplessness SUCK and don't help anyone. But, the FOOD matters for many of us. This person hasn't experienced many health issues, eating disorders etc that some people (often women) are struggling with here and I think he should save his advice for the things he actually knows about instead of always telling everyone else how wrong they are about their own experiences (about the subject being discussed!). And he doesn't need any personal experience... cuz "science!", but only the science that he cherry picks....

Yes, let's not discredit BS and excuses and just be everyones cheerleader. RA RA RA

Eric, you and your friend AGC are especially unkind to women whose experience of body fat gain/loss is VERY different from that of a man. Women, because of their hormones and smaller lean body mass, are "fat magnets" and their estrogen also causes their blood sugar levels to run higher. Estrogen also blocks the uptake of iodine and decreases its efficacy at a cellular level. Because of specific pollutants (called xenoestrogens) in our air, water and food, our bodies become "estrogen dominant" and that further exacerbates the problem.

Leptin resistance is MUCH more of a problem for women than men (a woman's leptin level is easily 2 to 3 times that of a man AT THE SAME BODY FAT LEVEL AS A MAN). And the fatter she is, the more leptin resistance "takes over" her body. Almost ALL obese women are leptin resistant. Those who are leptin resistant have no signals of when to stop eating--it is like trying to fly through fog without instrumentation. On a high carbohydrate diet, (which inordinately boosts blood glucose and insulin), they will cycle back and forth between being "stuffed" and being VERY hungry (because their blood sugar falls very quickly in the presence of too much insulin. When this goes on long enough, they will become insulin resistant and, if no dietary corrections are made, eventually become a Type II diabetic.

The only way to combat the unique problems women face is to restrict carbohydrates (she does not need to eliminate them however) and to increase exercise. Exercise and "willpower" alone will not solve the problem--but intelligent eating and exercise will combine to produce success. When you just snipe at women on the forums, you are hardly being the voice of encouragement for them--they already feel discouraged and lacking in willpower. I have been there but I now know what I need to do to solve the problem of excess body fat. I am now in the "healthy" range for my age. You would NOT have helped me with your "tough" approach. Knowledge does help and your approach with women is apparently based in ignorance.

That's the only way? Interesting. What's doubly weird is that there are plenty of studies on obese women that held cals and protein constant and just varied carb intake and fat loss wasn't significantly different. Super weird, they must have all been wrong

LOL--The locus of control is in the researchers in that case--not with the woman herself. Anyone can lose weight in the short run with calorie restriction alone. Long term (and healthy) success relies on correct application to the metabolic problems that obese women face.

You just said the only way is to restrict carbs, now it's calorie restriction alone will work, at least in the short term. Since you like many others prefer anecdotes over you know science, I wonder if there is a single woman on this site that lost weight and maintained it using a calorie deficit and then maintenance cals. Prob not since I learned today the only way to do it is through carb restriction

Actually, calorie restriction usually results in some carbohydrate restriction simply because one cannot afford to eat a lot of foods that are devoid of micronutrients (such as added sugars) and starch, if you are going to restrict calories (that is, if you want to remain healthy). When one must exist on 1,200 to 1,300 calories per day (as many women do in order to lose body fat), one learns to cut out the non-nutritional calories (unless one expects to be spending a LOT of time at the gym and most women simply do not have time to do that).

tech_kitten

What has helped me is that I don't buy "junk" food anymore (i.e. sweets and chips, etc). That is not to say I don't eat them on occasion (maybe once a week), but not having them handy really keeps you from just grabbing them and eating. If you only have stuff that you have to put together (i.e. prepare a meal) then you will be less likely to want to do so then if it were just there to grab and eat. Also, the cutting back on sugar in general i think helped with my "addiction" tremendously, as I do not crave it as much since I only have it once a week. My body hasn't gotten so used to it again that it craves it all the time anymore. It is totally a struggle, but it is worth it. It usually tales about 3 days of none of your trigger foods to get to a point where you won't crave them all of them time, at least that's how it was with me. Do I slip? Yes. But you can't see slipping as a failure, you have to see it as something to forget and move past. I hope that helps a little.

SanteMulberry

AGC: "...Since you like many others prefer anecdotes over you know science, I wonder if there is a single woman on this site that lost weight and maintained it using a calorie deficit and then maintenance cals. Prob not since I learned today the only way to do it is through carb restriction..."

Not anecdotal, just research using our own bodies. But there is plenty of newer research backing up what I have said. Your advice might as well come from the 1950s. There are, of course, women who maintain constant vigilance over every ounce of excess weight. I'm thinking of Donatella Versace here. Most of us are incapable of eating so little (I'm told she has 1 lettuce leaf "draped" in lemon juice and "smothered" in a half teaspoon of olive oil for lunch). But then, she's a billionairess and she can spend four hours in the gym every afternoon as well--a "luxury" that few women can afford. In addition, who wants to look like she does when they get to be her age? I'm her age and I guarantee that I look A LOT better than she does. LOL

Beet_Girl

Don't go shopping when you're in a food-obsessed mood. And then, don't buy food you are tempted to binge on. If it's not in your cupboard to begin with, you aren't going to eat the whole bag in one sitting.

flamesdes1re

I would recommend that you try to speak to a counselor, first and foremost. If you feel like your relationship with food isn't working (emotional eating, binging, ect), there may be an underlying issue that needs to be addressed. Especially since you used the word "addiction", I think it's vital to try to find the root of the problem. Until you do that, you're just putting a bandaid on a bigger issue.

Secondly, I'd recommend getting input from a doctor. See if they have any recommendations for how you should pursue this journey, and how you can do so healthfully. Also, make sure there's no underlying problems that may need doctor supervision. I have a heart arrhythmia, so I always like to keep my doctor in the loop when that starts to act up.

Third, remove any trigger foods that are in your home. Having trouble with chips, cake, cookies, ect? Do you tend to mindlessly munch on foods? Remove those temptations. I've found greater success in controlling my consumption of junk foods by doing this, and can incorporate them moderately into my diet without going overboard. Pre-portioning snacks is also a very useful tool as well! Having ziploc baggie sizes of servings helps avoid mindlessly eating out of a bag or box.

Fourth, use MFP as a tool. Log your foods, and be honest. Start to incorporate exercise, and peruse these forums for support and tips. We're all here for the same reason, and it's to be healthy!

It seems like you're on a path to change, and that's great. Don't lose momentum, and take everything one step and day at a time! Good luck.

I second all of these recommendations! I would also like to add to this a fifth.

Start with baby steps. Pick one thing you know is bad for you, and ditch it. If you feel as though you can successfully complete 7 whole days without it, pick a second. Keep adding your most unhealthy staples to this, one at a time, each week you are successful. If you don't get through a week without it, forgive yourself, and stick with the trouble food until you can.

Rome was not built in a day. You're not going to magically wake up one day and find the motivation to make every change necessary for a lifelong journey, and if you do, it won't last a lifetime! There's a saying, "Motivation doesn't last forever. Neither does bathing. That's why we recommend it daily." Find your motivation. It's allowed to be shallow. Find an outfit you want, or that cute bathing suit you haven't been able to wear. Post it somewhere that you can see it each day. Write yourself nice notes that encourage you. Leave yourself messages on your food. Create "pound jars" that you can move stones or pebbles from one to the other to track your progress and remind yourself of how far you've come. Or get a jar or fishbowl from the dollarstore and print off inspirational quotes, cut those up and pull one out of the bowl each day. Find rewards that are not foods for meeting goals each week. They don't even have to be pounds lost goals, maybe they could be that you went a whole week without that first or second junk food you just eliminated! Or that you found a new recipe that is healthier to eat and you loved it!

You CAN do this. It's not going to be easy at first, but it gets better and you are absolutely capable of everything you could want to do. You are worth much more, so much more, than that food you think you need makes you feel like you are! And remember when you're struggling that we are all on this journey, too.

saraharnoldnelson

Because if it's not in the DSM-IV it doesn't exist? Do we have to go through the list of things that took 20+ years to be recognized and officially added to the DSM? Not that long ago, an alcoholic was just someone who couldn't hold their liquor. Now we now there is a physiological component that must be recognized for long-term treatment success.

Can you imagine telling an alcoholic, "You're just lazy. You need to be able to drink socially without overdoing it. Shape up and drink 4-5 small drinks a day, but don't overdo it." We all (I hope!) work to support the success of the recovering alcoholics in our lives. We recognize it is not easy to stay sober; that it is a lifetime commitment. If you ask an alcoholic if they miss drinking, the majority will say YES. We respect the struggle and grieve for those who are not "winning."

Now, I am NOT saying that we don't have to learn how to eat 4-5 small, healthy meals a day without overdoing it. We DO have to learn how to eat wisely in social situations. But it is not an excuse to say that it is an addiction; a problem involving physiology and not just "being lazy." Because then we can recognize that it is not a short-term issue. It is not a problem that goes away with reaching a goal weight. It is a lifetime of choosing what is best over what we crave.

selenatotheg

I know i am young but i feel this way also. I have learned from my exprience thus far to ignore those cravings telling you that the bad foods are good. After a while you will begin to crave the healthy food!! Good luck on your journey

soozy_q

Some people just assume it's as easy for everyone else as it is for them and that that person just lacks willpower and can't want it bad enough. Not always the case. Using willpower constantly ever hour of everyday for months or years on end can be exhausting and restricting certain things can just make cravings worse. I found the book brain over binge really helpful, it applies a strategy used to overcome addiction to overeating .I also make sure I am in a deficit but not cutting out any particular foods as feelings of deprivation can just increase the obsessive behaviour. I used to think about food constantly and constantly battling with my urges to binge was so hard. This went on for years. I don't seem to have this problem anymore and I'm not even having to use willpower so it is possible to overcome.

Mischievous_Rascal

Exercise and "willpower" alone will not solve the problem

Well, yeah they can. And do.

What happens when arthritis, injury and/or pregnancy throw a monkey wrench into the works?

You missed the "willpower" part...how does that go out the window with pregnancy or arthritis?

Anyway... My two cents. I agree with the statement of food affecting your brain's pleasure centers, absolutely. It happened to me. (Just look at my ticker.) However, I do not believe food is in itself an addictive substance, although some people may treat it as such. I've watched many people struggle with tobacco and alcohol addictions. I've even had one friend overcome a heroin addiction. Did I get the DTs while losing 100 pounds? Not once. Anxiety? Sure, but that was an emotional hurdle I had to overcome, not an addiction.

I still partake of all the tasty "manufactured to get us to eat more" foods that I want. Just in moderation. Once you're ready to fix your relationship with food and whatever underlying issues prompt you to need it so much, you'll be able to do what you have to do to get healthy.

tinamichell74

how can I lose weight? everything I see or smell that is food I want, even if im not hungry. im thinking about food right now just writing about food..its sad. I want to lose weight but I feel stuck like if I cant let go of food..HELP how should I start?

Eat in a deficit and get some will power, since "food addiction" is just an excuse

I can't believe people think food addiction is an excuse. How about show some moral support instead of spouting off about things you know nothing about. That's an opinion and you aren't a Doctor. You aren't part of this persons life and know nothing about their struggles.

AsaThorsWoman

There are many paths that can lead to what you seek.

My advice at this point would be pull up a comfy chair and review every link provided.

Some will jive with you, some won't, but hopefully you'll find something inspirational.

I've personally found that different things worked at different levels, and my goals altered and changed as I went along.

Everything has different mileage with different people, the thing is to find what works for you.

Good luck.

:flowerforyou:

eric_sg61

how can I lose weight? everything I see or smell that is food I want, even if im not hungry. im thinking about food right now just writing about food..its sad. I want to lose weight but I feel stuck like if I cant let go of food..HELP how should I start?

Eat in a deficit and get some will power, since "food addiction" is just an excuse

I can't believe people think food addiction is an excuse. How about show some moral support instead of spouting off about things you know nothing about. That's an opinion and you aren't a Doctor. You aren't part of this persons life and know nothing about their struggles.

Then stop eating...........addiction cured..............oh wait, it looks like you'll have to moderate intake which will require willpower since you can't stop eating food because death and stuff

Boogage

I would suggest staying away from processed foods and foods containing a lot of fat and carbs at once. I saw a documentary about carbs and sugar and they pointed out that although we probably wouldn't eat a whole bowl of Sugar on its own or a whole pat of butter when they are mixed together the result is a highly addictive product eg cheese cake which is pretty much a 50/50 split of fat and sugar.

Rocbola

I can't believe people think food addiction is an excuse. How about show some moral support instead of spouting off about things you know nothing about. That's an opinion and you aren't a Doctor. You aren't part of this persons life and know nothing about their struggles.

Then stop eating...........addiction cured..............oh wait, it looks like you'll have to moderate intake which will require willpower since you can't stop eating food because death and stuff

You can quit eating addictive foods, and still remain alive, but switching your diet to one that includes food that is not addictive. People don't get fat or ruin their health binge eating on romaine and peaches, they do that on chocolate, oil, sugar and cheese, among others.

Slacker16

I am certain that this interminable semantic debate was a big help to the OP.
Not serious.

how can I lose weight? everything I see or smell that is food I want, even if im not hungry. im thinking about food right now just writing about food..its sad. I want to lose weight but I feel stuck like if I cant let go of food..HELP how should I start?

I bolded the part that strikes me as off. There's nothing wrong with enjoying food, but eating when not hungry goes a little bit into disordered eating territory. Not e-diagnosing, just my opinion.

I'm going to cut & paste somebody else's post from a similar thread because it was a fantastic post, at the same time empathetic, well-thought out and practical:

You say you can't stop - but can you elaborate and be more honest about what you mean? There is a difference between mindless eating, boredom eating, emotional eating and binging. What are you thinking and feeling when you are eating these foods? What are you thinking and feeling when you are full but still reaching for these foods.

If it's boredom, you can learn to occupy yourself.

If it's mindless, see above. You might also do well in both scenarios to simply remove these foods from your home for now. If you don't have them there you can't eat them. That isn't necessarily practical long-term advice, and I'm not suggesting you cut them entirely from your diet - just don't keep them in your home.

If it's emotionally based, then you need to learn to identify the emotions prompting you to eat and you need to ask yourself why you believe food will help. You may need professional help in learning to identify emotions (I did. I had the emotional maturity of a child - no real nuance, and no real skills for coping with emotion), and help learning how to appropriately cope with and handle emotions.

If it's binging, where the compulsion to eat is overriding everything, even the voice in your head saying you don't really want anymore - where you cannot stop eating, no matter what attempts you make to prevent it, then you need professional help. No stigma, nothing bad attached to it. No guilt or shame. You are simply in over your head and need someone with experience to help guide you.

levitateme

how can I lose weight? everything I see or smell that is food I want, even if im not hungry. im thinking about food right now just writing about food..its sad. I want to lose weight but I feel stuck like if I cant let go of food..HELP how should I start?

Eat in a deficit and get some will power, since "food addiction" is just an excuse

In my dark days of fatness I would literally sleepwalk to the kitchen and eat, without even being conscious. I would find myself unable to stop eating if food was in front of me, not matter what it was. It took a lot of hard work, counseling, and help from my family members to overcome it. Yes, I had poor willpower, but there was definitely more to it.

This. I'm not proud of the relationship I used to have with food. In the past, I shamefully stole anything I could from roommates and stuffed myself in secret. Things I've binge ate: malted milk mix, almost a whole container of ice tea mix, multiple scoops of my uncle's weight gain powder (at 13 years old). If you've never been that person, then you really can't act like it's something that can be shrugged off, NBD. It's pretty easy to say "just stop eating so much, GOD." This is a compulsive behavior that usually requires therapy, not something you can just will away. Would you tell someone with OCD to "just stop turning the light switches on and off, GOD." Probably not, unless you're a huge jerkface.

That being said, it is not impossible to stick to a program and lose weight while having serious food issues. I'm proof of that. I have never lost weight and maintained a loss, although I have lost over 30 lbs 5+ times in the past 10 years. After a time, BED takes me over and I ruin everything. I'm hoping that this time will be different, but who knows. I am going to try my best THIS time, but if you perform the same task over and over and expect different results, what does that make you? Insane, right?

debbiedoeshealth

Anything that causes and physiological/psychological response in the body is something that can end up being an addition. Responses in the brains pleasure centers are triggered when you eat the food/take the drugs/ smoke the cigarette. You get cravings and your ability to manage those cravings can fail. Just like the alcoholic who says this is his last drink and then drinks an hour later an food addict struggles with the same emotions and drives.

dazydawn

This is in response to an earlier question about what the diagnostic criteria is for sugar addiction is. I obviously didn't quote it properly because I'm jonesing while waiting for my hook up. (aka, the Easter Bunny)

Though it's probably not official I self diagnosed based on the level of my willingness to stab someone in the eyeball for a candy bar. Scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being no desire at all to stab, 10 being it's totally happening even if it's my first born child. When diagnosing in the clinical setting of my living room, my son opted to step out of the room.

Smart boy.