Food Addiction/Obsession

bombedpop

For some reason, our society has placed a stigma on getting help psychologically when it is needed. We don't think twice about the doctor when we're hurt, or the dentist for a toothache, but seeing a shrink is seen as a sign of weakness. With the addiction that you are describing, I would recommend some type of therapy/counseling/support group. This does not have to be your battle alone, seek out some qualified professional help. You need to determine why you are using food in this manner, and the causes behind that behavior. We are all willing to lend support, but it sounds as though you need more than just the support of an nline community to understand and work through this.

This

ambermichk

i too am an addict

boredome, sad, happy, emotional eater.

problem with our addiction is we HAVE to eat to live, not like we can rehab and get off food .....

ceannesjourney

A couple of things worked for me. I would try to delay eating, instead of saying "no" to myself, I'd say"not right now", which seemed easier to take than an outright "no". Sometimes I would have to sy that a couple ones an hour. I also would take a sip of water when I was craving...I used that when I quit smoking 13 years ago...it helps me to drink more water and replace the craving with something healthier. Try to distract yourself by calling a friend or family you're close to. Go out for a five minute walk. Focus on what you "can" have instead of what you can't...keeps the mind focused on the positive and future. Hope some of this helps. I wish you well on this journey.

Due to stressful times and my starting to revert to old ways to deal with it, I'm having to remind myself of these again too. I am also seeing a councillor so that I learn to deal better with my emotions rather than eat them away.

Take it one day at a time. Take care.

maddiec1989

This definitely used to be me. I'd eat just for the sake of eating and after every meal, I'd start thinking immediately about my next meal. Drinking a lot of water has definitely helped keep me full longer.Another thing I started doing when I had a craving for food but knew I wasn't actually hungry, I'd force myself to workout the calories I'd be eating or even half of them and then after, I'd ask myself, "is that (insert food item) really worth all that work?" 9 times out of10 that'd keep me from eating unnecessary calories.

Sules02

I was an emotional eater since my childhood and as an adult I find that when I am with my family I want to binge. Yes, we are your typical dysfunctional family and we do not get together much but I find it curious that being with them triggers me into eating. Find out what your triggers are. I used to dream about food, wake up in the middle of the night and sneak down stairs and eat as a child. I would all of a sudden remember there was a package of cookies still in the pantry and go grab a handful at 2am. I think the majority of my calories were eaten at night. I was addicted! and fought it my whole life until now. I have found as I have gotten older most of these habits have gone away but I have also worked HARD to make them go away. Here is what I did, get all the junk out of the house, educate yourself on what junk foods and fast foods do to your body, watch the great documentaries on Netflix that make you NOT want to eat junk food or fast food, take sugars out of your diet. I now look at food as to where it came from and how bad it is for me and I pass it up. Once you rid your body of the junk and sugars, you will then be able to pass it by. Twice the week I was starving and would eat anything. I walked out of the grocery with a grape/carrot/cheese plate and passed up the cookies, fried chicken strips that I would have normally eaten. You CAN do this! I think not only getting help BUT educate yourself on what you are putting into your body and yes, find the self love. If you love yourself you will not want to fill your

talyho

Please read with an open mind. The post did not say like alcohol or heroine. Don't read more into it. They are reaching out for help and understanding, and if you can't contribute in a helpful way to that particular post, keep reading until you find one you can. Clearly you are not a food addict like many of us are, or you would totally be able to relate to the statement posted. For those of us who do relate, we need to be able to share our feelings and get support to be able to conquer the addiction. It is hard. And if you have no idea, please keep looking for a post that will appreciate your contribution.

NitroxBoss

Food Addiction and Dopamine

http://addiction-dirkh.blogspot.com/2008/04/food-addiction-and-dopamine.html

My wife and I went through this on our journey, it was 10 to 14 days of clean eating and I won't lie it was really hard and we were miserable. Eat fruit, veggies, lean proteins and don't give into the cravings for sugar and high fat type foods stop calling to you. Walk A LOT! you are pissed anyway use it. The good news is if you don't give in the first two weeks it will get a lot easier.

Good luck the addiction is real

Mark

tbetz1

This definitely used to be me. I'd eat just for the sake of eating and after every meal, I'd start thinking immediately about my next meal. Drinking a lot of water has definitely helped keep me full longer.Another thing I started doing when I had a craving for food but knew I wasn't actually hungry, I'd force myself to workout the calories I'd be eating or even half of them and then after, I'd ask myself, "is that (insert food item) really worth all that work?" 9 times out of10 that'd keep me from eating unnecessary calories.

Working out the calories has definitely helped me from eating them, its easy to eat something if you don't know how many calories it is but once you do, it makes you stop and think. I have heard the saying so many times now but it is my new motto; we eat to live, not live to eat! So fuel your body don't feed it!

NitroxBoss

Open your diary to the public. In a weird way, that helped me out a lot. I became more conscious knowing people were going to see what I ate. Good luck.

This helped me also! Friending you Sir

chizumlassstar

It's super hard...it's like coming off crystal meth.....however it's all around you and legal

I've gone through night sweats over food, seriously like detox'd off fast food...and had dreams about food and the list goes on and on.

I cant believe this, Have you ever came off of meth? or even watched a person detox off alcohol or heroin? Not eating a fast food or chocolate will not physically kill you. But coming off certain drugs can. Apples and monkeys

I do agrre with both of these statements. My fiance is a former meth addict and we were talking one night about addiction. Meth is extremely dangerous and it can kill you. However, is a sense, food can kill you too. The difference is you have to have food to live, you don't have to have meth to live. What I'm saying is it can be really hard to change your eating habits because you CANNOT survive without food, its a scientific fact.

With that said, I would like to say that I am only a month or so into this and have a long ways to go. But what helped me was actually looking at the nutrition facts of things. I would get something out of the vending machine at work and then look at how many calories it had and would give half of it away and know to not buy that item again. Just last night I was at the gas station craving some chocolate (ladies you know what I'm talking about) and I wandered around for a half an hour and couldn't find anything that had low enough calories to eat. I wound up getting a chocolate rice krispie bar that had 170 calories in it or something like that, a hershey bar with almonds (that I later split with my fiance for only 96 calories, and a chocolate milk. I am a firm beleiver that you have to allow yourself some room for how should I put it "satisfying your cravings", I AM NOT SAYING HEY EAT WHATEVER YOU WANT WHENEVER YOU WANT. I'm saying that food is for nutrition, not a reward or happiness, but you can enjoy it at the same time. Like everything, moderation is key.

I am sorry if I have offended anyone with the meth talk and all that. I am not an expert in any of these fields but I find it helpful to talk about things. I am always open to listen too if anyone should have any comments.

Keep up the good work. Like you said, this didn't happen overnight, and its not going to go away overnight. We are human, we make mistakes. Everyday is a new day, hopefully better than the last.

kat191

Hi
I have been treating myself with something nice like chocolate whenever i have plenty of calories left so if i am really good i know that i can eat something yummy and it keeps me on track knowing i can still eat unhealthy things sometimes but not all of the time!

maremare312

For me, cutting out sugar completely and lowering my carbs gets rid of my cravings. It's a big commitment, but I feel so much better (mentally and physically) that it's totally worth it to me. The first few days are hard, and then I truly don't miss the sugar.

emancipateurself

It's super hard...it's like coming off crystal meth.....however it's all around you and legal

I've gone through night sweats over food, seriously like detox'd off fast food...and had dreams about food and the list goes on and on.

I cant believe this, Have you ever came off of meth? or even watched a person detox off alcohol or heroin? Not eating a fast food or chocolate will not physically kill you. But coming off certain drugs can. Apples and monkeys

Yes I've come off meth, yes I am very familiar with addiction in both my personal and my professional life. That was not the point of what I was saying however. Food addiction is very fatal...people gorge themselves to poor health and die.....and you need food to survive. I lived off fast food and was killing myself slowly...I had physical withdrawal symptoms....I related it to my meth addiction.
The point is food addiction is very real to some people. To the person who posted this and to those who understand or go through it, it's a real addiction.

floridachikk

For me, cutting out sugar completely and lowering my carbs gets rid of my cravings. It's a big commitment, but I feel so much better (mentally and physically) that it's totally worth it to me. The first few days are hard, and then I truly don't miss the sugar.

I took a 2-week sugar-free, fast carb free stint. The first five days were crazy. I had all of these different cravings. And I thought I was hungry, but whenever I got out something I was allowed to eat, I had no appetite for it. That's when I realized I wasn't hungry and it was actually just a craving. I got headaches, my body felt like it was trying to eat itself (which, probably it was and had just forgot how to access stored fat). Afterwards I felt more alert and less sluggish.

quelogrammage

im so glad im not the only who feel this way about food - its actually quite depressing and its got to the stage now where i feel guilty about every single thing i eat, going to try the water thing and look at some of the books mentioned than you so much! xx

jenfromzen

I have been on the diet roller coaster my whole life. After a few traumatic years in my life with uber-high stress I gained over 40 lbs on top of the 30 I already needed to use.

For me, when I join Weight Watchers or any other "diet" it triggers what I have come to realize is my eating disorder. I started seeing a nutritionist who specializes in Eating Disorders. For the first time I feel totally and completely understood.

For me by far the biggest thing that has helped me begin to eat more normally is to be more compassionate with myself. To practice non-judgment because I have realized how I punish myself with food even when I initially think I am eating from boredom or being tired etc.

I am using MFP to track my foods but am intentionally not uber focused on the calories at this point. I will get there but I am iun a recovery process that is taking longer than I thought. A Lot longer.

I will tell you the Intuitive Eating book and the books by the woman (if you are interested I will find the info) who refers to her eating disorder as ED have helped me be more gentle, more compassionate, more forgiving.

You are not alone and I am more of a lurker on these pages than a participant but there are so many amazingly supportive folks who really "get it." But I do think you have to be cautious I have read some posts and there are folks out there in the midst of their own eating disorder and completely unconscious about it. They unintentionally can do great harm.

Be good to yourself.

Jen

youcandooeet

I have been where you are. Here's what helped me.

I know this sounds simple, but it's not. You have to learn to say "NO" to yourself. Your will power and self control are muscles, and the more you exercise them, the stronger they get. The first time I didn't eat what I wanted when I wanted, it was literally painful. I wanted it SO bad, and it was more difficult than someone who hasn't been here can imagine.

For the first month, I didn't eat any sugar whatsoever. I avoided high carb foods like bread and potatoes. Like others mentioned, within two weeks, my cravings were totally gone. Getting through those first two weeks was difficult, but I'm so glad I was tough on myself. I've worked sugar and bread back into my diet, but I have absolutely no desire to go buy a candy bar. If I feel like I'm dealing with cravings, I'll cut sugar and bread out again for a few days. It helps.

Remember, if you don't do this for yourself, noone else can do it for you. If you don't do it now, you may never do it. The more days you eat 1400 calories over, the more weeks you gain a pound or two.

You can so do this. If I can do it, ANYONE can do it.

TXHunny84

Hi everyone. I am new on here, and I logged everything I ate today and I went over by 1400 calories. I sat down with my husband and analyzed my choices and I realized that a lot of the times I ate something, it wasn't because I was hungry, it was because I was bored. Or excited about eating the particular item. I have had this problem for a long time, which is why I have over 200 pounds to lose now. My question is, when starting this lifestyle, how do you battle and conquer your brain and body when it's telling you to go eat, even if you're not hungry. I know the simple answer is "just don't eat", but I am looking for answers from people who have actually dealt with this before please. I am going to try resisting these urges, and logging everything does help, so I will continue with that. I think I will have to take it day by day, hour by hour even. Because I really do want to change my lifestyle.

I am in the same situation as you and I have been for years..... It seriously is a constant struggle and a lot of times I cave eat and my weight increases and find myself struggling to get it off again. I'm an emotional/mindless eater....and I prefer carbs and junk foods over healthy foods and I'd much rather just sit around and read or watch tv than exercise....I totally understand. Saying *out loud* "You're not hungry, you're bored! You don't need food, you need something to do!" That actually helps me a lot hearing it aloud.... For me - when I'm successful with weight loss I give myself certain times I am allowed to eat and plan out my meals....no unplanned snacks allowed in between.... and keep yourself busy until bed time!!! If I am not busy I end up wandering into the kitchen.... Add exercise into your schedule and make it at a set time each day so you know you have time to do it and it becomes routine. Mostly though.....just...keep aware that you don't need the calories and not eat.

mfpcopine

I know the simple answer is "just don't eat."

The simple answer isn't always the right one. You have to make a plan about what you're going to do when this happens, understanding that no matter how good the idea, you're going to resist doing it when the craving hits.

Get up.
Dance.
Take a walk.
Call someone.
Post on the forum.

Distract yourself.

And to the extent possible, remove any problematic food from your home, and never bring it into your home. If you really must have something, make yourself go out and buy it, eat it outside, and try to eat a reasonable portion.

dakotababy

Research "Intuitive Eating". This is a really good method to deal with emotional eating.
I purchased the book "Intuitive Eating" and it really changed the way I look at food.

It is an effective method for those who suffer from eating disorders - especially binge eating/over eating disorders.