Food addiction--it REALLY DOES EXIST!!!

juleskitcat

I agree with so many of these sentiments in this post thread... I sometimes think about my next meal as I am finishing one. I wake up in the am thinking about either what i will be eating -- OR- If I am dieting, what I can't eat. I find I do best on STRICT diets becuase I just barely eat...which is easier said than done. It's an every day struggle because i love food... it's a comfort, a reward. All my social engagements -- seem to revolve around (a nice dinner out, a lunch meeting, coffee with a friend)... then when I'm alone and bored... same. Ug - WHAT A CHALLENGE !

groomchick

I have always said... Food is the hardest addiction of them all. It's the only one you HAVE to face every single day. Really fantastic post!

nicolej1016

So easy to blame others for your choice.

Why are you being so snarky? A fellow MFP member is sharing her experience in a candid way and you make a comment like that? Addictions are complex as is any compulsive behavior. Please try to remember why we are all here - to support each other.

VanessaHeartsMasr

I was just talking about this exact same subject the other day and how sad it is that if you are addicted to drugs or alcohol, there are so many great programs to help you. Even other eating disorders get a lot of support. But you rarely hear of programs to help food addicts, unless the person gets too large to get out of bed. I'm a food addict, and it's just recently that I've had the courage to acknowledge it without massive amounts of shame. I think acknowledging it has allowed me to "tackle the beast" so to speak, and FINALLY start losing weight. Great post OP!

AABru

I found this and thought it appropriate

So they should either criminalize bacon or legalize heroin?

Which one seems more reasonable to you?

More liberal scientists are trying to declare sugar a drug. Not weighing in on either side, but just saying, "bad" foods do seem to have the potential of being criminalized in the future.

Bacon in and of itself is not bad...one piece of bacon is 80 calories and about 10 grams of protein. You need both. The problem lies with people who have been trained to eat when they feel bad or when they are stressed or when they are happy or when they have no concept of satiety. Then bacon becomes a problem...and so does every other morsel of food that goes into their mouth. You need to eat to live, and to not know how to end a cycle of overeating makes a person feel desperate and weak, and feeling weak makes them want to make themselves feel better by eating more. And the cycle continues...many of us need to learn to break the cycle. Someone else mentioned finding the underlying problem and fixing it...more of us are broken than are willing to admit.

AABru

OP this is very timely for me. thank you for the reminder that we are not alone. I also am not comfortable at OA meetings, and my family laughs at the idea that food can be addictive. I think that with the right combination of genes and environment, just about anything can become addictive...food was my crutch for many years, and everyday is a battle. Every pound I drop feels like a ton because it brings me closer to overcoming my own person demons as well.

TriShamelessly

Absolutely nothing to add here, to these two marvelous posts! Best wishes to all. :flowerforyou:

Ditto. Any suggestions for those of us who know a food (or sugar, or insert other specific food type here) addict, but am unsure how to help that person?

cwhussey

Bump

misskate1987

Also nothing to add, but so very pleased that someone has been able to articulate what I've felt for a very, very long time.

mockchoc

I have an addictive personality I believe so I just wanted to say thanks for the post and I wish you and anyone else struggling with any addiction peace from the suffering it brings.

nothingwithoutHim

I clicked on this thinking your proof was going to be cookie dough. :laugh:

No, seriously. :huh: I know food addiction is real because of that, and that alone.

cwhussey

Anyone questioning that food can be addictive should check out the documentary Hungry for Change. America is a country of convenience. We want quick easy meals and have created companies that cater to that. How can food seriously stay on shelves for months - even years - without going bad? It's all chemically engineered - nothing "natural" about it. We then have marketing and advertising companies that make us think something "low fat" is healthier yet the first few ingredients are sugar based with essentially no nutritional value - empty calories that pile up. I WANT to stop over eating and rid myself of a sugar addiction but it's hard. I think of the minutes, hours and days that I have wasted obsessing about food and get so angry with myself because there are so many other things I could or should have done with that time. People don’t get it. My family doesn’t get it. They don’t understand the internal struggle. It’s so much easier for those that don’t get it to laugh about it and say it’s a matter of will power or we’re just weak. I wish it were that easy. Really.

I am definitely Hungry for Change and hope that the support and understanding of some fellow MFP friends I can finally beat this demon because I have so much more to do with my life (and my amazing family) than obsess about food.

myofibril

I don't think that it can be classified truly as an addiction but there are striking similarities:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc2714382/

msleanlegs

Virtual hugs to all of you who are feeling addicted to food. For as long as I can remember I felt addicted to food. Now I believe it was more of a mindset and bad habit than actual addiction, but whatever you call it - it's tough! My advice, what's helped me at least, is to work on your emotional relationship with food. No more shame for eating certain foods and no more using food as a way to avoid other matters. Keep a positive mindset and you WILL overcome your food struggles.

CCusedtodance

WOW!

The response to my original post has been overwhelming. The amount of personal messages and friend requests I have received, has floored me; in a GOOD WAY! On one level, I am so happy for the response; however I am also saddened that there are so many of us out there struggling. If there was such a response over just one post, how many are there in this world? Hopefully this post has awakened some who are living with a food addict and they can now understand how that person feels.

Someone asked how to help a food/sugar addict. Reach out to them, suggest they read this post and offer your help. Do not pressure them to change or bring up the subject again; just wait to see if the seed you planted grows. If it does not, it does not mean it never will---it is just the wrong time.

NYCNika

I think this post irritates me because it implies that it is not as hard for the rest of us!

That it is somehow harder for you and a small minority like you, and I think I've seen no real evidence of that in these posts.

Things like "you can have a bowl of candy just sitting there" is not evidence at all. My thing is not candy, I may not want candy but I love and crave other foods. Much better, more delicious, fresh higher-quality calorie-laden foods. (Though all of these things are a matter of perspective too).

It is really hard for most people. Period. You are not a minority, or the exception, or have less control or a disease.

And I feel this viewpoint somehow takes away the credit for the willpower, constant work, education and motivation, and re-working the whole approach to life and eating that the rest of us go through to get to a healthier state.

What you are saying is "oh, it must be not AS HARD for you. You don't know what I'm faced with."

niki87lewis

I think this post irritates me because it implies that it is not as hard for the rest of us!

That it is somehow harder for you and a small minority like you, and I think I've seen no real evidence of that in this posts.

Things like "you can have a bowl of candy just sitting there" is not evidence at all. My thing is not candy, I may not want candy but I love and crave other foods. Much better, more delicious, fresh higher-quality calorie-laden foods. (Though all of these things are a matter of perspective too).

It is really hard for most people. Period. You are not a minority, or the exception, or have less control or a disease.

And I feel this viewpoint somehow takes away the credit for the willpower, constant work, education and motivation, and re-working the whole approach to life and eating that the rest of us go through to get to a healthier state.

What you are saying is "oh, it must be not AS HARD for you. You don't know what I'm faced with."

Agreed

karenhray7

I think this post irritates me because it implies that it is not as hard for the rest of us!

That it is somehow harder for you and a small minority like you, and I think I've seen no real evidence of that in these posts.

Things like "you can have a bowl of candy just sitting there" is not evidence at all. My thing is not candy, I may not want candy but I love and crave other foods. Much better, more delicious, fresh higher-quality calorie-laden foods. (Though all of these things are a matter of perspective too).

It is really hard for most people. Period. You are not a minority, or the exception, or have less control or a disease.

And I feel this viewpoint somehow takes away the credit for the willpower, constant work, education and motivation, and re-working the whole approach to life and eating that the rest of us go through to get to a healthier state.

What you are saying is "oh, it must be not AS HARD for you. You don't know what I'm faced with."

THAT is what you got from this post?

You know how some people are more susceptible to say, drug addiction? Or nicotine? It's all about the pleasure center of the brain and the opiod response that SOME people experience stronger than others. It's different than craving or loving a particular food and has ZERO to do with willpower. Let me say that again, IT HAS ZERO TO DO WITH WILLPOWER. There is no implication in this post whatsoever that changing bad habits, trying to eat healthier, be more active, is any easier for non-addicts; it's just different. No easier, no harder, just different.

This is one woman (op), talking about her struggles, trying to relate and give hope to others in the same situation. If you are not in the situation, that's great. But there are a lot of us who struggle with this. I can attest that the high I get from particular foods is as good if not better than the majority of legal and illegal substances that have gotten me high.

So consider yourself lucky if restaurants don't necessarily terrify you because you're afraid that one bite of the wrong thing will send you spiraling. Be glad if you don't feel agonizing shame about the secret eating that you did in the car on your way home from the store. Say a thank you to the universe if food does not consume every waking hour of every day and then plays a major role in your dreams. There are those of us out there who are constantly thinking about our next fix.

And I say this last bit with no malice or even irritation: You're on the motivation and support board-if you don't have any to give regarding this topic, or you don't need any regarding this topic, I'm not sure why you're here.

Good luck to you on your journey.

karenhray7

I don't think that it can be classified truly as an addiction but there are striking similarities:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc2714382/

I'm curious as to why you don't think it can be classified as a true addiction. Not trying to be argumentative, just curious.

KrazyAsianNic

Thank you for sharing this!

I agree, not many people understand you can be addicted to food adn it's not like alcohol or drugs where you can go cold turkey and just walk away.