Food Addiction

alpine1994

When I was younger I had a similar experience with food. Cycles of crazy binges, obsessive thoughts about food, etc. It somehow went away. I'm so sorry I can't tell you what happened. Maybe I started being happy with other aspects of my life and my relationship with food followed suit? Maybe my slow but steady weight loss progress was enough motivation to eat healthy but balanced (treats every now and then)? Maybe the enjoyment I got out of exercising prevented me from binging since working out after a binge generally doesn't go well?

Again, sorry I don't have any constructive advice. Just want you to know that I feel for you and I hope that you can find a way to reach a more balanced way of living. Feel free to friend me!

Oh, and do you think MFP could be making it worse? Always thinking about logging and recording your weight and stuff like that? It might not hurt to step away for a while if you think it might be hurting you.

SanteMulberry

yea I am taking cipralex now for anxiety, I was very skeptical at first, but it has helped my head a bit. Though the binging hasn't stopped.

Since many experts feel that sugar consumption is a causative agent in "food addiction", it is probably wise to cut out added sugars and processed foods (which contain a lot of added sugars). The other aspects of food addiction are better addressed by other means. For example, you could check out your local chapter of Overeaters Anonymous. Here is a link to the proceedings from a recent conference on food addiction. The scientific papers (which are there on the website) dealt with a variety of issues that bear on food addiction. http://www.foodaddictionsummit.org/index.htm

p.s. Since many psychoactive drugs are associated with weight gain (Seroquel, for example, is associated with gains of 100 pounds or more) it is wise to tread warily there.

conniemaxwell5

I have been addicted to food all of my life and I was a binger too. Last year I had enough and started really seeking the "why" of it all. Getting to the bottom of that has been my salvation. My biggest problem was taking on too much and feeling overwhelmed. I used food to 'push down" those feelings. I also used my weight to distance myself from people. Once I figured out why, I removed some of the triggers and found other avenues of 'release' that don't involve food. I've taken up piano because I love music and it's a way of being soothed without consuming a package of Oreos.

I would suggest seeing a therapist that specializes in eating disorders. I have no problem with temporarily medicating but you need help to figure out and deal with the real issue so that you don't have to rely on meds the rest of your life and you can feel good about yourself. I wish you the best!

IHTSM

wow! so many thoughtful responses, I am touched! I actually have a tear in my eye from reading these posts.

I have been through probably every type of eating disorder and even other addictions throughout most of my life, and while I always knew something wasn't right, and I wave not been "happy", I don't think I recognized how serious it is and how much damage I have been doing to myself. It has only really been in the last year that I've been consciously trying to get better. And so far I am feeling a bit better having lost some weight.

I have talked to a few counselors about some other things a couple of times in my life and didn't really find it helpful. But talking to my doctor (who I see every 1-2 weeks) has been invaluable! As well as the nutritionist. They know what I am dealing with and are extraordinarily understanding and helpful. This is the first time I have really been outspoken about it. Even to my fiance (who I have been with for nearly 9 years). It feels good to get it out, and while I am admittedly still a little ashamed, that is starting to fade.

I do have an action plan that I hope will work in the long term. I am going to quit my job (and Andrew too) and we are going to travel the world for 1-2 years, something we've both wanted to do forever! We have been planning it for about a year now, and it will happen in the next month. We get married in mid June, then off we go. I am hoping that taking the time to focus on doing things that we want to do, seeing the world first hand, learning a new language (Spanish) and spending time helping other people, will in turn help us realize what we think are important in life.

So far my life has been almost completely comprised of career (ranks #1 historically), then exercise, then food, then friends, then family. I think my priorities have been screwed up. From now on I hope to re-focus my life and really figure out who I am, and what I value. After travelling we will both see what happens, maybe we will find somewhere that we want to stay, or maybe we'll be back. Either way, I know that what I am doing right now has not been working.

beattie1

This may help... I took an Intuitive Eating class and it changed the way I see food. I took away it's power and now I enjoy it more. A lot of reading, but good info. Good luck! :flowerforyou:
Stages of Intuitive Eating
10 Principles of Intuitive Eating
1. Reject the Diet Mentality Throw out the diet books and magazine articles that offer you false hope of losing weight quickly, easily, and permanently. Get angry at the lies that have led you to feel as if you were a failure every time a new diet stopped working and you gained back all of the weight. If you allow even one small hope to linger that a new and better diet might be lurking around the corner, it will prevent you from being free to rediscover Intuitive Eating.
2. Honor Your Hunger Keep your body biologically fed with adequate energy and carbohydrates. Otherwise you can trigger a primal drive to overeat. Once you reach the moment of excessive hunger, all intentions of moderate, conscious eating are fleeting and irrelevant. Learning to honor this first biological signal sets the stage for re-building trust with yourself and food.
3. Make Peace with Food Call a truce, stop the food fight! Give yourself unconditional permission to eat. If you tell yourself that you can't or shouldn't have a particular food, it can lead to intense feelings of deprivation that build into uncontrollable cravings and, often, bingeing When you finally “give-in” to your forbidden food, eating will be experienced with such intensity, it usually results in Last Supper overeating, and overwhelming guilt.
4. Challenge the Food Police .Scream a loud "NO" to thoughts in your head that declare you're "good" for eating under 1000 calories or "bad" because you ate a piece of chocolate cake. The Food Police monitor the unreasonable rules that dieting has created . The police station is housed deep in your psyche, and its loud speaker shouts negative barbs, hopeless phrases, and guilt-provoking indictments. Chasing the Food Police away is a critical step in returning to Intuitive Eating.
5. Respect Your Fullness Listen for the body signals that tell you that you are no longer hungry. Observe the signs that show that you're comfortably full. Pause in the middle of a meal or food and ask yourself how the food tastes, and what is your current fullness level?
6. Discover the Satisfaction Factor The Japanese have the wisdom to promote pleasure as one of their goals of healthy living In our fury to be thin and healthy, we often overlook one of the most basic gifts of existence--the pleasure and satisfaction that can be found in the eating experience. When you eat what you really want, in an environment that is inviting and conducive, the pleasure you derive will be a powerful force in helping you feel satisfied and content. By providing this experience for yourself, you will find that it takes much less food to decide you've had "enough".
7. Honor Your Feelings Without Using Food Find ways to comfort , nurture, distract, and resolve your issues without using food. Anxiety, loneliness, boredom, anger are emotions we all experience throughout life. Each has its own trigger, and each has its own appeasement. Food won't fix any of these feelings. It may comfort for the short term, distract from the pain, or even numb you into a food hangover. But food won't solve the problem. If anything, eating for an emotional hunger will only make you feel worse in the long run. You'll ultimately have to deal with the source of the emotion, as well as the discomfort of overeating.
8. Respect Your Body Accept your genetic blueprint. Just as a person with a shoe size of eight would not expect to realistically squeeze into a size six, it is equally as futile (and uncomfortable) to have the same expectation with body size. But mostly, respect your body, so you can feel better about who you are. It's hard to reject the diet mentality if you are unrealistic and overly critical about your body shape.
9. Exercise--Feel the Difference Forget militant exercise. Just get active and feel the difference. Shift your focus to how it feels to move your body, rather than the calorie burning effect of exercise. If you focus on how you feel from working out, such as energized, it can make the difference between rolling out of bed for a brisk morning walk or hitting the snooze alarm. If when you wake up, your only goal is to lose weight, it's usually not a motivating factor in that moment of time.
10 Honor Your Health--Gentle Nutrition Make food choices that honor your health and tastebuds while making you feel well. Remember that you don't have to eat a perfect diet to be healthy. You will not suddenly get a nutrient deficiency or gain weight from one snack, one meal, or one day of eating. It's what you eat consistently over time that matters, progress not perfection is what counts.

This is a great post :flowerforyou: Valuble for anyone with food issues, thanks!

SanteMulberry

wow! so many thoughtful responses, I am touched! I actually have a tear in my eye from reading these posts.

I have been through probably every type of eating disorder and even other addictions throughout most of my life, and while I always knew something wasn't right, and I wave not been "happy", I don't think I recognized how serious it is and how much damage I have been doing to myself. It has only really been in the last year that I've been consciously trying to get better. And so far I am feeling a bit better having lost some weight.

I have talked to a few counselors about some other things a couple of times in my life and didn't really find it helpful. But talking to my doctor (who I see every 1-2 weeks) has been invaluable! As well as the nutritionist. They know what I am dealing with and are extraordinarily understanding and helpful. This is the first time I have really been outspoken about it. Even to my fiance (who I have been with for nearly 9 years). It feels good to get it out, and while I am admittedly still a little ashamed, that is starting to fade.

I do have an action plan that I hope will work in the long term. I am going to quit my job (and Andrew too) and we are going to travel the world for 1-2 years, something we've both wanted to do forever! We have been planning it for about a year now, and it will happen in the next month. We get married in mid June, then off we go. I am hoping that taking the time to focus on doing things that we want to do, seeing the world first hand, learning a new language (Spanish) and spending time helping other people, will in turn help us realize what we think are important in life.

So far my life has been almost completely comprised of career (ranks #1 historically), then exercise, then food, then friends, then family. I think my priorities have been screwed up. From now on I hope to re-focus my life and really figure out who I am, and what I value. After travelling we will both see what happens, maybe we will find somewhere that we want to stay, or maybe we'll be back. Either way, I know that what I am doing right now has not been working.

Sounds like you are on the right track. Godspeed! :flowerforyou:

IHTSM

I noticed in your profile you are a vegan. Just curious, what kind of unhealthy foods can you binge on as a vegan?

Well I am working on the vegan thing but have had some cheese on pizza a couple of times, and some ice cream.... I'm just doing my best. Have been good all week this week. I think I'll probably aim to be (eat and live) "vegan" 95% of the time for the next couple of months. I am already finding it easier as time goes by, so maybe in the the next few months I'll be pretty much transitioned. We'll see.

But as far as vegan junk food goes, there is a ton! You'd be surprised! any of the processed soy stuff (I try to avoid) could be considered junk food, cakes and cookies, nuts, etc... literally lots of that stuff can be taken overboard. Oh, and kale chips are so good! and nutritious! But can easily be over-eaten like anything else

friedmal4

Food addiction is a disease. I have had it for a very long time.
I am a member of Overeaters Anonymous, which is a wonderful support group. It works on the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of compulsive overeating. Maybe you want to look into finding a meeting in your area. The website for OA is WWW.OA.ORG.

SanteMulberry

Food addiction is a disease. I have had it for a very long time.
I am a member of Overeaters Anonymous, which is a wonderful support group. It works on the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of compulsive overeating. Maybe you want to look into finding a meeting in your area. The website for OA is WWW.OA.ORG.

I agree. When I have spoken with those who have had eating disorders, they will often speak enthusiastically of the organization as being one of the sources of the greatest help. One woman said that, "Without OA, I would be dead now. [She had severe anorexia nervosa along with bouts of bulimia and compulsive overeating.] If you see the entire 12-Steps through to the end, you can't help but have victory." She leads an OA group in her area.