Food addiction--it REALLY DOES EXIST!!!

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  • NavyKnightAh13
    NavyKnightAh13 Posts: 1,394 Member
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    Let me sum it up to people who don't understand

    Does it feel good?
    Does your body build a tolerance to it?
    You can get addicted to it.

    People can and do get addicted to exercise. Try seeing some of those people on a day they don't exercise. They are a freaking wreck(I am slowly turning into one of those people, on the days I dont workout I go back into my depressive paterns, have trouble controlling my eating and just feel like **** all around. However that was my normal state before starting exercise so......)

    Same here. Unfortunately if I don't exercise, my depression and anxiety hits harder and makes me feel even crappier. And food yes was my med when my mom died 4 years ago and everything else I went through, but I have learned now that I have to overcome it especially with being a mom. I understand now what the underlying issue was and am slowly working through it. Do i have episodes where all i want is food? Yes I have (had a couple weeks where I ate like crap, guess what, weight came right back on) but i also have learned to keep myself busy or when my husband wants fast food, i run out to the store and get something healthy to eat.

    In the end, you have to be the one that says, "hey, I have an addiction, how can i get into recovery?" because without that help, you can not learn to heal and move forward.
  • ohiogirl30
    ohiogirl30 Posts: 141 Member
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    bump
  • emilyc85
    emilyc85 Posts: 450 Member
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    I found this and thought it appropriate :)

    Cool-Fact-3611_zps783d4aa1.png
  • NYCNika
    NYCNika Posts: 611 Member
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    And yes, I would MUCH rather have freshly fried buttermilk pancakes from scratch with sweetened condensed milk all over them instead of my fat free Greek yogurt with nuts.

    Or hot fresh fries smothered with good bacon bits, ranch dressing, real melted cheese and pickled jalapenos with BBQ ribs instead of a skinless chicken breast with a side of salad. I DO remember what it tastes like, smells like, feels like when I put in in my mouth. The combination of flavors and textures, sourness and sweetness, etc... is very very tempting and I really want it. I think about it often.

    Does it mean I have a disease?

    No it does not mean YOU have a disease; however you are not me. Please do not judge everyone by your abilities or willpower, for not everyone is YOU.

    Asking someone not to judge based on their ability or willpower implies that it is a matter of willpower.
  • Ramberta
    Ramberta Posts: 1,312 Member
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    Uhm . . . aren't we all food addicts??

    I peg addiction as any repetitive action that gets in the way of daily living. This is why lots of people can have a beer or smoke a bowl on the weekend while, for me, it sends me straight to powder and needles. No one yet fully understands what makes an addict and what doesn't.

    For some people, the act of eating does get in the way of daily living. Many of us have dysfunctional attitudes and behaviors towards food (our weight often proves it). But there are degrees of severity and some people have a much much severe dysfunction than others.

    I am not a food addict. But I understand that it is possible.

    This is perceptive.

    My issue with the term food addiction and addiction in general can be reduced to the fatalism it can sometimes generate - the "it isn't me, it's the addiction" mentality. I tend to prefer compulsive eating when this refers to food. But in any case, if it is an addiction, and you are not trying to get help or support to break it then it certainly is all about you.
    If you recognize that you have what you consider to be an addiction. What are you doing about it? Or is the term being used as a crutch?

    I'm not judging anyone here - I'm suggesting that self-reflection to avoid falling into a trap of "I can't solve it".

    You bring up some good points. I used to scoff at people who scoffed at the notion of a "cheat" or "binge" day, but now I realize that it's a slippery slope between what most people consider healthy indulgence and what a regular binge eater considers "a little overeating". Just because I don't eat McDonald's 1-3 times a day any more doesn't justify me continuing to eat it more than once a week. Just because I stopped eating 4k+ cals a day doesn't mean I should eat at my TDEE of 2900 every day. Food isn't something to be inhaled like air, it's something to be slowly savored.

    That's how I know I'm addicted to food-- because I feel like I have to taste something repetitively, for hours on end, to feel satisfied. It's not until I'm 3/4ths of the way done with a huge bag of Peanut Butter M&Ms and my stomach feels like it's going to pop that I realize that I should've stopped 8 handfuls ago... but I just wanted to keep the taste in my mouth. It's sick, but like any other addiction, the psychological aspect is often much stronger than the physical. It's all about willpower, and flexing that willpower doesn't induce sudden orthorexia. It just means avoiding triggering foods until you can approach them safely and without thoughts of bingeing.
  • NYCNika
    NYCNika Posts: 611 Member
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    I found this and thought it appropriate :)

    Cool-Fact-3611_zps783d4aa1.png

    So they should either criminalize bacon or legalize heroin?

    Which one seems more reasonable to you?
  • EriNicole83
    EriNicole83 Posts: 17
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    I'm always looking for my next "hit". Happy to know I'm not alone in this.
  • baja572
    baja572 Posts: 94
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    I have found that a jar of candy would be gone within 24hrs while other can have that jar of candy there for weeks...Same for cookies, cupcakes, or anything else..needs not be sweet just there then gone....yes it is real!
  • Ramberta
    Ramberta Posts: 1,312 Member
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    I found this and thought it appropriate :)

    Cool-Fact-3611_zps783d4aa1.png

    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.
  • NYCNika
    NYCNika Posts: 611 Member
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    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.

    Pleeeaase... They won't even stop SUBSIDIZING those bad foods to the tune of billions of dollars a year.
  • smaihlee
    smaihlee Posts: 171 Member
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    I believe in food addiction, and I have been doing some reading lately about the research being done on the science behind it. That being said, I think that a food addiction can be chemical/biological or behavioral in nature--but I also can't help but think that the chemical types of addiction can lead to and even cause a worsening of the learned type--it's a lot easier to change behavior than change your body chemistry! In other words, if you constantly crave food then it's going to be hard to learn to change your eating habits.

    As an overweight child (and adult) who dealt with constant barrages of "you just need to push away from the table", I sympathize with each type, and especially those who are plagued by both. I am 41, have been overweight my entire life, and have tried dieting on and off for almost 30 years. I have never been able to stick with a diet for any length of time (I think a month is the longest ever) and was literally unable to stay under a calorie goal for more than a day on any modified eating plan I've tried. Only once I was able to change the chemical portion of my addiction, it made changing my behavior almost a non-issue. I've maintained my MFP log for about 90 days now, and though I've changed my daily goals a few times to find what works for me, I have managed to stay under goal for all but a handful of days.

    Adding OP as friend for support and encouragement :)
  • Ramberta
    Ramberta Posts: 1,312 Member
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    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.

    Pleeeaase... They won't even stop SUBSIDIZING those bad foods to the tune of billions of dollars a year.

    I am fairly sure that regulating how many grams of sugar should legally be in foods (and past said threshold sugary foods would be considered a "substance" not a food) would limit the capability of said subsidies. But the legislature will never go through anyway because regulating the free market is communism or something.
  • dazzo62
    dazzo62 Posts: 78
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    I have kept off a large amount of weight for 26 years ( I will be 51 in 2 weeks). I am and always will be a compulsive eater and STILL have binges.

    I have come to the point where I know what's triggering my behavior, and sometimes I just allow it to happen, even talk about it to friends/relatives who are "normal" to reduce the guilt afterwards - it stops the cycle. So instead of days, my binge might be a half day/day etc. It used to consume me - my life was one long binge.

    My turning point was finding Geneen Roth's book "Breaking Free from Compulsive Eating".That was my "Aha Moment". I love all of her books and highly recommend them for any other "food addicts".

    All the best wishes to everyone in taking it day by day.
  • FlippinNora
    FlippinNora Posts: 41 Member
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    I am surprised at some of the comments on here denying that someone can get addicted to food.

    In a former version of me I was a proper paid up junkie.
    I still smoke cigarettes and I'm tackling the booze issue as we speak and will be forever more...

    I am also a food addict.
    I am secretive about what I eat, often taking the times when I am on my own to eat what I really want to instead of what is acceptable in front others. I'll eat in the car and hide the wrappers, going to the point of parking up in a street to throw the rubbish in a public bin. No one I live with or know will see the evidence then.
    I crave and get sullen and moody when I feel deprived. I will pick fights and manipulate those I live with in order to get what I want (high fat take out food). The financial implications of what I'm doing is actually really scary. I go on shame benders where I become thoroughly disgusted at myself and might manage a 'very' short while without my favourite love (food).
    I break and gorge and I'm back there again.
    It's ruining my health, my social life, my ability to live my life as I want to, my family relationships, my bank balance and, well, pretty much everything.

    Sound familiar? Well it does to me because I've been there before. It may not be illegal and I may not have to mix with dangerous people to get what I want but, the effect upon my life is excruciatingly familiar.

    I am a food addict, pure and simple.
  • charovnitza
    charovnitza Posts: 689
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    I just wanted to comment on the poignant and profound topic the OP has presented here. I do believe that food addiction exists, and the way that it has been expressed, goes to the heart of the matter. For those of you who have this, I wish you strength in your battle, peace in your hearts and success in conquering the constant issues that you face bravely every moment of every day. :flowerforyou:
  • CCusedtodance
    CCusedtodance Posts: 237 Member
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    I am surprised at some of the comments on here denying that someone can get addicted to food.

    In a former version of me I was a proper paid up junkie.
    I still smoke cigarettes and I'm tackling the booze issue as we speak and will be forever more...

    I am also a food addict.
    I am secretive about what I eat, often taking the times when I am on my own to eat what I really want to instead of what is acceptable in front others. I'll eat in the car and hide the wrappers, going to the point of parking up in a street to throw the rubbish in a public bin. No one I live with or know will see the evidence then.
    I crave and get sullen and moody when I feel deprived. I will pick fights and manipulate those I live with in order to get what I want (high fat take out food). The financial implications of what I'm doing is actually really scary. I go on shame benders where I become thoroughly disgusted at myself and might manage a 'very' short while without my favourite love (food).
    I break and gorge and I'm back there again.
    It's ruining my health, my social life, my ability to live my life as I want to, my family relationships, my bank balance and, well, pretty much everything.

    Sound familiar? Well it does to me because I've been there before. It may not be illegal and I may not have to mix with dangerous people to get what I want but, the effect upon my life is excruciatingly familiar.

    I am a food addict, pure and simple.

    Thank you for sharing your story. I know all to well what you are going through.
  • CCusedtodance
    CCusedtodance Posts: 237 Member
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    I just wanted to comment on the poignant and profound topic the OP has presented here. I do believe that food addiction exists, and the way that it has been expressed, goes to the heart of the matter. For those of you who have this, I wish you strength in your battle, peace in your hearts and success in conquering the constant issues that you face bravely every moment of every day. :flowerforyou:

    Thank you for a beautiful post.
  • bearwith
    bearwith Posts: 525 Member
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    You are so right. I read somewhere that you need to treat food like fuel and not a treat. You need to use other things as a treat e.g. going out, clothes, ringing people etc. I think I am far off that still but am definitely noticing how much food dominated my life.
  • Springfield_Rocks
    Springfield_Rocks Posts: 289
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    well said OP, well said. ♥
  • charovnitza
    charovnitza Posts: 689
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    I just wanted to comment on the poignant and profound topic the OP has presented here. I do believe that food addiction exists, and the way that it has been expressed, goes to the heart of the matter. For those of you who have this, I wish you strength in your battle, peace in your hearts and success in conquering the constant issues that you face bravely every moment of every day. :flowerforyou:

    Thank you for a beautiful post.

    You are most welcome !

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