I admit it, I'm a food addict...

2014FitnessJourney
2014FitnessJourney Posts: 13
in Motivation and Support
Hi, I'm posting this because I think I'm addicted to eating food. I always want to eat and when I do, I eat too large of portions, always thinking of food, and I always feel hungry. I want to change, but I'm not sure how to successfully do it in order to lose weight and stay on track. Any suggestions?

Replies

  • angelabethb
    angelabethb Posts: 33 Member
    I'm in the same boat. I'm constantly thinking about food, whether it's boredom or sadness driven. What i've been trying to do recently is to change my obsession into one of fitness and nutrition. Be obsessed with healthy foods and finding new exercises to try. Also, talk to your friends and family about your weight loss goals, they will help you the next time you voice your craving. Also try to find healthier foods that you find yummy. If I find myself having a crazing, I just look on the Health and Fitness section on pinterest and it really does help crub that appetite. Also drink a ton of water and tea!

    Stick to a health diet for two weeks and it will become habit! I'll love how you feel.

    I hope this helped! Add me if you need motivation.
  • mulecanter
    mulecanter Posts: 1,792 Member
    Nope, no such thing as a food addiction. Is it possible you are filling other voids in your life with food? Before you start and fail at a weight loss attempt, spend some serious time in introspection--reflect on your life and try to see what you might be trying to sooth with food. It may be as simple as boredom, it may be loneliness, whatever. I know I am often guilty of nocturnal grazing out of boredom and to alleviate stress. That's why it's called comfort food right? I'd say, get off the couch and get some exercise to start with, if you are at the gym you are not in your kitchen.
  • slickhill
    slickhill Posts: 2 Member
    will be glad to be of motivation to you. will you help me with my addiction of sweets!!!!!!!!!:happy: Flowerforyou
  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
    Stop eating. Perhaps get a hobby. You are not a special case, surely?
  • littleburgy
    littleburgy Posts: 570 Member
    Studies have shown that tracking what you eat helps you eat less. So being here is a great start. Set your goal and log everything.

    Perhaps also try to identify what it is that is triggering you to eat, if there's an underlying issue at play that makes you crave food (stress, emotions, depression). Find an alternative way of dealing with your triggers (for me it's exercise and/or staying busy.)

    Good luck!
  • Kittie_Cat_89
    Kittie_Cat_89 Posts: 19 Member
    I love to eat as well, but at my best I have lost 50lbs so I know it's something I can manage I just can't get my head back in the game. I hurt my ankle recently so have been trying not to do too muhc exersice for fear of making it worse, but I'm finding that I'm eating more despite telling myself and planning to eat less!!

    Temptation mixed with stress and boredom is making things really difficult for me! Tonight I'm going to find some exercises that I can do without hurting my ankle, they may not be as cardiovascular but exercise is exercise!

    Would be happy to help out with any motivation issues as I'm better at advising others than myself... Then I might even listen to me
  • lemur_lady
    lemur_lady Posts: 350 Member
    Hi, I'm posting this because I think I'm addicted to eating food. I always want to eat and when I do, I eat too large of portions, always thinking of food, and I always feel hungry. I want to change, but I'm not sure how to successfully do it in order to lose weight and stay on track. Any suggestions?

    I have a similar problem. For years my day has revolved around food. After breakfast im thinking of what I can have for lunch, after lunch im thinking about dinner. i eat when im bored, when im upset, and I have huge trouble leaving food on my plate even if I am full. I love cooking too so like reading cooking books and browsing baking websites.

    All I can say is it will take time. I have been on mfp since last june. I am still food obsessed but not as badly as I was before. Like weightloss my eating habits didnt happen overnight so it'll probably take years to get it under control. I had a slip up a few weeks ago when my grandfather died, I felt I needed the food to comfort me.

    What I find helps is:

    -keeping busy....idle hands and all that. When my mind is occupied I dont feel as hungry.
    -tracking food. Using mfp has helped me curb how much I consume as it makes me accountable for everything I eat. It doesnt mean I dont splurge occasionally but it helps me not go off the rails.
    -pre logging my food for the day. If I make an estimate of what I will eat that day it helps me know how many calories I have for the 'extras'. I save my extra cals for the evening which is when I am most at risk for mindless eating. This way I still get to snack AND not go over my goal.
    -Adding more veg/salad to my plate. It takes up a lot of room on the plate and in my belly making it seem like I have eaten loads but its very low in cals.

    Good luck. Add me as a friend if you like :)
  • lambchoplewis1
    lambchoplewis1 Posts: 156 Member
    Just returned to MFP as I need to lose a few lbs that I have gained back. I do binge and find weighing myself and tracking food and exercise is the only way I succeed.
  • 2Dozen
    2Dozen Posts: 66 Member
    I think technically, everyone is "addicted" to eating food. Plan your meals a day in advance and plan for about six meals, instead of the traditional three. Planning keeps your cals in check and having more meals will help suppress the "im always hungry" feeling, among other added benefits.
  • Karen_8992
    Karen_8992 Posts: 29 Member
    I'm with you on how you feel, but today I feel determined to jump back on track. I have gained some of my lost weight back and know today is the day!
    lemur_lady put some great advice out there. Thank you lemur_lady

    Bottom line is, you are not alone and every day is a new day, so let's make this day count! :D
  • quirkytizzy
    quirkytizzy Posts: 4,052 Member
    Maybe instead of thinking "addicted", think "I eat in unhealthy ways." The word addiction brings to mind the ideas that you have to cut out whatever it is you are addicted to - and you can't do that with food. But if you think "I use food in unhealthy ways, how can I relearn to eat healthily, both physically and mentally", then the struggle you are setting up to overcome is your BEHAVIOR, not the food itself.
  • wlreich1
    wlreich1 Posts: 1
    Nope, no such thing as a food addiction. Is it possible you are filling other voids in your life with food? Before you start and fail at a weight loss attempt, spend some serious time in introspection--reflect on your life and try to see what you might be trying to sooth with food. It may be as simple as boredom, it may be loneliness, whatever. I know I am often guilty of nocturnal grazing out of boredom and to alleviate stress. That's why it's called comfort food right? I'd say, get off the couch and get some exercise to start with, if you are at the gym you are not in your kitchen.

    This is absolutely incorrect. There IS such a thing as food addiction as recognized by top scientists. Eating certain foods, particularly those that are high in fats and sugars release endorphins in the brain in the same way as sex and drugs do. This is an evolutionary adaptation to encourage us to eat high sustaining foods in lean times. Otherwise the sensation of hunger alone can prove to be sufficient inducement if the act of obtaining the food is a difficult act.

    In some people this is stronger than I'm others just as it is with drugs or alcohol or sex. Today, this is no longer an evolutionary advantage because the opportunities for overrating the wrong foods are to great.

    Learn what triggers your addiction and learn to replace those trigger foods with healthy options and exercise. You can do it! Maybe consider OA or Food Addicts Anonymous.
  • callyart
    callyart Posts: 209
    I always used to think I had a problem with food, but I never. I just was too lazy to prepare healthy food and always opted for convenience. Not only this, but if I was bored, I would eat because I didn't find other (better) things to do with my time.

    If you don't do much / don't have a hobby, this is a good place to start. I draw/ paint a lot as I'm doing a University course in Art and Design, and this distracts me from boredom eating. Also, if you feel yourself getting hungry, you need to make the right choice of snacks, not just binge on fast food and junk.

    When I started healthy eating, whenever I craved, I had a handful of nuts, a piece of fruit or a yoghurt, and drank a lot of water. This is the main thing that has helped me a great deal :)

    I have found going to the gym breaks up the day, too. So instead of sitting at home twiddling my thumbs, for about 6 hours in the week I am at the gym. I don't do heavy exercise due to a back/leg problem, but it still definitely helps with a healthy way of living.

    Good luck!
  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
    I actually think that classing yourself as a food addict is one of those comfy excuses for not losing weight. 'Not me, it's the addiction'.

    Lack of willpower is not a type of addiction.
  • arabianhorselover
    arabianhorselover Posts: 1,488 Member
    When I think about it, I believe I was more addicted to eating than I was to any particular food. I had abnormal eating behaviors. I thought about food all the time. I wanted to be eating something all the time. When I ate, I ate to a point beyond full. I would pop one piece of candy into my mouth after another till the bag was gone. There are a lot of foods that I totally love, but if I couldn't get those, I would eat something else . It was a very long-standing habit for me to be grazing all the time. The only time I wouldn't do it is if I was so upset about something that I couldn't eat.

    I know it would stil be easy for me to slip back into this behavior. I have to be careful, and make sure to ask God for his help on a daily basis.
  • TheGymGypsy
    TheGymGypsy Posts: 1,023 Member
    Nope, no such thing as a food addiction. Is it possible you are filling other voids in your life with food? Before you start and fail at a weight loss attempt, spend some serious time in introspection--reflect on your life and try to see what you might be trying to sooth with food. It may be as simple as boredom, it may be loneliness, whatever. I know I am often guilty of nocturnal grazing out of boredom and to alleviate stress. That's why it's called comfort food right? I'd say, get off the couch and get some exercise to start with, if you are at the gym you are not in your kitchen.

    I call bull here. There is definitely a such thing as food addiction. Just like any other addiction, it takes time and usually outside assistance to get it under control.
  • la_vie_est_belle_
    la_vie_est_belle_ Posts: 139 Member
    Yes, there IS a such thing as a food addiction. People use food to cover up emotions, just like people use alcohol and other addictive substances.

    I have a history of doing this myself. Try to pinpoint feelings you have/times when you tend to binge. I know i eat when I get restless at night (which is like every night.) So now that I have found the root of the problem, I know to try to calm down the restlessness in other ways rather than wander into the kitchen. and I know to STAY AWAY from the kitchen at night time.

    You can go to an Overeaters Anonymous meeting. It's basically the same philosophy as A.A. but with food instead of alcohol. go to the website and see if there are any meetings near you. you can also do an online meeting.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Nope, no such thing as a food addiction. Is it possible you are filling other voids in your life with food? Before you start and fail at a weight loss attempt, spend some serious time in introspection--reflect on your life and try to see what you might be trying to sooth with food. It may be as simple as boredom, it may be loneliness, whatever. I know I am often guilty of nocturnal grazing out of boredom and to alleviate stress. That's why it's called comfort food right? I'd say, get off the couch and get some exercise to start with, if you are at the gym you are not in your kitchen.

    This is absolutely incorrect. There IS such a thing as food addiction as recognized by top scientists. Eating certain foods, particularly those that are high in fats and sugars release endorphins in the brain in the same way as sex and drugs do. This is an evolutionary adaptation to encourage us to eat high sustaining foods in lean times. Otherwise the sensation of hunger alone can prove to be sufficient inducement if the act of obtaining the food is a difficult act.

    In some people this is stronger than I'm others just as it is with drugs or alcohol or sex. Today, this is no longer an evolutionary advantage because the opportunities for overrating the wrong foods are to great.

    Learn what triggers your addiction and learn to replace those trigger foods with healthy options and exercise. You can do it! Maybe consider OA or Food Addicts Anonymous.

    Actually, it's highly controversial...there is not a whole lot of agreement as to whether food addiction is a real thing. In my experience as a recovering addict, freeing yourself from your addiction means abstaining from whatever that substance is...how exactly do you abstain from something like food which is essential to your life.

    Just my $.02 but it seem like everything is an "addiction" these days...and I take it to mean, "I completely lack self control...thus this must be an addiction." I mean c'mon...phone addiction, internet addiction, sex addiction, etc, etc, etc...personally I think it's a crock of ****. I personally believe that all of these things, including food can create problematic habitual behaviors and unhealthy lifestyles...but by and large I feel like classing everything under the sun as an addiction is just a cop out.

    That said, if you truly do feel that this is an addiction OP...then yes...I would check into one of these groups...generally, where addiction is concerned, you can't go it alone.
  • cebreisch
    cebreisch Posts: 1,340 Member
    Ahh - someone else who suffers from the "What Can I Eat Next" syndrome!!!

    With me, I found that it was actually me trying to avoid my feelings, and eat my cares away. Try to figure out what's getting to you and play out the "What happens next" game with whatever is causing the anxiety or stress....it usually helps me to do that.

    Also, be sure to get in lots of fiber and water - that'll help you feel fuller in the meantime.
  • nofoodforthemood
    nofoodforthemood Posts: 64
    I go to a food addiction specialist. Food addiction is very real. If you don't know anything about it then you shouldn't talk.
  • Sharleeneet
    Sharleeneet Posts: 6 Member
    I do think there is something to being addicted to certain substances like sugar. I read recently that sugar increases seratonin (not sure how to spell that, it's the feel good hormone in the brain) and makes you feel good. After 40 years of binge eating and gaining lots of weight, and losing lots of weight, I finally settled down to a simple way of life and have lost 80 lbs, 40 yet to go.

    I record every morsel of food no matter what it was, I record all the liquid, too, I hold to a 1500 calorie target, I hang out with people who are supportive rather than the opposite, I simply never enter a fast-food place, I do the math each day and if I've used more calories than I consumed then I've met my goal and I won't add weight that day. This website is fantastic for recording food! Using this website is habit forming.

    I'm finally incorporating exercise into my life and it's been easy. (Having lost 80 lbs I can finally bend over and touch my toes without falling over!) I also notice that when I exercise I feel really great and energized which I think is weird. I bought one of those FitBit things to record movement/steps and I set up the FitBit website to synch with this one.

    Oh yeah, like others have said, I call on God to remove my cravings and take control of my eating - sometimes I pray for that many times in a day. Maybe that's the most important part of my get weight loss/get health journey. One meal at a time, one day at a time and pray when I need help.

    I wish you the best going forward, there is certainly lots of really good advice and tons of support on this website -- take advantage!

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