I personally never thought I was addicted except maybe to a few foods like ice cream. I ate what I wanted, when I wanted and the amount I wanted, becasue I was bored, sad, angry, happy, hungry, or just because it sounded/smelled good and I wanted it. Maybe that's more denial on my part, but I don't consider eating what and when and the amount I chose to addiction, just indulgence on my part. That said, I have a few foods that prior to surgery I just could not control myself with, like the ice cream, so I have chosen not to reintroduce them into my life since surgery. I don't miss them nor do I crave them. I don't feel deprived either, because I don't eat them by choice, my choice. And that's also why I hesitate to call my love of ice cream an additcion. I don't crave it, not even a little bit since the surgery.

What's changed since surgery? I no longer want to eat when stressed, upset, angray or just in a "I don't care about anything" mood. In fact, when I get like that I won't eat. If that means I don't get in what I need nutritionally for the day, I don't. Example, the husband and I had a huge fight a few weeks ago on a Sunday. If you look at my food log for the day you will see a snack of a bowl of Pumkin Flax Granola and milk. That's the only food on the log because that is truly all I ate that day and I only had that because I was light headed from not eating in almost 24 hours. I just didn't care.

What I still suffer from is "head hunger". Wanting to eat sometimes even if I'm not hungry or even sometimes when I'm still full from a meal. Please note, I said "wanting to eat" not "needing to eat" and to me, that's a big difference. And yes, I can tell head hunger from real hunger, and because I can, it makes it much easier to avoid.

I know there are some here who truly have food addictions. But I think some of us were obese because we chose to eat whatever, whenever, and never exercised. I can't blame my obseity on anything more than extreme overeating consistently and never exercising and making every excuse in the book about why I "couldn't" lose weight without even really trying until I was over 300 pounds and then having nothing work until WLS.

I don't know if this reply helped but there are others on here who can really speak to the adiction issue better than I can.

I've had the impression that addictive personalities might turn to alcohol, or drugs, I suppose, to fill the void that food used to. I'm sure all of us who are overweight, from holding onto an extra 20 pounds to super morbidly obese have a certain addiction to food, or at the very least, an inability to stop when we've had enough. I'm not sure that translates into an addiction. I know that I was hungry all the time, like a teenager, but without the metabolism. And I do know that I ate well past full if I was eating a food I really liked. But I do know that often those hunger signals were real because I would eat what was available, even stuff I might not have normally really cared for, when I was truly hungry.

I do know that since the surgery, there are times I wish I COULD eat because the food tastes good, but I don't have that constant hunger monster driving at me. I am hungry in the morning, but once I have breakfast, those hunger feelings are sparse and fleeting, so long as I eat on a regular schedule. What fills me up now and tames the hunger monster? Half a veggie burger and a poached egg. About 150 calories worth. I'm still a member of the Clean Plate Club, but there's a whole lot less on the plate and I'm not going back for seconds.

I think if people know themselves to be addictive, they've had issues with alcohol or nicotine, or other drugs, they know it going into WLS. On the bright side, that addiction might transfer to something healthy, like exercise or quilt-making, gardening or writing.

Saying I am addicted to food isn't correct for the true definition of "addicted". I'm sure I medicate via food for emotions/stress/boredom and will be working to address those habits.

The term "addiction" seems a little loose and maybe even a little strong, but I think most of us that have had, or are planning to have surgery, have done a lot of what you mentioned - using food for emotion/stress/boredom etc. I think maybe instead of addiction, we can think of it as habit, and we all need to change the habit if we want to be successful.

My version of 'addiction' (I never really think of my relationship with food as an addiction, though) is best seen with things like plates of cookies or donuts at work.

Talking with close coworkers/friends who are thin, we have discussed how fat people view that plate of yummy things very differently. We would all get one, but I would constantly be thinking of having another one, the only thing stopping me was the fact that others might comment or think badly of me for having more. The thin folks, however, seem to have one and that was it. They never gave the stuff a second thought. I would find a reason to go back into the conference room after folks left to have another, sneak a second one, etc.

That's the kind of behavior I could see being called an addiction. That conversation (a few years ago) helped me to understand a lot about myself. Now, I feel proud that I could have one if I wanted, but it would cause an impact to what i could eat later and stay at/under my goal.

One of the trickiest things with this journey is failing to weigh (pun intended) every aspect of what is happening with the serious evaluation and contemplation it deserves. The misunderstanding of transfer addiction in the process of losing weight – whether or not you had surgery – is important to understand.
There is a book The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg.
I recommend reading that book inside and out and again. It does not go directly into addiction but gives a very sound understanding to habits, why they exist, how they exist and why they recur or sometimes won’t stick no matter how bad you want a habit to do so.
A lot of people only think of an addictive personality in people who are already, in some way falls into what their perception of an addict is. However, whether or not you have been overweight all your life, or intermittently, or just recently gained that first substantial amount that will not come off, you have the makings of an addictive personality. There are many people that can point out disability, or medications, work or even a metabolism that refuses to catch fire as a part of the reason for being obese – but only a part. Whether or not you ate badly or just a lot of the healthy foods, you overate – you overate for your needs. One person’s overindulgence might be 4,800 calories a day and another 2000, but you are where you are because you could not set a base limit and stick to it. Overindulgence. Tripping some sort of pleasure principle that you could not give up – not unwilling – could not. Addiction. “I can stop whenever I want” so said the alcoholic. So said the 300 lbs. future WLSer.
There is no shame in this – only opportunity. Once you can begin to understand and accept that you need more change than you alone can produce, which you have done by opting for WLS, you are already well on your way to addressing this issue.
Now – this is not accusatory! This is just a part of understanding what a possibility of a transfer addiction means – and how it could, possibly apply to you. Unfortunately there is much more out there to transfer your feeding on than a literal drug. Some people transfer to cutting themselves, shopping, promiscuity, exercise, the internet, passive-aggressive behavior, etc. the list goes on.
Basically the important thing is being aware, and being observant. Making sure the things you are doing when you would have been eating are positive for you.
What your needs are, to understand and be mindful of this and successful in that, will vary from the person next to you. This is one of the things you have to look in yourself much more than look out. This is the problem that hits you while you are in the weigh-loss high, and therefore doesn't hide in a shadow, it is overlooked in the bright sunshine of an emerging you.
Good luck.
VSG’er since 01/04/2012

I'm on the same page as therejohn.

I turned to food to numb the pain of childhood trauma at a very young age. I didn't get to 321 lbs. without not being about to stop eating. Like any other addiction, once you have gone overboard with a habit from occasional or recreational to dependency, that is the definition of addiction. Step 1 in any 12 step program is that (alcohol, drugs, food, gambling) has made my life unmanageable.

I am 49 years old and absolutely feel blessed to be given the gift of being sleeved in a few months.I have been working very hard to prepare myself and my mindset for surgery. I know that the surgery (or anything else) won't fix the problem for life. I am in recovery for another addiction and have 6 years of abstinence. I feel blessed to be a 12 Stepper and have a great support system.

These past 6 years I have tried program after program to try and lose weight. I think my body is resistant to losing weight at this point since I have yoyo dieted all my life. I can't seem to get past losing 10 or 15 lbs and then I get so frustrated because I am trying so hard.

I'm not looking to debate anything or offend anyone here. Just offering my own experience as I do identify with being a "Compulsive Overeater." I learned that term when I attended Overeaters Anonymous for a few years.

It doesn't seem to matter how little I eat at this point. I know that I can't do it on my own and every time I try I seem to set myself up for more failure and disappointment.

Now I don't want people reading this to think that I currently eat what I want, when I want and how much I want. But like my other addiction that I am in recovery for and have 6 years of abstinence, I will always consider myself to be a compulsive overeater. From what I have learned, once we are at the dependency stage, there is no going back to controlled use (and I'm not talking about anyone's current weight or or eating habits). Not living in the problem is called living a life of recovery. Once we have gone overboard with food, it is my belief that we can easily slip back into it. Unless you are in recovery and working your program and have a great support system.

I don't expect everyone here to agree with me. But I am a 12 Stepper, and if not for "therejohn's" post, I wasn't going to write this for fear of offending others.

This is my journey and how I have come to understand my relationship with food after much therapy and 12 Step Meetings.
I hope and pray that the surgery will help alleviate the food obsession I've lived with all my life, but I'm not relying or counting on that. I know that in order to be successful in recovery it's a lot of hard work and this journey is for life.

I haven't had the surgery yet, but I have heard others talk about how it doesn't change the mind. It's only a tool and we must do our part and continue to do our part to have continued success. Of course not everyday is going to be perfect, we are human. It's the coping strategies we must be develop to be kind to ourselves, forgive ourselves and not let the shame and guilt consume us.

If you are interested in finding out more about food addiction, a good website to check out is www.oa.org
Their view is that just like an alcoholic having one drink, when a Compulsive Overeater eats trigger foods like sugar and carbs, it can wake up that sleeping dragon within us (or the beast) and set off compulsive overeating. They preach abstinence from trigger foods.
Just as an alcoholic cannot only have 1 drink, many of us cannot stop at 1 potato chip or cookie.

Hope this helps. Feel free to private message me if you want more information.
Good luck on your journey and I look forward to reading your posts.:flowerforyou:

Thanks Mangopickle. Last night was my last of 4 "Craving Change" classes that is part of my program.
We learned the valuable tool of identifying the 3 stages of Hunger: Stomach Hunger, Mouth Hunger and Heart Hunger.
It was a very valuable strategy to learn in class along with a list of strategies to try when we are have urges.
Have a great weekend everyone and once again thanks for all of your feedback.

I also wanted to add that "addiction" is not frequently used in clinical mental health any more. The new DSM-V refers to previous addiction labels as substance abuse labels now because "addiction" has always been poorly defined and difficult to prove. Substance abuse (which includes sex and gambling behaviors) is much easier to diagnose definitively. One can certainly "abuse" food and misuse can certainly cause negative consequences. My opinion is that overeating that results in morbid obesity is a "compulsive behavior" as well and based in the reward circuits and dopamine receptors in our brains.

http://leafinc.org/179-2/

This subject has been on my mind ever since my first psych evaluation. I am only in my first month of dieting but I really want to do some in depth thinking on why I am addicted to food and how I can be honest with myself once I don't have the ability to eat like I used to. I'm pretty sure I am in a good state of mind about what I am taking on, plus I have fantastic support from my husband.

That said, if anyone has personal experience with addition transfer who wouldn't mind sharing their story I'd be grateful. Or maybe a moment where they realized they were headed down the path of addiction transfer and how they realized and managed to overcome.

Whatever you do don't rely to heavily on the "I won't have the ability to eat like I used to' I could at 6months out return to eating 95% of what I used to albeit more slowly

Agreed. At 3 years out, I can easily eat enough to gain weight. Easily!

Great posts. I'm so glad we have this place to talk and share. Thanks for the new definition from DSM VI.

Thanks Mangopickle. Last night was my last of 4 "Craving Change" classes that is part of my program.
We learned the valuable tool of identifying the 3 stages of Hunger: Stomach Hunger, Mouth Hunger and Heart Hunger.
It was a very valuable strategy to learn in class along with a list of strategies to try when we are have urges.
Have a great weekend everyone and once again thanks for all of your feedback.

Oh man, these classes sound amazing. Do you have notes you can share.