Struggling with a food addiction...

KelseyABarbosa wrote: »

Im 23 yrs old and I admit that I have a food addiction. I've brought it upon myself. As I sink further into my chair writing this I have no doubt that my behavior is addictive. I like food, a bit too much. I was always looking for a way to beat the system. How could I lose weight but still eat whatever I wanted? Isn't that the American dream?
On January 4th, starting at a whopping 280lbs, my little sister convinced me to start a weightless program Herbalife as she struggles with her weight also.
I lost 50lbs in 6 months and I enjoyed going to the gym. I thought I had finally beaten my food addiction. It was tough in the beginning because all I wanted to do was eat everything in front of me. A few weeks went by and I was receiving compliments and I was feeling better about myself. I wasn't thinking about food.
I've finally moved into a different section for work and my day now consists of sitting down on the computer all day, with the occasional stocking shelves and interacting with customers. But the snacking has started all over again. I found myself being a little too lenient with my food choices. In the beginning I said to myself, "its only one small bag of chips." I'm now back to eating about 1200 calories before 3pm all over again.
Theres nothing more petrifying to me than the thought of gaining all the weight back. I'm even thinking about joining a support group (assuming I can find one close to me). I guess im just writing this in hopes that it will trigger some "a-haa" moment but I don't know.
Is there anyone else struggling with me?

Hi. I just wanted to say that I’m in the same boat. Food has always been my addiction. From an early age. So I totally get where you are coming from. I have just recently gotten myself back on track but it hasn’t been easy. I don’t think it’s meant to be. I finally got fed up with making the same dumb decisions and felt like I had a dark future of health problems if I did not change. You can do it, we all can. Push yourself and don’t give up! I have to tell myself this constantly.

50lbs is a lot to lose in 6 months! So firstly well done.
Do you bring these snacks into work with you? Or are they available to buy at work?

Could you meal prep healthy salads and such the night before and take that to work with you, along with low calorie snacks?
Also how much water do you tend to drink.

I found when I started eating at a deficit al o could think of was food, but now my body is used to eating less I don’t crave more (not every day anyway) could you reduce by 100 cals per week until you’re at your recommended intake?

So for example if your tecommended is 1200, and you’re eating 1600, could you reduce it to 1500 then 1400 etc to let your body adjust to the deficit.

You’ve worked hard to get where you are now, unfortunately that does not mean you can stop now!

You can’t get a job and work work work and then after a while think “oh well I’ve worked hard for a year so I’ll slack a bit now” you’d get sacked eventually!
So don’t do that to your body! If you wouldn’t do that to your employer!

Just keep it steady, keep it conistent!
Do NOT give up now!

You’ve got this, you fell off the wagon a bit but there’s no reason you can’t get back on!
Start tomorrow!

We are humans so I guess you could say we are all addicted to food being that we need it to live.

Going on fad diets and multi level marketing scams isn't the way to Long term success. It'll just lead you down the rabbit hole.

If you want lasting success, you'll have to actually work for it. Learning portion control and moderation helped set me up for long term success. Things like multi level marketing scams won't do any good for the long term.

Ohhhh, boy! You are singing my song, practically note for note! First of all, give yourself a big pat on the back for your 50 pound loss. That's no small feat, so be very proud of yourself.

I agree with much of what everyone else is saying here. Unlike giving up other things like drugs or alcohol, we need food to survive. It's a tight rope to walk as we figure it all out.

I've been addicted to food for a very long time. I have a "relationship" with food. Sometimes an intimate relationship - like when I just want to be alone to enjoy my third bowl of ice cream, without being watched or having to engage in a conversation with someone.

This is how I see it. For me, food IS an addiction. It's just like alcohol, drugs, gambling, or sex - any of those addictions can ruin you, or even take your life. When I'm in the throws of passion with my food (let's say ice cream, this time), nothing else matters as I consume it. Afterwards, I feel the same thing the drug addict feels - regret, remorse, embarrassment, disgust, sorrow, hopelessness, to name a few. I make deals with myself. Promises that I'll never do it again. Promises I can't keep. And I make excuses. Eventually I put it out of my mind. Until the next time.

I've done some diets. Not many, but some in the last 30 years. Most of them will work. They will. For as long as you're on them. But that's not realistic, and it's taken me this long to figure that out. Today, I'm in the process of making a Lifestyle Change (capitalization necessary because it's *that* important). I'm not on a "diet" and I have no interest in going on one. It just doesn't work for me. I need to figure out WHY I over-indulge. WHY I binge. WHY I make excuses and rationalize every poor food choice. I imagine many a drug addict has asked the same questions. For me, this goes much deeper than food for nourishment. Now I'm looking at what leads me to food. Am I hungry? Do I even know what hunger feels like? Maybe I'm bored, or angry, or I'm celebrating something (oh, those celebrations!). My relationship with food will never end. But I can set healthy boundaries for myself and practice self-care along the way - just as I do with my other relationships.

Your a-haa moment is out there somewhere. Keep pushing forward!

KelseyABarbosa wrote: »

VUA21 wrote: »

1) If you feel you are truly addicted to food, you need a therapist. Compulsive overeating is just as bad as compulsive undereating.
2) You need to realize (and it is not as easy as it sounds) that you have ultimate control and are responsible for what you do or do not eat. Too many people like to blame everything, but themselves for weight gain. Unless you are being force fed, it's our own decisions.
3) My personal AH-HA moment came after nearly a decade of dieting (and failing every time). Diets don't work, not long term. Almost any diet will work while on them, it's when you stop that the weight comes back. I had to slowly relearn how to eat. That being "full" is not what you're supposed to feel...just satisfied. That there are no "bad" foods (eliminating stuff is what triggered binges). It took almost 2 years to reset my brain into a healthy lifestyle.

Hi! I do currently see a therapist for the anxiety that I struggle with. We talk about my food addiction too but she's not too specialized in that. I agree that many people blame everything else. Im just glad that I at least recognize that its my fault and im to blame. Thank you so much for your kind words and suggestions. I can do this!

Well, as you are seeing a therapist and acknowledge your own power over yourself, you are already way ahead of most.

Find out what your maintenance calories are, write that down (recheck every 10lbs lost or so). Then set your goal to something you can do, some people can do a 2lb/week deficit and not "feel starved" and end up quitting, some cannot. Play with your deficit to find what suits you best.

The reason to write down your maintenance calories is for when you have a bad day and feel as if you should quit because you went way over calories. Check the calories you ate against your maintenance caloriers. More often than not, people will think they failed because they went 500 or 1000 caloriers over budget and let that stress get to them, but that isn't true if they are in a deficit for thier goal. Enough of a deficit means that eating 700 calories over - would still be a deficit compared to maintenance.

Remember: to lose weight all you need to do is eat at a deficit. There are no magic foods that cause weight gain or loss. Eat to lose weight, exercise for health. While exercise is not required, it is recommended to simply be healthier. You can do this.

KelseyABarbosa wrote: »

Bex953172 wrote: »

50lbs is a lot to lose in 6 months! So firstly well done.
Do you bring these snacks into work with you? Or are they available to buy at work?

Could you meal prep healthy salads and such the night before and take that to work with you, along with low calorie snacks?
Also how much water do you tend to drink.

I found when I started eating at a deficit al o could think of was food, but now my body is used to eating less I don’t crave more (not every day anyway) could you reduce by 100 cals per week until you’re at your recommended intake?

So for example if your tecommended is 1200, and you’re eating 1600, could you reduce it to 1500 then 1400 etc to let your body adjust to the deficit.

You’ve worked hard to get where you are now, unfortunately that does not mean you can stop now!

You can’t get a job and work work work and then after a while think “oh well I’ve worked hard for a year so I’ll slack a bit now” you’d get sacked eventually!
So don’t do that to your body! If you wouldn’t do that to your employer!

Just keep it steady, keep it conistent!
Do NOT give up now!

You’ve got this, you fell off the wagon a bit but there’s no reason you can’t get back on!
Start tomorrow!

Hi! Meal prepping will be my next plan. As for water, I barely drink anything! Its so bad I know! I just hate drinking plain water. The problem is that I work in the food industry where temptation is all around me at all times. Thank you for your encouraging words.

I was a non drinker in March and in April I did a 8 glasses a day challenge.
I’ve now mastered it into a habit!
But it’s caused my skin to break out in spots atm whilst it must be getting some deeeeeeep dirt out of my face but it’s starting to look clearer!

Im not much of a water drinker myself, but I figured that i can gulp down 1 cup of water in 5 big gulps. So I know I only have to count to 5.
I do that twice, four times a day LOL some crazy method for just drinking water but it works for me!

And if I’m reallllllly not feeling the plain water I add some sugar free cordial which is like 4 calories?

Once you get to your 5th glass the last 3 are easy!

💭 snacking at work might have more to do with work than the snack xx

It's good to take full responsibility for food addiction. But I don't know if you really brought it all upon yourself. Because, genetics. Leptin, insulin resistance. Environment. Looking back into our pasts, childhoods for clues. School careers. Peer pressure. There are so many variables and some of them come down to medical histories in our families. T1 and T2. Thyroid imbalances.

We can plan and food prep until the cows come home but that doesn't cure a food addiction, binge eating or disordered eating. It can flip the switch and slow down the decision making process. Alcoholics share many of the same struggles. Just the mere clink of ice cubes in a clear glass can set them off. Food addiction. There's far more research to be explored.