I think I am addicted to food...

i am the same way, I exercise just so I can eat. I'm not too sure how healthy my diet is, i just focus on calories in vs. calories out... but i have discovered that I have lost all of my will power. however, eventhough the number on the scale is going up, for some reason my clothes are fitting better! there is a light at the end of a very lonnggggggg tunneelll!!!

Your body probably is addicted to the junk food. The sugar and all the stuff you know is bad for you can be very addicting and it's way easier to get addicted (to anything) than it is to break the addiction. Mine is sugar (obviously) and salt. Soda, candy bars, and chips were my biggest downfalls. I have to be very strict about even letting them near me. I went cold turkey in the spring and that helped a lot but it took almost 6 weeks to really break the major cravings. Now I can catch myself slipping and usually recover pretty quick but it's a never ending battle. Good luck to you!

Sugar is the devil.

My food issues came as a result of the added weight, which I've been told either caused the PCOS or was caused BY the PCOS. Gee, thanks doctors. But as I got bigger, so did my appetite. For total crap. And what is better for overweight than more weight!!!

I struggle now, some. But less than I used to. I'm a 1000 calorie a day girl for the remainder of my life so I'm told (had Lapband surgery). When I have sugar, like candy, or even pasta or carbs, when it breaks down, that junk makes me CRAVE anything and everything. If I watch the sugar and carbs, I usually do much better with the cravings. That and knowing what effort I had to put in to burn off that 400 calories.. kinda helps veer me away from it. It takes what, 2 minutes to scarf some junk down, and what, an hour to work it off? It doesn't taste that durn good.

If you keep on it though, and get through those moments that you feel like giving in, the sense of pride and accomplishment though quiet.. are *priceless*. I'm so tired of those awful cycles of remorse after. It's just not worth it. The food pressure from others.. (you don't realize til it happens!!), I just..deal with. I've thrown things away. Said no politely, and sometimes even had to be a little rude about it when persistence just won't go away.

Just put one foot in front of the other, I think you're doing good to give yourself an "allowance" so that maybe you won't buck/rebel yourself quite as much and self-sabotage. :-)

I find that having gum and something else to distract myself with really help. For example, if I'm having a craving then instead of eating I'll call one of my friends and talk to them just to distract me. Also, if you're already chewing gum, sometimes the minty taste makes the idea of salty food kind of unappealing. Lastly, I try to monitor which other behaviors that I'm doing go with my eating habit. Do you tend to overindulge on junk when you watch TV? When you're a little tipsy? If you can catch the triggers, you can either get rid of them or at least know them for what they are and be more prepared to fight them.

The research is pretty clear on this, some people get the same high off food that others get off drugs like cocane, its the way the chemical signals are interpreted in your brain. Its tough, I feel like this sometimes, the unbelievable urge to eat something greesy. I will lie, steal cheat and hide my fast food.

on my blog i wrote about this a while back where i opened up about how i would take shuffel money around from my joint account with my wife to my credit card or my personal account without her knowing so that when she sees the bank statement she doesnt see Mcdonalds debits. i would hit up a fast food joint on my way home, wolf the food down before i parked the car, walk in the house and sit down to dinner with the family less than an hour later.

being honest is the biggest thing, there is support groups out there, talk to your doctor about addiction, and track everything, when you see it in front of you in terms of calories, sodium, sugars and fats it really is an eye opener

Oh yeah. I'm in the same boat. I'm not too bad with sugar. My downfall is carbs. I could eat bread all day long. It used to not be a problem. I could eat anything I liked and not gain weight. But After I had my first child I guess it changed my metabolism. Its not so bad anymore. I think I broke the addiction by looking in the mirror everyday and telling myself this is what carbs do to you. Took a couple of months but now when I look at bread all I think is fat.

I understand your pain. I'm currently reading this book The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person , http://www.amazon.com/Beck-Diet-Solution-Train-Person/dp/0848731735.

It uses cognitive therapy to help you control your cravings. It's not a diet, basically, you have to learn how to train yourself to resist your tempation and stop sabotaging thoughts. It's about keeping your goals fresh in your mind and realizing that you want to be thinner more than eating whatever is not on your plan by using different techniques to help you along the way. There is also a workbook. This books helped me lose 8 pounds in two weeks.

I hope this helps you. Like Tyrese Gibson says "don't get in your own way"!

Good luck !:flowerforyou: