Food Addicts Anonymous??

Hello. My name is Sherry and I am a food addict. lol

It all started not too long after I learned how to walk. My Mom potty-trained me using M&Ms. I'm not kidding! She used 'em as a reward (find what works, right?) and ever since, I have used food as my reward, my comfort, my confidant, my stress reliever, my life.
(I'm sure it's not REALLY my Mom's fault...it's mine! I figured out a way, even at <2yrs old, to manipulate my Mom to get mooore chocolate. I'd get 1 M&M for pee, 2 for poo. So apparently I'd go a little...get my M&Ms...and then go get back on the pot to get more. LOL)

My personal trainer (and friend) recommended this site to me- and it looks like a great tool to help get me on the right nutritional track. See, I'm also a vegetarian...which makes getting convenient protein kind of hard and I've turned to carbs & sugar to fill the space.

Regardless of the reasons or excuses I've made in the past...now is the time. Food is no longer my reward etc....it's a necessity of life & growth.

I'm still a 'foodie'...I'm just trying to adjust my tastebuds and portion size to fit the new me

Zebras-
Ha! I think we were seperated at birth. LOL
M&Ms are one of my biggest pitfalls. I love 'em!!!

Can I join? My name is Karen and I am a food addict.......have struggled with my weight all my life....stressed is desserts spelled backwards:grumble: .....I need all the encouragement I can get.....Have a great weekend

Me again... obviously I am a food addict....
AButler, I totally get the whole eating junk and still not feeling "full."
The past week or so I've been eating out A LOT and not the healthy stuff either... but I am always hungry again in a short amount of time! It's crazy!

I am going to really focus on cutting out eating out as much as possible and adding in workouts!
I mean, I look pregnant and am not!!!! :sad:

hi im liz and im a terrible emotional eater. i get really confused because i can be really spot on with my diet and really enjoy it but but thie will only last around a week then its all downhill and i cant get enough junk food. this happened last week, after my really perfect days, in the next 2 days i secretly ate my way through 10 doughnuts, 5 bags of crisps, various chocolate bars, 6 boxes of party food (this was for lunch and it was sooo much food!), a chinese takeaway, an indian take away (after a healthy dinner of fish rice and sweetcorn!) with wine and 2 spirits. i feel totally ruled by food when this happens and DESPERATLEY want to break the cycle. ive tried every diet going and just feel like im going to get bigger and bigger until i die which wont be long. im 312lbs this morning, 36 years old and mum to 3 little ones.......I NEED TO CHANGE, HELP ME!

Thanks for creating this group. What a great idea. It's weird, I clicked Success Stories and did not expect this group here but it makes perfect sense to have it here. To find success, we have to address what we're doing. I think it's great we're all openly sharing with each other our challenges with food. Actually, not food, but ouselves. Not sure why but this thread is making me feel really safe to talk about my relationship with food and my weight. Thank you. Sure, I use food as comfort. I don't drink, smoke, or do drugs at all. Over the last many years I've used food as my coping mechanism. Whenever I'm lonely, bored, upset, stressed, anxious, want to hide, want to shrink away and not be noticed. Food is the only comfort I've found. Even when I'm happy, I celebrate with food. So, it's hard to deal with all the extra weight that comes with it. I'm 40-50 lbs overweight. May not seem like much to others but it's a weight I've been stuck at for so long and can't seem to get it off. Well I don't think I'm trying hard enough. I guess it's too easy to just not try sometimes. The funny thing is that it just stays around this 170 mark forever!!! Goes up and down a couple of lbs.Sure, I don't need to eat another chocolate chip cookie but it just is the thing to do.What is it that I hope to gain from joining this group? To talk about our relationships with food/weight/selves and hope we all find a healthier, more productive way to cope with life. So far, I've been using food as one unhealthy way to cope with life. It's not working. The other night, I could not stop eating. Seriously, eating one thing after another and my appetite would not stop. I tried my best. Just would not stop.Finally, had to just sit down and told myself to just stop. I told myself that no matter what I put into my mouth next that it would not take the appetite away, the craving. When I heard myself say that, I stopped. Stopping eating is sometimes tough because it is to deal with all the troubles we have in life. For those who drink, do drugs to escape. Yeah, they can quit cold turkey and not have to deal with the substance again. Not that way with food though.

Oh well we're all here to learn and if this is one of the lessons I have to learn in life then it would be a good one.

Wish us all the best.

p.s., also getting dark cold and wet out this time of year, it's too easy to eat food to warm us up. Let's find other ways to do so. Going out for a walk out!

Mickie - how does the hypnotherapy work?? I mean do you remember what the hypnotist tells you while you are under??

My name is Sandy and I'm a Foodaholic. I love food, look forward to food and really have trouble with my portions. I feel as if I have to eat it ALL and not leave any behind. I had lost 20 pounds on here but have succeeded in gaining 10 pounds back. :sad: I hate to lose those same pounds over and over. But, today is new again, and i will try and behave. Tonight is my son's 22nd birthday, so I'm not sure which restaurant he will decide on, but I just have to be prepared for it.

Good luck fellow Foodaholics!!!:drinker:

This is interesting.

My name is Anne and I'm a food addict. I have a whole bunch of issues with weight and food that are tied up in emotional abuse from my parents as a child and adolescent, and I didn't even realize most of it until I got to college. I'm in therapy to deal with my parent issues and I'm on MFP to teach myself how to actually take care of my body. I'm learning, very slowly, how NOT to go for the mac'n'cheese every time I have a tough paper to write.

It's the middle of the night. Can't sleep. Ate one thing after another to take the edge off. Remembered this thread, so grabbed some gum and chewed it till the craving went away. One day at a time.That's all we could ask for right? To manage our food addiction one day at a time. I know I know I realized my craving had nothing to do with hunger. Everything to do with being bored anxious and curious what I could find in the kitchen. Like a treasure hunt or something. The gum really helped.

Another bad night of eating nonstop last night. Not eating breakfast did not help and running away from problems of life did not help either. Well at least I was aware I was eating nonstop.

Hope everyone are doing better since this thread started.

Can't wait to watch The Biggest Loser on Tuesday night.

Wow. I feel like many of you. Food is addictive, but I figure I need something in my life to trump food and that is exercise. I've always been a very competitive person and so I let exercise fuel my day, rather than food. Keeping a very busy workout schedule with keeping up with teaching high school kids and taking two graduate school courses is not easy, but the schedule has helped me to focus on the kind of food I need to make it through my workouts and days without being hungry, even if I don't count my calories everyday. So far so good.

Nice to know I'm not the only one though.

Hey guys!!!

Judy - congrats on trying to kick all of your addictive habits at once!!! Feel free to vent and talk to us as often as you want. Don't forget to get some professional help if you can. The church might be a great place to start. I've started going to exercise classes offered at my church and I'm having a great time doing the class. its zumba!!!

Trying to work on my water!!!

Have a great day peeps!!!!