Can you be addicted to food?

Options
clamoreaux2012
clamoreaux2012 Posts: 28
in Motivation and Support
I am smart, in the medical field (which is embarrassing to be obese) and educated in how the body works. I feel my weight has gotten where it is because I am a food addict.... is that possible. I lack self discipline with food and I am suck an emotional eater. Any thoughts?
«1

Replies

  • Madelinew22
    Madelinew22 Posts: 289
    Options
    I'm addicted to food, peanut butter exspecially. I love food not just junk food but real food, like steak, fish, veggies and fruit. Just strong will power its the same for any addict
  • MalissaDC
    MalissaDC Posts: 123
    Options
    yes....
  • giggles7706
    giggles7706 Posts: 1,491 Member
    Options
    I definitely believe you can be addicted to food. I love food! I could eat and eat and eat....
  • kokaneesailor
    kokaneesailor Posts: 337 Member
    Options
    Yes:cry:
  • elizaberries
    elizaberries Posts: 22
    Options
    look at americans. we are killing ourselves with food. addiciton? i think so.
  • stupidloser
    stupidloser Posts: 300 Member
    Options
    Of course you can be addicted to food. I love to eat and wish I can eat whatever I like. If people could control their addiction there wouldn't be a huge fitness industry because everybody is already skinny.
  • elizaberries
    elizaberries Posts: 22
    Options
    we are wired to crave salt and fats because they are rare in the wild. now they are everywhere, but we haven't evolved.
  • LabRat529
    LabRat529 Posts: 1,323 Member
    Options
    I am smart, in the medical field (which is embarrassing to be obese) and educated in how the body works. I feel my weight has gotten where it is because I am a food addict.... is that possible. I lack self discipline with food and I am suck an emotional eater. Any thoughts?

    I think the word "addiction" is used too much :) But that said... probably. Food does trigger the release of dopamine and serotonin in the brain. These are the same neurotransmitters that are released during sex, when you take heroine, when you smoke nicotine, and so forth. The degree to which they are released varies, but I do think they're responsible for the prevalence of emotional eating in society, and I do think some people can become reliant on food for happiness/comfort/etc, which is certainly a dependence and even if it might not be a true addiction from a pharmacological standpoint.

    I also think there's a bit of 'programming' involved too. Just like you can train a dog to salivate at the ring of a bell, you can train a person to associate food with happy times. American society does exactly that. Babies are comforted with the bottle or the breast. Kids are given candy in reward for eating their veggies. Food is a part of almost every celebration or get together... so we're behaviorally conditioned to eat for fun/enjoyment/happiness/socializing. In other words, it's probably not strictly a biological thing. It's behavioral too.
  • crzyone
    crzyone Posts: 872 Member
    Options
    Yes, I think that I am a food addict, much like someone is a drug addict or alcoholic. I have much more patience and understanding for people who fight these addictions since coming to this realization of how hard it is to give up food. One thing that makes a food addiction different from a drug or alcohol addiction (and I'm not saying better or worse, but different) is that with food, we can't just go cold turkey and not eat ANY food, like someone would cut out all drugs or alcohol. I think that if I could go cold turkey on all of it, I could do much better....but, ya gotta eat sometime......and that is hard for me......
  • beachbumant_man
    beachbumant_man Posts: 48 Member
    Options
    yes of course.. its an addiction, primal we are addicted to sweet and salt foods is it an initiate thing
  • HausOfTina
    HausOfTina Posts: 92
    Options
    ummm obviously! LOL
  • fairbanksmommy
    fairbanksmommy Posts: 36 Member
    Options
    I truly believe you can become addicted to food. I use food to make me feel good when I'm sad. I use it when I'm happy. When I'm bored....I just need a good support system to help me through it all. That's why I joined MFP.
  • imchicbad
    imchicbad Posts: 1,650 Member
    Options
    i think people are happy when they eat-remeber happy times etc-and enjoy eating- isnt that why we cant stop....addiction i think you can say that, i think the question is-who isnt.
  • Calipalm
    Calipalm Posts: 114 Member
    Options
    I have always felt as though I was a food addict.
    But once i started on this journey I was excited to be addicted to logging and seeing and feeling results and I soon realized that what i myself thought was a food addiction, was nothing more then bad eating habits, because i was able to change and to improve! However i still crave and want everything of course, I don't think that, that will ever go away, but I love feeling empowered when i decide, no, i will not eat that now...or eat more etc. I feel like I've gone from mindless eating, to making the choice of what to put in my body!
    But yes, I do believe that food can be an addiction. At the beginning of this journey there were countless times when i would just cry and be upset because all i wanted to do was eat beyond reason, and I know that I shouldn't. keep your head up and be comforted that you are not alone in this feeling of food addiction! But you can overcome it and make it work for you!

    13164648.png
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
    Options
    I am smart, in the medical field (which is embarrassing to be obese) and educated in how the body works. I feel my weight has gotten where it is because I am a food addict.... is that possible. I lack self discipline with food and I am such an emotional eater. Any thoughts?

    Addicted to food? Probably not. Addicted to junk food... Quite possibly. I have read that appetite enhancers are actually placed in various types of snack foods which leave you wanting more... Whether this is intentional or unintentional (side-effect) of preservatives, the effect is the same... We crave more. and more. Additionally, as you well know, most snack foods are EMPTY CALORIES... This means that you have a large quantity of calories coming in with little to no nutritional value to show for it. Since I have eliminated most snack foods out of my diet, I no longer even really want most of it. I do have protein bars and some other low calorie snack bars (such as the South Beach snack bars) but at least there is some nutritional value.

    I have read several times that obese people are some of the most malnourished people around. They have a caloric surplus but are lacking in basic protein and other nutritional stores to supply the body what it needs... So the body continues to crave things.... trying to get what it needs to survive... Often in the wrong places. You have taken the first step.. You now realize that you have a problem. Now it is time to take the steps to correct the problem. You can do it. I look forward to hearing of your progress.

    As a health industry member, as you improve your own health, it will give you more insight into how to better help others beat their addictions and win the "battle of the bulge"... Congrats on your first step. Best wishes on your journey.
  • LetsTryThisAgain54
    LetsTryThisAgain54 Posts: 381 Member
    Options
    I know I'm definitely addicted to food. No matter how hard I try, I can't control myself. I just had a small pizza (seriously) and now heading to bed. I saw it in the freezer and just had to have it. I should have said no and just went to bed.
  • dvisser1
    dvisser1 Posts: 788 Member
    Options
    Yes. It's more a mental addiction than anything, but things like sugar, fats and salts are generally craved for. Keep in mind that the human body has evolved over thousands of years when drought and famine were common. Our body stores fat in preparation for the next period of starvation in order to survive. Now, for the significant majority of people in the world periods of starvation are no longer part of the equation. You can get past this, but it takes mental self control.
  • m60kaf
    m60kaf Posts: 421 Member
    Options
    I think there is a physical difference between habitual behavior and addiction

    Smoking is an addiction

    Over-eating is habit
  • LabRat529
    LabRat529 Posts: 1,323 Member
    Options
    yes of course.. its an addiction, primal we are addicted to sweet and salt foods is it an initiate thing

    It's not innate though. Not everyone is addicted to food. Addiction is when it becomes a disease of the mind and body. Sometimes addiction is due to biochemical/physiological changes in the brain, sometimes it's just an emotional dependency, but it's beyond normal.

    Not to pick on you or anyone else in this thread, but it does bug me when people use the word 'addicted' or 'addiction' so lightly. It's not an addiction to want/crave sugar, fat, and salt. That's called being human and is part of our biology. We evolved to survive. Survival meant seeking out those foods that would give us maximal energy and maximal food storage to survive the droughts and famines. Addiction goes beyond these cravings and into the realm of self-destruction. And by self-destruction, I don't mean just obesity. It's more than that... addiction is the mouse that presses the lever for cocaine even when he receives a painful foot shock. Addiction is the person who can't find happiness and peace without a bottle of alcohol in his hand. Addiction is the person who steals from his family because he can't bear to walk away from the gambling table.

    Addiction is serious. Addiction is a disease. Some people can be addicted to food. But not everyone is. The word should not be used so lightly, in my opinion.
  • beckylawrence70
    beckylawrence70 Posts: 752 Member
    Options
    Absolutely you can be addicted to food......

Categories