It has taken me a looong time to admit this, but here it is, I am ADDICTED to food. I use food like a drug addict uses drugs or an alcoholic uses alcohol.
If I am stressed or feeling out of sorts, I want to eat. This morning I am just feeling blah and very down, so it is very difficult for me not to eat. I think the chewing, the crunching and of course the adrenaline rush you get from something tasting good in your mouth, is my drug of choice.
I have been chewing a lot of gum lately, and that seems to help some since I get to chew, chew, chew and get a little bit of a good taste to go with it. I have also found that popcorn, with a few squirts of butter substitute on it, is helping me at night when I just feel the need to eat and crunch something in my mouth.
The funny thing is I don't just want to eat when feeling icky, I also associate eating with happy times! So no wonder, I am fat!
I am struggling after about 3 weeks of going along pretty good here. I know this time I have to just keep chugging along through this, but it is not a piece of cake-to coin a phrase!
I can relate to your statement whole heartedly! I had one of those *episodes* just yesterday...I was feeling extrememly lonely. My DH is a long-haul truck driver and is in Florida on a run right now. My teen-age kids (Boy-14, Girl-17) were at school and I just felt so lonely! Normally, I would be at work during this time, but I am at home recovering from surgery for 6 weeks. Today marks 1.5 weeks post-op.
I have a trigger food - peanut butter, and that was my drug of choice for most of yesterday. There were a few other things, but yesterday was a horrible day for food choices.
We just need to hang in there - and never give up.
I'm a food addict and a secret binge eater to boot. Kind of a double whammy. It is definitely hard to overcome, and I know it will be a struggle for life. Good for you coming to terms with the issue, I don't think we can fix it until we really admit to ourselves that we have a problem!
I'm sort of like a secret binge eater as well. I don't do it with people most of the time, and if it is, it's usually my one "food partner in crime" but lately she's been doing great and getting healthy and working out too. Whenever I feel upset or sad or angry, I definitely turn to food. Not just out of boredom, but whenever. I'll never be one of those people who lose their appetite if they get depressed unfortunately! I can only hope to stave it off and replace the need with a healthier activity or a tall glass of water!
I am so happy that someone has posted this thread. Food really is an addiction, except it is a totally legal one. It is an addiction, where your vice is constantly in your face.
I am currently reading Confessions of a Carb Queen, and she talks about her food addiction. I can totally relate to her. The times when it is no longer about tasting the food, it is just about getting it in, it being the only thing you can think about.
I definitely think that there should be more talk about the addiction of food, so that we can overcome it. Maybe it should be treated more like we treat addiction to drugs and booze.
i thought i was the only person in the world that felt like food was an addiction. i have tried to tell people that before and they laughed at me like i was stupid. i learned to keep my mouth shut. but that was insulting none the less. especially because it was a loved one that laughed at me. it is true. it is worse than any other addiction in the world to me. worse than cigarettes, drugs, and alchohol. i can truely say this because i have been addicted to drugs and cigarettes. i quit them both!!!! but food is the one addiction i have yet to conquer. the fact is, those other things are powerful mental and physical addictions, but you don't have to have them to live!!!! you can quit an addiction and stay successful by staying away from the substance(s) you chose to stop using. but lets face it, you can never stop using food. you have to have it to live!!!! even anarexics have to have it to stay alive. the only other alternative is death or intravenous iv. i have also related it to demonic possession. i have been reduced to tears hundreds of times fighting with those demons. i have actually violently cried to the point of hyperventalation during diets in the past " mourning " the foods i told myself i could not have any more. to add to all that madness in my brain, i am diabetic and my body constantly craves all the wrong things. food will always be the biggest, hardest, meanest, nastiest addiction i will ever face and even if i loose all the weight i want, i know i will always be a food addict. hope that doesn't depress you. your comments just stuck a cord with me. it feels good just to say it to someone. i find power in just admiting these things to another human being.
Of course over eating is an addiction. We use food for so many things other that the thing it was intended for, nourishing our bodies. We learn this addiction very young. "here, have a cookie, you'll feel better" and it goes on. We celebrate with food, we comfort ourselves with food. But face it, we love it way more than it loves us.
Eating without focusing on what we're eating is a big problem. Mindless eating, where you're not even tasting the food. We have to start finding something else to celebrate with (like actually talking to people) and to comfort us (maybe talking again, or journaling). Learn to enjoy every bite. Focus on how you feel. It's ok to be upset. We don't have to cover it up by eating. it's ok to be happy, and there are many other ways to celebrate other than eating.
Dscheppke, you are not alone. There is a sub forum on this website, Overeaters Anonymous. I have been a recovering compulsive overeater for almost 13 years now. There are many people who post regularly on that forum that can offer you support, hope and, yes, recovery-one day at a time--for your food addiction!
Recently, I made a huge discovery that if I avoid added sugar and saturated fats, my "monster" is arrested. The key, of course, is walking the walk as well as talking the talk.
There is hope, check that sub forum out, and good luck We can all do this---together!
Yes, food addiction is totally real and I can relate! If you want to know more about it, I suggest reading "Food Addiction: The Body Knows" or "From the First Bite: A Complete Guide to Recovery from Food Addiction" both by Kay Sheppard. I learned about those books when I was in FAA (Food Addicts Anonymous...not so anonymous since I said that, huh? ), interesting reads. It's terrible because atleast with alcoholics, they don't have to take a drink everyday to exist, while we have to face food everyday, multiple times a day.
I've only recently come to the realization that I am also a food addict.
I guess it's not all that surprising that I did actually turn out to have an addiction to something, since my Dad is an alcoholic and both my parents were chain-smokers when I was growing up.
I didn't realize that I was addicted to the high of eating junk food and sugary things until I found a few insightful posts on this website! After really examining my own eating habits and how eating junk food made me feel, I came to the realization that I do get a rush of pleasure from fatty, sugary things.
It goes away almost as soon as I have taken my last bite, though, and then I am off searching for another "hit" just like a crackhead. And, that's when the binges happen. It's so simple I can't believe it's taken me all these years to recognize it!
So, dscheppke, as you can see, you are definitely not alone in this.
I am very curious about the book "Confessions of a Carb Queen" because what I saw of the review looked amazing! I have had eating issues since childhood and am just now starting to take a look at what is underneath them so that I can finally start treating my body as wonderfully as it deserves!
Food Addiction
Food Addiction
i thought i was the only person in the world that felt like food was an addiction. i have tried to tell people that before and they laughed at me like i was stupid. i learned to keep my mouth shut. but that was insulting none the less. especially because it was a loved one that laughed at me. it is true. it is worse than any other addiction in the world to me. worse than cigarettes, drugs, and alchohol. i can truely say this because i have been addicted to drugs and cigarettes. i quit them both!!!! but food is the one addiction i have yet to conquer. the fact is, those other things are powerful mental and physical addictions, but you don't have to have them to live!!!! you can quit an addiction and stay successful by staying away from the substance(s) you chose to stop using. but lets face it, you can never stop using food. you have to have it to live!!!! even anarexics have to have it to stay alive. the only other alternative is death or intravenous iv. i have also related it to demonic possession. i have been reduced to tears hundreds of times fighting with those demons. i have actually violently cried to the point of hyperventalation during diets in the past " mourning " the foods i told myself i could not have any more. to add to all that madness in my brain, i am diabetic and my body constantly craves all the wrong things. food will always be the biggest, hardest, meanest, nastiest addiction i will ever face and even if i loose all the weight i want, i know i will always be a food addict. hope that doesn't depress you. your comments just stuck a cord with me. it feels good just to say it to someone. i find power in just admiting these things to another human being.
Dscheppke, you are not alone
We can all do this---together!
), interesting reads. It's terrible because atleast with alcoholics, they don't have to take a drink everyday to exist, while we have to face food everyday, multiple times a day.
