EXTRIS--when reading Beach Patrol's post I thought the same thing.
YES we need food, YES it seems additcing, and is addicting to some, obviously. But, NO it is nothing like that needing your drugs. I have been clean for 15 months, and there is just nothing like the pain that an addict experiences. I really think drug addiction is a chemical, physical additction, even the 'lighter' drugs, that makes your mind and body really messed up. It is very different from a food addiction, or internet, or porn.
Even though I DO HEAR the arguement that you HAVE to eat food to survive, just knowing what life was as a drug addict, there is just no compairison for me.

I know that for me, food is an addiction. My laundry list of behaviors closely matches JayEll's list. I have been in denial about its effects on me for years. That is also an addict's mindset. It is all made much more complex because we have to eat to live, whereas a drug addict doesn't need drugs to live.

This is also why the problem will never fully go away. I will manage it, and I am responsible for managing it, but I've accepted that it will never go away. This is not a defeatist stance, this is a realist stance. The minute I think my food addiction is licked it rears its ugly head again and brings me to my knees. It may lay dormant for long periods of time at some point, but I can never say I'm cured.

I'm very interested in the genetic factors of obesity. Not because I want or need an excuse for who I am, but I was adopted as an infant. I have a younger brother (also adopted, different birth parents) and two much younger sisters (my parents' biological children, after 15 years of infertility).

I've often thought of trying to learn more about my biological parents, but it's never seemed worth the costs (Catholic Social Services, through which I was placed, has several tiers of adoption search protocols that can be rather expensive if you want more than the most general details.

I would love to know their body fat histories, because I have always been so different from my adoptive family in personality, interests, and weight/food issues. I have been obese and food obsessed since kindergarten. I've always felt what I would call a strong drive to eat and eat and eat. Even full to the point of bursting, I would still want more. My mother and her mother both had weight problems, that didn't start until marriage, and got worse after pregnancies. My father's side of the family is very slim, and when they do put on weight, it tends to be at the waist (my father was slim until he retired, and now looks like a very skinny man who just happens to be about 7 - 8 months pregnant). One sister (like mom) started to put on weight in her late 20's. She's still barely overweight, but carries her weight in her hips (like Mom). The other sister takes after Dad and has never really had a weight problem. Her job isn't active, but she works out and is very health concious. The only time she has needed to lose weight was after each pregnancy (she has two sons, and is pregnant with child number 3). She joined Weight Watchers after baby 2, in order to lose 15 lbs. She did it in about two months with little problem (she always lectures the rest of us on how "easy" weight loss is).

Now my brother has never had any kind of weight problem. Since he retired, he has put on a little weight over all that "navy" muscle, but few people would consider him overweight - he still falls within the navy guidelines. He is athletic and has very active hobbies like scuba diving. His children also have never had weight problems, his daughter is very athletic like him. His son has the build and activity level (or rather lack of) more like his mom. Thin, but not muscular, and a bit of a couch potato.

It just makes me wonder whether one or both of my bio parents were overweight or had food or substance issues or OCD. I don't think it would do much more than satisfy morbid curiosity (and maybe I would feel a tiny bit less like a freak). I'm not looking to excuse my weight "I can't help it, I have fat genes" (like I said, if I were looking for excuses, I could find one with or without genetics), but I think it would be interesting to know whether I inherited some of my "obstacles."

That's a very interesting point, Colleen. I have often wondered just how much our parents have to do with our weight. I mean, it's clear that if you have mom's smile & dad's eyes... you could obviously get their "fat" too. I've noticed that I definitely take after my dad's side of the family. The women are very thin when young but gain weight growing older, and we have a lot of "digestive" problems.

This was all brought more to light for me when I started reading Teresa Tapp's book Fit and Fabulous in 15 Minutes. Then I joined the website, and then bought some work out DVDs and seminars on CD...

Her CD seminar is really what kicked me in the rear! The fact that our blood type & body type & heritage & so forth is all related in how we gain &/or lose weight, etc. Why some people can eat like there's no tomorrow & barely gain an ounce, and others can just look at a piece of cake & feel their butt widen... And how to battle your specific problems regarding food, etc. It's really some of the most interesting reading/listening I've ever done.

For instance, I am Irish, Scottish, German & Cherokee Indian. I am A+ blood type. My Irish/Scottish/German heritage gives me my short, pale-skin look while the Cherokee Indian allows me to tan nicely & have that roundness to my face & bottom. Because of my Irish/Scottish/German background, I DO have a problem with cellulite, but I'm an A blood type so I can control the cellulite fairly easily with the foods I eat (or DON'T eat!) and exercise.

It's not really complicated, but it does take some study to understand it - and I could definitely see where not knowing your ancestoral background could mean confusion of your own body.

My point of view has always been that genetics/familial influences/medical issues (PCOS) most likely could've led me to be a chunky person but my own eating habits really are what led me to being morbidly obese. I was confused as a child as to why I was overweight despite being fairly active. I did have an eating problem from a very young age. I also had 2 obese parents (father morbidly obese) who also had weight problems from a very young age.

I know a lot of people don't think its fair that they may have a deck stacked against them in regards to weight and I certainly didn't feel it was fair for many years. My solution though was really to accept it and move on. Of course not only have I had a tough time, possibly tougher than others and possibly easier than some others, but I've also had mental issues to overcome due to always being obese. Those have really been hard but I just try to deal with them as they come.

So am I addicted to food? Absolutely

I just try to control it the best I can to obtain my goal.

Why not eat organic if you are concerned? Put the blame where it goes, what you decide to put in your mouth. I've maintained a 200+ pound weight loss for 30 years because I completely changed what I ate. I didn't sit back and blame it on addiction (or what animals eat - after all I hope you aren't eating a cow a day) - I eat fruit, veggies, complex carbs, dairy and meat, fish and poultry. I exercise 6-7 days a week... it worked!

If you think you are addicted to sugar or chocolate or whatever, then you have to do what addicts do and cut it completely from your diet.

Abstinence is generally not the best idea for everyone. If it worked for you thats awesome. What seems to work for me when I like myself to bother is not to elimiate junk, just not stuff it down all the effin time.x

I think that when it comes to talking about addiction, that we must realize that some people are more prone to being addicted to certain things...

I completely understand when an former drug addict comes here, and says that dealing with food is NOTHING in comparison to what they experienced with drugs. That is 100% true-for them.

Not everyone who is overweight has a food addiction.

For instance, I smoked for a few years when I was young. I smoked until I found out I was pregnant with my first child-and I quit cold turkey. Quitting smoking wasn't all that big of a deal to me-after the first couple days-I was completely fine with it. On the other hand, other people try for years, have to use patches/therapy/nicotine gum, and often have numerous tries before they are successful. Some are never successful in quitting-like my SIL. She couldn't quit even after she became pregnant, and probably had a Marlboro in her hand during labor. :p She would sneak around, smoking so her boyfriend and parents wouldn't see.

I love wine. I enjoy a nice glass of wine, and indulge in it on occasion. But by no means does it have the affect on me that it does on someone who is an alcoholic.

I have been to Vegas-but I am not addicted to gambling.


I think talking about food addiction might seem silly, or small, in comparison to other addictions-only if you don't have truly have an eating disorder of some kind. Downlplaying it, would be like me telling an alcoholic that having a glass of wine isn't a big deal...

Everyone is different-and I think that our personal biological makeup might make Joe Smith more prone to alcoholism, while Jane might be a compulsive shopper, and Sue might have a food addiction.

I think that JayEll's post about the behavior of someone with an eating addiction is right on. There have been instances where I, myself, have done things on that list. It isn't pretty. It is very hard to control.

The only way I can describe it, really, is I wonder how in the world I can run my own businesses, take care of my house, 3 kids, husband, and do all of the millions of things I do successfully-but there are times where I can't control myself with a piece of cake. How can I let a piece of chocolate control my entire day? How can I do so well for weeks and weeks...and then fall off the wagon and eat half a pizza, and two pints of ice cream, and end up in tears. :?:

I am a recovering alcoholic (18 years) and a recovering smoker(13 years). Now I am trying to be a recovering fat person. Gads. Anyway, I sometimes have the same feelings around food as I did about alcohol. Powerlessness, for one thing. Guilt, maybe. My feeling is that maybe my other addictions transfered somewhat weakly to food. In my case, smoking was the hardest to quit, but I had the least attachement to it.

My idea of recovery from being fat, is to be able to maintain. I have always been able to diet just fine. Sometimes it takes a little time to get motivated, but I can always do it. What I can't do, is maintain - so I am looking to make the lifestyle change that we all talk about. Then I will be able to say I am in recovery.

As others have mentioned, we are all different, so your recovery might look different from mine, but we can do it!

Everyone is addicted to food or we'd die. We're also addicted to water and air. I just don't buy the whole thing. I just can't believe we can compare eating too much food with heroine or crack. I do by the abuse theory though.

I actually don't quite agree with that. I don't think you need to be addicted to food to survive and I wouldn't say I'm addicted to water and air.

I think about food 24/7... I day dream about food, I think about what I can eat next, I think about foods I shouldn't be eating, I get anxious thinking about food, I dream of ways to prepare food or food I can eat at my favorite restaurant, etc. It is hard to deal with and some of the best tactics include abstinence from certain foods while others I can somewhat control because certain foods I want to have in my life. I don't think everyone has the same feelings about food that I do. Its torture.

Hey kimmieone,

There is a difference between needing something to live and being addicted to something.

No one needs heroin, or nicotine, or cocaine, etc. to stay alive--but withdrawing from addiction to those is a hellish thing.

And, no one needs Big Macs, donuts, corn chips, ice cream, etc. to stay alive. But many do experience withdrawal from those types of foods when they stop eating them. It's more emotional or psychological than physical, maybe... I'm not sure... but it can feel really bad!

Jay

Addiction, abuse and dependence should not be confused. Every one is dependent upon food, that does not mean everyone is addicted or abuses food.

Even drug dependence should not be confused with addiction. My husband and I are both on medications that we cannot stop abruptly. We are not "addicted" to these medications, and neither are we abusing them. However, if we were to disconitinue the medications, they would have to be discontinued over time, not overnight. People, even some doctors often confuse addiction and dependence all. My husband's doctors have admitted that they would give him stronger pain medications, if there weren't such a legal hassle for them to do so, because the people involved in the monitoring agencies have confused addiction and dependence. If he were 80 or had cancer, they would be able to prescribe him stronger pain medications, even if his pain was half of what it is now. The amount of pain and physical injury or damage does not matter as much as how close to the grave you are. Doctors are as frustrated as patients about this, but very few are willing to put their necks on the line to change things (and I can understand why, they don't want to risk their jobs and even medical licenses).

An interest in the genetic influences of obesity does not mean that a person is blaming their genes or making any excuses for themselves or not trying to make changes. Knowledge is power, and knowing more helps a person do more. Life is not an equal playing field and most people understand that. Very little is impossible given enough effort and perseverence, but the amount of effort and perseverence is different for every individual, as is the priority they each put to a given endeavor. None of us can do everything we would like to, and we will often regret some of the things we did (and didn't do). Regret doesn't have to include blame. Blame doesn't have to be a part of any effort to change.

I guarantee that there are people that find weight loss more difficult, and people who find it easier than I do. I guarantee there are people who find weight loss a higher priority and those that find it a lower priority than I do.
I guarantee that there are people who put more effort (and less effort) into weight loss than I do.

And on the other hand, I could substitute many nouns for weight loss in the above paragraph. Family, career, finances, education, community service, activism, prayer/religion, substance use/abuse, compassion for others, legal difficulties..... There will always be people telling us that our priorities are wrong, that our goals and efforts are misplaced (some may even have a point), and we will many times have to agree to disagree.