Are You a Food Addict?

Food For Thought:

Are You a Food Addict?

By Leanne Ely, C.N.C

We all crave food at one time or another but food addicts typically crave specific foods and they crave them more often. Some of the common foods addicts crave are foods high in sugar, salt, or flour.

Contrary to common opinion self-control is not the issue. In fact, most food addicts have more self-control than the average person. Food addicts are often obese but not always. Some food addicts compensate for their over eating with excessive exercise, purging, and other extreme measures.

Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to determine if you are a food addict:

* Do you think you cannot control your intake of food, especially junk food or high sugar foods?
* Have you tried different diets or weight loss programs, but none has worked permanently?
* Do you find yourself feeling depressed, hopeless, sad or ashamed about your eating or your weight?
* Do you find yourself eating when you are upset or reward yourself with food when you do something good?
* Have you ever noticed after eating sugar, flour, or wheat that you become more irritable?

There is hope. If you think you might be a food addict you are not alone. For most addicts the answer is simple – avoid what you are addicted to. If it’s drugs and/or alcohol, you can stop them. However you cannot “stop” food. You still need food to eat. So what can you do?

First, recognizing you may need help is a good start . Find a friend, family member, or other person who can support you as you work to overcome your addiction.

Second, plan your meals . If you do not buy it you cannot eat it right? Having a shopping list and buying only from that list is a good start.

Finally, keep a food journal . By recording what you eat and how much you eat you can make a conscious decision to control your intake.

Recovery may require more . There are support groups and doctors who specialize in food addiction. You can typically find these by doing a search on the internet for your local area.

0 Responses

  1. This article leaves out one key point. The only way to kick food addiction is to give up ALL manufactured “food”. This is what you are addicted to. Real food you don’t get addicted to. You never hear someone say “I just can’t stop eating apples!”. Eat foods as close to nature as you can and you will kick your food habits, lose weight, and feel great!

  2. Hi Leanne,

    This is such a interesting topic. Thank you for covering it!

    It is also an area in which I work and have done some research.

    Another reason one can have food addictions, or appear to have food addictions, is because of dopamine uptake problems, as is found in ADHD. ( I am a specialist ADHD Coach with a nursing background)

    The problem may be much larger than we are led to believe, as most folk who suffer with this problem are undiagnosed ADD’ers (inattentive subtype) and aren’t picked up in regular life. Testing in obesity trials is now showing that a large % of the obese, are in fact suffering from ADHD. You work on the ADHD and the food cravings, food addictions become much less of an issue!

    If this is the case, a combination of treatments including behavioral management works well.

    Most medical doctors et al, are not aware of this, as there is nothing in the client’s presenting symptoms to suggest that ADHD may be the cause. ie They are not presenting with “typical” ADHD behavior.

    It is an interesting thought!

    Perhaps this is something that you could bring to light in your column. I am very happy to refer you to experts in the field and to introduce you to someone who has had incredible success in this area..and helps the people that the medical system has failed thus far.

    It is an area you could really help a lot of sad and unhappy people with…as it truly is not their fault that they are not having success with food cravings or the usual “hormone” diets, or regular medicine..their brain is “controlling” their behavior because of lack of dopamine production and uptake,

    thank you for listening,

    warm regards,

    Susan Macintosh.
    Chair Marketing & PR
    ACO
    http://www.adhdcoaches.org
    http://www.susanmacintosh.com

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *