What is a "Food Addict"?

I've been thinking a lot about the term 'food addict' lately. I even looked it up in my Webster's dictionary...to see if it was there (it wasn't). 

WebMD had it listed, though. They said:

Experiments in animals and humans show that, for some people, the same reward and pleasure centers of the brain that are triggered by addictive drugs like cocaine and heroin  are also activated by food, especially highly palatable foods. Highly palatable foods are foods rich in: Sugar, Fat, and/or Salt. 
Like addictive drugs, highly palatable foods trigger feel-good brain chemicals such as dopamine. Once people experience pleasure associated with increased dopamine transmission in the brain's reward pathway from eating certain foods, they quickly feel the need to eat again.
The reward signals from highly palatable foods may override other signals of fullness and satisfaction. As a result, people keep eating, even when they're not hungry.People who show signs of food addiction may also develop a tolerance to food. They eat more and more, only to find that food satisfies them less and less.
People who are addicted to food will continue to eat despite negative consequences, such as weight gain or damaged relationships. And like people who are addicted to drugs or gambling, people who are addicted to food will have trouble stopping their behavior, even if they want to or have tried many times to cut back.
Science is still working to understand and find treatments for food addiction.
Some argue that recovery from food addiction may be more complicated than recovery from other kinds of addictions. Alcoholics, for example, can ultimately abstain from drinking alcohol. But people who are addicted to food still need to eat.

Sounds very professional, doesn't it?

But....there's something MISSING from this definition and I find it kind of sad. And it's something that I'll wager a majority of us here can attest to.

It's NOT ALL PHYSICAL!

What about the EMOTIONAL side of it?

I mean, I don't know about you, but I can overeat LETTUCE.
YEP! Thankfully it won't do much harm to my body, but I can overeat it, sure....!

So what IS it? What causes us to want to eat so badly?

I compare myself to my husband. He's a 'normal eater'. He gained a few lbs but that's because he's not as active as he used to be, and his metabolism has slowed down with age as well. And he can be a bit lazy with his eating habits.
So for him, just learning how to eat HEALTHY is really all he needs. A strict program like Take Shape for Life using Medifast meals will work....but it's not really necessary.

People like him just need the awareness kicked up a bit. They can do things like 'stop eating after 8 pm', or 'substitute a piece of fruit for that bag of chips' and lose weight.

People like him don't THINK about eating. He can get involved or interested in doing something...and totally FORGET ABOUT EATING. I mean, ALL DAY LONG! This is a totally foreign concept to me.

I can't even wrap my MIND around it! How can he NOT think about eating? I think about it all the time!
...Although... I have to admit, thanks to this program, I AM having more and more 'food free' times....which is wonderful, by the way, albiet a little scary at times. (THEN I worry about planning the 'right' meals and whether forgetting is such a good idea, as if suddenly the local grocery store is going to run out of vegetables or something LOL...)

My hubby can eat ONE Reese's peanut butter cup and 'save' the other one (personally I think ANYONE that can do this is part MARTIAN, but that's just my opinion LOL).
I couldn't do that if my LIFE depended on it. If you took that second peanut butter cup away from me? 10 minutes later I'd be BEGGING you for it. If you hid it from me? I'd spend HOURS trying to find it.
(and eventually give up in frustration, grab my car keys, and go to the local grocery store and buy SIXTEEN packages of peanut butter cups just to get 'back' at you, and eat 10 of them on the way home and then be 'sad' because I've only got 6 packages left).

THAT is a food addict.

A normal person feels 'stuffed' when they overeat.
For a food addict, that's just "getting started!"

WHY?
Because the emotional need is not satisfied. The physical side may be...but that's not what we're looking for! We're searching for MORE than what food can give us.

A normal person eats alone when and if they have to.
A food addict has discovered many JOYS of eating alone...because there's no one to criticize! They can eat whatever they want. And so...they DO! They learn to 'sneak eat'. They learn which foods they can get away with that aren't noisy. They have strategic places to hide food and store it away "just in case".

A normal person thinks about food the correct amount of time. They specifically think about it when they are hungry, or they'll think about a new recipe around the holidays, or when going out to dinner.
A food addict thinks about food 24/7. They have dreams about swimming in a giant sea of melted chocolate (I had a lot of these when I started MF...still do occasionally). They fantasize about what it would be like if they could eat 'whatever they wanted' 'whenever' they wanted and never gain a pound. HEAVEN will be like this for them. (I don't care about not having a body...as long as I can EAT ... so what? I'm a spirit? Just PLEASE GOD let me be able to TASTE food anyway and eat whatever I want!) LOL

A normal person sees a food commercial and thinks 'Hmm...that looks good...next time I'm at "X" restaurant maybe I'll order that'.
A food addict sees the same commercial and thinks 'How can I have that NOW? What can I make that RESEMBLES that? What do I have in the house that's available...Hmmm....how long would it take me to get to the store and buy the stuff...or maybe that restaurant is still open....wait! Where are my keys! What do you mean, it's midnight! I NEED THAT FOOD!' LOL

A normal person feeds his dog a bit of his steak once in awhile.
A food addict cuts off the bone and gives that to the dog, the BEEF IS MINE.

A normal person looks into the refrigerator and sees leftovers.
A food addict looks into the refrigerator and sees a BANQUET.

A normal person can't find that jar of peanut butter so he gives up and walks away.
A food addict can not only find that jar of peanut butter, but knows where there are 3 others hidden away 'just in case'.

A normal person goes to the drivethru and orders a value meal.
A food addict goes to the drivethru and orders a value meal and they'd like to 'supersize' it, by the way...oh, and I forgot, give me TWO, I'm bringing one home (liar liar you're just going to eat one full meal on the way home).

A normal person says 'Yeah, I need to lose a few lbs'
A food addict says 'I CAN'T lose weight, I'm special....I have a (insert excuse here...thyroid/metabolic syndrome/celiac disease or gluten problem/vegetarian/starch problem with certain foods/food allergies/stomach issues/I've NEVER been able to lose weight no one can explain it even my doctor is stumped/I'm just a big girl/I need more calories don't ask me why/I can't diet it makes me too weak')...etc until your eyes glaze over and you walk away.

THAT is a food addict.

A normal person goes to the gym to exercise and get in shape.
A food addict goes to the gym to work off the huge container of ice cream she ate last night. "What do you MEAN I only burned 200 calories? Oh shit I need to burn 600 more...what can I do to do that?"

A normal person finishes dinner and puts the dishes in the dishwasher.
A food addict finishes dinner and then has a SECOND meal while cleaning up the kitchen...can't let all that good food go to waste!

THAT is a food addict.

 
...have I made my point yet?  LMAO...

Seriously....we here, most of us, are food addicts. It's not easy to admit it, but we can do so because we're among friends who GET IT, because they've been there.

And we KNOW it's about much MORE than just 'what' we eat and 'when' we eat it.

We have to END, once and for all, our lifelong 'love affair', our 'reliance'.....on ... FOOD. That doesn't mean we can't enjoy our meals ever again, but we have to be ETERNALLY VIGILANT about our eating.

Because somehow we've EMPOWERED food to take care of 'all our problems'. We're LEANING on it in times of stress. And we're WHINING about it when we can't have it. We live for it. We plan it. We dream about it.

The funny thing is, you can't always just 'blame' your environment or even your parents or upbringing. I was raised in a family of FIVE kids....and guess what? I'm the only food addict! All four of my siblings are normal eaters! They can take it or leave it.
So it can be argued, WHY did I develop a food addiction while they didn't?

I can quote calorie counts off the top of my head!...but I'll still have that triple fudge sundae if my emotions are lined up a certain way.

And I can't tell you exactly which emotions will do it, either!

That's progress, actually...because it USED to be a BUNCH of emotions...anything from depression to celebration! But I've managed to tackle most of them at this point. But I still never know...there could be a time...a certain combination...that will set me off.

And that's the trouble. Because you can get as strict as you like with your eating program....you can go all the way to Paleo and swear off bread and dairy for life and even never eat fruit again. You can live on the 5/1 the rest of your life. BUT....you will still have that emotional aspect to deal with.

It's never going to go away. The only way to get OVER it is to go THROUGH it. Painfully, yes. Making mistakes, definitely....because if you never made mistakes you'd never learn anything.

We need to DISENTANGLE food from that web in our head...that somehow we've come to 'expect' food to solve our problems and "make it all better". By our parents, by society, by ourselves and our own experiences....somehow, we have developed this emotional NEED to overeat at times of crisis or stress and that can STILL lead us astray...even if we clean up our diet.  I've overeaten cauliflower. And lettuce. There are even certain MF meals I can't order anymore because I made them into 'trigger foods' by overeating them. You might argue that it STILL was the sugar/fat/salt "delicious"/palatable food problem in disguise....because the cauliflower was mashed cauliflower with a laughing cow light garden veggie wedge (so was it the laughing cow?)...and the lettuce had my fav MF-approved salad dressing which happens to be Hidden Valley Ranch Farmhouse Originals Garden Tomato Bacon (yep, bacon...it's on the approved list, I kid you not...high in omega 3s so it's allowable)...and the MF meals I overdid it on were the chocolate chip soft bakes (which I was 'illegally' eating RAW and eating a BUNCH of to 'simulate' chocolate chip cookie dough....and it wasn't far off actually....just better for me)....so if you really wanted to be a 'purist' and go total Paleo....well, MAYBE, maybe that would 'shut off' the hunger monster/carb monster ONCE AND FOR ALL.

But would that mean I'd "never" have to worry about fighting a craving or urge to binge again?

I highly doubt it. Because emotionally there are still going to be times when I think of eating! I haven't hit 'every' possible scenario, every possible event, in my life to say with any certainty that 'I'm CURED!' ....because how can you possibly do that? Life goes on...and you never know what's around the corner or HOW you're going to react to it.

You can HOPE you can handle it....like one of my MF friends who actually had a series of incredibly bad events, her husband died, she was sick, she was broke, I mean it reads like a David Copperfield novel or something....talk about heartbreaking...!  But she STAYED OP.

HOW? Darned if I know! But she did it!

I know...we're all thinking 'Is she a COACH? Where can I FIND this person?'

But....what would it matter? Because no one can 'teach' you how to handle your OWN LIFE....the only way is to EXPERIENCE IT for yourself! 

I mean, let's face it. I could talk and talk until I'm blue in the face. If you're not READY to hear it, if you don't FEEL like listening....you're just going to nod and smile and think "Sheesh how do I get away gracefully?" and my words will sail right over you.

The bottom line is, we all have to SCREW UP, FALL DOWN, and then ...LEARN FROM IT.

And.... TRY. AGAIN.

And AGAIN.  And AGAIN.

Till one day it 'sinks in', and we 'get it', and the very NEXT time we hit that situation or that emotion...we finally, once and for all, do the right thing for ourselves, we stay OP, and then we're doing happy dances and celebrating and we can say 'I DID IT!'

BRAVO! One less thing to worry about. If that same scenario happens again? You will KNOW what to do and you'll be fine.

But you've still got, oh about 5 million more 'different' possible scenarios to go.

I'm sorry...I wish I could tell you that 'all you have to do is'....Steps 1 through 'whatever', follow the bouncing ball, and you'll get there.

But it's not that simple. NOT when it comes to emotional eating.

The nutrition part of it? That's easy. Just stay on program!

You'll eliminate MOST of the SUGAR FAT SALT problems completely. And that WILL cut down on your physical 'hunger', on that gnawing, 'gotta have it' sensation that is the PHYSICAL side of your addiction talking.

But like any addiction, it's not all physical. There's a mental and emotional side to it. And unless you address that, you can go krazy with Paleo or get as strict as you want...but sooner or later you'll still overeat, because you still have a dependency on food, EMOTIONALLY. You've broken the physical addiction but that's only part of it.

Somehow you've got to address the emotional side. And sometimes that's fairly easy....if you stick to a pretty regular routine, and your life is on a fairly steady keel, and you know what to expect on any given day.

BUT....change your life, take a chance on something new, get married, get divorced, move, change jobs, change friends, have someone close to you pass away, get a new pet, get a new appliance, learn a new trade, have the seasons change, get sick, try a new exercise, fall in love, fall out of love, get bored, get disgusted, get anxious, get stressed, ....(get the idea?)...and you've got a whole new set of challenges to get through.

It ain't easy. It's never going to be easy. BUT....!!!!!!!

(And this is the biggest BUT you ever heard!)  -no pun intended-

IT'S ALL WORTH IT!

I PROMISE YOU it's worth it....and NOT just because of the cute clothes and the svelte body and the compliments and not even because you can move and climb stairs and be more flexible and not even because the sex is better (ahem, yep), but....

BECAUSE YOU are doing it. YOU. All by yourself. A Coach can be a great guide and friend and someone to just LISTEN to you when you need it, they can give you tips on what worked for them and share experiences with you....and you can stay on this website, you can ask questions, you can 'lean' on whoever you want and follow a zillion guidelines and read and get inspirational tips and ... what have you....

...but when push comes to shove and it's the middle of the night and you're having a crisis and your hand is ready to put 'whatever' into your mouth... it's all comes down to YOU!

...and YOUR FAT BRAIN AND WHAT YOU TELL YOURSELF, day in and day out.

And it's YOU saying 'NO' to those emotional urges.

And it's YOU being proud because you DID it, once again, you succeeded, you said NO -- or you picked yourself up off the floor from last night's binge and you got back OP today and you still feel kind of lousy and angry at yourself but that's OK, you're only human, you are BACK OP and you KNOW you're stronger.....every day you're just a little bit stronger, and a little bit more confident, and a little bit more optimistic about GETTING to goal and STAYING THERE.

And you can finally look in the mirror and LOVE what you see! Not just on the OUTSIDE, but the person you've become INSIDE. The strong, confident, 'in charge' person you've become who KNOWS what she wants and GOES AFTER IT. Who does so with humor and humility and grace and good sense and OK, sometimes she screws up but she can laugh about it and get right back UP again.

Look at successful gymnasts in the Olympics....or the freestyle skaters (I love the figure skating portion....so romantic and beautiful, but I always hold my breath when my favorites are skating, biting my nails, hoping they won't fall and knowing it's just a fraction of an inch difference, just a hairs-breadths of a difference in how strong they jump or how high that can make or break a routine)....

They learned to FALL. Over and over and over and over again.

And GET BACK UP every time. That's what makes a 'winner'.

RESOLVE to be a WINNER today. Remember it doesn't matter 'how many times' you have to 'restart'. Remember that you need to FAIL to know how to SUCCEED.

And KEEP ON KEEPIN' ON. Trying, failing, succeeding. Over and over again....and you WILL get stronger, and you WILL get to goal, and you WILL learn how to maintain your weight.

I wish everyone this "keep on trying" attitude on this frosty cold Friday...as we move into yet another weekend...where most of us have to 'hibernate' and dream of warm breezes and ocean surf. 

And please, if you live in a warmer climate, do us a favor...don't rub it in! (LOL).