Food Addiction: First Steps

[dgirl1986]

I decided to start a series of posts titled Diary of a Food Addict as opposed to
the Diary of a Fattie that I was doing, for obvious reasons.

So...kinda just have to suck it up like a
concrete princess I guess. I was pretty down about the whole thing, not just
because if the stupid food addiction thing (which sounds completely ridiculous)
but because of the reality of it all.

There are foods that I will pretty much never be able to
have again. This is going to be extremely difficult given that I live with
people that eat these foods, not to mention that they are a massive part of our
societies culture.

All my favourite foods just gone *insert cutting noise*
which is kind of the main fear of a food addict :/ but you gotta do what you
gotta do to not kill yourself with food I suppose.

First couple of steps at the moment are to plan
my food for the next day, research food addiction and admit to the foods I
consume (instead of lying or keeping it a secret).

Good times.

If anyone has
battled food addiction or in fact any kind of addiction and has any tips,
advice, methods or even just words of support...it would be greatly appreciated

[Heka]

Re: Food Addiction: First Steps

I would suggest not cutting foods out all together. Everything in moderation. I'm going to assume your will power fails you in regard to foods. So probably don't try cutting out all together. If you eat that food youre going to feel like a complete failure. Ration. Example: I love cheese. I cut up my cheese into bite sized serves and workout how many days it would take (at one serve per day) till I would run out, and that was the day I could buy another block. I was free to eat the whole thing in one day, but that left me 13 days with no cheese. You will learn to do it serve by serve.

[Maria de Luna]

Re: Food Addiction: First Steps

Planning is a great way to not eat what you don't mean to. But I am going to echo Heka here when I say, cold turkey is conducive to relapse. I am not saying it is universal, because some people do much better this way, but sometimes weaning your body off of things is easer if you take it step by step. (some foods are ok to eat in very small quantities as well, but I'd say that comes in a bit later.) also see if you can find good for you alternatives to certain favorite foods, try replacing flour or sugar with something else (and I don't mean sugar substitute!) see where it would be a good idea to cook with coconut oil, which is very good for you, but tastes a bit like coconut, so I wouldn't reccomend frying eggs in it. but little steps to change whole habbits a little at a time will feel less like you have done something horrible to yourself.

[Heka]

Re: Food Addiction: First Steps

Coconut is the only vegetable oil containing saturated fat though, remember that.

[dgirl1986]

When it comes to addiction cold turkey is the only way. It is like an alcoholic trying to have a glass of wine before they have gotten sober.

I am planning what I eat the day before I eat it. I have also told those close to me so that they can support me in this. Not sure what to do to avoid the psychological aspect when the brain starts freaking out, will probably need to have they CBT therapy

[Aeran]

Re: Food Addiction: First Steps

When it comes to addiction cold turkey is the only way.

I'm gonna disagree with that. Having been there and done that with the whole addiction thing, I think that the proper approach varies wildly depending on the situation/individual/substance in question. The problem with cold turkey, especially when it's taken hand in hand with the whole concept of complete abstinence which has become such a huge part of our understanding of addiction and recovery, is that you lend a thing a huge amount of power and only put excessive, counterproductive pressure on yourself by trying to refuse it entirely. Too many people think they should be strong enough to stop a certain behavior or dependency cold, and then when they can't they feel trapped and just revert back to the addiction.

Complete, perpetual abstinence is problematic for the same reason, if you avoid the behavior/substance in question for a period of time, while cravings slowly build,then you can really suffer emotionally as you define yourself by them and dedicate all of your time an energy to fending them off (you see this in people who've been sober for years or decades but still define themselves by their addiction and live their life around various treatments), or if you end up giving in, then instead of lauding yourself for going from daily use to once in six months, you view it as a broken 'streak' which is now completely invalidated, giving yourself an excuse to just relapse back into addiction.

IMO, generally the best approach, especially with something which doesn't cause a strong physical dependency or serious disinhibition, is a slow adjustment of lifestyle wherein you taper off your dependencies and replace them with more productive, positive behaviors. This process allows you to regain power and control over your behavior and your life, allows for the inevitable slip ups and relapses instead of turning them into an excuse to regress, and while it's more drawn out, it's significantly less rocky, turning a constant, see-sawing battle into a slow climb towards eventual freedom. With each time period over which you reduce the negative behavior, you regain your own agency and expose yourself to the positive consequences of your old decisions, empowering you to do better and better as time goes on instead of beating yourself up and taking refuge in further relapse.

At least that was my experience. Maybe cold turkey actually works much better for some people, but I've never met any of those people, just a lot of people who keep beating their head against a wall because they've been indoctrinated to think that cold turkey should be the only way and that any other method is somehow not a 'true' recovery.

[dgirl1986]

I'm gonna disagree with that. Having been there and done that with the whole addiction thing, I think that the proper approach varies wildly depending on the situation/individual/substance in question. The problem with cold turkey, especially when it's taken hand in hand with the whole concept of complete abstinence which has become such a huge part of our understanding of addiction and recovery, is that you lend a thing a huge amount of power and only put excessive, counterproductive pressure on yourself by trying to refuse it entirely. Too many people think they should be strong enough to stop a certain behavior or dependency cold, and then when they can't they feel trapped and just revert back to the addiction.

Complete, perpetual abstinence is problematic for the same reason, if you avoid the behavior/substance in question for a period of time, while cravings slowly build,then you can really suffer emotionally as you define yourself by them and dedicate all of your time an energy to fending them off (you see this in people who've been sober for years or decades but still define themselves by their addiction and live their life around various treatments), or if you end up giving in, then instead of lauding yourself for going from daily use to once in six months, you view it as a broken 'streak' which is now completely invalidated, giving yourself an excuse to just relapse back into addiction.

IMO, generally the best approach, especially with something which doesn't cause a strong physical dependency or serious disinhibition, is a slow adjustment of lifestyle wherein you taper off your dependencies and replace them with more productive, positive behaviors. This process allows you to regain power and control over your behavior and your life, allows for the inevitable slip ups and relapses instead of turning them into an excuse to regress, and while it's more drawn out, it's significantly less rocky, turning a constant, see-sawing battle into a slow climb towards eventual freedom. With each time period over which you reduce the negative behavior, you regain your own agency and expose yourself to the positive consequences of your old decisions, empowering you to do better and better as time goes on instead of beating yourself up and taking refuge in further relapse.

At least that was my experience. Maybe cold turkey actually works much better for some people, but I've never met any of those people, just a lot of people who keep beating their head against a wall because they've been indoctrinated to think that cold turkey should be the only way and that any other method is somehow not a 'true' recovery.

Different methods for different people. I could go into deep details about the seriousness of food addiction, why it needs to be done cold turkey for me but probably not much point

[Jembru]

Re: Food Addiction: First Steps

I've never had a food addiction (a diet addiction maybe, which is still an obsession with food), but I did beat my smoking habit eventually. It will be 2 years next month in fact, so I think if I was going to relapse I'd have done so by now.

Cold turkey was a waste of time for me. There is a lot of support for the theory that cold turkey doesn't work.

http://thequestforwellness.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/why-going-cold-turkey-doesnt-work.html

The sciency stuff: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK63952/

It might work for some, if they have a particular personality type (such as prone to developing OCD, or perfectionism) but it definitely doesn't seem to suit everyone, or even the majority. Even medical professionals recognise this, and provide alternatives such as NRT or methadone to help ease addicts off their addiction gradually (this of course has it's own problems, with the replacement sometimes being just as addictive. I know of two people who are permanently addicted to nicotine replacements, years after kicking their smoking habit).

That said, we only have our own experiences to go from, and it is easy to forget that one person is not a scientifically valid test group size. So with that in mind, here is my very unscientific discovery about addiction:

So yes, cold turkey not only failed me, but it also made me feel like a total failure every time the cravings got too much and I went into the store for another packet of 10.

It was a book my friend recommended, that started the ball rolling. Until this book, I found books very patronizing and condescending. Like, the author would go on about how pathetic smoking is, how stupid you are for doing it, how anti-social it is, tell you how much you stink.. and so on. Being told what to do in such tones, especially as an adult, is just going to make you want to rebel and resist. It seemed there were two types of non-smoker: those who'd never smoked, so couldn't possibly understand the feelings involved in cigarette addiction, or militant ex-smokers (still the most loathsome of creatures in my opinion: hooray, well done, you quit.. now shut the f*ck up and drink you capri sun). This book was different. It worked with you, not against you. It let me choose when I was going to quit and gave me little exercises to do on the build up to the big Q day. Even then, it recognised that you WILL have slip ups, that there will be those times that are just too hard to resist smoking. Rather than reset you to day 1 again, you were able to continue along the process, still considering yourself to be N days into your quit, and instead, suggested ways to reduce these slip ups until they no longer happened.

That book really helped. What also helped, was a hypnosis recording I found on Youtube. It blew my mind just how well it worked. At first, I actually DID smoke. It was a rebellion against my head, because I just couldn't believe that I simply chose not to smoke, not to think about it or even care whether or not people around me smoked. I found it so creepy, that I had a few cigarettes to prove to myself I could.. and then after that, I just stopped. It was painless.

I loved that so much, that I have typed out the transcript of the recording and I actually make my own. I used to have confidence issues around speaking Japanese, so I made a recording for that. Now I still feel nervous, but in an excited way, like the thrill of riding a jetcoaster. If there are people around me speaking Japanese, my brain just screams 'do it, do it, do it'.

Sometimes, because I restrict my eating a bit too far at times, I can start binging. If this happens, I will purge. I don't have a diagnosis of bulemia (been diagnosed anorexic in the past however), it's more just an extreme method I resort to do prevent myself putting on more weight (I'm already chubby, despite the constant dieting, maybe even because of, but that's another discussion). So I made another recording, to stop me from getting to the point where I binge. That too seems to have helped, so far.

The problem with self-hypnosis, is that there are a lot of very crappy recordings out there, but if you find the right one, it really does seem to be beneficial.

I've heard Paul Mckenna has helped a lot of people to lose weight. I have one of his books, but it is for boosting memory. It's a valuable book, but I don't think it is anywhere near as successful as his weight loss program. He once did a short series here in the UK, where he helped people lose weight at home and in the studio. loads of people I knew found it helped (although for some, it was temporary because they stopped following his advice when the novelty wore off). It seems he tried the same think in the States too.

http://youtu.be/ggWZsve_UxI

It's good advice about not over filling your stomach too.

[Maria de Luna]

Re: Food Addiction: First Steps

Different methods for different people. I could go into deep details about the seriousness of food addiction, why it needs to be done cold turkey for me but probably not much point

This is true, it works really well, (and can be the only way) for certain personality types. It really depends on the person. The best thing is if it is working for you, then do it!

[DanieMarie]

Re: Food Addiction: First Steps

My dad was only able to beat smoking cold turkey, and I know a few other people who could only quit their addictions that way.

If you do cut the foods cold turkey, it can be helpful to replace them with something. Most people I know who quit things found it helpful to replace their addiction with something else (something healthier). It could be an activity, or another food. I think those "if you crave this, then eat this" posts on various parts of the web are helpful. You could also go for an alternate food....like if you crave chips, you could make yourself kale chips.

[Medusa]

Re: Food Addiction: First Steps

First couple of steps at the moment are to plan
my food for the next day, research food addiction and admit to the foods I
consume (instead of lying or keeping it a secret)

I'm a Diabetic. So I can understand having to limit (don't say get rid of or you just set yourself up as a Villian about to fail). I have also used http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ to help me keep track of what I really eat on a daily basis.

But. I have to warn you of something. Do not end up switching your 'addiction to food' for an 'addiction to thinking about your food' on a daily basis. You need to, at some point, just eat and move on with your day.

When I was first getting my new eating under control, I could spend all my waking hours thinking of how I was going to consume my next meal, my next day, my whole week. You need to eventually just eat. Good luck.

[Gardenia]

Re: Food Addiction: First Steps

Different methods for different people and all, but speaking as someone who is familiar with food addiction? The cold turkey approach seems to lead to more issues for a lot of people. Yeah, it might work for some, but it's best to be aware of the problems that can come up with that approach, such as...

If you do cut the foods cold turkey, it can be helpful to replace them with something. Most people I know who quit things found it helpful to replace their addiction with something else (something healthier). It could be an activity, or another food. I think those "if you crave this, then eat this" posts on various parts of the web are helpful. You could also go for an alternate food....like if you crave chips, you could make yourself kale chips.

The problem with this from a food addiction perspective, rather than say a dieting one, is that you run a risk of simply replacing one addiction with another. I mean, replacing cake with say, carrots or whatever, it sounds helpful, but if you then sit and eat carrots until you're sick (which is what often happens with a food addict) then you're not much better off. Yeah, maybe it's better than eating that much cake, but the problem's still there. That's also the issue with the cold turkey approach - you simply can't stop eating. An alcoholic or smoker can just stop totally, but you have to eat, of course. So the idea of just totally giving up all the foods you love leads to that replacement problem - or, in a lot of cases to doing well for a while then going on a total binge.

I think this is why it's really important to not only get some support from other addicts, but also to actually get professional help and talk about the various methods before just going at it, if that's possible to do.

[Hawkfeathers]

Re: Food Addiction: First Steps

My relationship with food has been difficult and storied....my parents were the kind who made me clean my plate as a child, and they literally set a dish of spinach in front of me for 3 days until I ate it, when I initially refused it. I was not allowed to say when I was full - I'd be coached as to how there's just a little left, you can do it! There are children starving in other countries, etc. Plus, it was considered a sign of prosperity to have a well-fed, chubby child. Many of my classmates were chubby. We walked to school, we did not eat fast food, we did not play video games. We simply ate what was put in front of us! Showing a "healthy" (big) appetite was better than getting straight A's. Food was a reward, a comforter, you-name-it. It was all good food, I want to interject - no soda, little candy, all homemade healthy stuff. Just too much of it!!

SO I became a teenager and my big rebellion was getting thin. 700 obsessive calories a day, slipping my morning toast to the dog under the table, lying about eating lunch at school, sometimes even saying I was having dinner at a friends house, then telling the friend I had to go home for dinner, and getting out of eating entirely. I was bikini-thin and that's all that mattered. Stayed that way till I hit 30 and then the you-know-what hit the fan, my hormones went insane, I got fibroids and a host of other weird issues and gained a ton of weight. Fast forward to my late 40's and I lost a lot of that, the healthy way, but I still, to this day, eat too much......it's all good healthy stuff, but I think my "full meter" was destroyed in childhood. I remember so clearly, as an 8 year old, eating SIX hot dogs at a family barbeque and being PRAISED for it as if I'd found the key to world peace.

[Willow]

Re: Food Addiction: First Steps

It was a book my friend recommended, that started the ball rolling. Until this book, I found books very patronizing and condescending. Like, the author would go on about how pathetic smoking is, how stupid you are for doing it, how anti-social it is, tell you how much you stink.. and so on. Being told what to do in such tones, especially as an adult, is just going to make you want to rebel and resist. It seemed there were two types of non-smoker: those who'd never smoked, so couldn't possibly understand the feelings involved in cigarette addiction, or militant ex-smokers (still the most loathsome of creatures in my opinion: hooray, well done, you quit.. now shut the f*ck up and drink you capri sun). This book was different. It worked with you, not against you. It let me choose when I was going to quit and gave me little exercises to do on the build up to the big Q day. Even then, it recognised that you WILL have slip ups, that there will be those times that are just too hard to resist smoking. Rather than reset you to day 1 again, you were able to continue along the process, still considering yourself to be N days into your quit, and instead, suggested ways to reduce these slip ups until they no longer happened.

That book really helped. What also helped, was a hypnosis recording I found on Youtube.

Off Topic: Do you happen to still have the names/authors/links of the book and recording? You can pm me if we're trying to keep this thread on topic.

[dgirl1986]

Re: Food Addiction: First Steps

My dad was only able to beat smoking cold turkey, and I know a few other people who could only quit their addictions that way.

If you do cut the foods cold turkey, it can be helpful to replace them with something. Most people I know who quit things found it helpful to replace their addiction with something else (something healthier). It could be an activity, or another food. I think those "if you crave this, then eat this" posts on various parts of the web are helpful. You could also go for an alternate food....like if you crave chips, you could make yourself kale chips.

That is what I have started doing, finding alternatives for the foods I should stay away from. Some of them are really tasty, some not so much lol.

- - - Updated - - -

I'm a Diabetic. So I can understand having to limit (don't say get rid of or you just set yourself up as a Villian about to fail). I have also used http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ to help me keep track of what I really eat on a daily basis.

But. I have to warn you of something. Do not end up switching your 'addiction to food' for an 'addiction to thinking about your food' on a daily basis. You need to, at some point, just eat and move on with your day.

When I was first getting my new eating under control, I could spend all my waking hours thinking of how I was going to consume my next meal, my next day, my whole week. You need to eventually just eat. Good luck.

Yeah I am constantly planning the food for the next day, but I am trying to establish a food routine so that I wont have to think about it so much.

I was obsessing over soup last night o.O

- - - Updated - - -

The problem with this from a food addiction perspective, rather than say a dieting one, is that you run a risk of simply replacing one addiction with another. I mean, replacing cake with say, carrots or whatever, it sounds helpful, but if you then sit and eat carrots until you're sick (which is what often happens with a food addict) then you're not much better off. Yeah, maybe it's better than eating that much cake, but the problem's still there. That's also the issue with the cold turkey approach - you simply can't stop eating. An alcoholic or smoker can just stop totally, but you have to eat, of course. So the idea of just totally giving up all the foods you love leads to that replacement problem - or, in a lot of cases to doing well for a while then going on a total binge.

I think this is why it's really important to not only get some support from other addicts, but also to actually get professional help and talk about the various methods before just going at it, if that's possible to do.

I only have issues with food that are rich in salt, fat and sugar pretty much...and maybe even wheat. I do not tend to want to eat a lot of...say...bananas or something.

- - - Updated - - -

My relationship with food has been difficult and storied....my parents were the kind who made me clean my plate as a child, and they literally set a dish of spinach in front of me for 3 days until I ate it, when I initially refused it. I was not allowed to say when I was full - I'd be coached as to how there's just a little left, you can do it! There are children starving in other countries, etc. Plus, it was considered a sign of prosperity to have a well-fed, chubby child. Many of my classmates were chubby. We walked to school, we did not eat fast food, we did not play video games. We simply ate what was put in front of us! Showing a "healthy" (big) appetite was better than getting straight A's. Food was a reward, a comforter, you-name-it. It was all good food, I want to interject - no soda, little candy, all homemade healthy stuff. Just too much of it!!

SO I became a teenager and my big rebellion was getting thin. 700 obsessive calories a day, slipping my morning toast to the dog under the table, lying about eating lunch at school, sometimes even saying I was having dinner at a friends house, then telling the friend I had to go home for dinner, and getting out of eating entirely. I was bikini-thin and that's all that mattered. Stayed that way till I hit 30 and then the you-know-what hit the fan, my hormones went insane, I got fibroids and a host of other weird issues and gained a ton of weight. Fast forward to my late 40's and I lost a lot of that, the healthy way, but I still, to this day, eat too much......it's all good healthy stuff, but I think my "full meter" was destroyed in childhood. I remember so clearly, as an 8 year old, eating SIX hot dogs at a family barbeque and being PRAISED for it as if I'd found the key to world peace.

yeah that kind of thing certainly doesnt help. When I was younger my fathers mother would sit me in front of a movie with a jar of biscuits in one hand and a jar of lollies in the other.