What is Food Addiction
Compulsive overeating is characterised by an addiction to food. An individual suffering from compulsive overeating disorder engages in frequent episodes of uncontrolled eating, or ...
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Could someone shine some light on where to start?
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My food addiction is worse than it has been for YEARS. And it was never really under control. Now I just don't care. I always find myself buying the foods I use to binge. I ate 2 boxes of girl scout cookies by myself in the past few days in addition to the loads of muffins, cookies, iced coffees, doughy things, and occasional fried/fatty thing or salty/crunchy things. I find myself doing it more and more intentionally, to hurt myself. Plus 10 minutes of binging really does take away everything else for that 10 minutes. I binge a lot while driving, which is really dangerous.
Well, to get to my question. Where do I even start? Every attempt in the past has led to severe withdrawal symptoms. Headaches and fatigue, inability to concentrate, really strong cravings. And it seems when I have more awareness about the problem (like when I'm trying to abstain from binge eating) the cravings and compulsions are worse. So please, any feedback at all is welcome, I want to do something. I feel so yucky and shameful all the time (I can't even get away from it in my dreams anymore). Thank you Posted on 06/19/09, 12:06 am |
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Hello
I wish I knew the answer to your question, because I need to start too. I do have an appt to see a nutrionist next week and will be seeing my counselor in July. I have been bingeing so much lately. From tuna fish subs to McDonalds to Doritos followed up by Ben & Jerrys. I ate 6 choc chip cookies from Subway yesterday. I have a few 5000+ calorie days recently. Please feel free to email me and we can chat... 
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well for me I started slowly... binge eating is such a crutch, i even miss it. but i dont miss how I felt after wards.. the shame is terrible...
have you tried any counseling? reached out at all... even when i got my diet under control, I binged here and there when I was overwhelmed... the therapist really helped... we both know you are eating to cover up something.... good luck and try and take some positive steps...
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I've been seeing a counselor, but she is also someone who overeats. While she can relate, she admittedly cannot help with this issue.
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well time for a counselor who understands over eating...
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I think you need to start with you. What don't you like about you (other than your weight/eating habits)? What isn't going well in your life? There is something underlying that you're not dealing with and the result is over eating. It's difficult, and the time will come where you'll be ready, but maybe it's not the eating you should focus on but the reason why you're doing it.
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I found that a support group--and I mean more than a place like this where a person posts a reply a few times a day maybe.---was the missing piece. Plus I started following a food plan---not a diet---which eliminated trigger foods like sugar, flour and wheat. I have now been away from those substances for over three years now and the power that food once had over me has lessened considerably.
The support group which in my case is a 12 step program helped me deal with emotional issues. It also provided me with a "hotline" 24 hours a day if I felt cravings or the need to pick up certain foods, I could call someone and they could talk me down.. There is help out there and there are people who understand.
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I think it's interesting when you mentioned that the more you try, the worse it gets. (Well, you wrote something along those lines, anyway.) The same is very true with me. I have no follow up with this, other than we should probably try to take our focus off of the eating. I think it's interesting too, that I tend to reach goals when I don't try so damn hard. Weird!!! ????
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I don't binge very often but I know that when I do, there's always a dichotomy of dialogue running in my head akin to "I'm eating this because it makes me feel good/I'm treating myself/I'm loving myself (because nobody else does, right?)" along with "I want this food and I'll be damned if society/problem X/whatever is going to take this away from me".
As you can see, I'm kind of using food as a control over things in my life. That's where most of the conflict comes in for me. I know that by binging, even if it's not what I really want, nobody else can stop me. I'm the only one who can put things in my mouth. I have all of the power. And the power makes me feel secure. Granted I know this but I still feel pretty powerless sometimes. But I think that in discovering what it is you're really trying to do or say with a binge, you're empowering yourself even more. You'll be giving yourself the weapon you need to defend yourself ...against yourself.
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wow! i can TOTALLY relate! i have just become aware of my food addiction recently. and this is something that i'm struggling with. i recently realized that-for me at least-the reason why the cravings are so much stronger now that i'm trying to fight them is this: before i was conscious of my addiction, i would just go get whatever food i wanted. now that i'm trying to fight it, i can't do that anymore, so i'm going crazy because somehow i feel i am depriving myself.
i find that being honest with your family and friends helps a lot. also i don't know if you are a spiritual person, but i pray a lot. a book that i recently got and looks like it will help (haven't started reading it yet) is called "press pause before you eat". it's by dr. linda mintle. she's a christian counsoler who specializes in food addiction. i got my copy at barnes and noble.
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