Food addiction is a real and serious eating disorder. Sometimes it can be hard for people to understand (like most EDs). I know Ive sped to the 7/11 at midnight to buy chocolates. Do you relate to any of the symptoms mentioned in the article below?

Jane sneaks out of the house at midnight and drives six miles to the local 7-Eleven to get a chocolate bar. This has become a nightly ritual. She’s gaining weight and feels profoundly ashamed of her lack of self-control. Though she vows to stop this behavior, she can’t seem to shake the craving night after night.

Jane is a food addict.

In many ways, food can closely resemble a drug – caffeine and sugar offer a quick pick-me-up while carbohydrates and comfort foods can help soothe and relax the mind. Some people use food, like drugs, to feel at ease in social situations or to unwind after a long day. If you think about food constantly throughout the day, have compulsive cravings for certain types of foods, or waste more than half of your daily calories binging on unhealthy snacks, you may be one of the 18 million Americans who suffer from food addiction.

What Is Food Addiction?
Food addiction, like any other addiction, is a loss of control. Food addicts are preoccupied with thoughts of food, body weight, and body image, and compulsively consume abnormally large amounts of food. Even though they understand the harm caused by their behavior, they just can’t stop. Food addicts tend to crave and eat foods that are harmful to their bodies. For example, people with food allergies may crave the foods they are allergic to, while diabetics may crave and overindulge in sugar, despite the adverse effects.

Demi Lovato Recently Attended Rehab for Food Addiction

Food-aholics generally gorge on fat, salt, and sugar in the form of junk food and sweets. If they are feeling depressed, lonely, or disappointed, they consume large amounts of chips, chocolate, or other comfort foods for a “high.” As with most addictions, the high wears off, leaving the person feeling sick, guilty, and even more depressed. Because the addict is out of control, she will repeat the same eating patterns over and over again in an effort to feel better.

Compulsive overeaters often eat much more rapidly than normal and hide their shame by eating in secret. Most overeaters are moderately to severely obese, with an average binge eater being 60% overweight. Individuals with binge eating disorders often find that their eating or weight interferes with their relationships, their work, and their self-esteem. Although compulsive overeaters or binge dieters often struggle with food addiction, eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia are also considered types of food addictions.

Addiction or Bad Habit?
Unlike drug and alcohol addiction, which have been recognized by the medical profession for years, addiction specialists still question whether food can be genuinely addictive. Is the obsession with eating a true addiction, or just a bad habit?

Some experts are quite skeptical of putting food in the same category as drugs or alcohol. They argue that people like junk food because it tastes good, not because they are physically incapable of controlling their behavior. Others contend that individuals who abuse substances in excess of need, despite the harm it can cause, are addicts, whether the substance is alcohol, drugs, or food.

In some cases, food addicts trying to break the habit claim to experience both physical and emotional withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, insomnia, mood changes, tremors, cramps, and depression. In an animal study at Princeton University, researchers found that after rats binged on sugar, they showed classic signs of withdrawal when the sweets were removed from their diet, which suggests foods like sugar can be addictive.

Brain imaging studies conducted by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory have found that food affects the brain’s dopamine systems in much the same way as drugs and alcohol. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with feelings of pleasure and reward. When psychiatrist Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and her colleagues compared brain images of methamphetamine users with obese people, they found both groups had significantly fewer dopamine receptors than healthy people. Moreover, the higher the body mass index, the fewer the dopamine receptors, which may explain why it is so difficult for some people to lose weight and keep it off.

Are You a Food Addict?
Whether the obsession with food is a true addiction or simply a bad habit, one thing is clear: Your health is on the line. Obesity, psychological disorders, and diabetes are just a few of the health risks associated with compulsive eating.

If you’re worried that you may have a food addiction, FoodAddicts.org recommends that you answer the following questions:

Have you ever wanted to stop eating and found you just couldn’t?
Do you think about food or your weight constantly?
Do you find yourself attempting one diet or food plan after another, with no lasting success?
Do you binge and then “get rid of the binge” through vomiting, exercise, laxatives, or other forms of purging?
Do you eat differently in private than you do in front of other people?
Has a doctor or family member ever approached you with concern about your eating habits or weight?
Do you eat large quantities of food at one time?
Is your weight problem due to your “nibbling” all day long?
Do you eat to escape from your feelings?
Do you eat when you’re not hungry?
Have you ever discarded food, only to retrieve it and eat it later?
Do you eat in secret?
Do you fast or severely restrict your food intake?
Have you ever stolen other people’s food?
Have you ever hidden food to make sure you have “enough?”
Do you feel driven to exercise excessively to control your weight?
Do you obsessively calculate the calories you’ve burned against the calories you’ve eaten?
Do you frequently feel guilty or ashamed about what you’ve eaten?
Are you waiting for your life to begin “when you lose the weight?”
Do you feel hopeless about your relationship with food?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you may have, or be in danger of developing, a food addiction or eating disorder. Although food addiction is not nearly as intense as alcohol and drug addictions, you may need help regaining control of your life.
Treating Food Addiction
Change is never easy, and overcoming food addiction is no exception. It will require a combination of discipline, healthy eating habits, and exercise. In many ways, treatment of food addiction is similar to drug and alcohol addiction. The first step to recovery is recognizing and accepting the problem, and identifying which foods cause allergic symptoms and cravings. However, unlike drug and alcohol addiction, food addicts can’t quit cold turkey. Everyone has to eat. Instead of taking drastic measures, make the following changes gradually, one small step at a time.

Reprogram your taste buds. If you eat tons of sugar-laden foods, your taste buds get used to the flavor and you will start craving sweeter and sweeter foods. When buying foods that aren’t supposed to be sweet, like pasta sauce, bread, and crackers, make sure they don’t have added sweeteners like fructose, dextrose, and corn syrup. Slowly try to limit sweet or salty foods in favor of fruits and vegetables to restore the sensitivity in your taste buds.

Plan your meals. Food addicts often hide food or binge when they are alone. One way around this is to avoid hiding a stash of food in your car, desk, or nightstand. Also, plan out healthy meals in advance, portion out single servings on smaller plates, and eat scheduled meals at the dinner table. If you eat in front of the TV or while talking on the phone, you’re more likely to eat large amounts of food without realizing it. Though it may take a few weeks to change your eating patterns, your brain will eventually get used to smaller portions of healthy foods and generate fewer snack-food cravings.

Moderate your hunger. People with food addiction tend to take an all-or-nothing approach to dieting, bouncing from ravenous to overstuffed. A useful tool to moderate food consumption is to rate your hunger on a scale of zero to ten, zero being starving and ten being overstuffed, then try to stay between three and five. If you wait until you hit zero, you may not stop eating until you reach ten.

Know your weaknesses. Everyone has a list of foods that are hard to turn down. If you can’t resist a fine loaf of bread at a restaurant, ask the waiter not to bring the bread basket to your table. If you can’t walk past an ice cream parlor without stopping for a scoop or two, take a different route. If you have a habit of eating cookies or popcorn while watching TV at night, read a book or walk the dog instead. If these tricks don’t work, stop buying unhealthy foods at the grocery store. If it’s in your kitchen, you’re probably going to eat it.

Deal with the real issues. Typically a food addict will numb unpleasant feelings with food. If you stop relying on food, you can learn to tackle problems head-on and let yourself feel the sadness, anger, or boredom without using food as a crutch.

Find healthy ways to cope. For food addicts, the next salt or sugar fix becomes the dominating force in their life. The best treatment is to find other ways to fill the void, like working out, hiking, going out with friends, or talking to a therapist. Exercise sparks the same pleasure centers of the brain as food, and offers a similar high without the guilt. If you’re not physically hungry but you’re struggling to resist a craving, brush your teeth, drink water, leave the house for a few minutes, or choose a healthy substitute like yogurt instead of ice cream or baked chips instead of potato chips.

Give yourself a break. The guilt people feel after overeating perpetuates the addiction. They’re sad because they ate too much, so they turn to food for solace. Learn to forgive yourself and don’t get discouraged by minor setbacks.

Food addiction can be a serious problem. Just ask the people who habitually visit the drive-thru at midnight or load up on candy bars on a daily basis. To beat the addiction, sometimes all you need is motivation to change and a few lifestyle modifications. In more severe cases, you may need to seek help from a food addiction group like Overeaters Anonymous, a mental health professional, or an addiction treatment center. In either case, a shift in outlook must occur: Eat to live, don’t live to eat.

Source

WHERE TO FIND HELP: There is a website called Food Addicts Anonymous that can point you in the right direction. There may even be FAA meetings in your area
www.foodaddictsanonymous.com

I think its safe to say we’ve all had a binge at one point in our lives. Some more often than others. When I used to live at home I’ll admit that I was a frequent binge eater. I was alot heavier and spent many a night at the local 7/11 stocking up on icecream and chocolate.
Since moving out of home I have now taken control of my diet. Sure I still have the times when I go a little bit too crazy with the junk food but I don’t beat myself up about it anymore. Here are some of my personal tips & then an article taken from shape.com which I think will be really helpful for anybody who suffers from binge eating or may have a binge eating disorder.

• If you feel like something sweet have fruit instead of junk food
• If you must have some bad food then try having only a few bites. Sometimes I think I eat junk food just to remind myself that I have the option. After I have a few bites I realize that I didn’t really want the junk food to begin with
• If I’m out at a cafe with a friend I will order a skinny cappuccino with 1 raw sugar. I used to be a fan of equal and splenda until I learned the dangers of aspartame. I find that having a sweet coffee with curb any cravings I may have and stop me from ordering a piece of the delicious looking cakes in the window display
• Drink lots of water before you feel a binge coming on. Sometimes your body is just thirsty! Sounds weird but its true!
• Never allow yourself to get too hungry. I eat at regular intervals because once my blood sugar drops I become a hungry/angry demon. I will demolish everything in my path and disregard the nutritional content. I may even eat you if you are in the way

Here is the article I was telling you about!




Don’t sabotage your workout routines with unhealthy binge eating. Instead, find out what you need to do to stop the binging.

Eating so you’re full and satisfied, rather than giving in to emotional overeating to fill a void or simply because the food is there, takes some planning—and a few good strategies. Here they are:

Healthy eating tips # 1. Identify high-risk situations.

Few people overeat in every situation, so determine the circumstances that are likely to trigger a binge. Once you’ve identified which situations are most likely to spark emotional overeating, come up with a game plan for each one. For example, if eating at relatives’ always involves plentiful gooey desserts, plan to make or buy a low-fat dessert, and bring it with you for everyone to share. If you can’t go to the movies without snacking on something, sneak in your own bag of air-popped popcorn or some low-cal candy.

Healthy eating tips # 2. Keep a record of what you put in your mouth in a food diary.

In a study at the Center for Behavioral Medicine in Chicago, researchers asked 38 people who were trying to lose weight to keep a food diary; doing so not only helped them control their weight during high-risk holidays, but even helped them peel off unwanted pounds. Keep it simple—it doesn’t have to include total calories or fat grams—but don’t forget to jot down snacks or drinks, which can add up. You need to maintain a record at least 75 percent of the time for a food diary to be effective.

Healthy eating tips # 3. Explore food-free ways to socialize.

In social situations, everybody eats more if they see everybody else doing so. If this sounds familiar, get in the habit of bonding with friends over activities that don’t center around food: a walk at the park, an afternoon at a paint-your-own-pottery shop, a long bike ride or hike, or trying a new class at the gym.

Use these healthy eating tips to fill you up without binging: maintain portion control, choose low calorie foods and avoid temptation.

Healthy eating tips # 4. Dine smart and use portion control.

Research—and common sense—tells us we eat much more when we dine out. Do damage control at restaurants by speed-reading the menu: Skip past “appetizers” and head straight for “salads” for a safe starter, and look for any mention of plate-sharing charges, a sure sign that the restaurant’s meals are enormous and that you and your dining companion may want to split one. (Note some restaurants will honor requests for half-size portion control, or if it’s a low-key establishment, ask the waiter to serve just half and box the rest for you to take home.) Once you pick a healthy option from the menu, order before anyone else at the table. That way, you make the commitment and you won’t be persuaded by other people’s orders.

Healthy eating tips # 5. Eat thin before fat, choosing low calorie foods – or at least lower – first.

People tend to overeat the more-delicious, more-palatable foods, which have a higher fat content. The solution: Fill up on low calorie foods first—fruits, vegetables and grains—and you’ll be less likely to overindulge in the high-calorie stuff.

Healthy eating tips # 6. Keep temptation out of your path.

Get rid of junk food and replace it with better choices—rice cakes or pretzels for your pantry; low-fat frozen yogurt, pre-made fruit salad and baby carrots for your fridge; and reduced-fat popcorn or dried fruit for your desk drawer. It’s going to be easier for you to avoid overeating if you control your external environment.

Article Source

If you think you may be suffering from binge eating disorder, here are a list of websites that can offer you further help
http://au.reachout.com/find/articles/binge-eating-disorder
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/binge-eating-disorder/DS00608
http://www.eatingdisorders.org.au/eating-disorders/types-of-eating-disorders/binge-eating-disorder-2/what-is-binge-eating-disorder.html

Article Source

I know it may seem trendy or cool to be extremely thin and a size 0, I admit I have wanted to be size 0 before but now I realise that its not all its cracked up to be. Being super thin doesn’t make you happy. Actually I think you will find that it will make you unhappy and withdrawn from your friends and family. I’ve been doing some research and a lot of people search for ‘how to be anorexic’. It’s pretty silly isn’t it. Celebrities who are super skinny gain media attention and the more exposure they have the more work they get. This gives young girls the message that being extremely thin makes you popular and happy.

The only way to be as thin as Nicole Richie or Mary Kate used to be is to starve yourself. If you do starve yourself chances are it will lead to uncontrollable binge episodes and then you will be riddled with guilt. This is how eating disorders come about. After you have eaten a huge amount of calories uncontrollably you will be desperate to get rid of them. This is how bulimia starts. Bulimia, exercise bulimia or taking laxatives (its proven laxatives don’t do get rid of any of the calories at all, it just gets rid of water weight making you feel better about yourself).

I think a lot of the celebrities do have eating disorders and the ones who do are definitely not happy. An eating disorder can quickly and easily overtake your life. A lot of the time eating disorders develop from diets. Somebody may decide they want to lose weight so they start on a healthy diet and exercise plan. People start to notice and give them compliments, this is where it can become addictive. Eventually weight loss slows down and the person has to reduce calories even further to see any results. Then the weight loss will stop again and once again calories are reduced. It’s a vicious cycle and something to be avoided.

I’ve included a couple of videos, the first one is Kim Strothers. She’s a Ford Fitness Model and eats 5 times a day. The second video is a TV Ad about anorexia. The girl in the ad probably eats less than 200 calories a day or goes for days without eating and exercises a lot. Notice how vibrant and happy Kim is and how unhappy and depressed the girl in the second video is. It just proves that a healthy diet and exercise regime really makes the world of difference. Click here to get a healthy diet plan.

Eating disorders are lonely. If you think you may be suffering from an eating disorder there is help available out there. Go to http://www.CaringOnline.com