8 signs that you are food addicted

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Systematic overeating and night trips to the refrigerator indicate a problem that requires an immediate solution.

How to know if you have food addiction

1. You keep eating even if you are full

By itself, the desire to continue eating after you have already finished with a full meal does not indicate upset. For example, it's okay to sometimes want ice cream after steak with potatoes and vegetables. However, if this happens systematically and you cannot control yourself, then we are probably talking about an addiction Binge Eating Disorder and Food Addiction.

The brain requires new portions of food not to restore energy reserves, but to receive the reward hormone dopamine.

In severe cases, you simply cannot stop until the food runs out or you begin to experience terrible discomfort. The belly is full and seems to explode if you eat another bite.

2. You eat more than you planned

You've probably come across people who easily refuse the second portion of something delicious. Moreover, they may not even eat the first portion if they did not plan it in advance.

For some, this approach to food looks like a feat. And if you take a piece of cake and then find yourself in front of an empty box from under it, it is definitely addiction. The same mechanism of Current considerations regarding food addiction is at work here as in drug addiction: the concept of "moderation" simply does not exist. And accordingly, telling a food addict to eat a little less is almost the same as asking an alcoholic to drink less often.

3. You feel guilty, but you continue to overeat

You not only eat too much, but also realize that it is wrong and harmful. But remorse doesn't make the situation any easier.

You find yourself in a vicious circle in which you feel good and joyful only when you have a plate of goodies in front of you. The rest of the time you suffer. Isn't that a signal to go out and eat again to feel happy?

4. You come up with excuses to eat

You have decided to take the path of moderation, but sooner or later the craving for food will make itself felt. And a bidding will begin in your head, during which you come up with a million arguments why you can break your promises.

For example, today is a holiday, you had a bad day that needs to be "sweetened", or, conversely, a good day, and this should be noted … In short, you have a million reasons to eat forbidden things, and they all sound so logical, so rational that there is no reason resist.

5. You hide food from others

When your relationship with food is not going well, you realize that it would be better to hide it from others. You can sneak to the refrigerator at night, hastily eat a chocolate bar on the way from store to home, carry a stock of unhealthy foods in your car.

This point directly echoes the previous one, the only difference is that the strength of the feeling of guilt increases many times over.

6. You are looking for excuses to break loose

Sometimes people who quit smoking deliberately create a stressful event so that they can return to the cigarette. For example, they initiate a scandal with his wife, who insists on giving up her bad habit in order to go to the balcony with a clear conscience, and then say that it is her fault, brought it.

With food, such situations are also possible, and if you simulate situations in order to overeat with a clear conscience, and then shift the blame for it to someone else, then this speaks of addiction.

7. You overeat despite health problems

Sooner or later, undisciplined eating will lead to health problems. In the short term, it can be overweight, acne, fatigue, in the long term - diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, problems with the cardiovascular system.

And in this case, overeating will also be appropriate to compare with drug addiction: you know that your addiction is slowly killing you, but you cannot break out of its networks.

8. You give up meetings and parties because of food

You can no longer turn a blind eye to the problem, and you begin to avoid meetings and holidays where food may be. For example, you do not go to celebrate the birthday of your beloved grandmother, because you know that you will not resist her fat cutlets and an appetizing cake. And this will lead to another round of overeating and guilt.

How to deal with food addiction

Get tested

Take a comprehensive examination. It is possible that your food addiction is due to disorders in the body, for example, in the endocrine system. In this case, the doctor will prescribe a course of hormonal drugs.

See a psychologist

You can tell a person as much as you want to show will, but any addiction is a serious problem, and it needs to be solved with specialists. A psychologist will help you figure out what you are saving yourself from with food, what unspoken difficulties you are trying to solve.

Find like-minded people

For any addiction there are "Clubs of Anonymous …", where you will meet people with the same problem at different stages of its solution. Such organizations may be called the "overeating club" or "gluttonous anonymous club".

It is important that group members focus specifically on health - physical and psychological. But gatherings of people who are preoccupied with losing weight and cubes on their stomachs are best avoided, no matter how they are called. Because your problem is in your head.

Make a meal plan

Obviously, you’ve tried to eat more efficiently a hundred times already, made plans and immediately broke them. Therefore, the one hundred and first time must be approached responsibly. First, don't cut your diet too much. If the body lacks nutrients, the dependence on food will only spur on physical hunger.

Secondly, choose a diet that is comfortable, but such that you always feel full. Third, prepare food in advance and arrange in portions so that you are not tempted to eat more than you measured on the scale.

All this does not guarantee that there will be no breakdowns, but it will be a little easier for you.

Eliminate annoying factors

Choose a few non-food ways to deal with stress. It is better that these were not emergency measures, but preventive ones, with a long-term effect. The less nervous you are, the easier it will be to keep track of your hunger and gut feelings.