Food Addiction?

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Does anyone else out there have issues with food?

I've had issues with food for as long as I can remember. In times of stress, boredom, turmoil, sadness, or uncertainty, food was the only enjoyable crutch in my life. My past weights have reflected my love-hate relationship with food, because I have constantly bounced from normal body weights to obesity to overweight, then back to normal BMI and so forth.

Specializes in ER, PACU, Med-Surg, Hospice, LTC.

Thank you for starting this thread.

My Aunt is what I would consider 'addicted' to food. All she talks about is food. She is constantly grocery shopping or cooking. All conversations will come back to the topic of food. To me, she fixates on food like a drug addict would fixate on scoring their next high.

It makes me so sad because she now has a lot of health problems because she is Morbidly Obese.

You know what is really sad? She actually started going to the community pool and was feeling good about getting out and doing something. I was so happy for her! A woman who also swims (and is aware that my Aunt use to work as an RN) said to her one day, "Wow, I can't believe that a person with your knowledge in the Medical field would let yourself go like you have".

Well, my Aunt quit going to the pool.

I tried to talk to her about it, but now she is so concerned that she will run into this woman again, she doesn't want to go. It makes me angry and sad at the same time. She still won't tell me who said it. Apparently, I know this person!!

Anyway, I will talk more about this when I have time. I really am worried about her.

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Specializes in ER, TRAUMA, MED-SURG.

Hello and happy dieting to everyone here with us on the thread.of food addiction! Last night if I could have strangled my 15 year old stepson and not gone to jail, I would have!!! For my hubbie and the two boys ages 10 and 15, I cooked their "usual good tasting but has fat content I am not allowing myself to partake in and grilled chicken for me marinated in a little beef broth. I hid my "diet supper" under the lettuce and cucumbers in the crisper drawer knowing they would God forbid NEVER look there much less eat salad. EVERY bit of my grilled chicken was gone! The 15 year old bypassed the rest of supper I made for them which was still on the stove. I was CHAPPED!!!

But I made it through and saw my cardiologist today and lost 6 pounds!! Didn't think it would happen!!!

Anne, RNC:w00t:

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It can threaten and overwhelm your life just like smoking, drugs, or alcohol. that mind set is one of the reasons why people with COE are hesitant to get help... because they don't think food will kill them.

i am on the other side of the food addiction spectrum. i have been a relapsing and recovering anorexic and bulimic. i use food to punish myself... to gain some form of control over my life... and just when i think i have it under control, i find myself stressed out and wanting to restrict or purge.

i have been hospitalized numerous times for my eating disorders and also have been in many different day groups.... and there was a vast range of us there, sometimes you can't just look at someone and know that they are eating disordered..there are overweight anorexics, and underweight COE's. it is very interesting to see the stereotypes provided for people with various edo's such as anorexics are always 70 pounds, bulimics are alwyas chubby and coe's are always obese... because it is so very untrue!!!

there were anorexics, bulimics and compulsive overeaters there... all for the same reason.... one way or another, we are addicted to food and using it for control... whether it be eating for comfort, overexercising to compensate overeating, or not eating at all.... it is an addiction and a disease that encircles one important part of maintaining life.... eating.

i understand the food addiction and daily struggle with it. food terrifies me. eating is always an internal battle. but the first step in getting better is understanding that it is an addiction and sometimes its too much to try and overcome on your own.

i hope you guys don't mind me joining your group. :cheers:

Thanks for sharing your story. Welcome to the group! :balloons:

steph

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Specializes in OB, M/S, HH, Medical Imaging RN.

I am a food addict. I eat when I'm sad, I eat when I'm mad, I eat when I'm stressed, I eat when I'm happy, I eat when I'm celebrating, I eat when it's a special occasion, whatever the reason, I eat too much.

I am a size 20 and have been overweight for the better part of 20 years. Last year I lost 35 pounds by taking phenteramine but I started feeling bad with only taking 1/2 pill QD so I went off of it. My blood sugar started going up, my cholesterol went up, I felt bad. (I have never had abnormal labs before) All of my labs have returned to normal since being off of the phenteramine. I have gained about 15-20 lbs back over the past 6 months so I'm relieved I didn't gain it all back really quickly. One other time about 10 years ago I lost 40 pounds (Slim-Fast) and of course eventually gained it back. Those are the only 2 times I've lost. I don't yo-yo diet.

I do not like to exercise by myself and cannot seem to get motivated.

I am convinced that simple carbohydrates are my downfall. If I can stay off of white sugar, white flour, white potatoes, white rice, white bread, etc...then I can control what goes in my mouth.

A high protein/low carb diet works well for me but I get so constipated I don't know what to do. I can't live the rest of my life taking a daily fleets enema. :o

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Specializes in MCH, L&D.

it feels so good to know i'm not alone. i've been telling myself that i'm a food addict and that i need help. i eat all the time, when i'm happy, sad, broke, depressed, joyfull, bored, and when i'm full, i am constantly thinking/obsessing about food. fantasizing about what i could be eating. i thank god i'm not completely overweight....... yet! i'm getting there slowly. i want to lose weight, but not at the expense of eating what i want....when i want it. i love food, i don't understand how ppl can starve themselves! maybe i need to join one of those support groups or something.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.
i want to lose weight, but not at the expense of eating what i want....when i want it.

let me know how that works.

that attitude is one that i have and isn't working well for me. :o

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So those who have utilized programs like weight watches and over eaters anonymous can you explain a little bit more about them and their processes? I've contemplated looking into both as options, but I'm rather afraid to.

I can talk about overeaters anonymous meetings. I go to meetings which usually last an hour. It is just like an AA 12 step meeting except we replace the word alcohol with compulsive overeating. Some people will talk about things that are bothering them in life. For example, instead of me getting angry at a family member or co-worker and going out and "overeating" about it, I now express myself and tell other people at my meeting what is bothering me. We just take turns listening to other people's problems and also talking about the good things that are happening in our lives. Some people, especially when first going to meetings don't say anything, they just listen. They just pass a basket around during the meeting for contributions. Most people put $2-3 dollars in the basket and some people can't afford to put anything in the basket and that's OK too. It's so nice to have friends with the same addiction. Everything that you say at the meetings are kept confidential. Food addiction is a chronic,progressive and ultimately fatal disease. It is chronic because the condition never goes away,progressive because the symptoms always get worse over time and fatal because those who persist in the disease will die an early death due to its complications.

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Specializes in acute care.

Ouch, ouch, ouch! The one thread I was avoiding just smacked me in the face....Ahh, food. The thing is, I don't eat when I'm depressed, but I eat when I'm happy, studying, bored or just because the food is there. Two years ago, I started dating my ex and developed bad eating habits again, eating chips and cake at midnight. He stayed slim, and I gained 30 pounds....13 of them are gone now, but I feel like, what's the point of trying to lose it? I'm just going to gain it back and then some anyway.

It's a cycle. Gain weight, lose it, gain it back plus more, and repeat. I want it to end.

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Specializes in LTC, home health, critical care, pulmonary nursing.

Wow. It's astounding to me the number of nurses I know personally who struggle with addictions...

I'm addicted to food in a different sense than what others have posted. I've battled anorexia and bulimia for 15 years. I finally went to residential treatment in summer '07. I'm only six months out of treatment, and recovery is the hardest thing I've ever done. The treatment facility I went to was amazing, but what struck me more than anything was the other women there who were in rehab for the 5th, 10, or 15th time. They spend their entire lives going from hospital to hospital...I do not want to live my life being sick. It is a daily struggle to choose to cope in a positive manner, and not use the old behaviors, and I don't always make that choice, but now that I've experienced a little bit of life without an eating disorder, I'm going to keep fighting. I'm only 24, and I've wasted so much of my life. God has kept me alive for a reason, and I don't want to waste any more of the precious time I have. Despite the battle and the mistakes, I AM winning.

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Specializes in Psych..

Many thanks to Commuter for starting this thread and to everyone else who shared their stories and made me feel less alone, especially the person who recognized that eating disorders come in all shapes and sizes. This board has everything, doesn't it?

At age 8, reacting to stressful life events, I was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. Since then, I've lost the same 60-80 pounds and gained them back numerous times, and bounce around from underweight to obese on a regular basis. I eat when I'm hungry, full, happy, sad, depressed, etc. I'm obsessed with chocolate and baked goods and will leave the house at 2am in my pajamas if the urge comes on too strong. I've read all the books, taken Nutrition classes, and I know how to eat healthy. But once I start the "new eating plan for life", that little demon in my head starts talking. The one that tells me that if cutting down to 1500 calories a day is good, cutting down to 500 is even better! If exercising for 1 hour is good, 4 hours is better! So then I get scared and chuck the plan. I sure wish there was a reset button on the back of my head that would make food exactly what it is supposed to be--energy for my body, nothing more, nothing less.

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Specializes in LTC.
My oh my...you hit the nail on the head!!! Food addiction is my best friend. I have even become morbidly obese and want to get help, maybe someone can offer some help in here. I eat when I am happy, sad,lonely, glad, up, down...you name it. I need help..I really do!!! My health insurance won't pay for gastric bypass because I'm not sick enough. So what the hell...I'm a healthy obese person??? C'mon, you think that the insurance would want to help me so that I can get off my meds and prevent future illness. We live in a real backwards society as far as the insurance companies are concerned. Anyway, I'm gonna try to get them to consider me again, I WANT TO LIVE!!! I just think that if I could get a little surgical intervention that I could work on the behavioral part and get healthy for once in my whole life. I have been heavy for as long as I can remember. I do want to be healthy as soon as I can. Any suggestions???

I'm far from an authority on health insurance, but I wonder if it's one of those deals where they routinely reject first requests....just kind of thinking out loud, I guess. It is absolutely mortifying that we are a world power and are in this healthcare crisis. Sorry to hijack the thread.

As far as food addiction: I went vegan a couple weeks ago (mostly because I'm a huge animal lover and read some really disturbing propaganda). I didn't notice a difference in how I felt until today, when I gorged on cookies and Hershey chocolate (eggs and milk). UGH, I felt miserable. I am convinced I have a sugar addiction; I really "get off" on the sugar high and then crash really hard. The question is, what can I do about it? I feel so out of control while I'm pigging out, but then I can go days or even weeks and do ok. I don't get it! Thanks for listening. :cry:

Psych, I totally get what you're going through. Hang in there...hugs.

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Specializes in Med Surg, Hospice.

Weight Watchers' program is simple. If you weigh x amount of pounds, you find that weight in the book. Each weight has a range of 25#, so a person who weighs 120# will fit into the 120-125# range (I am just making up numbers here). That range will get I think, 20 points (It might be 22, I can't remember now). Each food is assigned a point value, so what you eat, you add up the points and when you hit your total number allowed, you quit eating for the day, or finish the day with no point foods. You also get points for exercising, which you can swap out for extra food points, but I never added the points when I exercised. You can eat what you want (I had chocolate every day) so long as you count it in your points.

The meetings are great support, but I need the social end of things. (Geminis hate being alone. *LOL*)

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