How To Overcome Food Addiction: Eating For Strength
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Some people use the term "eating your feelings" to describe using food to cope with challenging emotions. Although eating for comfort rather than nourishment may be familiar, it might not be looked at with as much scrutiny, consideration, or pause as other forms of coping, like substance use or pursuing adrenaline through sports. Despite stigmas or misunderstandings, eating for comfort and eating to cope are potentially dangerous behaviors and could be signs of an eating disorder or addiction to food.
What defines addiction?
The term "food addiction" is somewhat controversial. The Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) does not include food addiction as a mental health condition. The term "addiction" is often exclusively used to describe severe substance use or addictive behavior patterns, like gambling. Several definitions have been put forward, some suggesting that addiction is a repetitive, compulsive urge which produces ill effects on the person engaging in the behavior.
Under this definition, many behaviors and tendencies qualify as addictions. Not acknowledging the intense and overwhelming reality of working through addiction can make healing and growth difficult. Recognizing that dependency on food can exist may be the first step to finding healing from this challenge.
What is food addiction?
If addiction is a compulsive, unhealthy behavioral pattern, food addiction is the compulsive and unhealthy use of food. In some cases, food addiction may involve overeating or binge eating; in others, it involves the amount of attention someone puts on their eating habits and behaviors.
Someone with food addiction may be attracted to unhealthy foods high in fats and sugars or food in general. However, people are more likely to become addicted to hyper-palatable foods.
Symptoms of food addiction
The symptoms of food addiction are the same as symptoms of addiction to any other substance or activity, including cravings, shame, irritability, and compulsion. Although feeling hunger is a physiological indication rather than a symptom, feeling hunger only for one type of food in specific situations might be a sign of addiction. Foods high in sugars and fats can incite a high pleasure response in the body and brain. Food addiction is implicated if an individual fits the following symptoms.
Cravings
If food cravings do not signal a nutritional need or indicate the presence of hunger and lean toward unhealthy foods, food addiction might be more likely than hunger or frequent urges to eat.
Consumption without need
Eating food without feeling hungry can indicate a compulsive pattern because the body is unequipped to routinely take in excess calories and foods low in nutrient density.
Emotional eating
If consuming food only occurs when one is sad, overwhelmed, or stressed, it indicates that food may be used to numb or cope, rather than consumed for health or survival. In addition, if you eat when you're not hungry to soothe yourself from emotional distress, you might be partaking in a compulsion.
Shame after eating
Eating is not a shameful, embarrassing, or inappropriate event; it is normal, natural, and necessary. If eating is accompanied by shame or embarrassment, and it seems impossible to stop eating, you might be living with food addiction or an eating disorder.
What causes food addiction?
Overeating high-sugar and high-fat foods often stimulates the brain's pleasure centers, which can cause an "addictive" response. In these cases, food addiction may be attributed to a cycle of seeking neurotransmitter release. Although food might not carry intense highs, high-sugar and high-fat foods can significantly impact the body and brain. They can cause an increased desire for or reliance on unhealthy foods. Turning to these foods as a coping mechanism can cause psychological and physiological food addiction symptoms.
Like other forms of addiction, food addiction may have underlying roots in anxiety, inadequacy, and trauma, all of which can lead to unhealthy coping mechanisms, including food consumption. These behaviors might be grounded in adverse childhood experiences, poor coping habits, or witnessing the behaviors of others. Food addiction may be treatable regardless of the precise source of this concern.
How to overcome food addiction: Learning to eat for strength
Food addiction is a unique condition often treated through therapy. Eating disorder therapy, nutritional therapy, and medical evaluation may all play a part role in helping individuals overcome food addiction, as physical and mental symptoms can arise. There are distinct physiological responses that occur when an individual overeats, restricts food, or eats food in response to stress or overwhelm, and working through these patterns may improve the likelihood of recovery. Below are a few ways to challenge your food addiction.
Shift your attitudes about food
In shifting attitudes about food, food addiction, and behaviors toward food, individuals may understand that food is not a reward or punishment. Withholding food or eating too often can both have harmful impacts. Food is the body's fuel to function daily and is considered a basic human need. Unlike some other substances, food is not illicit or inherently damaging on its own.
Understand your body
Learning how food functions in your body, what it takes to eat in a healthy, nourishing way, and what it means to overeat and "punish" yourself with food may help you develop a healthier relationship with it overall.
Consider your eating habits
For some people, food is used primarily to alleviate stress. For others, food might be a source of punishment, by eating to the point of feeling ill or shameful. In this case, food addiction may have been born of chronic low self-esteem. Considering why your eating habits have developed may help you identify inciting events that cause you to want to eat more.
Understand your complex situation
Learning about your likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, and pain and pleasure can help you move away from addiction by easing some uncertainty surrounding addiction. Addiction is often developed after trauma, pain, stress, or the diagnosis of a mental illness like anxiety or depression. If you know you're living with a mental health concern, you may be able to treat your eating habits by treating your mental health.
Speak to a professional
When working to find a therapist to treat food addiction, try to find someone who understands how this condition can impact individuals and has experience treating eating disorders. Even if you're not living with a diagnosable eating disorder, eating compulsions can have similar patterns.
There may be therapists in your area who are familiar with or specialize in food addiction treatment. Still, some individuals may struggle to find a provider due to a rural location or a lack of coverage. In these cases, you might benefit from contacting a provider through an online platform like BetterHelp. With an online platform, a therapist can meet with you at a time that coordinates with your schedule, and you can connect from anywhere you have an internet connection.
Studies have found that online therapy can also be as effective as in-person counseling, if not more. One study found that 71% of participants believed that online therapy was more effective and that 100% considered it to be more convenient. Another found that online therapy was more cost-effective.
Takeaway
If you believe or suspect you or someone you love has a food addiction, recognize how these eating behaviors impact you and make a pact to ask for help. You're not alone, and multiple support options are available.
How do I deal with my fast-food addiction?
While the high levels of sugar, trans fats, and flavor-enhancing chemicals in junk foods can light up the same reward centers in the brain as other addictive substances, you can’t simply stop eating the way you can stop drinking or smoking cigarettes.
With food cravings, you have to take more of a nuanced approach. Nutritionists take a couple of different paths on the best way to break food addiction. Some say that a nutrient-dense “cleanse” is best, with a week of restricted eating: lots of protein, fresh fruits and veggies, and healthy fats (and nothing else). Others maintain that a taper-off plan is better, starting with a healthy breakfast every day, and cutting back your fast food intake every week.
How do I conquer food addiction?
You can start replacing craved foods with more nutritious meals. It can be difficult to go off takeaway foods altogether, but you can learn to make the same sort of recipes with more healthy foods. Restricting foods altogether can lead to periods of binging. A better approach would be to start adding more healthy options, and even doing weekly meal prep to make cooking for yourself faster and easier.
Why can't I stop eating junk food?
Certain foods release the same neurotransmitters as other physically addictive substances like alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs. But unlike other addictions, you can’t avoid eating food altogether. In addition to certain physical effects, junk food also offers psychological cravings and a strong convenience factor that makes it more difficult to stop eating. In some cases, therapy may be necessary to learn to implement and maintain healthy eating patterns.
While food addiction produces symptoms similar to addictive drugs or a behavioral addiction like gambling, it is possible to gain control of eating habits with professional help. Therapists often address underlying factors of addiction while helping their patients manage the negative consequences of food addiction, such as reduced body image and low self-esteem. Many patients work alongside medical professionals and nutritionists to help address the physical complications of food addiction, such as weight gain, lethargy, or insufficient nutrition.
How long does it take to break a fast food addiction?
It can depend on a number of factors. In any case, if you are someone who has eaten a lot of fast food over a long period of time, it probably won’t happen overnight. It can take weeks or months to get yourself into a pattern of healthier eating. In certain cases, you may consider looking at support groups that can offer guidance, education, and camaraderie to help you break the pattern of fast food consumption.
Once you recognize the warning signs of food addiction, it may be helpful to reach out to a professional for guidance. Evidence-based strategies can likely provide tools to help you address the underlying cause of your food cravings. If you experience withdrawal symptoms, it will likely be helpful to learn coping strategies that do not intensify cravings, which may be challenging without professional guidance.
Are eating habits hard to break?
Yes, eating habits can be hard to break. Particular foods are actually created to be physically and psychologically difficult to resist and can lead to compulsive overeating. In cases of food addiction and binge eating disorder, therapy may be required to change thinking and behavior around food. It’s not only about weight loss, but severe cases of food addiction can lead to chronic health conditions and even premature death. However, it is treatable, and many people have learned how to manage their eating habits either on their own or with professional help.
Why is quitting fast food so hard?
There are both biological and psychological factors that make up the addictive quality of fast-food consumption. These trigger foods are often made with large amounts of sugar, salt, trans fats, and chemical additives that are mainly untested but have been shown in some preliminary studies to have addictive qualities. This leads to cycles of overconsumption, feeling guilty and physically poor after the fact, making excuses, and then craving more of the same to make you feel better.
Advertising can also create a psychological pull regarding your food choices. Commercials are of course designed to trigger feelings of nostalgia and feelings of “missing out” on certain foods. In many cases, artificial sweeteners and other chemicals found in highly processed foods can produce symptoms akin to a drug addiction. Although food addiction is not currently recognized as a substance use disorder, professionals at the American Psychiatric Association are advocating for it to be included as a bona fide disorder.
Does fasting stop addiction?
There are different schools of thought on this. Some nutritionists will recommend a short period of fasting (anywhere from 24 hours to a few days) or a juice cleanse to create a “reset” from high-fat, sodium, and sugar diets. Others maintain that a cleanse period is not necessary and that a better way to break food addiction is through replacing fast food with healthier choices over time.
Does fasting heal everything?
No. Some people will participate in fasts to “reset” their bodies after periods of indulgence. Others may do it to manage symptoms of chronic conditions, or simply because they’ve been told it’s healthy. There is very little evidence for fasts treating any condition, and often there can be unpleasant side effects, especially if a fast is done improperly or without professional supervision.
For many, food serves as a coping tool that helps them manage negative emotions related to stress and adversity. Consuming highly palatable foods releases “feel good” chemicals in the brain that can temporarily lower distress. In some cases, individuals can experience withdrawal symptoms, which may be more severe if an individual is fasting.
Can fasting clear your mind?
In a recent study published on the effects of intermittent fasting and cognition, researchers found that while IF has been shown to facilitate an improvement in those with epilepsy, and an increase in clarity for people with AD, there has not been any research that has shown any cognitive effect on healthy participants. The Editor’s note on the article does mention that more research is needed, as research on IF is still in the preliminary stages.
Can therapy help me overcome food addiction?
Therapy can likely help you overcome food addiction and the associated negative consequences. Food addiction substantially increases a person’s risk of obesity and other adverse health effects, and a mental health professional can likely help you gain control of your eating and lose weight, if desired. Professionals use tools like the Yale Food Addiction Scale to characterize your symptoms and develop a custom treatment plan using evidence-based tools. Spending time in therapy can also help address underlying factors that drive food addiction, including mental health conditions like depression or anxiety.
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