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Are you a snacker or a food addict? Most of us think we are simply snackers and wonder why our attempts to lose weight fail over and over again. Maybe your snacking habits go a bit deeper and you’re a struggling food addict and never knew it? As a former junk food addict, my personal answers to the following questions are what changed my life forever and finally brought me peace of mind, along with lasting weight loss.
..im thinking that this addiction model was written about by Kessler in his "The End of Overeating", so yeah, I can see this, see myself in a lot of this....
Really, people need to stop using Dr. Oz as if he were a bonafide resource of factual data. He is a doctor, yes, he has a degree and he has practiced cardiac surgery in his life. But *presently* he is little more than a shill for diet book authors and supplement manufacturers, peddling their poison on his TV show.
While I might trust Dr. Oz to replace a valve in my heart, I would -not- trust him to guide me on my diet, or to recommend a good first aid cream for cuts and bruises to my skin, or a myriad of other things that he has advertised on TV.
The term "food addict" is ridiculous. Technically, ALL sentient life forms are food addicts, because without food, we will eventually die.
Maybe not. How might a psychiatrist address the condition in which someone uses food as some sort of coping mechanism to the extent that he is addicted to coping with food? It might be a valid condition.
Maybe not. How might a psychiatrist address the condition in which someone uses food as some sort of coping mechanism to the extent that he is addicted to coping with food? It might be a valid condition.
That would be a food-based neurosis, and not a food addiction.
All people are dependant and addicted to food. Without food, we suffer withdrawal symptoms, and without food for a long enough period of time, we die. This is independent of any psychological disorders we might, or might not have. If you have coping issues, and you use food to soothe your coping issues, then your issue is with coping and NOT with food. Food is not your enemy, if you have coping problems. Coping is your problem, and coming to terms with it, will solve it. You will not be cured of a coping problem by rejecting food. Well except if you die - and then you won't have to worry about coping anymore.
There are people who have a psychological dependence on certain -types- of food - such as sugar addicts, and junk food junkies. But those are not even exceptions to the rule. Those are psychological dependencies on narrow subcategories of ingestible products. They are not physical addictions to food, as a broad category.
I don't really believe anyone is a "food addict", but I do feel that certain foods have "addictive" type qualities for some people. For me it's nuts and chips, hard to stop eating until the whole bag or bowl is gone.
People who consume food as a "coping" mechanism, or out of boredom or just "because" just are not addicts in the true sense of the word.
Anyway, basically I agree with anonchick's post above ^^^.
People who consume food as a "coping" mechanism, or out of boredom or just "because" just are not addicts in the true sense of the word.
Maybe so, but as it's been said before, people can not drink or smoke or take heroin. You can't not eat if food is your trigger.
I've read that people, especially women, who are caregivers turn to food moreso than drugs or alcohol. Squashing down their feelings with food still allows them to be present and dependable for the the people they're caring for in a way that booze wouldn't.
I think the idea is not being addicted to food per-se but the two conditions discussed....
...being addicted to certain types of food
...food as a coping mechanism
I think Kesslers book also touches on this, how there are parallels btw addiction and food cravings (I think he references neuroscience...its been a while since I read the book).
I think the idea is not being addicted to food per-se but the two conditions discussed....
...being addicted to certain types of food
...food as a coping mechanism
I think Kesslers book also touches on this, how there are parallels btw addiction and food cravings (I think he references neuroscience...its been a while since I read the book).
Needing a "coping mechanism" in the first place, is the issue that needs to be solved. Food is just the individual target. People who don't have coping issues, manage to cope, or not cope, in a normal fashion. With a loved one's death, they go through the usual stages and eventually come to grips with the reality of their situation and get past it. Someone with "coping issues" will not go through the usual stages efficiently, and stop somewhere along the line and need "something else" to get past that stage. Some people turn to food. Some turn to sex. Some turn to drugs. Some turn to violence. Food, again, is not the enemy. The only thing people can't "just say no" to, is food. You NEED food. You are addicted to it, whether you have a coping issue or not.
I also don't really prescribe to the notion that a person can be "addicted" to a certain type of food. It's a psychological crutch and an excuse. I love starches, especially bread. I would totally miss not having it. I might even cry, and I would totally be jealous of my co-workers on Pizza Day at work. But my body isn't going to have a physical melt-down if I suddenly have to stop eating bread. I'll get my starches and carbs with some other kind of food and my body won't suffer a moment for it.
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