Until a few years ago, the concept of people being addicted to food was a foreign one. However, as more people have come forward and spoken about their inability to control their food intake, it’s rapidly growing in acceptance.
This is an addiction that is very hard to combat, simply because it’s legal and necessary to live. You may have an addiction to food if you:
1) Find yourself using food to feel better, or consume an inappropriate
amount of food frequently as the result of an emotional upset.
2) Think about food almost constantly, and seem to always be having a sugar high, or planning for your next one.
3) Hide either food you are planning to consume, or the amount of food you have consumed. In general, food is something that most people are comfortable sharing with others. If you are not, you may well have a problem.
4) Eat even when you are no longer hungry, or when you were not hungry in the first place.
5)Feel guilty about eating. You need food to live, you should not live to eat.
I Don’t Overeat All the Time, It’s Just Once in Awhile
Most people will occasionally overeat. If you simply have your third piece of pie after dinner once or twice a year, it’s probably not an addiction. If you have that third piece of pie, even when you’re already full, every time you have a bad day, you may have a problem.
A quick way to see if your eating has become a problem, is to try going without the extra comfort of food on a day that would normally have it. If you have no problem doing so, you might not have an addiction. However, if you have any doubts whatsoever, you may wish to consult a licensed therapist, or attend a support group.
You can overcome a food addiction. You have the ability to do this, and to change your life.
