Are you a food addict? How can you tell?

I finally accepted (could tell) that I was a food addict when......

When I reached goal ... I  *thought* I'd care less about food "BECAUSE  I WAS AT GOAL" - silly me! It was then that it became even more clear that I have a food addiction. Always.Obessing.About.Food.

I hate to admit that I am a food addict! Why because that means I have to admit I have an addiction to something. Most commonly people think of drugs, alcohol, and even sex when someone mentions addiction; never ever does anyone think of food. But one of the first steps to recovery is to admit that you hae a problem; which I do.
How do I know I'm an addict? Maybe because I consumed three hot dogs in a room full of people with no one seeing me chew or eat them. Maybe it's because when I want a food item I don't care who it belongs to. If it's available within my reach and vision I take. Yes, I stole a piece of cake from a lady at my church. Or could it be that once I begin eating sweets, chips, and ice cream I lose all control and consume the entire container?
My husband said he knew I was an addict because I stole food and didn't care who it belonged to. He said when it comes to food I am no longer reasonable.

I AM a food addict...and in recovery!

I always was...and still struggle....it takes will power...and the desire to NOT fail that has gotten me here.

I realized I was a food addict when travel from Virginia to Florida, I planned the whole trip around getting to Florida in time to get to a certain restaurant in order to get fried chicken livers.

Am I a food addict?  I think I would have said no but I used to be BUT then I think of when they bring the goodies to work such as cake & pies and I'm on the teller line trying to figure out just how I can work a small piece into my lunch without dumping so YES, I am still a food addict.  Thank goodness I have my protein bars, protein powder and other healthy things to eat at the time when everyone else is pigging out on the "good" stuff.

I honestly don't know if I'm a food addict or not - There are times that food is everything to my day and then others where it doesn't factor in at all.  I just know that I need to be vigilant in not going overboard as I would have in the past.

 I finally accepted that I was a food addict when I realized the first thing I said to the kids at work was what was for breakfast. Then I would look forward to seeing the shedule for the day because it had the lunch menu.  The kids would yell from their room to let me know if they had bacon that morning for they knew it was my favorite. When I look back now those were really sad days. My how far I have come. Now I ask what fruit they have in the morning. I still like food but I don't live to eat anymore. I eat to live. See you lighter. Joanne Hammond (Certified OH Support Group Leader in Delaware).

I knew I was a food addict when I would eat and eat until I was sick and still want more.

I knew when I would drive through three fast food restaurants on the way home from work and then stop to throw away my food packages so know one would know.  And then fix dinner for my family and eat with them also.

I knew I was a food addict when I felt like I had lost my best friend after WLS.

After reading many of the responses I wanted to share this list that I have always liked. I also would take part in the vicious cycle of eating to get the thrill, go straight into beating myself up and convincing myself how worthless I was and then proceed to eat again to feel better...over and over and over.  I work hard to control stress so that I don't have to reach out to "something" to self medicate the stress and pain away.  Anyway, here's a very cool list.

Common Characteristics Among Addictive Behaviors

 1. The person becomes obsessed (constantly thinks of) the object, activity, or substance.

 2. They will seek it out, or engage in the behavior even though it is causing harm (physical problems, poor work or study performance, problems with friends, family, fellow workers). 

    3.  The person will compulsively engage in the activity, that is, do the activity over and over even if he/she does not want to and find it difficult to stop.

  4.  Upon cessation of the activity, withdrawal symptoms often occur.  These can include irritability, craving, restlessness or depression. 

    5.  The person does not appear to have control as to when, how long, or how much he or she will continue the behavior (loss of control). (They drink 6 beers when they only wanted one, buy 8 pairs of shoes when they only needed a belt, ate the whole box of cookies, etc).

    6. He/she often denies problems resulting from his/her engagement in the behavior, even though others can see the negative effects. 

    7. Person hides the behavior after family or close friends have mentioned their concern. (hides food under beds, alcohol bottles in closets, doesn't show spouse credit card bills, etc).

    8. Many individuals with addictive behaviors report a blackout for the time they were engaging in the behavior (don't remember how much or what they bought, how much the lost gambling, how many pieces of pizza, what they did at the party when drinking)

   9.Depression is common in individuals with addictive behaviors. That is why it is important to make an appointment with a physician to find out what is going on.

    10. Individuals with addictive behaviors often have low self esteem, feel anxious if they do not have control over their environment, and can come from psychologically or physically abusive families.

Oh...forgot my favorite description of addiction.

"Continued use despite negative consequences" 

Nice list.
Allow me to posit 1,2,6,7 within a social dynamic context.
This could sound like Devil's advocate speak, but I've heard of at least a few examples where it applies.

Consider someone who might or might not be an "addict" in any true/intended sense of the term, who just happens to live with /have someone ELSE who is an addict in some form of fullmanent recover, or who is simply paranoid (perhaps via family reasons)....

.... yeah... bear with me...    The "paranoid" person/people create a bizzare environment for the "basically ok" person.  That "basically ok" person has no/little choice but to go out of his/her way to react to the external paranoia. So, if the "paranoid" croud insists that the consumption of merely one single cup of soda, for example, is EVIDENCE of addiction, then the "basicallky ok" person might actally be behaving rationally by "hiding" that behavior from the "paranoid" person/crowd. Then... the dynamic progresses.... the "paranoid" husband/friend/crowed one day DISCOVERS the "basically ok" person _caught_ in the act of hiding that cup of soda.  (To provide context here, let's say that the actual behavior -- this is just an example -- is 3 cups of soda per week).    At this juncture, the loop spirals:L The "basically ok" person is environmentally doomed to (a) HIDE their behavior, (b) DENY that they have a problem, (c) experience actual ongoing consequences, and (d) become depressed about the whole thing.  MOREOVER, in addition to the HIDING behavior, if it turns out that this thing (in this case drinking soda) is so incredibly polarized because of the external social environment, then when there are opportunities away from te "paranoid" person/crowd to enjoy that cup of soda without extreme persecution, then the "basically ok" person (e) might LEARN to binge -- [feast & famon effect] while he/she has a chance -- where this hole array of nonsense leads to not only depression but also (f) low self esteem as the person ponders ego/self/identity acceptance issues at a deep level, where this questioning in turn could lead the person to actually DOUBT their own okness in ways that lead to their starting to believe that that they have a problem, with the resulting cognitive dissonance effect resulting in their (g) STARTING for the first time to engage in explicitly destructive behaviors in order to match the externally imposed perception which at some point they realize is just easier to yield to rather than constantly try to fight off.

Now, THAT...  I figure, has to be PART of the situation for a lot of people to at least some extent. OR, so I figure, bu I've never heard that described before (I'm obviously not very well read these days).  Anyone have any insight on this?