I'm a good ole' fashion Food Addict!

Fellas, I have determined over the last year or so that I am a food addict.  The weight aside, I can't help than eat more than I need.  I also can't seem to keep away from the sweets.  When I am at work, I will occationally have a post where I have to keep my lunch near me.  If it is there, all I think about eating the contents the entire time is't there.  If I know I am working a double shift, I will just start throwing things in to make sure I don't run out of food.   A buddy of mine who is a recovering alcoholic for about 15 years offered to take me to my first OA meeting.  I have been putting it off and my excuse is that I work second shift and all the meetings are during that time.  Well even one meeting a week is better than gaining all my weight back.  After this weekend, I am going to take him up on it. High 375 Low 237 1 year out 242 -- My ideal weight 18 months out  247 2 years out  251 today  257 I am seeing a trend that I don't like. Anyway, it is off to my mother's in NY for a Christmas break.  Thanks for listning.  I had to put it in writing because it makes it more real.  No running from it this time around.

Identifiying and admitting you have a probelm is the first and a major step in righting the boat. You can do this.  You can slow down the eating.  You can substitute the sweets with healthier choices.  You can drink more water You have gone through the WLS process and associated diet and mental rehab phases. You have pushed yourself to run marathons. You can whip this too if you really get serious about it and not go back to where you where. I am rooting for your success. One clydesdale to another; Have a great Christmas. I look forward to your holiday exploits and post holiday training and racing adventures.   

I came to the same conclusion that I too am a food addict, Scott. Hello, my name is Terry and I am a food addict.   My moment of clarity was about a year ago on a Saturday when I rode my bike 40 miles just to get a frickin' Runza to eat.  I used to eat these things by the dozen back in my obese days and would make special trips IN MY CAR to buy bags of them at a time. A runza (also called a bierock or fleischkuche) is a yeast dough bread pocket with a filling consisting of beef, cabbage or sauerkraut, onions, and seasonings. They are baked in various shapes such as a half-moon, rectangle, round (bun), square, or triangle.  There are only two Runza Huts here in Colorado and the closest to me is the one in Loveland which is 40 miles away. It was weird but the desire to get the Runza was so overwhelming, I couldn't stop myself.  The good news is by riding up to Loveland, I burnt more calories than I ate. On the other hand, my god, how could my "need" to eat one of these things be so strong. I felt like a frickin drug addict and the Runza was my "fix".  Looks like an interesting "rest of life" in my fight never to be obese again.  Have a great holiday. Boner

Hey Scott, Let us know what you think of your OA experience. Over eating is one monster that lurks in the cupboards where each of us live. Hang in there bud. We are all in this together, no one gets left behind. Keep in touch. Doug

AMEN!!!!!  Thank you for opening up that can of worms.  I have and always will love food.  I will never go back to where I was, but there is just something about it. Al RNY March 14, 2007 High - 325 Low - 203 Current - 208  and very happy at that weight

same here. food addict. oh, before i get too far, there's a post above yours, you better get in there before i lose total respect for you!

so here's what i do. i pack cheese and lightweight munchie stuff in my lunch bucket so i have something all day long. also, i buy tons of s/f candy so i keep my mouth occuppied. especially at night while watching the tube. i keep crap out of the house, hard if you have family but she eats right like i do so that's not a problem.

so like the guys said, work a program. they help. my doctors office address this now big time. we are cross addicted when we don't get food. it's a problem all right. so go to the meetings and get some tools. just like you did when you got the pouch, now you need to get some other sources under your belt and a program will help with that. thanks for being honest i know this is very hard to admit to. i'm a huge addict and have to watch everything i do. i'm gaining weight too. so please keep posting here on your progress and what's working or not working. i for one would like to know. if i lived near you i would go with you. it never hurts to learn new ways of coping. so please keep us informed. i could use some help too. thanks.......carbonblob

I'm addicted to sugar and white flour.  I wish you do well at OA since it has helped many people.  It didn't help me although I kept going back and trying it.  Over the course of 20 years in it I gained 300 lbs.  However, I had other mental problems that I should have been dealing with.  My new shrink works out of a behavioral center that does provide inpatient addiction counseling.  I don't think my ins would cover that for a food addiction, but I'm going to ask her if she has any suggestions for dealing with this problem when I see her in Jan. You may want to see if there are any men only OA meetings in your area.  I live in S Jersey and there aren't any down here.  But, I used to live in N Jersey and went to a Men's only OA meeting in Patterson NJ that used to pack in about 200 on the evening meeting and 100 for step meetings on Sat mornings.  Considering all that men have to do on Sat, that was a significant showing. I just share my problems here now.  And, I know I'm better off explaining myself on this forum than on the addictions forum.

 I had posed the question some time back (I think on the main forum - "Today I Threw Some Food Away") how does one know for sure if they are a food "addict"?  I would say it is safe to say that most Americans these days consume more cals than they expend, if you base it on that measure  --  mostly b/c of modern conveniences and the overly-plentiful bad food we have out there (and is pushed on us by advertising, families, etc.)   As a pre-op, I found myself doing the following, which I would think shows an addiction to food:  (1) not being able to pass up eating everything on one's plate (some of us "learned" this as kids!)  (2) finding it very hard, if not impossible, to throw away food  (3) being the type who "licks the beater" or bowls when preparing food  (4) picking up and eating food even if spilled or dropped  (5) opting for always ordering "larger" size portions or food items when ordering at restaurants  (6) thinking about "what's to eat" for the next meal, out of food on hand, while preparing or eating an earlier meal ..  As a post-op, most of these "habits" have changed for me, primarily out of the restrictions, "dislikes", and limitations caused by the surgery ..  (thank God!)

If it's of any comfrot you are not alone in this......my thinking is this...once an addict...always an addict.   The fact that we had a type of WLS that restricts our eating and increases our malabsorbtion doesn't mean that we don't have food issues.   Hopefully you will find peace and some type of relief at OA.  It's a good 12 step program that tries to help people come to a place where they can overcome their addiction.  One of the reasons I had the DS was because I knew that I had food issues, I mean who gets to 500 lbs without food issues, and I needed a surgery that would work for me rather then me when I fell off the wagon. Good luck to you. Scott

I do believe if you stumble inyour strugles with WLS you may come to  the Same conclusuion too. I hear all these folks say they have those 100 calorie snack packs, those Sugar Free pudding.  I CAN NOT If I buy a six pack of 100 calorie snacks- They are gone- Puddings gone/Rice cakes gone I can not have these things in my house Many of the males in my family have alcholhol and Drug abuse issues. I spent a week at betty Ford last year in support of one of them for Family Week (!) The thing I learned in those sessions is this We were all raised in the same famiy with all the same issues-They turned to alchohol- My drug was and is food- I am in recovery but I am too a Food Adict. New years, new goals.  I too think I will be checking OA. Thanks Chris