poll about food addiction

poet_kelly
on 1/27/12 10:35 am - OH

I just curious. As usual.

1. Do you think you addicted to food?

2. Have you been told by a mental health professional that you are addicted to food, and if so, do you agree?

3. If you think you are addicted to food, have you sought treatment for addiction? And if not, why not?

Kelly

Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.

poet_kelly
on 1/27/12 10:37 am - OH

RNY on 11/04/08

1. No, I don't think I am. I think I like food a whole lot, but I don't think that means I'm addicted. And I think I sometimes eat for emotional reasons, but again, don't think that means I'm addicted.

2. No, I've never been told I'm addicted to food, and I've been in therapy for years.

Kelly

Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.

Gypsyw0lf
on 1/27/12 10:56 am - Regina, Canada

RNY on 12/19/11

Great poll Kelly

1. No, I don't believe I'm addicted to food.

2. No I've never been to a mental health professional other than the few visits during my 6 month pre-op diet

I was never a huge binge eater or a 'wake up and eat person" or a hidden eater, I just made poor food choices and didn't move to burn it up

nfarris79
on 1/27/12 10:56 am - Germantown, MD

RNY on 04/13/11

If I think about the criteria for addiction, in some areas I could see where I'd meet some criteria but not in others. So, on an addiction continuum, I wouldn't say that I'm addicted to food. I've never been told by another therapist that I'm addicted to food either.

First ultra: Stone Mill 50 miler 11/15/14 13:44:38, First Full Marathon: Marine Corps 10/27/13 4:57:11, Half Marathon PR 2:04:43 at Shamrock VA Beach Half-Marathon, 12/2/12 First Half-Marathon 2:32:47, 5K PR Run Under the Lights 5K 27:23 on 11/23/13, 10K PR 52:53 Pike's Peek 10K 4/21/13, (1st timed run) Accumen 8K 51:09 10/14/12.

Cicerogirl, The PhD
Version
on 1/27/12 11:01 am - OH

RNY on 08/27/07

1. No. There are certain foods that I seem to have little self-control with (cookies!), but that's not addiction.
2. No

Much of my overeating was trauma-related emotional eating.

Lora

14 years out; 190 pounds lost, 165 pound loss maintained

You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.

Reel
on 1/27/12 12:18 pm

Lora, can you define "trauma-related emotional eating", because it sounds like it's tinkering on food addiction the way it's phrased. Few people have self-control when faced with a bag of Pepperidge Farm cookies, or Extra thick Kettle chips (Jalepeno).

Highest Weight: 314, Pre-Op Weight: 294, Surgical Weight: 279, 1st Goal Weight: 170, 2nd Goal Weight: 155, Current Weight:163

Cicerogirl, The PhD
Version
on 1/27/12 12:51 pm - OH

RNY on 08/27/07

Many women who have been trauma victims (usually childhood sexual abuse or sexual assault as an adolescent or adult) eat in order to find comfort -- as a calming agent when distressing memories arise, as a way to deal with the isolation that victims often feel (or impose upon themselves), as an anesthetic agent against guilt or self-hatred, etc. -- and/or as a protective mechanism (they sometimes believe, even if at a sub-conscious level, that either their body or attractiveness played a role in their victimization or that being overweight (and therefore less attractive) will protect them from further sexual attention and possible victimization.

People who use food as a coping mechanism may also be addicted to food, but generally they are not. It is a different dynamic.

Lora

14 years out; 190 pounds lost, 165 pound loss maintained

You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.

happy_baker
on 1/27/12 11:05 am, edited 1/27/12 11:07 am

RNY on 02/15/12

1. Do you think you addicted to food?
- Mm, that's tricky. I'm not sure "food addiction" falls neatly into a single yes or no category. There's so many separate aspects to it. Chemical addiction to the components of food itself-- caffeine, sugar, carbs, fat, etc. Addiction to the act of eating. Addiction to the dopamine release of certain comfort foods. Addiction to the emotional comfort of bingeing. Some people may have one aspect of food addiction and not others.

I don't think food is an addictive problem for me, really. I forget to eat quite often if I'm busy with other things, and I rarely think about food unless I'm actively hungry. In fact, my husband and son get annoyed with me sometimes because it'll be 8:00pm before we eat dinner, since I wasn't hungry and forgot to get it started. (they should learn to cook, darn it)

I think my biggest problem is just self control. That same problem manifests in different ways across a few areas of my life, and I think a lot of it stems from having a super independent lifestyle. I'm self employed, the "boss" of two kids, and my husband is deployed for long periods of time. I have no real accountability to anyone but myself, so there are no real checks and balances.

2. Have you been told by a mental health professional that you are addicted to food, and if so, do you agree?
- Nope, never have.

3. If you think you are addicted to food, have you sought treatment for addiction? And if not, why not?
- I'm not addicted to food, but given my fairly destructive self control issues, I AM seeing a counselor.

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Check out my video blog! www.youtube.com/user/HappilyShrinking/videos
Highest weight: 269. Surgery weight: 233. Goal weight: 144, and then we'll see..

exohexoh
on 1/27/12 11:08 am - West Chester, PA

RNY on 09/27/10

1. Do you think you addicted to food?
No I do not, just like Kelly I like food a whole lot, but do not think that I am addicted.

2. Have you been told by a mental health professional that you are addicted to food, and if so, do you agree?
No I have not.

<3 jen <3

<3 starting weight: 252 <3 goal weight: 135 <3 current weight: 151 <3

RNY: 9/27/10 <3 Extended Tummy Tuck w/hip & thigh lipo: 6/6/13

Oxford Comma Hag
on 1/27/12 11:21 am

RNY on 09/12/11

1. Nope, not addicted to food. Years of poor food choices and lack of portion control added up. Maybe disordered eating would be a more accurate description. I could go for long periods of time without eating too much but then would eat huge portions (ie, pasta and bread). Also I would go for days of only eating one small meal a day. I couldn't seem to find a balance before surgery. I used food to deal with my feelings.

2. Again, nope.

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poll about food addiction