Why are we so consumed with food?

Tek at one time I was like that....I was not worried about food. I could care less about it....Why did I have to change? Debbie

Perhaps we will arrive at a point of equilibrium somewhere down the road. But most of us were/are addicts, and require moving the fulcrum, adding/dropping ballast, etc in order to find some semblance of balance. Not only did we have to adjust, but we have to continue to adjust. Our bodies and minds are dynamic mechanisms. Assuming that what we did yesterday will get it done today can be disastrous. It is our lot in life to maintain vigilance. Some have to be like a dog at point; others need far less effort. Regardless, we can lose all the weight we can, have as much PS as we can afford, look great, but the beast lies within. Our 'normal' is not a place we really want to go again. Nowhere Man/PH/Jay

Debbie, Doesn't that go along with the whole addiction thing? Being obsessed with what we crave? For me it's a physical as well as emotional thing addiction. What makes it worse is that we can't avoid the thing we're addicted to entirely because we have to eat SOMETHING! It helps the physical obsession if I stay on the wagon (no white sugar, no white flour, limited processed foods). The emotional thing... If I do eat something, I just try and put things in my mouth that won't cause me to gain, like a high protein snack. The time that I become majorly obsessed with food is if I've fallen off the wagon and am trying to crawl back on by kicking the carbs. The previous poster that talked about white knuckling it to get through the cravings is right on the money. I'll be doing that in January for sure as my biscotti consumption has been rising steadily this month! Linda

I want to go back to month three! I couldn't eat and didn't want to! It was such a sweet thing! Although biscotti sounds pretty good! YIPES see this food monster is bigger than me. But Jim is right....Keep focused! That is what I have to do. Here goes nothing! Have a great weekend. Debbie

You might try reading the book "how much does your soul weigh" it is available thru amazon

I am in the same camp as both Tek and Nowhere Man/Jay...I can take food or leave it (Tek) and have reached the equilibrium where I can have some but not all (Jay). I contend that I never was a food addict. "Really, former fat ass...how did you get to be super MO?" you might ask. Well, I used food to medicate, console, celebrate, mourn, stuff feelings, etc. BUT(T) and this is/was a big one...I did not enjoy the food. I did not enjoy overeating, indulging, high fat and calories because after I filled myself with food I then led myself down a path of worthlessness, failure, undeserving-ness, and all around negativity. Clearly a cyclone of general yuckitude. Post op when the lights came on within and I realized that I better do some serious self-evaluation, I came to know myself...food likes/dislikes, my behaviors and the need to change them, and that self-awareness would be among the key components to success for life. So, how does one achieve balance? Not sure about anyone else, but I have achieved balance by planning my calories/meals every day. Knowing how many calories it takes to lose/gain/maintain. Allowing myself to eat the things I like and at the same time knowing that just because some is good it does not mean that more is better. Yes, I am among the "lucky" (although I worked every minute of every day for 5 years) moderation people...I can eat chocolate, and cake, and ice cream...but only a portion and not an entire bag, or the whole cake, or every last bit of a pint. Yes, it takes every bit of my inner strength to fight the fat ghost within. I have achieved balance by making a commitment to never forget the emotional pain that I felt when I was morbidly obese. Today I am a "normal" person. I remember my past...but I will never be fat again. Continued success to you, Karen

I also don't consider myself a food addict, now or in the past. I am obsessive. If one is good, ten is better. This pretty much applied to everything, food, drink, whatever. Of all my obsessions, food is the one that showed. It's hard to put away 5,000 calories in a night and not show. I can no longer binge on food. Binge drinking isn't working either. Marathons = Binge running. Tek