Duh.
For the majority of us, we wish that we could adopt the "food is fuel" mentality, eat healthy and clean as part of a never-say-diet mentality, and spout the "it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change". It's a little depressing to know that food addiction is not a recognized addiction (binge eating disorder is the closest we have come), and that most people that AREN'T addicted to food like to talk about willpower and "just making a choice" like it's that easy.
If it was that easy...
We would all be making positive food choices on the daily. The world would possibly reverse on it axis. The fast food industry would go out of business. Pepsi and Coca-cola would close it's doors. Cheetos would never again be ingested by the thousands (damn...now I want those little orange colored vehicles of deliciousness).
It's just not that easy.
And I live with one of those people, who while she loves me back and forth and around the world, she cannot even begin to wrap her precious mind around the fact that I wake up in the middle of night thinking about food...and often tiptoe into the kitchen to find something to nibble on before returning to slumber. She can't understand actually leaving the house to go to the grocery store to something to eat when we have food already in the house. She can't understand why when I wake up, I am already thinking about what I am making for dinner.
She can't understand because she is not addicted to food.
And I say all of this not to imply that I have no hope, but I have begun to accept the fact that my quest for concurring my food addiction IS hopeless. And I think that is the case for many of us. Unless by some "I-Just-Won-the-475milliondollarPowerball" stroke of luck I wake up one day and have fallen madly in love with fruits, veggies, and water, EVERYDAY will be a day that I have to consciously battle my food addiction.
And let's be real.
It could be worse.
I am moderately cute at times. I know how to paint my toenails better than most toenail painting professionals. I am moderately funny. Okay...exceeeeedingly funny and moderately humble. And people like me. Well. Most people. I am a talented kickball kicker. An impressive country line dancer. And I am in love and loved in return.
It's just bastard food that keeps me on the verge of insane.
And that's just the truth of it.
It doesn't really make me less of a human. It's just one of the things that makes me human.
However annoying that may be. (the food addiction, not me as a human...just to be clear).
All of this stemmed from an article I read about a new study released from Yale. It comes with a little "survey" you can take to find out if you are addicted to food. Um...needless to say I didn't need to TAKE the survey, but I did read through it. Many of these seem like a given. However I bet if I gave the survey to Heather, they wouldn't be as much as a given. In fact, some of them might actually confuse her due to her lack of being almost completely opposite of me in our relationship with food. But take a look below.
If you would like to read the full article, you can find it here.
"It's just bastard food that keeps me on the verge of insane." This sentence almost made me cry. This whole post can apply to me and BFF. It is real. It is every day forever. Most days that is fine, but some days it overwhelms me.
ReplyDeleteIt's a special kind of addiction. Alcoholics eliminate alcohol from their lives. Smokers eliminate tobacco. But what if alcoholics had to have *just* a little alcohol to live and survive but no where near enough to get drunk. They had to find that *just* right amount. Food addiction is the same as other addictions but yet so, so different because we can't walk away from food the away other addicts can eliminate their drug of choice.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post. I married someone who is also a food addict...it is actually very weird/interesting to witness the food addiction behaviors I recognize in myself in someone else. I've also watched both of our weights creep up over the couple years we have been together now.
ReplyDeleteI have often wondered if it were possible to just hypnotize me to crave nothing but vegetables all the time...instead of Doritos and cake. Oh how much healthier I would be. *sigh* As it is I only eat vegetables because I "should"...not because I actually want them.
There is a definite difference between the food addicted and the non-addicted. Those of us who struggle are not stupid, lazy, unmotivated, blah blah, blah. That's an old song that fat haters sing. Since I have had a band to sleeve revision, I am different. Cutting out the gherlin has taken away my food obsessions - really. I don't mean to rain on the band but I Am The Same Person as I was before the sleeve - not lazy, stupid or unmotivated. Changing my hunger hormones changed my addiction. There's the proof that obesity is not a moral failing. We are different. I hope it lasts for me but who knows. It's a battle and I'm agreeing with you. The was a winded. Sorry. Keep up the good fight Amy. You are amazing.
ReplyDeleteAn old friend who was an alcoholic once said her food addiction was the more difficult of the two conditions because "three times a day you have to let the tiger out of the cage."
ReplyDelete