Why We Need To Break Free
It is so important that the decisions we make about our health are not controlled by our addiction to food. Addiction prompts terrible choices. Bad choices about food can be life-threatening when they lead to chronic disease, just as bad choices could be life-threatening if we were addicted to a controlled substance. This is why praying to break our addiction to food is so important. Prayer can help you acknowledge the addiction for what it is. By inviting God into your health journey, you can draw on His strength.
Breaking free from food addiction will open you up to receive all the gifts God has waiting for you. Being able to live out your purpose is tied to you being healthy. Prayer helps you develop your why for taking charge of your health and nudges you to take the action you need to change your relationship with food and your overall health. If youre interested in charting a new path for your health and you want to develop a healthy relationship with food, then consider signing up for A Prayer for Your Health 4-Day Challenge. If youre ready to go all-in, check out the Daniel Fast: A Bridge to Healthy Living 4-Week Interactive Course.
Buy And Prepare Easy Meals
My family and I have what we call easy meals or emergency meals ready to go. I know that life can be unexpected sometimes and ordering food can seem super convenient whenever youre tired, overwhelmed, or just dont have the time.
I like to buy a frozen pizza or two when I go grocery shopping or another quick meal that I can whip up quickly. You can also try preparing meals in bulk and freezing them in advance so you just thaw the food and heat it up.
You can do this for foods like tacos, roasts, chili and so on. Your freezer can keep foods fresh for several months so take advantage of this option.
How To Quit Your Food Delivery Addiction
Have a food delivery addiction? Theres no denying that restaurants offering a delivery service provide lots of convenience to busy people who dont have the time or energy to cook.
If this sounds like you, youre not alone. Millennials are three times as likely to use food delivery apps as their parents. Thats partially whats fueling the online food delivery market, which is projected to grow from $17 billion to more than $24 billion by 2023.
To boot, new delivery app services like DoorDash, Postmates and Uber Eats have taken it to the next level. With these apps, you can quickly order meals from your phone to be delivered to you at work, home, or anywhere else.
Unfortunately, the food delivery habit adds up. And, spending regularly with food delivery apps can definitely negatively impact your savings account.
If youre tired of eating up all your money with food delivery apps, heres what you can do to quit your food delivery addiction.
Don’t Miss: How Fast Can You Get Addicted To Nicotine
Symptoms Of Food Addiction
There are no blood tests or laboratory exams that can diagnose the existence of food addiction. Like other addiction disorders, the diagnosis of food addiction is based on the persons behaviors. Here are the symptoms of food addiction:
Can you relate to at least four signs above? You should start to worry about having a food addiction. But if you have six signs or above, go seek professional help because its most likely food addiction.
Whats The Solution To Overcome Food Addiction
Similar to the way that food manufacturers optimise the products to target the bliss point and maximise the dopamine hit, we have used the data from Optimisers to reverse engineer satiety to identify food and meals that will help you take back control of your appetite while getting all the nutrients that you need to thrive and manage your cravings.
Recommended Reading: How To Beat Food Addiction On Your Own
Mental Hack #: Emotional Learning
For many of us, emotional eating has become a habit of comfort in other words, its a behavior induced by certain cues like situations, feelings, people, commercials, etc.
In the vast majority of people, uncontrolled eating happens in two situations:
- Boredom
- Stress events
So heres how you use emotional learning to take the smart approach to beating food addiction, which ultimately revolves around your habits.
Ive previously talked about this quite a lot in a post called Why all diets fail and why you dont need a diet to lose weight, but heres a recap for emotional eaters.
#1 Figure Out Your Cues
Most of us emotionally eat because of cues outside or inside of us.
For example: were at a company party. Food is there, so we eat it .
Another example: Its 2:30 at work, and youre on the home stretch. You start getting low energy, and youre looking for something to do so you go upstairs to the cafe and grab a cookie .
So the secret for many of us is to A. learn our cues, and then B. avoid them.
A technique I commonly recommend for figuring out your cues is what I call the Awesomesauce Index Card Method.
But to keep it simple, spend time for 1-2 weeks recording a few things:
- What time of the day do I crave food?
- What moods make me crave food?
- In what situations do I usually over eat?
- With what people do I usually eat the wrong foods?
- What places usually end up causing cravings?
#2 Swap The Routine
Another incredibly common origin of bad habits is boredom.
How To Stop Being Obsessed With Food: My Plan
Below are the most important steps I recommend you to follow to overcome food obsessions:
1/ Find a diet you can follow for the rest of your life.
2/ Use The Three Most Important Skills You Must Know to End Emotional Eating Once and For All
3/ Learn to control cravings:Here is an article that will help you differentiate cravings from hunger: You want to keep eating out of hunger. I also give my newsletter readers a craving busting technique that has helped me get over uncontrollable chocolate cravings. Please add your name and email in the form located at the end of this article to discover how you can bust your cravings in minutes
4/ Change your story and set of beliefs:
5/ Focus on your life:In the second part of this article about goal setting I show you exactly what you need to do to change your life.
Any change in your life will lead to moments of fear and doubts. Fear of change used to paralyze me so much that I felt trapped in addiction. Sometimes despair set in and I ended up feeling depressed. Then, I often gave up and fell back into smoking, reading cards, or eating carbs to numb that feeling of powerlessness. You may do the same by setting your focus on food and binge eating.
If this is something you can relate to, Im glad you found me, because I know the way out. Its really contrary to the strong-will mentality, but it works in days not years.
To end food obsession, book a session with me. Contact me at
Also Check: What To Do If Your Child Is Addicted To Drugs
Tips To Beat Food Addiction
Are you are self confessed chocoholic? Are you addicted to sweet foods? Its a pretty common assumption that sugar is addictive, just like substance or alcohol abuse, but is this actually the case?
Ive definitely had moments when Ive craved chocolate or needed something sweet after dinner so I can relate to the notion of needing a fix.
Precisely Articulate What Triggers Your Cravings
Knowing what triggers your desires for certain foods helps you prepare for those moments before they happen. If you tend to eat when you are stressed, then instead of reaching for a chocolate bar when you walk away from your desk, bring your sneakers and go for a walk. When Im feeling sad and tempted to eat for no reason, I take a shower and wash my hair which really helps me feel much better.
Recommended Reading: How To Stop Drug Addiction On Your Own
Getting Cravings Despite Feeling Full
Its not uncommon to get cravings, even after eating a fulfilling, nutritious meal.
For example, after eating a dinner with steak, potatoes, and veggies, some people may crave ice cream for dessert.
Cravings and hunger arent the same thing.
A craving occurs when you experience an urge to eat something, despite having already eaten or being full.
This is pretty common and doesnt necessarily mean that someone has food addiction. Most people get cravings.
However, if cravings happen often and satisfying or ignoring them becomes hard, they may be an indicator of something else .
These cravings are not about a need for energy or nutrients its the brain calling for something that releases dopamine, a chemical in the brain that plays a role in how humans feel pleasure .
Summary
Cravings are very common. While a craving alone doesnt indicate food addiction, if you often get cravings and ignoring or satisfying them is difficult, it may indicate a problem.
Eat A Well Balanced Diet
Fad dieting, severe restriction and skipping meals will predispose you to binge eating and overconsumption at your next meal time. Dont do it. Follow a healthy, well-balanced meal plan with protein, high fibre carbohydrate, healthy fats and lots of fruit and vegetables.
The most important thing to remember is to not give up. You want to change your eating habits and lifestyle forever, so give yourself a break if you have a relapse into old habits and try again tomorrow. The great thing about life is that its never too late.
Here at The Healthy Eating Hub we are keen to help you kick your food addiction.
If youd like further help with your nutrition please click below:
You May Like: How To Fight Sugar Addiction
What Is Food Addiction
Food addiction is defined as unhealthy habits or addiction to junk foods . Evidence shows it is similar to other eating disorders like compulsive overeating and binge eating disorder. This explains why many people with food addiction find it hard to adhere to healthier diets. They may develop obesity for this reason.
The Signs And Symptoms Of Food Addiction
You might be wondering whether you show signs of food addiction.
According to the available research, there are 12 criteria that underpin a food addiction diagnosis7Gearhardt AN, Corbin WR, Brownell K. Development of the Yale Food Addiction Scale Version 2.0. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. 2016 30:113..
The 12 criteria are taken from the substance-use disorder diagnostic criteria but are assessed in the context of a persons eating behaviour:
In order to receive a diagnosis of food addiction, the person must meet at least two of the above criteria plus show signs that their eating behaviour causes them clinically significant distress and impairment.
Don’t Miss: Can You Become Addicted To Ibuprofen
Be Honest With Yourself About What’s Holding You Back From Progress
- How do you see your body, and to what or to whom do you compare yourself?
- What thoughts and emotions do you associate with food and eating?
- What gets in the way of improving your eating and exercise habits?
- What emotions are catalysts in unhealthy eating and drinking at the time you indulge, and what can you do to minimize their influence or work through them?
How To Stop Food Obsession And Constant Cravings
Are You Obsessed With Food? Do you plan your meals all day, get excited about the new food youre going to try, or just cant take your mind off of food? This article will show you exactly how to regain control of your mind. Imagine going through the day being fully present at what youre doing, feeling calm, relaxed, and focused, with food being at the bottom of your priority list. How much more pleasant and peaceful your life would be! Discover how you can do that now below.
You May Like: Why Am I So Addicted To Food
The 15 Best Books On Food Addiction
All products were independently selected by our editors and contributors. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Obesity has become one of Americas top health issues. Many people suffer from eating disorders and food addiction. Unlike other types of addiction, it is not possible to stop consuming food. We all must eat to survive.
Our lives are full of quick fixes. We often go to a fast-food drive-through on the way home from work, so cooking and cleaning can be averted.
Preparing meals and eating healthy takes time and energy. Many of us get caught up in this cycle and end up gaining weight and craving foods that are unhealthy.
Is it possible to eat healthy on a daily basis? What if we are truly addicted to food and are unable to stop eating? Is there hope for escaping tasty, fat and sugar-filled fast food?
The truth is, we are what we eat. Eating healthy food gives us more energy, helps fight off disease and makes us feel better in general.
Breaking the unhealthy eating cycle is well worth it. Kicking a food addiction or eating disorder to the curb may save your life.
I have listed the fifteen best books available today to help win this war. Please take some time to look through the list. There is something for everybody here. Eating disorders are as diverse as the people who have them.
There is no magic bullet for treatment. The secret is to find a remedy that works for you.
Remember to live a happy, healthy, healing life!
How To Overcome Food Addiction: The Best Solutions
We all know how delicious junk foods, ice cream, or processed foods are. They are called comfort foods for a reason, and you can easily get addicted to them. But did you know that these comfort food have certain effects on the brain that make it hard for other people to avoid them?
The scary part is that food addiction is similar to substance abuse disorders or drug addiction. It is real, and its a hard habit to break, no matter how hard some people try. This article is all about food addiction and how to overcome it.
Read Also: Can You Get Ssi For Drug Addiction
Moving Past The Shame
The self-blame or self-anger that comes after indulging in fast food can lead to eating even more fast food to ease the negative feelings. But you can break this cycle by showing yourself some compassion, love and acceptance. Accept that you ate a fast food meal. No, it wasn’t the healthiest option, but it’s done and that can’t be changed. But change the way you think about it afterward. Reflect on why you ate it . And then use that reflection to make your next choices positive and healthy. Do activities that care for yourself or choose food that fuels your body and keeps it healthy. Continue referencing this thought process to lower your reliance on the fast food.
Help For Food Addiction
Science is still working to understand and find treatments for food addiction.
Some argue that recovery from food addiction may be more complicated than recovery from other kinds of addictions. Alcoholics, for example, can ultimately abstain from drinking alcohol. But people who are addicted to food still need to eat.
A nutritionist, psychologist, or doctor who is educated about food addiction may be able to help you break the cycle of compulsive overeating.
There are also a growing number of programs that help people who are addicted to food. Some, like Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous, are based on the 12-step program that has helped many people addicted to alcohol, drugs, or gambling.
Others, like Food Addicts Anonymous, use the principles of the 12-step program along with strict diets that advise people to abstain from problem ingredients, like sugar, refined flour, and wheat.Ã
Read Also: Why Do Drug Addicts Have Swollen Hands
No One Intends To Get Addicted
When you trace back the roots of how that food addiction took hold, it may have developed in childhood or when you were going through a rough patch in your life with a job or relationship. Somehow the emotional eating from a bad day at work became a habit no matter how your day went. But you may not know how to change. This is why prayer can be a bridge to overcoming your addiction to food. Often prayer opens us up to the pain or root causes that may be driving our unhealthy habits. Then we can implement the changes we need to facilitate healing.
