Food Addiction,

the cause of a failing weight loss journey

Do you know that being addicted to some kind of food can lead to weight gain? Yes, think about it, and you will find that one food that can lead your health and weight loss journey down the drain. So today, let us talk about food addiction and how it can be the cause of a failing weight loss journey.

It might sound funny, but it is not. We are all in denial about our various addictions. We think, how can a food be addictive? It might sound very vague, but it is the truth that our weight gain can be the result of our food addiction. Many people out there are trying hard to lose weight but cannot give up on certain unhealthy food or, even in some cases, healthy ones too. Let us see how food addiction affects our lives.

Is Food Addiction your reason for weight gain?

Various foods are known to have different effects on the brain, while certain foods like unhealthy junk food can cause food addiction.

What actually is food addiction?                    

We all know about how drug addicts are addicted to certain drugs and cannot live or stay sane without them. Similarly and interestingly, a person can be addicted to junk food too. It has been found that most of the symptoms in both cases are identical. Food addiction is very close to binge eating disorder, compulsive overeating, and bulimia.

This addiction works similarly to the addiction to banned substances. Junk and unhealthy foods, as well as foods that are at times categorized as healthy, have a powerful controlling effect on certain areas in the brain. This involves neurotransmitters that are in the brain just like dopamine. The brain’s biochemistry is hijacked by dopamine’s signal, making an individual addicted to products.

Symptoms of food addiction

• If even after eating a nutritious meal you recurrently get cravings for certain foods despite your stomach totally packed.
• You eat way more than what you had planned to eat just because you love the food.
• You overstuff your stomach just because you want to satiate your craving.
• You find yourself eating the same food despite that feeling guilty about eating it a little while back.
• You plan excuses in your head relating to why you must be eating something that you are craving at a particular moment.
• You have been unsuccessful in quitting your love of being overstuffed with certain foods despite trying to quit eating or at least setting rules about certain foods.
• You often tend to hide your intake of unhealthy or junk food from others by eating less in front of others and eating more when no one is watching.
• Despite knowing the fact well that your craved food will be causing you physical and emotional harm, in other words, weight gain, you are not able to control yourself.

Food addiction is a serious problem

Food addiction is understood to be causing various health problems like…

• Heart disease
• Obesity
• Type 2 diabetes
• Cancer
• Arthritis
• Alzheimer’s
• Depression

Apart from the above-mentioned health-related problems, it negatively affects our self-esteem, causing unhappiness.

Can you overcome food addiction?

The most pertinent question here is, can you give up foods you crave but are not good for you? I say yes, but you need to go for a conscious effort. Just write down the pros and cons of abandoning the food you think you are addicted to on a piece of paper. It will help in making your decision to quit your addiction easier. (Though yes, it is better said than done.)

When you have decided to completely stop consumption of a particular food, prepare yourself and set a date to initiate your plan.

While preparing yourself, you need to make a little effort in jotting down the foods you crave for. Consider these as the trigger foods you need to avoid.

Find out and write down the names of hotels that serve healthy food so that you can plan to visit those.

You need to think about the healthy foods you must eat in place of your craved food.

Finally, fix a date after which don’t touch the addictive foods ever again.

Remember, you might fail but keep trying. Unfortunately, if all your attempts to get over your addiction fail, please seek professional help from a psychologist or psychiatrist to get over it.

My craving is for sweet food, and I am working on getting over it by cutting one meal (dinner) so that the calories can be adjusted by the end of the day. I have cut my dessert after meal to just two spoons. It is helping me a lot in various ways though it takes a lot of effort. Do something about your food addiction also and don’t leave it just like that.

Stay healthy and happy because that is the only way to be. Cheers!

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By: Kanan
Title: Is food addiction the cause of a failing weight loss journey?
Sourced From: www.fitnessvsweightloss.com/food-addiction-the-cause-of-a-failing-weight-loss-journey/
Published Date: Sat, 30 Jul 2022 03:43:06 +0000

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