Food Addiction & Binge Eating

Y'all this may be one of the hardest posts I've written so far. It's raw, it's embarrassing, it's hard, and it's something I haven't shared with many people. And now today, I'm pulling back the curtain and revealing the darkest party of my story. 

Before I had my wake-up call in 2013, I struggled daily with food addiction and hiding a serious problem with binge eating. I would hide food and eat it in secret so no one would know how much I had eaten and I could plow through unreasonable amounts of food in one sitting. My biggest weakness...Cheez-Its. I could easily polish off a box in one sitting. I'm not exaggerating at all. Once I opened the box, I literally could not stop. I hated myself the moment I opened them and a little more each time I took a bite, but still I kept eating until the box was empty.

There were days that I might actually be able to convince myself to stop. I would close the box and put it away and then my mind would start to attack me. I would be so worried that my husband would come home and see how much of the box was empty and realize that the box hadn't even been there when he left that morning. So, I would eat the evidence and hide the box as close to the bottom of the trashcan as possible. It's important that I stress here that my husband couldn't care less what I'm eating and he certainly wouldn't be calling me out for eating half of a box of crackers.

That wake up call in 2013 was more than just motivation to start losing weight. I realized I had a serious problem. My husband was out of town and my daughter had already gone to bed for the night. I started cleaning stuff out. I got rid of so much junk food. By the time I was done almost everything in our cabinets and fridge had been thrown out. We were literally living solely on junk. Then I made a promise to myself, no more Cheez-Its. Not ever. That was a hard sell for my husband and daughter, especially when I was unwilling to share the embarrassing reason why they could no longer be in our house. Despite not really getting it, my husband has obliged and since that day we've only had Cheez-Its enter our house once...and I successfully stayed away from them. For me, the only treatment that reliably works is complete abstinence. If it's a food that I can't walk away from after one bite, then it's a food I can't have and don't need. It can't be in our house. 

Food addiction is slowly becoming a widely recognized addiction. Symptoms include cravings, obsessive thoughts, failure to cut back despite physical harm, and complete lack of self-control. Eric Stice, a neurologist at the Oregon Research Institute says, "Sugar activates our brain in a special way that's very reminiscent of...drugs like cocaine." It's completely true! Junk foods activate the same areas in the brain as drugs!

It is estimated that 5.6% of the general population struggles with food addiction. Food addiction is strongly associated with obesity and women are twice as likely to be food addicts than men. One study showed that 57% of binge eaters were also classified as food addicts! Both disorders share similar symptoms. 

Imagine a giant bowl of kale or a large bag of apple slices. Do you know anyone that would binge kale or apples? On the other hand, imagine a big bag of Doritos or a pint of ice cream. Those are easy to imagine vanishing in a feeding frenzy. While apples are not addictive; cookies, chips, or soda absolutely can become addictive drugs! While I've curbed my problems with food addiction and binge eating, it's not a problem that just goes away. I struggle with it regularly and have learned that I have to stay away from certain foods. I'm reluctant to graze desserts at parties, because I know that can lead to trouble. I've had to learn my limits and I have to stay within in them. 

There are many causes of obesity - biological, psychological, and environmental - all of which lead to fat accumulation and positive calorie balance. I know that my struggles with food addiction and binge eating led to obesity in my life. My favorite part of being a Beachbody coach, is the main goal of Beachbody is to "end the trend of obesity." That's my goal in my life and it's my goal to share that with as many people as possible.