anxiousrock

I know most people here are recovering from alcohol and drugs but is anyone recovering from food addiction? I have seen this show 600lb life and i feel like alcohol and food addiction are the same. I can relate to the people on the show and can see myself in the same position.

Rsanchez920

Although i am def not recovered from it... My food addiction is stronger than any other addiction i have... Because you need food to live but its a drug (to some, arguably all) its one of the hardest to recover from in my opinion. Its like telling an alcoholic to just have 1 beer for breakfast, lunch and dinner...And not expect it to cause a binge once you introduce it into your system...

Wish i had something better, but i relate is all. At one point i was so big i could barely walk or leave the house because my knees would give out hence the my 600 lb life reference... After years of obsessive workouts, surgeries, interventions, etc im finally a "normal/overweight" size but all i think about is food and eat constantly...

There are some good facebook groups if you search it and websites as well... Ive seen people recover so i know it is possible.... OA is helpful as well... An addiction is an addiction....

anxiousrock

I have extremely disordered eating and I have always been that way. Sometimes it's too much and sometimes it's nothing. Goes by years. I have never eaten normally and I think it is the root to my alcohol addiction as well.

Rsanchez920

I find they are closely related too

Robbie64

600lbs - yikes, that's nearly 43 stone or 272 kg. Very unhealthy. I once saw a programme on TV about a man who was 65 stone (911lbs) at the time of his death in 2015.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_T..._(heavy_person)

Some people sadly just can't stop eating and are totally addicted to it. I'm overweight and at one stage was eating all the time. Then I found out I was diabetic (type 2) and was put on Metformin. My appetitle quite literally fell away as did my weight - I lost almost three stone (42lbs) in little more than 3 months. But at least there was a medical reason why I was eating (basically I was constantly hungry as my body wasn't breaking down my food properly but once I went on to Metformin everything started to work fine). I still need to shed another two or three stones though. Some people eat because they are addicted to eating and the result can be lots of medical problems.

anxiousrock

I am overweight now too. I was diagnosed with anorexia and when I started eating more again I just didn't stop! More recently I lost 40lbs but to be as thin as I want I need to lose about 70 more but now with this virus I haven't stopped eating. Gained about 10lbs.
food addiction is real!

Robbie64

I have a feeling we'll all have put weight on over the past few weeks. I was losing a bit more weight but since this lockdown started I've put about half a stone back on.

The general advice is always to lose a small amount of weight steadily each week, about 1 to 2 pounds per week. To do that it means eating about 7,000 claories less each week that the amount needed to maintain a steady weight (1 pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories). That's a bit difficult to do when we aren't supposed to leave the house and all we are doing is sitting around for hours on end.

1 to 2 pounds a week weight loss doesn't sound much but that's up to half a stone a month and it soon adds up. The other way of looking at it is it's easy to put on the same amount each week and that soon adds up too.

Kaily

Yes I watch it, I find it both fascinating/heartbreaking to watch people struggle their inner demons that addiction causes.

I thankfully finally managed to stop drinking 17 months ago but now I am very aware that sometimes I use food in the same way I was using alcohol. I have to be very careful as becoming prone to bingeing. Or I do deals with myself if I do this I can eat that. All unhealthy stuff.

Going back to the show there are some really inspirational episodes where people truly turn their lives around. From bed bound needing carers to freedom to live as they want but as we all of us they have to remain vigilant and aware of their addictions and triggers.

AAPJ

AR in my view eating disorders are really really tough. With say alcohol or cigarettes the solution is to quit - 100%. This forum won't support moderation ideation. BUT food? We have to eat. So one faces the food issue every day.

Here is a good thread regarding folks who deal with eating issues. It does not always have a lot of activity but the folks who have posted in this thread over time are some great people. I hope this helps.

https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums...-part-4-a.html (Sugar Addiction Recovery Thread Part 4)

anxiousrock

yeah food addiction is so tough...you do need to keep eating. But i see so many similarities between myself and people on 600lb life.

RecklessDrunk

My weight problem likely saved me a lot of damage from alchohol.

I was an alcoholic since I was 14 and my poor eating habits really started catching up in my later teens. For a while there when I was 18 I was smoking marijuana before I even got out of bed in the morning and drinking near a liter of vodka every night. For most people the disease gets progressively worse, not me.

I got committed to my health soon after. I'm almost OCD, I'm mildly autistic I guess they call it now. They use to call me emotionally disturbed and stick me in reform schools, but getting back on topic...Even for an alcoholic I'm just not normal. My idea of health was, how fast am I, how strong am I, how much body fat do I have. I played a game of balancing my health and my drinking for over 2 more decades. I had the will power of a bear to get through many nights of white knuckling it. Many in AA know how this will power defense eventually works out!
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My determination not to get fat forced me to have many dry days where my liver could recover and I didn't have to go through withdrawal.

It's kind of funny because I would have to manage both my food and drinking at the same time. The drinking obsession was so much more powerful. All the time somebody would brings a box of donuts or bagels into work. I wasn't tempted at all and co workers are amazed. In the back of my mind I'd be thinking I want a drink so bad, do they think I'm gonna blow my diet over a stupid donut?

Occasionally though the obsession would win out and I'd drink and go on a bender and mess up my diet. You know how we are. My diet mistakes were almost always over the obsession to drink.

Now I pretty much do the same thing except it's much easier not drinking. I schedule all my meals with certain options on certain days. The important thing its something I can sustain over time. More of a lifestyle than a diet. My system may not fit a lot of normal people but it's the way I feel I have to do it.

Exercise actually replaces some of what I craved from a drink. I actually get a bit of a buzz. I really enjoy driving with a runners high.

sugarbear1

There is a strong link between alcoholism and eating disorders. Also a link between bypass surgery for eating disorders and alcoholism.

Cityboy

I have always struggled with eating as a borderline disorder and have been in the weight/height category of over weight for a good percentage of my life.

There are similarities.

It's a cycle in which the more you eat, the fatter you become, the more stress and anxiety you feel, the more your eating disorder is reinforced.

One similarity is that whether it's eating or drinking, your chance of getting helpful support in real life is slim to none. Negative feedback only reinforces the eating disorder. Those in your life who love you will NEVER, EVER, EVER see how they could help by getting on the same page.

Can't speak for others, but we in the US have a culture that is focused on immediate gratification much more than longterm health or sustainability. Also, the negative aspects of the immediate gratification can be mitigated. Examples include low-carb beer and the whole notion of a triple bacon ranch cheeseburger, fries, and a diet coke.

Another similarity I've seen is that it's a never ending, every day battle to the end, and one bad slip up day can offset a month of hard work and progress.

anxiousrock

like....people get bypass and drink a lot?

whopper

I watch this show. I was shocked to see that so many people were 600lbs. I don't have a eating disorder or a massive weight problem but I can understand somewhat why they eat so much. Its an addiction, just like drinking. Instant gratification. It seems that most of the people on the show are in denial about how much food they are eating, which happens with alcohol addiction too.
Dr. Now is a good doctor that has a lot of patience.

anxiousrock

yes! I actually just watched an episode where the lady recovered from hard drug and alcohol use and unfortunately used food as comfort after that.

Rsanchez920

​​​​​​I was already an alcoholic before the surgery but they teach you before you have the surgery that chances of alcoholism increase like 80 percent its crazy... And when you drink it goes straight to ur intestines its like mainlining it. You get wasted super fast and then 45 min later your sober so u can keep going back and fourth all day. Same with food. You eat a small portion and it digests in like 20 min and you eat again and you can eat constantly all throight the day you are always hungry. And liver and kidneys cant process alcohol so your not supposed to drink... Also kills your gallbladder and makes you malnourished which makes processing booze a nightmare... Ive needed medical attention before with my hangovers because its like total destruction.... Its totally true the link between the two.... Horrible

StartAnew68

Lines

Not addicted to food, but I did watch that show one time. Depressing. I remember thinking how does someone let their body get in that shape? Then I realized it happens for the same reasons people use other substances in unhealthy and addictive ways, and let their body & mind get in that shape. The people who had eating disorders appeared to have similar emotional distress. And in fact, the ones I saw reported earlier trauma that led to their problem.

I think there's lots of addictions in life used to soothe, fix, or comfort. I've never understood why people say no one can understand what your going through unless they have the same problem. Most people I know have faced some personal struggle, demon, pain... that they battle on the inside. Some struggles just have more outward signs of battle like drunken or high behavior, layers of fat.