How to Overcome Food Addiction in 10 Steps

The Addiction to food , Like other addictions (such as tobacco, alcohol or gambling), refers to the difficulty to avoid or control the Behavior, in this case, of food intake.

If you have tried to start several diets without success, because you consider yourself an addict to the food, you should continue reading this article.

People addicted to food

Here you will find 10 tips to help you Control your addiction to food , So that you can prevent or detect serious diseases Related to food.

Steps to Control Food Addiction

1. Do not follow"miracle diets"

Miracle diet

Miracle diets are those that promise you spectacular results in a short amount of time and without much effort. They are usually carried out Weeks before a special event (bikini operation, a wedding, etc.).

Some of them are:

  • Hay dissociated diet : It is considered the precursor of all miracle diets, since it appeared in the 20s. According to this diet, proteins And carbohydrates can not be eaten simultaneously. This is a clear example of a harmless diet but based on misinformation.

  • Atkins Diet : It consists of reducing to the maximum the consumption of carbohydrates, like cereals, milk, vegetables, sweetened products, etc.

  • Dukan diet : Is based on the consumption of proteins, such as fish, eggs, meat, among others. It is a very unbalanced diet that Can be especially harmful to health.

These diets, among others, will cause the body to carry out a greater retention of fat later (what is known as"rebound effect"), To compensate for the food deficit that has been suffered.

However, a well-established diet will not cause you to go hungry, or suffer a very pronounced rebound effect at the end.

When a specialist makes a correct meal plan, the quantity and quality of food you eat is adequate depending on your body, Age and height, so that your body is adapting little by little to the new weight.

In addition, going hungry is the first step to lose control with food, which entails that you ingest more food than you would have If not eaten
You would have starved.

2. Do not skip breakfast

Important breakfast

This is a very frequent mistake, and you have probably experienced it in your life.

If you want to lose weight and you are controlling your food, do not propose to do without breakfast or reduce this important meal.

If you do, the only thing you will get will be to reach the next meal with more hunger and anxiety, so you will consume more food than if you had Made a good breakfast.

So, instead of suppressing it, substitute saturated fats for fruits, cereals and other foods that help you have proper digestion and have A balanced nutritional intake.

3. Make 5 meals a day

5 meals a day

It is much more advisable to have a set meal schedule, divided into 5 moments of the day, than to perform 3 strong meals of form Daily.

This happens because, when consuming food in a more distributed way, you will not go hungry, so you avoid"chopping"between hours.

With an adequate distribution of the food you eat, you will have more sense of fullness and you can avoid experiencing continuous obsessions with the food.

Therefore, we recommend that you keep track of the hours when you are most hungry, to avoid long periods of time starvation.

Then, adapt your schedule and make a schedule of the hours to take each meal, so that your body gets used to the pace Daily food.

4. Do not have"forbidden"

Addiction to food

Surely, when you have begun to make a diet, you have set out to avoid by all means to ingest certain foods, especially the highly Calories like sweets, ice cream, chocolate, sweets, etc.

With these kinds of prohibitions, you will only get obsessed with those foods, increasing your craving for them.

It can also happen that, once you take a small portion of these foods, you lose control and eat much more than you thought.

Afterwards, you will feel bad about yourself, regret it and you will restrict these foods.

To cut the vicious circle, you should consider not carrying out these self-prohibitions.

It is much more advisable that you control the amounts you consume of these foods highly caloric, not to exceed and have a diet Balanced, but not deprived of a whim from time to time.

5. Come sit at the table and serve the meal in plates

Eat at table

Surely many times you have gone out of tapas with friends and you have had a feeling of fullness, although you thought that you had ingested little amount of food. This is because you do not have an exact knowledge of what you have eaten.

Therefore, we recommend that you serve the ration in your plate, so that you see the exact amount you eat, what is left over or if you serve a new portion of food.

Similarly, you can lose control of the food by"chopping"different foods in the kitchen that you find in the pantry or the refrigerator.

For this reason, it is very important that you change these basic behaviors at the time of eating, so that your organism adapts to the schedules and the places Intended for food.

6. Eat slowly

Eat slow

Another factor that can make you lose control over food is the speed with which you are ingesting food.

When you eat excessively fast, there is an increase in the amount of food you eat.

However, when you eat slowly, the neural mechanism that controls satiety commands the body to signal that the body has eaten the amount Adequate, so you feel full and stop eating.

In addition, by eating slowly and chewing food, you help your body to do better digestion.

Keep this step in mind, if you are the one who comes to the food with hunger and anxiety.

7. Do not eat from boredom, anxiety or sadness

eat fast

If you are an"emotional eater", that is, you eat when you feel bored - you visit the refrigerator again and again - when you are sad or down, you must Consider changing some aspects of your day to day:

  • Do not buy sweets, desserts, ice cream or sweets in excess : The simple fact of seeing them at home will incite you to consume them.

  • Do some leisure activity : Salt to walk or to run in the hours that less activity you have, since these are critical hours to eat By gluttony.

  • Replaces food with company : When you feel that you have anxiety or sadness, turn to friends or family with whom to express your feelings. The food only calms your discomfort in the short term.

8. Increase the amount of water you eat

drinking water

Surely at this time of year you do not drink as much water as in summer, since the feeling of thirst is not so high.

However, the body needs water not only to hydrate, but to carry out a good digestion process and to perform its vital functions.

Special emphasis on the amount of water you drink, distributing it throughout the day and increasing it after doing some physical activity, so That the total amount reaches 1.5 or 2L per day.

In addition to the benefits we have already mentioned, water consumption will help you not feel hungry between meals.

9. Never eat at night

Eat at night

If you wake up hungry, it means you have not eaten enough during the day.

In this case, drink water or take something light, such as a glass of milk or juice and plan to modify your diet the next day.

Eating at night is a bad habit that will not only affect your digestive rhythm and your weight but also your regularity of sleep.

10. Consult a specialist

If you think you may be developing a food-related illness - or you are at risk for it - we recommend that you consult a Specialist to advise you on the need to start any specific treatment.

Communicate it also to your family and friends so they can support you and use them in critical situations, especially if you live with them, Since they can modify some bad habits to help you with your problem.

Disorders related to food addiction

The causes of eating disorders are manifold, including biological, psychological and socio-cultural factors.

One of the socio-cultural factors that potentiate the appearance of this disease is the change of the ideal of beauty that has occurred in the last 30 years.

As we can observe, in the developed countries it is sought to obtain a slender body, which on many occasions is below the ideal weight For the person in question.

This thinness is not only a symbol of beauty, but also of success and self-control, so it adds more reasons to try to stay with one slim figure.

This problem particularly affects young women, although there is also a tendency to present these Feeding in people who have passed the 40 years.

Below we describe the most worrisome psychological illnesses in relation to food: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and disorder By binge.

Anorexia nervosa

Anorexia, causes, symptoms and treatment

Although" anorexy "Literally means"lack of appetite,"it has become clear that people with this disease are obsessed with food. It is estimated that 1% of the Spanish population presents this eating disorder.

The main characteristic is that people intend to continue to lose weight, presenting a phobia to gain weight, although their weight is less than adequate in As to their age and height.

Generally, these cravings for weight loss occur because of the Distortion of your body image : Girls see themselves much fatter than they They really are.

This disease is so serious that it even produces Amenorrhea In women - absence of menstruation.

The typical personality of people with anorexia nervosa is as follows:

  • Young girl (between 13-20 years old).

  • Middle-socio-economic level (although it begins to occur at all socio-economic levels) and developed countries (in poor countries, there is no
    This disorder).

  • Perfectionist and with great capacity for self-control.

  • Introverted.

  • Importance to the physicist within your family.

Bulimia nervosa

Bulimia nervosa

Between 1-3% of the population presents this disorder.

The term ' bulimia 'Means excessive hunger, which describes a very common feature among people with this disease.

This feeling of hunger causes episodes of high food intake, especially those with a high caloric content.

People report feeling a loss of control over food, so once these binges occur, it is difficult to stop them.

After these episodes, the person is invaded by a Guilty feeling And remorse, and therefore often carry out countervailing Intake, such as:

- Use of laxatives or diuretics.

- Self-induced vomiting.

- Practice of intense physical exercise.

- Establishment of strict diets in the future.

Unlike people with anorexia nervosa, bulimics tend to have a normal weight or to be slightly above their ideal weight.

This is because, once the food is ingested, no more than 50% is expelled (even if you use vomiting and laxatives).

The personality profile also differs from that of anorexia nervosa:

  • Start between 20-30 years.

  • Distant and conflictive family.

  • With difficulties in his adolescence.

  • Extroverted, irritable and impulsive.

  • Great emotional instability.

  • They often have other addictions.

The main similarity between the two mentioned disorders is the concern about the corporal figure and the thinness.

Binge eating disorder

This disorder , Much less known, has many similarities with bulimia nervosa, with the difference that no compensatory behaviors are produced To binge eating.

Therefore, people who suffer from it are often overweight.

References

1. Berrocal, C. and Modesto, A. Compulsive overeating disorder. Validity of the differentiation between the complete and partial syndrome (2002).

2. AESAN Scientific Committee. Healthy eating habits and physical activity: Also when it is necessary to lose weight.

3. Guerro-Prado, D., Bargau Romero, J.M. and C. Moreno, A. Epidemiology of Eating Disorders and Media Influence: A Review
Of the literature Psychiatry Service. Hospital Ramón y Cajal. Madrid.

4. Omar Alberto Cestaro. Eating Disorder. Anorexia Nervosa - Bulimia Nervosa.

5. Valera, G., Núñez, C., Moreiras, O., Grande, F. Magic diets. Technical Papers of Public Health. Ed General Directorate of Public Health. Counseling Of Health and Social Services. Community of Madrid (1998).

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