
Do you just "love food" or do you have a full-blown food addiction?
By Jo-Anne Eadie Heather Masters — Written on May 01, 2015
Photo: weheartit

Addiction to food is one of the most misunderstood addictions. Being overweight (even obese) is becoming socially acceptable, yet it's not politically correct to call names or criticize someone's size or eating habits.
Why? Because people know that food addiction is a powerful force in the lives of those who struggle with it. Being addicted to food is the same thing as being controlled by food. So, how do you know if you just "really like food," or if you have a full-blown food addiction?
Here are 10 unmistakable signs that food is controlling your life:
- Eating usually means over-eating You're tempted and overeat, bypassing any logic or common sense, stuffing yourself over and over. You wouldn't think of spreading a whole bottle of moisturizer on yourself at once. You wouldn't wear three sets of clothes, layering one after the other. You wouldn't take 15 tissues to blow your nose once. Overeating is pretty much the same thing.
- The price is right. You pay any price for a food item or beverage if you want it. The coffee shops come to mind where a single cookie is $2.75 or more. An entire cake mix costs less than one cupcake. But no matter, you need your fix now, no matter what the cost.
- Ingredients don't matter. You knowingly eat foods with ingredients that are harmful to your health, and contain additives and preservatives no one can even pronounce.
- "Smart choices" are irrelevant. You find a way to override any logic if you think it tastes good and you like it.
- You never waste food. You'll forage last, unfinished bites right off your children's plates.
- Self-blame. You call yourself names, berate yourself, and feel shame because of what you eat. (You wouldn't tolerate it if someone else did this though.)
- You break your word to yourself. Even when you swear you will never overeat again, deep down you already know you will ... and so you do!
- You psych yourself out. If a large bag of potato chips is on the counter, as long as it is not opened you will NEVER touch it. If someone else opens it though, you can't leave it alone until it's all gone. You begin with just one small bowl, then another ... then one more. And then ... oh well; you haven't had chips in a long time, so if you just finish them off now, they won't tempt you anymore.
- You rationalize your binges. You feel completely wasteful if you go to an all-you-can-eat restaurant and have just one plate. You feel deprived by only one plate, feeling silly sitting there while others go back for more. You feel left out and tempted, mired in that familiar inner struggle. You say, "Should I get some more?" "Will someone notice if I get more?" "The restaurant is only going to throw this food out if it's left there." You justify and make it seem like a sensible choice to go get more.
- You go to great lengths for a fix. You'll stand in line or sit in your car, inching forward to get a latte, donut, bagel, or breakfast sandwich at a coffee shop, no matter how long it takes. You'll leave early so you have time to get there before work. You'll wait behind annoying people who are buying for 14 others—but you don't complain or walk out because you need that fix, no matter how long it takes to get it.
So, what's the solution to beating a food addiction?
First, begin to eat just to nourish your body, NOT to soothe your soul.
Then, practice this tip and you'll start seeing differences in a few weeks. Every day, stand in front of the mirror, look closely into your own eyes, and say: "I am in total control of what I eat, when I eat, and how much I eat. I am in control"
Say this multiple times per day. Have fun with it. Point at yourself in the mirror and ask, "Who's in control?" and then laugh.
Diets don't work and all the books available don't give solutions, techniques, or mind exercises to change the negative energy and habits familiar with positive changes. As you master each solution one by one, your weight adjusts almost automatically.
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Jo-Anne Eadie is a Board Certified Master Consulting Hypnotist specializing in weight release and has written her own book called Exhale Weight. Her weight program includes the Virtual Gastric Band installed into the mind through hypnosis. Using energy psychology techniques as well as Hypnosis empowers the client to help themselves. Jo-Anne runs a private hypnosis and energy psychology practice, Power of Freedom, via Skype, phone or in person.