Megdelyn

I'm sure "doctors" used to say the same thing about alcoholics. Just don't drink. Be strong! Replace the bad behavior with good behavior. Being an alcoholic doesn't excuse the individuals, but it does explain the behavior. Being a food addict (or an eating addict really) doesn't excuse my behavior. I own it, and I treat it daily. One of those treatments is WLS. One of those treatments is regular exercise. One of those treatments is a regimented eating plan.
I am addicted to eating. Yes, I can overeat carrots and broccoli. I can overeat salad. WLS will not make that addiction go away.
Not everyone who is fat has an addiction. Not every food addict is fat.
I smoked for 15 years but I was never addicted to nicotine. I just stopped smoking one day. Never jonesed for a cigarette after. Could always take it or leave it. But I don't have the audacity to say that nobody is truly addicted to smoking. I'm lucky.
When it comes to food, I'm not so lucky.

I'm sure "doctors" used to say the same thing about alcoholics. Just don't drink. Be strong! Replace the bad behavior with good behavior. Being an alcoholic doesn't excuse the individuals, but it does explain the behavior. Being a food addict (or an eating addict really) doesn't excuse my behavior. I own it, and I treat it daily. One of those treatments is WLS. One of those treatments is regular exercise. One of those treatments is a regimented eating plan.
I am addicted to eating. Yes, I can overeat carrots and broccoli. I can overeat salad. WLS will not make that addiction go away.
Not everyone who is fat has an addiction. Not every food addict is fat.
I smoked for 15 years but I was never addicted to nicotine. I just stopped smoking one day. Never jonesed for a cigarette after. Could always take it or leave it. But I don't have the audacity to say that nobody is truly addicted to smoking. I'm lucky.
When it comes to food, I'm not so lucky.

WANT to be a food addict?? WANT??
*deep breaths*
My entire life I've felt powerless to food, cravings, and impulsive bad decisions... I could never figure out why this was so hard for me. Why could other people put the fork down, but I ate until I puked? How could people turn down dessert and I couldn't? Why did I hide food? Why did I constantly feel guilty for everything I ate?
One day the light bulb went on! This is an addiction like anything else. That is why this was so hard for me... why it is still hard. It's an everyday battle but the surgery has helped tremendously!
I found the article to be a bit... condescending. Of course I recognize my own screw ups, I take responsibility for my actions, I seek solutions to my ADDICTION. That doesn't make me a "wanna-be" addict or some weak person looking for an excuse!
It takes a strong person to admit they have a problem/addiction, it takes an even stronger person to fight their addiction head-on instead of living in what is 'comfortable'. I could have continued the life I was living, eating to replace love, friendship, and hobbies... I could have gained more weight... I could have stayed where I was comfortable, stuck with what I've done my whole life. Instead I confronted my addiction and changed my life! If anyone thinks I or anyone else wants to be a food addict they can kiss my ever shrinking ass!

This is not about love of food. This is about an abnormal relationship with food. You are obviously not a food addict so it's understandable that you don't get it.
Oh...and about picking up cigarettes from the ground, ash trays, etc. I've done some pretty disgusting things in order to get in my food fix. I won't go into details but I've seen other posts from folks who are also ashamed of some of their behaviors regarding food and let me tell you friend, it's not pretty.

Food addiction is a way of saying you have an eating disorder. Is bulimia or binge eating made up? Mine isn't.

I wonder if the good doctor has ever been fat. Has he ever struggled to not eat what he knows is not good for him? Sort of like an alcoholic knows a drink is not good for him.
My eyes (and brain) light up like the Empire State Building when I pass a restaurant and think about the wonderful things cooking away in it. I have no issue walking past a liquor store, a casino, or saying no thanks to a friend passing the weed...
Shall I continue?
I take full responsibility for my situation. So much so that I talk to my therapist about it constantly. This does not mean I am not a food addict. Substitute food for any other addiction, and that's me. Eating in secret? Not being able to stop even when you know you are so full that you want to throw up? Eating things that will keep you up at night with GERD and having your throat burn with it? If that's not addiction, I don't know what is.

I am a binge eating addict. food addict for short. I am in remission because I have changed my behaviors and because my band helps with the physical hunger.
I am recovering in OA just like a gambler recovers in GA.
I don't "want" to label myself a food addict, but there you go.
I'd lost 130 pounds many years ago but couldn't keep it off. The reasons behind me reaching for food were never addressed. And the one year definition of success? I call BS on that. I'll battle this addiction my whole life.
It gets easier the longer I practice new habits and don't indulge in binging or sport eating, as another BP poster calls it. But that draw will ALWAYS be there for me. And once I indulge it, I slide down the slippery slope, and it becomes almost impossible to halt. That's addiction, sir.
I found this article insulting and aggravating because it does contain helpful behavioral techniques. So I'll take what l liked and leave the rest.
With all due respect, I find this to be an oddly contentious article to have been posted here on BariatricPal.

Doctor, this is an informative article. I totally agree that overeaters need to take responsibility for their habits and behaviors and not resort to excuses. But what of the OA model based on the 12 Steps? I know that doctors are scientifically minded but many appreciate and recommend this program for drug addiction, alcoholism, and many other addictions as you know. "food Addiction" does often exist in the form of compulsive overeating where not willpower is called to be employed, but surrender to the fact that food addicts are powerless over their "drug of choice"--food. How to perform this tricky feat when we all need food to survive? The 12 Steps are a prescription for living that indeed any individual can use to create a better quality of life. In my own experience, having the VSG done is only one of a variety of tools I use to treat my disease of addiction. I use a spiritual connection, a community of like-minded individuals in recovery, and abstinence from the thoughts and behaviors that cause me to overeat---not just avoiding triggers. It's work, yes--difficult, but doable, and only one day at a time. I personally have to "abstain" from certain foods, yes, but also from my tendency to eat over stress, celebration, depression, what have you. I can no longer use food as a substance, not unlike a drug, to avoid feeling. Not if I want to survive, have a good life, and enjoy good health. So, the points in your article are great, especially those 7 things successful people do to maintain weight loss. However, I feel that addressing the underlying causes of overeating (including the engineered foods that foster addiction outright) as well as the avoidance of uncomfortable feelings are key to not only losing weight but keeping it off and managing addiction. Addiction will always be with me, but I can live my life not being controlled by it any longer. I just have to pick up the tools and use them.
That's just my two cents! Thanks for the article.