Ok, so I have been doing a lot of reading lately on food addictions and the effects of food on certain people. Depending on where you are at on the cravings scale for certain food, this might be one thing keeping you from freeing yourself to lose the excess weight. Maybe you crave chips and soda where as other people crave chocolate and peanut butter cookies. Maybe it’s pizza from the local pizza kitchen down the street or the pastries your company provides on Friday mornings.
Research shows that processed junk foods have a powerful effect on the “reward” centers in the brain, involving brain neurotransmitters like dopamine. The foods that seem to be the most problematic include typical “junk foods,” are the foods that contain sugar or wheat or both.
Food addiction is not about a lack of willpower or anything like that, it is caused by the intense dopamine signal “hijacking” the biochemistry of the brain.
8 Symptons of Food Addiction:
1. You frequently get cravings for certain foods, despite feeling full and having just finished a nutritious meal.
2. When you give in and start eating a food you were craving, you often find yourself eating much more than you intended to.
3. When you eat a food you were craving, you sometimes eat to the point of feeling excessively “stuffed.
4. You often feel guilty after eating particular foods, yet find yourself eating them again soon after.
5. You sometimes make excuses in your head about why you should eat something that you are craving.
6. You have repeatedly tried to quit eating or setting rules (includes cheat meals/days) about certain foods, but been unsuccessful.
7. You often hide your consumption of unhealthy foods from others.
8. You feel unable to control your consumption of unhealthy foods, despite knowing that they are causing you physical harm (includes weight gain).
If you can relate to 4-5 of these, then you probably do have a serious problem with food. If you can relate to 6 or more, then you are most likely a food addict.
Next week, let’s tackle how you to deal with this problem. Meanwhile, Keep Grinding…