Food Addiction: There is a Solution
You're in front of your refrigerator late at night, battling the overwhelming urge to eat something sweet or starchy. Maybe it's protein you crave, or fat. Perhaps it's something salty, spicy, or crunchy—or maybe it's creamy that you want. In any case, you are restless. You are disturbed. You are bored. Maybe you are lonely or tired. Are you afraid? Whatever the reason, you know you shouldn't eat, but the craving is so powerful that it feels impossible to resist. You walk away, only to return a short time later. You cannot get rid of the mental obsession. You eat even though you didn't want to. Again. And again. And again.
Sound familiar? You are not alone. This struggle is all too familiar to those of us who deal with food addiction—a condition that can be just as challenging to overcome as drug or alcohol addiction. With drug addiction and alcoholism, total abstinence is the answer. Food addiction, however, is tough. We HAVE to eat to stay alive. If we totally abstain from eating, we will die. We have to find a way to manage our relationship with food every single day. But just how are we going to pull this off? Is there any hope for overcoming addictive eating?
Our mission is building a RECOVERED community:
** Whose addiction is flour, sugar, quantities and binge foods
** Whose core problem is absolute and utter powerlessness over addictive eating
** Whose solution relies on the Power of God as we understand Him
** Whose plan of action is the 12 Steps of AA applied to addictive eating
** Whose governance is founded in the 12 Traditions of AA
** Whose goal is promised Neutrality around addictive eating
Addiction is giving up EVERYTHING
for One thing
Recovery is about giving up
ONE THING
to get everything
What is Food Addiction?
According to the American Psychiatric Association
• Eating food in larger amounts or for a longer period than intended
• Repeated unsuccessful efforts to cut down or stop compulsive eating
• Spending a significant amount of time obtaining food, eating, or recovering from its effects (such as physical discomfort or shame)
• Experiencing intense cravings or a strong desire to eat, even when not physically hungry
• Failing to meet major obligations at work, school, or home due to compulsive eating behaviors
• Continuing to eat compulsively despite negative social and relational consequences
• Prioritizing food over important social, occupational, or recreational activities
• Continuing to eat compulsively despite warnings or knowledge of the negative effects on physical health (e.g., diabetes, hypertension, obesity)
• Continuing to eat despite it causing or worsening emotional distress or psychological issues (e.g., anxiety, depression, shame)
• Needing to eat increasingly larger amounts of food, or more extreme types of food, to achieve the same level of satisfaction or emotional numbing (tolerance)
• Experiencing withdrawal symptoms—such as irritability, anxiety, headaches, or fatigue—when attempting to reduce or stop certain foods, and eating to relieve or avoid those symptoms
(Adapted from: American Psychiatric Association on Alcoholism , DSM-5, 2013, pp. 490–491)
This is free information
We have nothing for sale. We have no medical training or medical advice. We are not experts.
We seek to bring AA recovery to the food addict who still suffers
Gluttony: Compulsively eating or drinking
Historically, the term gluttony has always included both food and alcohol, treating them equally. There’s no distinction between the substances—both fall under the same definition of compulsive consumption.
This is another reason the solution for the Alcoholic successfully treats the Food Addict as we suffer from two sides of the same coin.
I am addicted- I have the "ism"
I have a mindset: I don't appreciate good stuff in life because I am so busy looking for potential problems... most of them haven't occurred yet, but I can see them forming right before my eyes! People are thinking something about me, and I don't know what they are thinking, but I always suspect it is about me. I don't fit anywhere, and I worry a lot. I have unresolved trauma from my childhood and a whole list of other things I can blame my addiction on. Life was miserable until I discovered "my substances", I realized that they were the solution I had needed for a long time. I loved the effect produced by flour and sugar. I am the person who doesn't fit. I am full of fear and resentments. I cower behind a phony facade, and I can't even sense if I have been found out because I am no good at that either. When I discovered my substances, the facade came down. I could relax. I could come out and not have to pretend anymore.
When I am not anesthetized (to induce a loss of consciousness) by food, I am a mess, but once I am numbed out, I am chill. Life is OK. I get a dopamine hit when I anticipate my next foray into food. Once in my addictive foods, I don't feel pain; life is manageable. When I come off them and I am dieting, I am back to being me again, and I just don't like that much. I begin to pursue "chill" and comfort with a vengeance... until it doesn't work anymore. I was miserable and then I discovered these rooms.
I now I know I have this disease. For years I have had this allergy, but I don't know it. I don't realize that I am being driven by the phenomenon of craving. The Big Book of AA says I have a "peculiar mental twist," a mental obsession that dogs me long after abstinence. Instead, I reason that today is not the day to start my diet. This disease burns my body to the ground while convincing me that my way of living is OK... I'll be ok today...until I am not. Every addictive bite I take makes me think, "I need another serving of _______." I didn't know that is the classic definition of being addicted. I have the "ism" found within the pages of the Big Book of AA. The only difference is that I just turn to food instead of booze.
Anonymous
There is ONLY ONE PROGRAM, Many Fellowships
There is ONE PROGRAM of recovery...The program as laid out in the twelve steps of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous.
There are many fellowships. Whatever your fellowship, the extent that it follows the truths of the Big Book will determine the success of that fellowship's recovery rate...little adherence to the 12 steps, little successes in long term recovery.
What does Freedom from food look like?
Food Neutrality
*The obsession has been REMOVED by our Higher Power...
*Foods no longer call to us
- Freedom from obsession with food, body image, and the number on the scale
- Experiencing AA Big Book pg 44 neutrality around food — food no longer has power over you
- Peace in your relationship with food — a peace only possible through a Higher Power, because we are beyond human aid, even beyond what a sponsor can provide
- Rebuilding trust in your body’s natural signals — hunger, fullness, satisfaction — as gifts from your Higher Power to guide you
- Freedom from shame — no more spirals of self-punishment or shame heaped on by others
- Living fully, with food in its proper place as nourishment, not obsession or a battleground
- Resilience — handling imperfect food situations without spiraling into fear, panic, or self-hate
- Compassionate honesty — listening for your Higher Power’s guidance when addictive patterns arise, without panic, shame, or rigid overcorrection
- Self-trust and flexibility — living by faith and connection to a Higher Power, not fear
In Short: Recovery From Food Addiction Means
It IS:
- Staying connected to a power greater than yourself for honest, moment-by-moment guidance - a requirement for maintaining nutrality one day at a time through spiritual work
- Rebuilding trust with your body and its signals
- Living free from food fear, obsession, guilt and shame
It is NOT:
- Chasing a number on a scale set by someone else
- The absence of struggles with pain, resentment, fear and other discomfort
- Living in constant conflict or at war with yourself
- Blindly following a passed down food plan proclaimed by a well meaning but unqualified individual with no nutritional or medical training "because that is what we do"
Important:
You are not "failing" if you sometimes feel doubt, or if you have days when food feels confusing. Real recovery includes the capacity to experience doubt, stress, hunger, even setbacks without losing yourself.
We are simply a group of recovered individuals sharing our experience, strength and hope in our journey and how we've discovered a solution after many failed attempts at dieting for losing and keeping the weight off.
FOR FREE...nothing for sale
After spending thousands of dollars chasing the latest diet plans, Lori and I have been abstinent from flour and sugar for 15 years now. We are not saints and we are not perfect in any way. We still struggle with body image and we are not at our perfect weights. But the AA solution has resulted in neutrality and freedom around food for us and also those we sponsor.
What is neutrality? It is being around our addictive foods and their desire has been miraculously removed by a power greater than ourselves. We no longer want them. These foods no longer call to us. Neutrality is promised in the 10th step promises of the Big Book. Neutrality is living RECOVERED.
Weight loss is not recovery. It is a byproduct of recovery. The longterm solution addresses physical, mental and emotional aspects of weight gain and unmanageability. Our only aim is to provide FREE resources, information and share a free, working solution that has been working for others in AA for nearly 100 years.
AA's 12 Steps and principles applied to our addictive substance of food has been our answer to addictive eating and weight gain. There is a path for those seeking to break free from addictive eating, find neutrality around food, and sustain a recovered life. It worked for us, others and it will work for you. The answer to our food addiction is found in the pages of the Big Book of AA.
Food addiction, similar to drug addiction and alcoholism, affects millions of people, leading to cycles of craving, consumption, obesity, guilt, hopelessness and despair. On this website, we explore various facets of food addiction, from emotional and psychological struggles to biochemical and physiological aspects, and how working the 12 steps around food provides a path to recovery. By understanding these dimensions, we can better address the complexities of food addiction and offer hope and guidance to the solution for those seeking freedom from its grip. You too can break free from the cravings and misery of food addiction as we have!
2009
2015
We're Mates
Here is a more recent photo from Gruene Tx. We are not perfect but we are 10th step promises "neutral" around food, and after 15 years of abstinence from flour, sugar and quantities, we are happy, joyous and free. Life can still hit us hard, but now we are not shaken. We are rooted firmly in a Power greater than ourselves we call God and We love sharing the good news that AA Recovery is very much a reality for the food addict too.
Join us for an hour on Sunday at 5pm Central for a Big Book Study or Tuesday at 7pm Central for a Recovery Literature Meeting. You can find us at the link below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5230126825?pwd=cnRzVjN1bDJXOUZoZ0dlcVlid3VWZz09
Or this QR code:
Contact Us
foodaddict.info
Mike C. 512.621.3773
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[email protected]
Lori C. 512.550.2606
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