Fair play to him, but that headline is a bit funny. I will freely admit it – I am addicted to food – it’s like I can’t live without it.
Well TBF he is about 8 ft 2 so he needs more food than most people
He says you can just “give up alcohol” which is horrible advice, and likely to lead to massive issues.
It is interesting for me. My Mum was a lifelong food junkie – either bingeing or starving herself. She hid it from lots of people but obviously it affected the family a lot. It is hard for many to understand, even people like me who lived with it for years. My mum never got over it until she got dementia and effectively forgot she had an issue…
On a Friday night if I’ve not ordered a pizza or a kebab my body starts shaking and I start sweating, it’s bonkers.
You can’t avoid it, you go to the supermarket and there are sugary treats by the tills, adverts for just eat on TV, and here on Reddit it’s GIFs of foods that are 75% butter and cheese.
I’ve managed to reach a healthy weight a few times in the past but there’s always a fear that I’ll fall off the wagon, and once I do it just spirals into self destructive behaviour; I’ll eat junk food for the temporary release, then I’ll feel like crap for ages, and the only thing that breaks me out of that funk is turning to junk food.
Wash, rinse, repeat.
Is it just me who is confused by this? Fair play to him for talking openly about this, and obviously none of our business if he doesn’t want to go into details, but I can’t work out what exactly his problem is? I only ask in case I’m being stupid – does he not mention his specific issue or have I missed it?
I grew up obese and then developed anorexia nervosa at university. It’s hard for people to understand but the easiest way to put it is that food is what gives me a huge dopamine hit that nothing else really gives me. I don’t drink because I just don’t care for it, gambling is boring and drugs just don’t interest me at all. Food though? That dominates my waking thoughts. Recipes, planning food shopping, cooking/meal prep etc. The only advantage of having a busy job is it stops me from thinking about food for a few minutes. There are foods I just do not eat because I do not trust myself around them, except it will be years since I have eaten them and I still remember the smell, taste and texture perfectly. You need food to live and almost all social events seem to revolve around food in some way, it’s really awful because you end up isolating yourself as your demon is basically impossible to escape from.
I didn’t realise how serious cravings could be until I started taking an antidepressant with that as a major side effect.
First thing I’d think of when I woke up was food. I’d constantly be asking my partner about what’s for dinner 2, 3, 4 days down the line. 3 course meal never satiated me. Constantly had food daydreams like in cartoons of big juicy steaks and chocolate cakes and once I s2g I thought my cat looked tasty.
It’s horrible, makes you unproductive, fat, depressed, and hate life.
9 comments
Fair play to him, but that headline is a bit funny. I will freely admit it – I am addicted to food – it’s like I can’t live without it.
Well TBF he is about 8 ft 2 so he needs more food than most people
He says you can just “give up alcohol” which is horrible advice, and likely to lead to massive issues.
It is interesting for me. My Mum was a lifelong food junkie – either bingeing or starving herself. She hid it from lots of people but obviously it affected the family a lot. It is hard for many to understand, even people like me who lived with it for years. My mum never got over it until she got dementia and effectively forgot she had an issue…
On a Friday night if I’ve not ordered a pizza or a kebab my body starts shaking and I start sweating, it’s bonkers.
You can’t avoid it, you go to the supermarket and there are sugary treats by the tills, adverts for just eat on TV, and here on Reddit it’s GIFs of foods that are 75% butter and cheese.
I’ve managed to reach a healthy weight a few times in the past but there’s always a fear that I’ll fall off the wagon, and once I do it just spirals into self destructive behaviour; I’ll eat junk food for the temporary release, then I’ll feel like crap for ages, and the only thing that breaks me out of that funk is turning to junk food.
Wash, rinse, repeat.
Is it just me who is confused by this? Fair play to him for talking openly about this, and obviously none of our business if he doesn’t want to go into details, but I can’t work out what exactly his problem is? I only ask in case I’m being stupid – does he not mention his specific issue or have I missed it?
I grew up obese and then developed anorexia nervosa at university. It’s hard for people to understand but the easiest way to put it is that food is what gives me a huge dopamine hit that nothing else really gives me. I don’t drink because I just don’t care for it, gambling is boring and drugs just don’t interest me at all. Food though? That dominates my waking thoughts. Recipes, planning food shopping, cooking/meal prep etc. The only advantage of having a busy job is it stops me from thinking about food for a few minutes. There are foods I just do not eat because I do not trust myself around them, except it will be years since I have eaten them and I still remember the smell, taste and texture perfectly. You need food to live and almost all social events seem to revolve around food in some way, it’s really awful because you end up isolating yourself as your demon is basically impossible to escape from.
[Hungry by Grace Dent](https://www.waterstones.com/book/hungry/grace-dent/9780008333188) was a really interesting read about her and her families relationship with food. Especially as the options changed and so much more became available to them.
Well worth a read.
I didn’t realise how serious cravings could be until I started taking an antidepressant with that as a major side effect.
First thing I’d think of when I woke up was food. I’d constantly be asking my partner about what’s for dinner 2, 3, 4 days down the line. 3 course meal never satiated me. Constantly had food daydreams like in cartoons of big juicy steaks and chocolate cakes and once I s2g I thought my cat looked tasty.
It’s horrible, makes you unproductive, fat, depressed, and hate life.