Food Addiction: Is it Real?

Hello,
I wanted to dive into a topic that is highly debatable. Can food be an addiction? My answer is yes and to be quite frank, I am a food addict. 

The definition of addiction is "the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity."  For me, eating has been one of my favorite activities, there isn't very many foods I don't like. Now being a foodie doesn't make you an addict, but when it becomes something you constantly look forward to, being stuffed is one of your favorite feelings, you crave so hard it is almost like you would feen for food, or you like to see how much you can eat, you might be a food addict. For many years, even before I was at my heaviest, I would dream about food. In fact most of my dreams for a long time were about food,

Then I hit my heaviest weight. I knew something had to change. I started treating my cravings, my tendencies to overeat, and my diet as an addiction and things began to change for me.  Once my mindset shifted, it became so much easier to address the issues I was having with weight loss, but it didn't just happen. I made so many excuses before I decided something had to change

But I am feeding my body and my doctor says I am healthy, I don't think I'm overeating. I am just eating.
Let me tell you and be honest with you, real hard core honesty. Overeating is an eating disorder and whether you call it a disorder or an addiction, it is a problem. The reality is, no one should be eating mindlessly, or putting thousands of extra calories in their bodies. Maybe the unhealthy food and extra calories aren't affecting you now, but in the long run being obese leads to many health problems and it is better to prevent them than have to treat them.

But I love myself and I shouldn't have to change myself to fit societies standards.
The reality about this statement is, if you love yourself you take care of yourself. You nourish your body. Your body works so hard for you, you should treat it right in return. You should feed it properly so it can function to the best of its ability. Yes you should love yourself no matter your size, but harming your body is not self love, point blank. 

Just like any other addict, there are many excuses. Many people do not see their weight as a problem or think they can do it on their own and do not need guidance. I was an athlete for years, I knew what it took, but the weight still wasn't coming off, my lifestyle was not changing. My mom had been pushing WW(formally Weight Watchers) on me for months and it took the scale saying 255lbs for me to realize I needed to make a change. 

I refer to WW as AA for fat people, because honestly it is very similar. You have a meeting leader, you share ideas and stories. You talk about your down falls and celebrate your successes. I just got my 25lb award. Now you do not have to do the workshops, which is what they call meetings, but honestly it is so worth it. Being surround by people who are on the same path as you is so encouraging. Not only that, but their point system is super easy to follow.

If you are interested in joining please use the link below, it gives you a free month along with me: 
https://www.weightwatchers.com/us/checkout/iaf/?iaftoken=037AB56200

Food addiction has been on my mind a lot lately and I wanted to share my thoughts with you. It is okay to admit things need to change. The sooner you do, the easier it is. As I always say, "I didn't get to this weight not loving food" now I just love food that is better for my body.

Love Always,
​Mikala