Might As Well Face It, You're Addicted to Food
Addiction to food is real.
Carbohydrates light up reward centers in your brain as strong as any other drug of abuse or thrill activity and should be added to the DSM as a diagnosis of “carb addiction.” I deal with this all of the time.
Patients are sometimes disappointed with my approach to weight loss because they are not going to drop 20-30# per month like they would on starvation diets, stimulant appetite suppressants and the like. My approach is longitudinal, focused on correction of insulin resistance as a path to lifelong health. You WILL lose weight, but at the slower rate of about 2# per week as a woman and 5# as a man. Along my journey with patients, we often hit the obstacle that got them in trouble in the first place. Many times it takes the patient by surprise as it manifests, but in truth they’ve seen it before but just didn’t want to face it. The reason for yo-yo weight issues — that often spans decades — is an underlying pathologic relationship with food.
Sometimes, I get lucky and patients just admit it up front: “I’m a stress-eater” or “I’m addicted to carbs” are the usual confession. (“Praise the Lord!” is my thought; at least these folks are aware!!) Many, however, live in perpetual denial and when they hit the wall of food addiction give up and just eat the carbs. Why?
Well, eating carbohydrate is a coping mechanism, not unlike other detrimental coping tools people all over the world employ to self-soothe. This is the very reason we call carb-laden foods “comfort food.” All coping tools have in common that at first, they light up pleasure centers in the brain and act as a reward, leading to a feeling of well-being. Many are good for you like exercise, laughing, winning, etc. If they are negative coping tools (those things that are physically or psychologically detrimental and lead to physical dependence or addiction) there are usually also negative withdrawal symptoms lurking when you try to stop.
Take for example nicotine. Nothing will deliver a hit of nicotine like smoking a cigarette. We all know people who smoke to calm down (I even have had chronic lung patients who smoke to “breathe easier”!!) And, it IS true: nicotine stimulates the reward centers in our brains and makes us feel good, but only briefly. Unfortunately, the effect wanes and you’ve got to smoke again. And again. Then you develop dysfunction in the body and as you do it more, you set up physical dependence and addiction. Now you can’t stop because the body likes your little reward-hit and there are consequences to avoidance (i.e. withdrawal). It’s now too uncomfortable to let it go, so you keep at it. But you hate it…and yourself for being so weak. Other people hate it, but you can’t stop. Such is the vicious cycle of addiction.
I find it’s a good place here to give the patient some validation. I will admit to my patient, “if it didn’t work, you wouldn’t do it.” This is the truth about any coping tool that must be addressed. Admitting to the patient that what they feel as temporary relief when they “do the thing” can bring them a sense of validation: they’re not crazy or wrong for thinking it actually helps. Validation then opens the door to understanding and further honesty about the fact that the coping tool is now detrimental to their health and well-being. When we are willing to be honest, most of us become brave enough to talk about our faults and maybe even work on them.
I have found through working the 12 steps of Celebrate Recovery myself that the proverbial “want-to” — that holy grail, first step of life change — starts with an utter disgust with your compulsory negative behavior. You’ve got to get to the place where you are so DONE with IT and all the negative that goes with IT that you’re ready to do ANYTHING to rid yourself of IT. Granted, this is no easy path, but once you’re done, you’re DONE. Many people swirl the toilet of attempt and failure many times before they come to a place of escape. You’ve got to confront your demons to come out of denial and into recovery. You’ve also got to supplant bad habits for good ones and suffer some withdrawal. But with encouragement and support, human beings can come out of addictions. Even addictions to food.
Food supplements, fake food, stimulants, anorexiants, meal replacements, weight loss surgery and the like will not deliver you from food addiction. If you struggle with your weight, maybe it’s time to take a hard look at WHY and consider the possibility of carbohydrate addiction. Our compassionate and medically sound approach to weight loss can get you free, it just takes time and effort. Are you ready?