Guess what I found today?!
Yale, the school,
has a food addiction questionnaire! Who thinks this is fun? (I do!)
Helpful = fun.
If you want to jump right in, here’s the link: https://assets.precisionnutrition.com/2020/05/Yale-Food-Addiction-Scale-form-fillable-V4-2019-coaches.pdf
Our brain reward and pleasure centers react similarly to cocaine and heroin
as they do to trifecta foods: sugar, fat and salt.
And, the reward signals (dopamine) OVERRIDE the hunger and full signals.
Think about this: there are no full signals felt when there’s
sugar, or fat and or salt,
especially a combination of all three.
Addiction = a preoccupation with a behavior that triggers intense pleasure.
We can train our brain to feel pleasure over anything. Jogging, sure.
But some things, like drive through foods and gas station snacks
are engineered to be addictive.
When addicted,
you lose control over the behavior, and spend more time doing it
and thinking about when it will come next.
And you continue to eat, despite negative consequences.
A few days ago, since, apparently, I’m really into this topic right now, I found the
TOP 10 Addictive Foods for most people:
1. Pizza
2. Chocolate
3. Potato chips
4. Ice cream
5. Fries
6. Cheeseburger
7. Cake
8. Cookies
9. Cheese
10.Donuts
Surprised?
Why am I into this right now? Because of my urges for 4, 6 and 7.
The Yale survey states: “People sometimes have difficulty controlling their
intake of certain foods…” Ya think? Have you been to any addict meetings, AA or NA?
Always caffeine and sugar.
Q: Does this idea of addiction make you feel better or worse?
Yale's list of foods are sorted into helpful categories:
Sweets
Starches
Salty snacks
Fatty foods
Sugary drinks/Pop
The sweets are the same: ice cream, chocolate, donuts, cookies, cake, candy, and ice cream a second time. (Seriously, they listed it twice in the same sentence! The author’s dopamine response is reflected.)
Starches are white bread, rolls, pasta and rice. This is interesting: for me, basmati rice (which has a glycemic index of 58) doesn’t spark JOY in my hippocampus like, say, white rice, or arborio. And I can get down on any kind of bread.
Salty snacks are the classics: chips, pretzels, crackers.
These are also crunchy, which is attractive to angry people.
But fries are under fatty, as well as steak, bacon, burgers and pizza.
And sugary drinks - pop, yes, but also juices, smoothies and coffees.
You rate aspects of overeating,
how you feel about it, and
how your life is affected by this lack of control.
Perceived, yes, but ACTUAL. FACTUAL.
NOTE: Binge Eating Disorder is very similar to food addiction, except
bingeing = eating a lot of food in a short amount of time and
usually involves a lot of judgement and shame.
So, not that different. :)
There is an Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire – Short (EDE-QS) but it is copywritten and I cannot re-write it. But here’s the link: https://www.corc.uk.net/media/3339/ede-qs.pdf
Both surveys have similar questions about the compulsive thinking about food and eating and the negative effects on your life.
I’ve given you access to both, but here’s the important question:
Is it helpful to think of any behavior as addiction?
Is it keeping your “head in the sand” if you don’t?
Is it factual, and thereby neutral? And the downside is only that we think badly of ourselves?
Or, is it helpful to kind of slap ourselves in the face a little, because 74% of American adults, and 41% of American children are overweight or obese?
Do WE (I) need to change something?
TODAY'S DEEP BREATH: here's a practical juju nugget, a collective Next Best Decision.
RECOMMENDATION: I think calling it a food addiction is fine. But...
saying, “I am an addict,”
is never a great identity
that you want to foster in your thoughts or speech.
When the addiction loosens up and starts to shrink, because we changed our actions over time,
the professed identity will ensure it returns.
4 Types of Addiction Treatment Programs for FOOD
812-Step Program with social support
1.) OA: Overeaters Anonymous. Unfortunately, the identity is in the name, which isn’t helpful.
2.) Greysheeters Anonymous. Includes a meal plan, phone and online meetings.
3.) Food Addicts Anonymous (FAA)
4.) Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA)
5.) Bright Line Eating, paid program or book. Meal plan. Created by a neuroscientist who was a member of a food 12-step program for years. Based on scientific research of the brain’s reaction to sugar and flour, not faith-based.
*Cognitive Behavioral Therapists who treat Binge Eating and Bulimia. (Thought, Emotion, Actions)
*Paid Treatment Programs
*Psychiatrist and Medications (not approved by the FDA.)
Bottom line: food addiction does not resolve on its own.
It is a mental health issue. Pursue a treatment option to
live HEALTHFULLY.
What I do myself:
I make decisions in advance for what I will eat. I plan for balanced pleasure,
but not too much.
I have a protocol of how I eat most of the time,
with a few exceptions decided in advance.
I prep food in advance of what I will eat. This feels lush to me,
like I am caring for myself and meeting myself where I’m at.
When I don’t follow my plan or overeat, I journal about why.
I bring attention to before, during and after eating,
so that I am more likely to be plugged in and aware.
Sometimes I journal while eating a trigger food, so I can be more aware and slow down, and not be afraid of it.
How do you regulate yourself and manage your urge to _____?
Safe space,
Tami
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