Are You a Food Addict Like Me?

And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.  (John 8:32, New Living Translation)

If you want to live free from compulsive overeating and food obsession, strap on your seatbelt and get ready for the ride of your life!  Realization, acceptance and surrender are the first steps.  Take some time—when you are not rushed—and write your thoughts in response to each of the following questions.

What is your goal?  Unconsciously I had a fantasy that thin people were emotionally stable and happy people—lovable and loved.  Today I know that thin is just thin.  It is not always the result of emotional or physical health.  Examine your expectations.  If you succeeded on a diet and reached your goal weight, how would this accomplishment change your life? 

Do you feed a feeling?  Do you automatically turn to food to fix a broken heart or a wounded spirit?  As a child, did you learn to respond to feelings (happy or sad) with excess food?  List the family members who influenced your relationship with food. 

Note: Many food addicts come from dysfunctional families.  In recovery we learn that it is okay to love our families while accepting the fact that some of our closest relationships were not always healthy—physically, emotionally or spiritually. 

Who is your God?  People say that whatever occupies most of a person’s thought-life is their God.  Do you wake up in the morning thinking about food, think about it during your daily activities and go to bed thinking about food? 

Many people who struggle with overeating, poor body image and food obsession try different avenues in search of a solution.  What weight loss techniques have you tried through the years?  Make a list of doctors, diet and exercise programs, pills, hypnotists and the like and talk about the benefits and deficits of each program.

Do you think that self-control through behavior modification is the answer to recovery from compulsive* overeating and food addiction?

*Compulsive is a term that describes an act outside of our will.  We want to do what is right, but cannot resist the very thing that we know causes us harm.  It is a downward slide.  In the advanced stages of food addiction, an overeater takes one compulsive bite and then loses control, more or less, depending on the individual’s progression of the disease.

…No matter which way I turn, I can’t make myself do right.  I want to, but I can’t.   (Romans 7:18, New Living Translation)

          Do you agree that compulsive overeating and food addiction is a physical, emotional and spiritual malady just like alcoholism? 

          Are you ready to say “yes” to life and “no” to excess food today?”

            My rendition of steps one, two and three: “I am powerless over food.  Despite intelligent reasoning and a determined will to stop overeating, I cannot do it without dependence on God.  Lord, I surrender.  Give me wisdom and willingness to succeed today where I have failed previously.”