You’re not a dog. Don’t reward yourself with food.
Here are the major signs that you’re addicted to food, along with possible solutions.
1. Are your meals the highlight of your day?
Most people live from meal to meal. It seems like eating is the best thing that is happening to them. I remember that I used to just sit there and watch the clock waiting for it to be lunch or dinner or whatever.
This is a disease. This is no different from looking forward to your next chance to get high. This is no different from a junkie eagerly waiting to get a hit out of his precious little drug.
Solution?
Be more productive throughout the day. Engage in activities that you enjoy. Find other stuff to do with people other than eating. Read books.
I also handle this with meditation. The reason people think about food is that they’re looking for a way to escape their realities.
Keep in mind that meditation does not mean sitting down saying “omm” a bunch of times.
I’m talking about putting yourself into a clear state of mind in the present moment and embracing whatever it is that you’re doing at that moment instead of escaping it by eating.
I believe people call it being mindful.
2. Do you select meals purely based on taste?
I understand that food is necessary for survival and we need to eat.
A lot of people might think that food can’t be a drug. Food can’t be the same as shooting up heroin in a bathroom stall, can it?
It can. If you were truly eating for survival, then you wouldn’t be eating junk food all the time.
Eating something because it’s tasty means you’re eating something to feel good. That’s another way of saying that you’re purely eating to get high.
Solution?
Be honest with yourself about the reason why you eat the things you do.
Realize that food is nothing but energy. You should eat in order to have energy to accomplish your goals. Stop eating to get high.
You can’t decide if you’re hungry? Ask yourself if you want an apple. If the answer is no, then you’re probably bored instead of hungry.
3. Do you ever eat until you can’t move?
I used to do this all the time and this is like hitting rock bottom. Eating until you can’t move is eating way beyond being full. If you do this, you have a problem.
This is the surest sign that you do not want to go back to your reality so you prefer to destroy your body by eating until it becomes unhealthy.
This may sound extreme but it is the truth. If I were exaggerating, then there wouldn’t be so many people depressed by the way they look and so many obese people walking around.
Just look at the television. Every other commercial is about food or about some easy way to lose weight. This is a major problem, but few people are doing anything about it.
Solution?
Realize that you have a problem and commit to changing your eating habits.
People who hang around drug addicts know that quitting drugs for a couple of months doesn’t mean anything. Addicts are at risk of bouncing back at any moment.
The same applies to food. This is a life commitment. Start treating food for what it really is… food. This is fuel for the body.
Controlling your eating urges will give you the confidence and discipline to do the same with other areas of your life.
Remember this… Eat to live. Don’t live to eat.
This article will also help: What 500 Calories Really Looks Like
