If you are consistently eating and then hiding the wrappers (or evidence) it might be time to consider whether you may be battling food addiction. This doesn’t always look like an eating disorder – and sometimes, an eating disorder morphs into a food addiction.
Even if you aren’t hiding the evidence of having eaten something, your mindset and behavior around food is super important, too. Are you constantly thinking about your next meal? Always wanting to eat (even when you aren’t hungry)? Unable to stop when satisfied? This post is for you.
Not all struggles with food look like a typical eating disorder – and sometimes, eating disorders share behaviors with things like food addiction (coming from someone who was diagnosed as bulimic – purging type – and “recovered”).
“Recovering” from Bulimia for the Next Trap
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It took a book – Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst – for me to realize that my struggles with bulimia had simply morphed into food addiction. So did I truly recover? I still have food issues. Even as a Trim Healthy Mama (a low glycemic eating plan and lifestyle), the fight against sugar and other unhealthy foods is intense – but not just in the “I can’t eat that” kind of way. We are talking full on breakdowns over not being able to eat something that I’m craving.
As for “on plan” foods, there’s still the intense hyper-focus around each meal and snack. Oh, and don’t forget the inability to stop eating something that is particularly enjoyable after starting (until it’s gone) – even to the point of discomfort, and sometimes sickness.
Curious about Lysa TerKeurst’s book? I have a review of Made to Crave in my archives!
The Battle with Food Addiction
Food addiction may not be the issue you are struggling with (in which case, Troubleshooting Weight Gain on Trim Healthy Mama might be more applicable to meet your needs) however, I knew when my youngest turned ten months old (and I was gaining instead of losing weight) that there was a problem… and I’d already done the troubleshooting.
I transformed my prayer journal (yet again – see Prayer Journaling Transformation in the archives for the first transformation), and am going to re-read Made to Crave OR I’ll Start Again Monday (the shorter version) to help me begin to tackle this issue. And it’s time to bring it to my counselor and psychiatrist. Because when you gain about ten to fifteen pounds in a matter of two months, but your diet and exercise level are the same, it’s time to look into what might be a serious problem.
Do you struggle with food addiction, too? How do you manage? Let me know in the comments below.
Christian, wife, “hybrid” mama, I run the site All Behind A Smile to help others like me.
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