my name is Shawnna....

So, I was scouring the pages of WebMD the other day and found this article about food addiction and new research suggesting that it really does exist.  They didn't need to spend millions of dollars on research to find that out.  They could have asked any fat person on the street and they would have been told that it does.  I know it does.  I've lived it.  I live it still every day.  It's an every day struggle for a lot of people.  Much like a heroine addict craves their next fix, a food addict craves their next donut.
For the food addict, the reality of addiction is inescapable.  Unlike the drug addict who can go to rehab and come out clean, change their lives and move on to a life drug-free, the food addict must go through life day by day fighting that urge to over indulge in a tasty treat.  There is no rehab and no life free from the temptation.  Food is an integral part of our daily lives.  It fuels our bodies.
Junk food cries out to me, it's everywhere I turn.  At work, at the mall, around the corner, easily accessible everywhere you look.  Fighting the urge to buy a pretzel at the mall is like holding your breath under water for me.  Darn near impossible.  And once I take that first bite, there's no turning back.  My lack of self-control overwhelmes me until I have overindulged and am left feeling remorse and regret.
Current studies have shown that the brain of a food addict reacts the same way as a drug addicts brain reacts to getting high.  The same chemicals elicit the same response thus also creating the same chemical withdrawals.  They also create the same satiety thresholds.  The same amount that used to satisfy will no longer suffice, you need more and more which leads to extreme indulgence.
I have found what works for me is filling my body with wholesome healthy food during the early hours of the day and eating a smaller portioned dinner.  I don't get as hungry at night and am less at risk for giving into the temptation of the late night snack attack.  If I do happen to get an urge for something sweet I grab an apple, a few baby carrots or a Larabar (yum!).
I speak from experience for what it means to be a food addict and while there are no meetings I can go to, no rehab I can check into and no halfway house to help me though it, I do have my God, my friends and family....and this blog.
Hi, my name is Shawnna....and I am a food addict.

http://blogs.webmd.com/pamela-peeke-md/2010/04/junk-food-junkie-food-addiction-is-real.html