Yahoo Answers is shutting down on 4 May 2021 (Eastern Time) and the Yahoo Answers website is now in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.

Christine asked in HealthDiet & Fitness · 4 months ago

How can I stop being addicted to food?

All I can think about is food, food, and food. I over eat a lot too. How can I stop being addicted to food?

4 Answers

Relevance
  • ?
    Lv 7
    4 months ago

    Walk, ride a bike, work at a job, do yard work, and exercise in a gym (when the pandemic is over).  Be active.  Don't buy so much food.  You can't eat what you don't have.

  • 4 months ago

    Go to meetings, like Overeaters Anonymous.

  • ?
    Lv 7
    4 months ago

    There are basically 2 types of food addiction:

    1) Overeating due to stress. Everyone experiences some degree of stress, but not everyone knows how to deal with it in the right way. For some people, eating (a lot) is used as a coping mechanism. Subconsciously, they are trying to relive happier times because the food invokes memories of those times.

    2) Eating foods high in empty calories. Empty calories refers to foods that contain very little to no essential nutrients, but contains very high amounts of calories. Eating such kinds of foods will fill you up, but fairly soon when your body sorts through what you consumed and finds nothing it needs, it will make you feel hungry again. Hunger does not mean you did not eat enough - it means you did not give your body what it needs. Typically, people would eat the very same  kinds of foods, fill up, get hungry, eat more, and get caught in a vicious cycle and accumulating huge amounts of calories which their body can not burn off. And calories that are not burn off in a day is converted to body fat when you go to sleep at night.

    For some people, it may even be a combination of the above 2.  If you are stress eating, then you need to find a different coping mechanism. Most people use exercise or some form of physical activity. Even something as simple as taking a walk is a good way deal with stress.

    If it is your diet, then you need to stop eating foods loaded with empty calories such as foods made with bleached/refined flour or high in refined sugar. You need to change what you eat. For example, instead of white bread, eat wholegrain bread. Instead of white rice, eat brown rice. Instead of white paste, eat wholegrain pasta.  The idea is to eat foods high in fiber AND high in essential nutrients.  The word "essential" has a specific meaning in nutrition. They refer to nutrients your body cannot manufacture and can ONLY get from the foods you eat.

  • 4 months ago

    um I think our current state of food addiction stems from how it is so readily available in the TV. most fast food commercials are done to inspire almost pornographic levels on appeals. no but really. and then you have a channel dedicated entirely to food your gather people to cook different dishes back to back to back for 24 hours 7 days a week. I mean they even have a show called Chopped. have you seen that show? UGH! It's disgusting they'll bring 3 chefs then give them a basket with 4 random ingredients like say a bag of potato chips, bbq sauce, a starwberry pop cycle and a filet of sole and they have to create a dish out of that. it's not just utterly disgusting but I wonder how many people actually go out and try some of that out in their own kitchens.

Still have questions? Get answers by asking now.