Eating Disorders: How to deal with food addiction

There are many dependencies. Someone cannot live without shopping, someone cannot imagine their life without alcohol, and someone devotes all their time only to food. It is food addiction – a real scourge of modernity, which is akin to drug addiction.

A person suffering from such an eating disorder turns food into a real cult: he thinks about it all the time, forgetting about relatives and friends, does not control the amount of food he eats, eats problems with chocolate, chips and other delicacies. And in the absence of a favorite delicacy, he feels "withdrawal", which is accompanied by irritability and unpleasant physical sensations.

Such a violation can play a cruel joke. After all, the chaotic consumption of food leads to serious health problems, from obesity to oncology. Therefore, it is imperative to deal with such pathological attachment. Nutritionists and psychologists know how to break free from the shackles of food and once again not become a victim of food addiction. Share their advice with you Online edition estet-portal.com.

1. Eating disorders: what are the causes
2. Say a resounding "No" to hard diets
3. Total control: monitor what you eat and how you do it
4. Get rid of annoying factors – products that you are drawn to
5. Control stress with meditation, music and sports

Eating disorders: what are the causes

Food "addicts" especially addicted to foods that are rich in sugar, fat and salt. Scientific studies have found that such food stimulates in the brain the same reactions that occur with the use of heroin and cocaine, that is, the production of dopamine. And when a person feels pleasure from what he has eaten, he feels a great desire to eat something else. At the same time, signals of reward and pleasure interrupt the signal of satiety and satisfaction. And as a result, a person eats and eats, even if he is not hungry. What is the reason for such a "zhora"?

There are several of them:

• Stress, anxiety and excitement. A person, feeling such negative states, seizes them with all sorts of goodies in order to get positive emotions and pleasure.

• A crisis related to being fired, a fight with your best friend, or a divorce. In this case, sticking to problems is used in order to forget about them sooner.

• Lack of happiness due to loss or disappointment. To make up for the lack of happiness, a person looks for it in food.

• Loss of purpose and meaning in life. To fill the inner void, all attention is given to food.
In the "risk group" hit often:

• mentally unstable people;

• people with low self-esteem;

• children from difficult families where there is no love;

• children who are forbidden by their parents to express their emotions;

• women.

Eating disorder if not treated in time, is fraught with the following health problems:

• obesity;

• type 2 diabetes mellitus;

• diseases of the gallbladder and biliary tract;

• deposition of plaques in vessels;

• diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;

• dental problems;

• problems with the musculoskeletal system;

• skin laxity;

• hair loss;

• oncology.

As you can see, the consequences of compulsive overeating are significant. Therefore, it is necessary to act, and the sooner, the better. Below we will look at several effective ways to help cope with food addiction.

Say 'No' to strict diets

There are many diets that help you lose extra pounds and gain a beautiful figure. Of course, they help to achieve the desired result. But at the same time, they often lead to eating disorders. After all, a strict restriction on the use of certain food products – a direct path to stress, anxiety and aggression. Breaking from the diet, the first thing a person goes to the side of the refrigerator and overeats. To get rid of the discomfort received from the diet, he does it constantly. And as a result, food addiction.

Total control: watch what you eat and how you do it

If you are constantly drawn to all sorts of junk in the form of chips, crackers, cakes and the like, try to replace such food with a healthy and balanced one. After all, the lack of vitamins and minerals – one of the main causes of serious diseases.

Eat less sweets, smoked meats and salty foods, giving your preference to fresh seasonal vegetables and fruits. This is the only way you can overcome food addiction.

Not only do you need to switch to a healthy and balanced diet, but you also need to control the size of portions, eat regularly without skipping meals and optimize your diet. You should eat 3 times a day, in medium portions, adding a snack between the main meals. It can be cottage cheese, dried fruits or an apple. And make sure your last meal is 3 hours before bed.
And one more important point: accustom yourself to write down everything you eat in a special diary. And it does not matter that it will be – one candy or a bun, write down every little thing on paper, because it can grow into a big health problem. Thus, looking at your stocks, you will be able to restrain yourself from excessive gluttony.

Get rid of annoying factors – products that you are drawn to

Step away baskets of cookies and sweets, chocolate, chips and other irritants. Also ask family and friends not to eat such foods in your presence. After all, if they constantly flicker before your eyes, your hand will reach out to them, causing you to become even more addicted.
If you can't get rid of such products, replace them with something useful, such as a pear or melon. These fruits neutralize the active secretion of gastric juice and reduce the level of glucose in the blood, which rises at times of strong hunger. A glass of mineral water also helps.

In order to get rid of an eating disorder, you need to manage your internal state, not it – You. Therefore, make it a rule to control yourself, your emotions, stress. Physical activity, meditation, music, and relaxation exercises help to eliminate unpleasant internal states and prevent their further occurrence.

The following breathing exercise relieves stress well: take a slow and deep breath through your nose, then hold your breath and exhale smoothly through your mouth. Perform each action in 4 counts.

Thus, when doing sports, the body produces endorphins – hormone of joy, listening to classical music relieves internal stress and normalizes the biorhythms of human organs, and

meditation

balances the psycho-emotional state. And finally, one more piece of advice: take up all your free time with something useful. Find yourself a new hobby, learn a foreign language, join a gym or create something with your own hands. When you are completely absorbed in your occupation, you will not only get rid of food addictions, but you will also be able to earn money from your hobby. Of course, it is impossible to cope with a pathological attachment to food with the help of only one hobby. Therefore, act comprehensively, applying in practice the other recommendations described above. And then you will be freed from the captivity of food, thereby improving your health and psycho-emotional state.

Read also:

Healthy Eating for Beginners: A Guide to Healthy Eating

Videos you might be interested in: