Food Addiction Isn’t Normal

Eating disorders are not just anorexia, bulimia or binge eating.

You have a disordered relationship with food if:

-You eat in secret

-Lie to others about what you eat

-Eat your feelings/emotionally eat

-Eat when you aren’t hungry

-Eat because food is available

-Must have something sweet everyday

-Experience withdrawal when cutting certain foods out

-You struggle with portion control

-You constantly/frequently think about food

-You think about your next meal when eating another

-You over exercise, fast, or take laxatives to try to undo consequences of a binge

-You are always looking forward to when you can eat next

-Your life and thoughts generally revolve around food

ED tries to convince us that all that is normal, that many people do those things and it’s okay.

Let’s be clear - THE LIST ABOVE IS COMMON BEHAVIOR BUT IT’S NOT NORMAL. It’s joy sucking, confidence stealing, abnormal behavior with food. Lots of people who appear to have perfect bodies engage in many of those behaviors. You don’t have to be fat, out of shape, or overweight to have an eating disorder.

Any behavior you engage in with food that causes you guilt and shame is likely a disordered behavior. You don’t have to accept that this is normal. You can be free and have a healthy relationship with food, but that might not look like what you think it should look like. Part of the healing process is acceptance that those of us with eating disorders are wired differently and have to live differently.

If you want to discover that freedom then consider joining Coach Jessyca and I for our next Food Addiction and Recovery group beginning 4/25. You may think that there is no hope for you, that you’ve already tried everything, that it’s too late, but that’s not true. You can get your mind right and find your food freedom.