6 Ways to Ease a Food Addiction

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6 Ways to Ease a Food Addiction - How to break free from the power

food has on you. by Daryn Eller

Don't let the word addiction scare you: Experts agree that food

addictions are not nearly as strong as alcohol and drug addictions.

While it might not feel like it at times, you have the power to

control what you eat a lot.

Here are 6 ways you can loosen the stranglehold a food addiction may

have on you:

Smaller Plates = Smaller Portions

Food addicts often overeat because the signals that traditionally

tell the body to stop eating don't sound off. But according to Mark

Gold, MD, chief of addiction medicine at the University of Florida

College of Medicine, you can actually retrain your brain to feel

full on less food. Begin by using smaller plates and bowls, which

will force you to dish out smaller portions.

Over time (it may take a few weeks), your brain will begin to get

used to the reduced portion sizes and you'll feel less compelled to

keep eating. Once you've mastered that, try reducing your portions

even further by leaving a little space on your plate; again, your

brain will slowly but surely adapt.

Lower the " sweet " volume.

If sugar is your weakness, start by removing it from areas of your

diet where you're less likely to notice it. Choose sauces,

dressings, breads, crackers and other " nonsweet " foods that contain

hidden sweeteners (look not only for sugar but high fructose syrup

and corn syrup on ingredient lists). After a while, your taste buds

will become more sensitive to sugar, making the foods you really

want to avoid--cookies, cakes, candy--a little less appealing.

Keep your hunger in check

Food addicts often get tripped up by resisting food to the point of

being ravenous, then overeating as a result. Rate your hunger on a

scale of zero to ten, zero being " starving " and ten being

overstuffed, then try to stay somewhere in the middle.

Work it out by working out

Exercise can actually change the body's biochemistry, helping to

make up for some of the physiological imbalances that can lead to

food addiction. Also, time spent working out is time that you won't

be eating, which can help, too.

Find other ways of coping

Just as some addicts turn to drugs and/or alcohol to help them deal

with pain and anxiety, food addicts turn to food. Instead of running

away from those feelings, consider talking to a therapist or finding

support from a group like Overeaters Anonymous.

Don't return to the scene of the crime

Drug addicts get into trouble when they go back into the

neighborhood where they used to buy drugs. Similarly, returning to

the same patterns can trip you up. So shake up your routine. If

tortilla chips are your weakness, don't go to Mexican restaurants.

If the sight of a certain donut shop weakens your resolve, walk

another route. If you always have ice cream while watching TV at

night, read a book instead (or knit as you watch Law & Order so your

hands will be occupied).

Daryn Eller is a freelance writer in Santa Barbara, CA.