Addicted to alcohol: Stop drinking. You can’t control an addiction so you have to completely stop.
Addicted to cigarettes: Stop smoking. You can’t control an addiction so you have to completely stop.
Addicted to crack: Stop smoking crack. You can’t control an addiction so you have to completely stop.
Addicted to food: Must be your fault for being weak-willed. Just don’t consume so much of that thing that you’re addicted to. You can control your addiction. Just stop being a loser…
The literal solution to every addiction is stop it, cold turkey. One Day At A Time. But you can’t stop eating food. You’ll die.
So it’s as if an alcoholic has to constantly have just a little alcohol. Or a crackhead has to keep smoking crack, but only every once in a while. No problem, just control yourself…
I’m sure telling people that they’re pieces of shit for eating food will fix the problem, eventually. We just have to try a little harder.
That’s just one approach to addiction. Personally, I think it assumes people are weak with no self-control, which seems to be exactly the argument you’re making.
The emphasis on abstinence and any exposure at all being a failure might even make binging more likely if someone gives in just a little, as their counter is now reset, so might as well take advantage.
And the obsession/fascination with the addiction target continues or even gets ramped up.
I like the moderation approach a lot better. I don’t binge drink every weekend anymore, but if I do feel like having a drink every now and then, I just do instead of spiraling because I need to treat it like some sort of personal failure.
It doesn’t matter whose fault it is or how hard it is. There literally is only one person who can fix your obesity, and it’s you. Yes, that’s hard. Yes, that sucks. But it’s also the only way.
Discussing whose fault it is and what of blame there should be is, at an individual level, completely pointless. There is one person in charge of what you eat, and it’s you. Factors may influence it, but in the end, you move the food to your mouth. You are the only person in the universe who can fix the situation, and if you don’t, it won’t get fixed.
Taking the position that you’re a powerless victim of circumstances will just hurt. Admitting that you’re obese because you eat too much, and that you can control how much you eat, will help fix your problems.
Every time you hear someone say “it’s my thyroid” or “I have PCOS” or “I can’t afford the gym”, or “I have a food addiction” or “I have BED” as an excuse, you’re talking to someone who sees themselves as a victim rather than the person who can fix their problem. All those things might be true, but none of those issues move food into your mouth. You do that, and you can stop doing that because you’re a thinking human being and not a seacucumber or a daffodil.
Getting from “I am obese” to “I am keeping myself obese” was very hard too. It requires taking ownership of your mistakes, it requires introspection. And then you go into a long and uncomfortable process of fixing the problem you caused, and it sucks. Losing weight is shit. Feeling hungry sucks, and it sucks 24/7. But damn, losing weight feels amazing and it’s all worth it.
Congratulations on your weight loss. You are correct that it is such a psychological battle to place yourself at the helm.
After having kids I really struggled with losing the weight. Now it probably was hormonal, but naming the reason doesn’t take the weight off. I had to accept that I was going to have to work harder than some people. That there is no such thing as fair - just because some tiny person can eat a double cheeseburger with fries and not gain weight does not mean that my body will afford me that same luxury.
Once I realized that there was really no way out but creating a calorie differential, I started logging calories. When my brain begged me to snack constantly I ate cherry tomatoes or cucumber slices. I worked my ass off at the gym. And I would go weeks without dropping a single pound before my body finally would give a few up all at once. But there is no such thing as easy weight loss, and you are so correct that you have to force yourself to be the boss.
Thanks for this, I had an idea about food addiction but that explanation puts it in perspective.
Companies also try to make foods as addictive as possible and as flashy as possible. It’s like avoiding the constant casino ads as a gambling addict, but you had to keep stepping into a casino every week forever and only doing low bets.
on top of that, if someone is using excess food to “self medicate” issues like… IDK, anxiety? by forcing the body to go from the Sympathetic nervous system response to the Parasympathetic nervous system response… yeah. Fun coping mechanism makes one fat.
The way chemicals interact with dopamine, some of those substances are a LOT harder than others.
You just need to change the food you eat. I found fasting easier than meticulous dieting. I had the willpower and was enable to accept the simplicity of simply not eating.
Addicted to alcohol: Stop drinking. You can’t control an addiction so you have to completely stop.
Addicted to cigarettes: Stop smoking. You can’t control an addiction so you have to completely stop.
Addicted to crack: Stop smoking crack. You can’t control an addiction so you have to completely stop.
Addicted to food: Must be your fault for being weak-willed. Just don’t consume so much of that thing that you’re addicted to. You can control your addiction. Just stop being a loser…
The literal solution to every addiction is stop it, cold turkey. One Day At A Time. But you can’t stop eating food. You’ll die.
So it’s as if an alcoholic has to constantly have just a little alcohol. Or a crackhead has to keep smoking crack, but only every once in a while. No problem, just control yourself…
I’m sure telling people that they’re pieces of shit for eating food will fix the problem, eventually. We just have to try a little harder.
That’s just one approach to addiction. Personally, I think it assumes people are weak with no self-control, which seems to be exactly the argument you’re making.
The emphasis on abstinence and any exposure at all being a failure might even make binging more likely if someone gives in just a little, as their counter is now reset, so might as well take advantage.
And the obsession/fascination with the addiction target continues or even gets ramped up.
I like the moderation approach a lot better. I don’t binge drink every weekend anymore, but if I do feel like having a drink every now and then, I just do instead of spiraling because I need to treat it like some sort of personal failure.
That’s all true, and it’s all pointless.
It doesn’t matter whose fault it is or how hard it is. There literally is only one person who can fix your obesity, and it’s you. Yes, that’s hard. Yes, that sucks. But it’s also the only way.
Discussing whose fault it is and what of blame there should be is, at an individual level, completely pointless. There is one person in charge of what you eat, and it’s you. Factors may influence it, but in the end, you move the food to your mouth. You are the only person in the universe who can fix the situation, and if you don’t, it won’t get fixed.
Taking the position that you’re a powerless victim of circumstances will just hurt. Admitting that you’re obese because you eat too much, and that you can control how much you eat, will help fix your problems.
Every time you hear someone say “it’s my thyroid” or “I have PCOS” or “I can’t afford the gym”, or “I have a food addiction” or “I have BED” as an excuse, you’re talking to someone who sees themselves as a victim rather than the person who can fix their problem. All those things might be true, but none of those issues move food into your mouth. You do that, and you can stop doing that because you’re a thinking human being and not a seacucumber or a daffodil.
Getting from “I am obese” to “I am keeping myself obese” was very hard too. It requires taking ownership of your mistakes, it requires introspection. And then you go into a long and uncomfortable process of fixing the problem you caused, and it sucks. Losing weight is shit. Feeling hungry sucks, and it sucks 24/7. But damn, losing weight feels amazing and it’s all worth it.
Congratulations on your weight loss. You are correct that it is such a psychological battle to place yourself at the helm.
After having kids I really struggled with losing the weight. Now it probably was hormonal, but naming the reason doesn’t take the weight off. I had to accept that I was going to have to work harder than some people. That there is no such thing as fair - just because some tiny person can eat a double cheeseburger with fries and not gain weight does not mean that my body will afford me that same luxury.
Once I realized that there was really no way out but creating a calorie differential, I started logging calories. When my brain begged me to snack constantly I ate cherry tomatoes or cucumber slices. I worked my ass off at the gym. And I would go weeks without dropping a single pound before my body finally would give a few up all at once. But there is no such thing as easy weight loss, and you are so correct that you have to force yourself to be the boss.
Thanks for this, I had an idea about food addiction but that explanation puts it in perspective.
Companies also try to make foods as addictive as possible and as flashy as possible. It’s like avoiding the constant casino ads as a gambling addict, but you had to keep stepping into a casino every week forever and only doing low bets.
at least 3 times a day, plus once in a while in between, maybe on your phone.
good luck not going bankrupt
on top of that, if someone is using excess food to “self medicate” issues like… IDK, anxiety? by forcing the body to go from the Sympathetic nervous system response to the Parasympathetic nervous system response… yeah. Fun coping mechanism makes one fat.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sympathetic_nervous_system#Relationship_with_the_parasympathetic_nervous_system
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasympathetic_nervous_system
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The way chemicals interact with dopamine, some of those substances are a LOT harder than others. You just need to change the food you eat. I found fasting easier than meticulous dieting. I had the willpower and was enable to accept the simplicity of simply not eating.
Oh for sure…fasting is waaay easier. That’s kinda my point. Fasting is literally not eating.
Unfortunately you can’t just do it forever. Well I mean, you can…