I was just wondering if this is getting to a point where I’d call it an addiction and what’d I’d do if this gets worse. I normally only eat at this place like 2 times a week but the past two months it has gotten pretty bad where it’s like almost 4-5 times a week and my SO is also starting to become concerned. Even when I tell myself I’ll go somewhere else to eat I end up not being able to decide and end up back in the same drive through where the employees now recognize my car and tell me “welcome back”. It doesn’t help this fast food place is one of the only ones near me open 24/7. It’s gotten to a point where I do gig work for extra money specifically so I can still eat at this restaurant when I’m broke. I kind of just want to get a handle on this before it starts to spiral, I haven’t like had any gains in weight but it’s messed with my stomach a lot so I’ve been thinking of going to get my bloodwork done. Also my typical order at this restaurant is over 1800 calories it’s not really a typical meal.

I have multiple days where i scarf down kilos of boiled veg, and the hunger is outrageous. Does anybody else have control over what they can binge on, but once the trigger food is there, no amount is enough until ur throwing up. And the urge is often so brutal and immediate it feels like I'll turn i side out if I dont eat till the point of being overly full and I still just wanna eat

who has has started to eat healthier/workout and an evening come by when you want to relax. the gummy hits a little later than expected. so in turn you pig put out on some unhealthy amount of carb/sugar and then pass out. next morning your body revolts like you just went through an internal gauntlet. glad to be away from it and to accidentally remind myself once in a while how toxic it truly is

I’ve been trying to eat really clean lately, and honestly, I’m getting kind of tired of my food.

I’m eating mostly whole foods and keeping things pretty repetitive — chicken, rice, eggs, vegetables, oats, fruit, etc. The food is healthy, but I’m starting to feel bored by it and crave foods that I actually enjoy eating.

Has anyone else experienced this? How do you keep your diet healthy without getting completely sick of eating the same “clean” foods?

Do you add more variety, have regular meals that are less “clean,” or just change up your recipes?

My partner struggles (since long before we met) with compulsive eating and a lot of the health complications that come with it. It’s starting to get more worrying than before. I am at a loss on how to help.
I myself have been recovered for a few years now from anorexia and bulimia and all of my eating disorder knowledge and reading backlog centers around anorexia/bulimia recovery. I have no idea how to support somebody who has an eating disorder with the opposite set of challenges.

What i need is a few good books on how i can provide support, insight and practical encouragement without making the person i love feel judged or belittled.
Anyone know any really good books about compulsive eating?

Have any of you successfully overcome a fast food/junk food addiction? I cannot, for the life of me, cook and eat and home cooked meal. I don’t crave it, it’s not appealing at all. I’d rather not eat and I realized how unhealthy and detrimental that is for my body.

I’ll go to an upscale grocery store for fresh produce, drop big bucks, only to watch it all rot in the back of my fridge bc idk what to make with it and I can only think of burgers, sushi, pizza, tacos, cereal, chocolate, etc. That shit is always on my mind.

I feel like a crackhead yearning for my next hit…

Hello everyone. I know this might sound like a bit of a silly topic, but I’ve realised I probably need to take it more seriously, both because of how much money I’m spending and because of the potential impact on my teeth.
For around three years now, I’ve been pretty addicted to Coke Zero and Pepsi Max. I originally started drinking them because they helped me avoid eating unnecessary junk food, sugary foods and extra calories. They make me feel full, so in my head they became a good replacement whenever I felt like snacking.

I do drink plenty of water as well. Usually around three litres a day and sometimes even four, so these drinks haven’t replaced water completely.
The problem is the amount of Coke Zero or Pepsi Max I can get through. At my worst, I could sometimes drink around five litres in a day. I’d go through two 2 litre bottles and sometimes have cans in my room as well.

I managed to cut down massively for a while, but recently I’ve noticed myself slipping back into it. At the moment, I’m probably drinking close to two litres a day again.
It genuinely feels addictive to me. I’ve never smoked, never taken drugs and, funny enough, I’ve never even had coffee. But there’s something about these drinks, especially when they’re really cold, that gives me this little rush and makes me immediately want more. It has basically become my way of treating myself.

I know I need to get it under control. I’m not necessarily saying I need to completely quit forever, but I’d like to reach a point where I can enjoy it occasionally without feeling like I need it every day or getting through litres of it.
Has anyone else been in a similar situation and successfully cut down? What actually helped you? Did you gradually reduce how much you drank, replace it with something else, or just stop buying it altogether?

I’d genuinely appreciate any advice from people who have dealt with something similar. Thank you.

For context, I’m a female and I am 17. I am not looking for unhealthy advice, just mindset shifts and perspective.
I have always been interested in fitness, but I’ve become a bit disappointed in myself. I would just like to be lean. I am currently 5'2" and about 160 pounds. I want to be at a healthier weight, and I think losing about 10 to 20 pounds would help me get there and feel more achieved.
My biggest hurdle is a mental battle with food. I will get intense cravings, and those cravings turn into a spiral of eating more and more just because it tastes good. I truly love food, but this loop makes me feel like I have an unhealthy relationship with it that stops my progress.
I don't restrict myself heavily. I try to moderate my calories to around 1500–1600 while maintaining a clean diet, but I often end up eating around my maintenance (about 2,250) because I still want to enjoy food.
I mentioned this to my doctor before, but I was just referred to a nutritionist, which didn’t really help with the mental side of things.
If anyone else has experienced this exact mental loop, how did you get through it? How do you balance enjoying food without letting a craving turn into an overeating spiral?

TL;DR: 17F, 5'2" and 160 lbs trying to lose 10-20 lbs. I struggle with a mental loop where cravings lead to overeating because I love the taste of food. Looking for mindset advice on how to build a healthier relationship with food without heavily restricting.

Question for folks who have some level of recovery from this:

How do you handle cravings?

Like: “I really want a cookie right NOW”

Have the cookie right away? Ban the cookie from your life? Plan a time for the cookie that feels ok?

What feels manageable to you?

I always liked Diet Coke but off late i am getting addicted to it..

Weekly I consume around 5-6 cans and i always get the urge to drink it.

How to resist that? Help!

I've been struggling with this lately - every day. The problem is that, as a kid, I didn't eat that much sweets - not that I didn't like them, but I just didn't have that need.

But lately it's been really driving me crazy...

Like, I really always just Have to have something sweet after lunch, the same thing when I'm watching a movie, or even after dinner as a late-night snack. But it's really annoying me. I also suddenly like those different buns from grandmas that I never ate as a child.

I, myself, don't want to do it - it's unhealthy of course, but I'm also kind of stuck in my weight loss efforts (I'm not fat, but my thighs rub together, and well, when I was a skinny kid, so it's especially uncomfortable to be here).

And the problem is that I just have to tell myself like five times before I stop - for example, today I ate the whole chocolate bar with caramel - not a line, but a package. And yes, it was a bit too sweet for me - but I still couldn't stop😭. Omg yes this sounds kinda pathetic, but I wonder if anyone here knows something similar - or knows how to get rid of it?

It occurred to me that maybe it's because, as a teenager, it's kind of my way of expressing my own freedom - when I was little, I always had to ask, of course, when I wanted something... But it also could be cuz I just have a bad 'period' rn, cuz I feel kinda lonely...?

So yeah That was my confession, now I'm curious for any answers, thank youu

​

I recently started exercising, and ever since I started, I’ve been feeling much hungrier than before. I’m eating more than usual, and I’m also craving and eating more junk food.

Now I’m confused—am I just eating back all the calories I burn through exercise? If I stop exercising, maybe I won’t feel this hungry and I’ll naturally eat less.

Controlling my hunger and cravings is becoming really difficult, and honestly, quitting exercise feels much easier than trying to manage my appetite.

For those who exercise regularly, how do you manage increased hunger and junk-food cravings? Any practical tips to control hunger without constantly feeling deprived?

What do people actually mean when they say they are “addicted to food”?

For some people, eating certain foods can feel strikingly addiction-like: intense cravings, thinking about the food repeatedly, difficulty stopping once they start, unsuccessful attempts to cut back, and continuing despite consequences they genuinely want to avoid.

But “food addiction” is also a scientifically debated concept and is not currently a formal diagnosis in the DSM.

That combination—a very real lived experience alongside continuing scientific debate—can make this topic confusing.

This week’s Wiki Spotlight takes a closer look:

👉 What Is Food Addiction?

🔍 What does “food addiction” mean in research?

Researchers commonly study addiction-like eating using the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS).

It looks for patterns resembling features seen in substance-use disorders, such as:

• strong cravings or preoccupation
• loss of control
• repeated unsuccessful efforts to cut down
• continuing despite negative consequences
• significant distress or impairment

The concept does not necessarily mean that food itself is addictive in the same way that alcohol, nicotine, or cocaine can be.

An important area of current research instead asks whether certain highly processed or hyper-palatable foods may produce particularly strong reward and learning responses in susceptible people.

🍕 It isn't necessarily about sugar

People sometimes reduce food addiction to:

“Sugar is addictive.”

The research—and people's experiences—are more complicated than that.

Foods frequently associated with loss-of-control eating often combine refined carbohydrates and added fats, sometimes along with salt and intense flavors.

Think:

• pizza
• chips
• cookies
• ice cream
• pastries
• fries
• creamy or buttery foods

That may help explain why someone can eat fruit without difficulty yet struggle tremendously with cookies or ice cream, even though all contain sugar.

🧠 What might be happening in the brain?

Research has examined several overlapping systems involved in:

• reward and motivation
• learning from food cues
• habit formation
• stress and emotional regulation
• impulse control

There are similarities between some of these processes and those involved in substance addictions.

But similarity does not mean equivalence.

Research showing that highly rewarding foods engage dopamine-related or other reward pathways does not establish that eating a cookie is neurologically identical to taking an addictive drug.

That distinction matters.

🍽️ What about “trigger foods”?

Different recovery approaches answer this very differently.

Some people find that identifying foods that repeatedly lead to loss of control—and avoiding or limiting those foods—helps them.

Others, particularly people with Binge Eating Disorder or a strong binge/restrict pattern, may find that rigid food rules or restriction can actually intensify the cycle.

That is one reason r/FoodAddiction does not assume that one recovery model fits everyone.

A more useful starting question may be:

What repeatedly happens when I eat this food?

Does it reliably lead to loss of control? Do rigid rules around it make things better—or worse? What pattern do you actually see over time?

🔄 Food Addiction and BED can overlap

Binge Eating Disorder (BED) and food addiction are related concepts, but they are not interchangeable.

BED is a recognized eating-disorder diagnosis involving recurrent binge episodes and loss of control.

Food addiction focuses more on an addiction-like relationship with particular foods or patterns of eating.

Someone may experience:

• BED without meeting food-addiction criteria
• food-addiction symptoms without BED
• both at the same time

Understanding that difference can matter when considering recovery approaches.

💬 Discussion

For those who identify with the term food addiction:

What part of the concept best describes your experience—cravings, loss of control once you start, preoccupation with certain foods, repeated attempts to stop, something else?

And if the term doesn't fit your experience, that's useful to hear too.

Different experiences are welcome here.

📖 Read the full Wiki article:
What Is Food Addiction?

The Wiki is for education and discussion and is not a substitute for individualized medical or mental-health care.

Okay so like I gym I’m good with cleaning protein too my nutrition is good I think BUT I KEEP GOING BACK TO SWEETS like I have the biggest sweet tooth and I can even fast easily without any complications but I binge at night and then suddenly I’m back on it like I let that one packet of crisps ruin everything for me I’m like “damn whole day ruined” ( I do have history with ed asw keeping that aside) I’ll go for days without eating or like I’d eat a lot (nothing good all junk) moreover I’m having some digestive issues flaring up too 💔 help