Reddit reviews Anatomy of a Food Addiction: The Brain Chemistry of Overeating: An Effective Program to Overcome Compulsive Eating (3rd Edition)

Bless you I've been addicted to food all my life it strangles your life,messes up relationships ,rules your life and stifles your dreams ,I'm 40 and finally I'm getting help,it's so frustrating there is so much help for anorexia everyone takes it seriously but when it comes to binge eating you are shamed,blamed ,called names villified just visiting fatpeoplehate here on reddit you can see the level of abuse aimed at overweight people,there is no anorexichate subreddits because it's acceptable to dismiss overeating and laugh and mock it where anorexia is accepted as a mental health problem .
Well binge eating is no different the difference is your symptoms you wear in layers over your body,you need to stop the self hatred I don't mean the whole fat acceptance thing yes you need self acceptance,but you know it's unhealthy it's a miserable existence my heart breaks for people struggling with binge eating it's so misunderstood,it doesn't feel like it but you can beat it ,I think put any diet or weight loss in the back of your mind that will naturally come when you deal with the other stuff ,there are lots of reasons people binge eat and turn to food,mine was a comfort thing and it helped me glean some comfort from my abusive loveless childhood,I really think the brain in overweight people has a different chemistry you can be addicted ,if you're in America you're lucky because you have fat addicts anonymous and overeaters anonymous,there are places out there , started with a brilliant book called "the anatomy of a food addiction the brain chemistry of overeating by Anne Katherine
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/0936077131/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/278-1600377-5182136
She approaches it with an addiction point of view and an emotional aspect as well
Drugs and alcohol you can stay away from ,food is everywhere you can't just give it up its in my opinion a lot more difficult to tackle food addiction than alcohol and drug addiction ,as the quote about comparing food and alcohol addiction rings so true
"Having an addiction to.alcohol is like having a tiger and trying to keep it in a cage ,having a food addiction is like trying to keep a tiger in a cage and taking it out for a walk 3 times a day "
and she has different sections to go through the process of beating the addiction ,the last chapter being weight loss,and she says don't be tempted to jump to weight loss section at the end she tells you exactly how to.start the process what support to get ,I found it so helpful and she stats away from the spiritual religious stuff she is gentle but practical .
This is a serious addiction you deserve get help as much as drug addicts and anorexics do ,I know the constant pain I feel for you sweetie but it's achievable you just need to.set up.a support system ,your wife needs to educate herself about it ,there are face book groups you join and there is always someone to respond to a post if you're struggling with a desire to.binge ,there is a way out I promise you ,I've only just started myself I'm at 230 pounds and for a woman that's not healthy ,I know the Shame ,how it affects everything you do ,the frustration of feeling out of control being at the mercy of this illness it's horrible I.know you're in your own private hell ,trust me you're not alone the world is waking up to people like us ,you deserve as much support as a drug addict as anyone else with a mental illness it's not your fault you aren't a bad person you aren't lazy you aren't weak you are fighting a horrible addiction and you're trying to do it alone you need to read what you can to ask for help and ignore anyone who dismisses it because there are a lot if ignorant professionals out there please look at the link I sent for that book ,loom at other books on the subject see what approach works for you,you can have a normal life this world needs you to.help other people like us .Trust me sweetie there is a way out .

I know, we discussed that once in the beginning of 90 days and it was always good to see you posting daily and to know that you are also still on track. Great to hear that you are doing better too! I'm still convinced that we can arrive at a point where we have an entirely relaxed and normal relationship with food. Just going a couple of days without feeling the need to binge is amazing and very relaxing already so although I know that not all my problems will be solved magically once that this lies behind me I'm still looking forward to it.

This is the book I read, it's less than 10 dollars for the kindle edition. I just finished it and will start a new one today. Just reading about this topic every night is helpful for me to stay motivated and on track. And the time is much better spent than on watching TV.

just got this from my local library and the sections on the brain chemicals and emotional self care are really enlightening: [Anatomy of a Food Addiction: The Brain Chemistry of Overeating: An Effective Program to Overcome Compulsive Eating] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0936077131/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1396274711&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40)

I personally ignore the oa stuff as I am a greysheet retread recovering from greysheet.

For me it is MUCH easier to eat in a strict way if I don't make any exceptions whatsoever. I just had 4 "perfect" weeks where I just said "no thanks, but I don't eat sugar/pasta/... at the moment" and everyone, including me, was fine. The cravings are gone after a while and everything just becomes so very, very easing. Which is definitely a good thing for someone like me with a history of disordered eating. I even got through a big birthday party and a trade fair (two days surrounded with nothing but sugary energy drinks, perfect little tramezzini and the most beautiful muffins that I've ever seen) and everything was fine. Not a single slip. I just didn't eat all the crappy food because I didn't have to think about whether or not I wanted them. There was no decision to be made because I just didn't eat that stuff at that point in time. If I was going for an "everything in moderation" approach, I would have decided to make an exception and things would have gotten straight to hell from there on. When it starts, I can eat so much crappy food. So, so, so much crappy food, people often would not believe how a normal sized woman could eat to much junk food in so little time.

But then last week I had to take a flight while I was sick and I just had to eat some white bread since my stomach was very upset and everything else would not have worked and I would have gotten sick on the plane otherwise. Since then I'm once again struggling to get back on track. The cravings are back and I have to fight just as hard as always to get rid of them and I have lost quite a few fights last week. I hope that I will manage to get back on track next week and it will be a little easier than usually since I just had those 4 perfect weeks (my personal record up to now) but it still sucks. And next time I will just try to make it to 5 weeks. And after that maybe one day 6 or 7 weeks – we'll see...

Edit, another thing: since you mentioned that you are an emotional eater, I can recommend a book that I found quite interesting: http://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Food-Addiction-Overeating-Compulsive/dp/0936077131
It doesn't just cover the psychological aspects but also the brain chemistry behind food addictions. But to sum the whole book up: if you do have a food addiction, eat less carbs. And once you are truly addicted, you might have to do it for the rest of your life, just like an alcoholic has to stay sober and can't just drink alcohol in moderation. I think that's what I have to do but since this is fortunately healthy anyway, there could be worse things that could happen :)

Edit, one more thing: to get back on track, I have to be really strict. No fruits at all since they trigger bad easting behaviour as well. When I've done that for a while, things get easier and I can re-add a little fruit and a little rice every once in a while. But not too much. As soon as I end up standing in front of the fridge, desperately looking for something sugary, I know that I've had too much.

tl;dr: I'm definitely an abstainer: http://happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2012/05/quiz-are-you-an-abstainer-or-a-moderator/

I'm in the same situation, carbs still make me go crazy and the only thing that helps is being really strict about them. I've been throwing up for 10-15 years now but things have gotten a little better at least. Sometimes things are easier for me, especially when I'm on vacation and there are no problems to think of. I'm doing yoga now which helps a little. I can recommend an book on that topic that I found quite interesting: Anatomy of a Food Addiction: The Brain Chemistry of Overeating