Category: Stories of Food Addiction and Recovery

These stories of food addiction and recovery have been collected to give the reader hope that there is a solution out there. They are all true stories collected from actual food addicts.

If you identify with the “how it was then” part of the story, you may be addicted to food. The “how is it now” part of the story may help you see that there can be another way, and that recovery from food addiction is possible.

If you want to share your story of food addiction and recovery, please click on “Tell Your Story” in the menu above.

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Media Article: Eating Disorders are Rising, Fatal, and Ignored

What is this?

Ericka Andersen’s article, “Eating Disorders are Rising, Fatal, and Ignored,” offers a personal and insightful look into the realities of eating disorders. The author shares her own struggle, highlighting the often-misunderstood nature of these mental illnesses and their alarming rise in recent years. It addresses triggers like social media, diet trends, and increasing rates of anxiety, while also emphasizing that eating disorders are not limited to a specific demographic. This piece sheds light on the complexities of disordered eating and the urgent need for increased awareness and resources.

How can this help me?

If you’re grappling with food addiction or disordered eating, this article provides validation and a crucial reminder that you’re not alone. Ericka’s candid account of her own battle can help dismantle feelings of shame and isolation. The piece underscores that eating disorders are mental illnesses, not moral failings, and highlights potential triggers to be mindful of. By understanding the author’s experiences and insights, you may feel more empowered to seek help and begin your own journey toward recovery and self-compassion.

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Event: FA Information Session in March 2025

Image of bathroom scale, body measuring tape, sad person

What is this?

Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA) is hosting an online information session on March 1 (for North American times) or March 2 (for Asia / Australian times). This free event is designed to introduce people struggling with food addiction to the FA program, which is based on Alcoholics Anonymous. Attendees will learn about FA’s approach to recovery, including the concept of abstinence, the importance of meetings, and the tools used to overcome food obsession, overeating, and under-eating.

FREE ONLINE INFORMATION SESSION

Do you or someone you know struggle with food obsession, overeating or undereating? This free online information session aims to answer questions and provide a possible, long-lasting, healthy solution.

Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA) is a free, international, non-profit recovery program modelled on the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA).

At this free online information session you, can hear how FA works and ask questions. Anyone is welcome.

To find other FA meetings or more information about FA or this online information session, visit www.foodaddicts.org or call 1-800-717-446.

Food addicts have a relationship with food that parallels an alcoholic’s relationship with alcohol. Food addiction can manifest in a variety of ways, including overeating, under-eating, purging, over-exercise, abuse of laxatives, or painful obsession with body image. No amount of willpower can lead the food addict to normal eating or sane attitudes around food and weight.

How can this help me?

This event can provide hope and a potential solution for those battling food addiction. Attendees will hear personal stories of recovery, learn about FA’s program, and discover how it has helped members achieve long-term weight management and improved physical health. The session offers an opportunity to connect with others facing similar challenges and gain insight into a program that has helped many find freedom from food obsession, develop healthier relationships with food, and experience personal growth.

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Story: Just in Case

How was it then?

I was always worrying that I *might* be hungry later, so I had to have food around me at all times. If I went somewhere in my car, I would have to stop at a store to buy some food for the trip. I would usually buy junk food like chocolate or potato chips, or something I could easily eat while driving. If I was going for a longer trip, like a flight, then I would go crazy at the airport buying big bags of junk food. I said to myself, “If I’m going to die in a plane crash, at least I will have eaten chocolate.”

~ A Food Addict

How is it now?

I have a set schedule for eating my meals, so I know at any given time what time I will eat, and how much time there is until I will eat again, so there is no little voice in my head saying “what if you get hungry???”. If I get hungry, it’s probably because it is time to eat, so I will eat then. End of discussion.

I also know that my meal will be enough when the time comes to eat it, so I don’t need to come up with any “just in case” scenarios in my head that will lead me to buying and eating junk food.

~ A Recovering Food Addict
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Story: MORE!

How was it then?

I always wanted MORE. I could never feel satisfied with what I had. If something was good or enjoyable, I wanted more of it. I wanted it to never end. There is no amount that could be considered “enough”.

One more bite. Okay, just one more. Well, might as well make it an even three. Wait, three is an odd number. Better make it four. Oh, four is unlucky, so it pretty much has to be five. Okay, I have probably had enough now. But there are still some left in the bag. I should probably just finish these up.

This happened with food, but also with time (just a few more minutes) or activities that I was doing (just one more game). Whatever I was doing, I just wanted to do that thing and never stop.

~ A Food Addict

How is it now?

When I started on my program of recovery, this feeling was still very much there, so I struggled with eating just what I had committed to eating and no more. It didn’t seem like it would be enough. But after a few days of “ordered eating” (instead of disordered eating), I started to recognize what “enough” looked like and felt like. Now, I feel satisfied after my meals, and I know that there is another one coming, so that keeps the “MORE!” monster at bay.

This has carried over to the rest of my life, and now I am able to look objectively at what I am doing and come to a more rational decision about what is “enough” of any one thing. The most remarkable place that this has had an impact is with my bedtime. Because I was always chasing “more”, I always ended up staying up too late, and well past reasonable hours. Now that my food is in its right place, I can keep other things in my life in their right place too, which means that when it is time for bed, I can just get myself to go to bed without arguments. The child inside me doesn’t scream for a later bedtime every night!

~ A Recovering Food Addict
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Story: Cat’s Tongue

How was it then?

In Japan, if you always end up burning your tongue on hot food or drinks, they say you have a “cat’s tongue” (猫舌, nekojita). I would always tell people this as I burned my tongue on whatever I was eating. I would burn my tongue several times a week because I couldn’t wait for the food to cool down before I ate it. If there was food in front of me, I had to eat it NOW. There was no later.

~ A Food Addict

How is it now?

Now, I have the patience to cook meals, which I lacked before, and I also have the patience to wait to eat my meals when the time is right.

Sometimes my meal will be all ready and waiting for me, but I just have to attend to one thing before I eat, and I am perfectly capable of doing that thing, calmly and properly, and then returning to start my meal when it is done.

This was not possible before. The full equation was, “food = eat”. There was no getting between me and my food, even if it meant that I would have a sore and uncomfortable mouth for days.

~ A Recovering Food Addict

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Story: Efficiency, Efficiency, Efficiency

How was it then?

I was always trying to find the “perfect way” to do something. Perfection was achieved when something was done in the most efficient way. But I would waste so much time contemplating all of the different scenarios that it would often make my overall response to things very, very slow, and therefore, not efficient. This applied to big decisions as well as very small ones.

~ A Food Addict

How is it now?

I realize now that very few things need to be perfect before I start. I can just start something and see how it goes. With most things, I will have a chance to do it again, so I treat my first attempt as an experiment and just try one of the scenarios that I have come up with, even if I have not thought through all of the possible outcomes. It may not be the perfect way, but it is a way, and it will get me started. Once I have done it once, I will have some empirical data to help me decide whether or not I need to tweak my method. The most important thing is just to get started, not to get it perfect from the start.

~ A Recovering Food Addict
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Story: Gotta Have It

How was it then?

A thought of a food would enter my head, and then I knew it was only a matter of time before that food was in my belly. I had no power to stop it. I could maybe delay it for a few hours, or even a day or two. But I knew that eventually, I would eat it.

~ A Food Addict

How is it now?

I don’t really think about food as much now, so food doesn’t pop into my head like it used to. Also, if a food does pop into my head, it doesn’t really bother me. I have a lot of thoughts in a day, and I don’t need to act on all of them. It took some time, but I have learned not to give credence to my thoughts just because I have them. I can’t stop myself from thinking about things, but I can stop myself from acting on random thoughts that pop into my head.

~ A Recovering Food Addict
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Story: In a World…

How was it then?

I would think to myself, why can’t I just eat whatever I want? It’s not fair. Why are all the foods that are good for me so bland, and all the foods that are bad for me so tasty? Why does food have to be fattening? Why can’t we just eat whatever we want and excrete whatever our bodies don’t need? I would think about this a lot, and would feel very hard done by that I had to live in a world where I couldn’t eat whatever I wanted and as much as I wanted.

~ A Food Addict

How is it now?

Now I live in reality. I understand and accept that I can’t just eat whatever I want. It might be unfair, but it’s the way it is, and I have to accept it and live with it. There is no point wasting time dreaming up fantasy worlds where food has no caloric value, or ruminating on how much better things would be if I could just eat whatever I wanted all the time. This is “magical thinking” and it got me nowhere.

~ A Recovering Food Addict
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Story: Extra Extra

How was it then?

I hated shopping for clothes because nothing ever fit. It was humiliating and disheartening to try on item after item and have them not fit. The clothing that is made for large people is usually not shapely or fashionable, and it usually looks like it was made for someone twice my age.

I hated having to buy things that were XXL or XXXL. Or even bigger. Just before I started my recovery, I had some 4XL and 5XL shirts. On the one hand, I was happy that I could buy clothes that actually fit on my body, but looking at those sizes was so depressing.

~ A Food Addict

How is it now?

I went shopping the other day and bought a shirt that was sized as “medium”. This blew my mind. And there were so many shirts in the store that fit me. I had an actual choice of what to buy, instead of being forced to buy the only thing in the store that both fit me and didn’t make me look like I had zero sense of how to dress myself.

~ A Recovering Food Addict
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Story: Time Unmanagement

How was it then?

I didn’t realize that “my life had become unmanageable”. I thought I managed things fairly well. But once the curtain was drawn back, I could see the unmanageability clearly.

One very prominent example is how I thought of time. I basically thought it didn’t apply to me. I would set completely unrealistic goals for myself and my colleagues in terms of time, and then be surprised when the deadline swooshed past. Things always took longer than I thought.

I would also let myself get sucked into projects deeply, losing all sense of time, staying up well past a reasonable time for sleeping, and then wonder why I felt tired all the time.

~ A Food Addict

How is it now?

I still have to keep a careful eye on this part of my character. I can slip into “time blindness” very easily. Having my food in place helps to keep the curtains pulled back, but having a realistic understanding of how time works is honestly very hard for me.

~ A Recovering Food Addict