Addicted to Dieting?

I was definitely addicted to dieting for so many years! The idea of not being on a diet, or eating what I actually wanted would have terrified me!

Oh yes, I was addicted to dieting for most of my teen and adult life. It wasn't until I faced the fact that, there is no magic pill, and only by making a lifestyle change could I break the addiction. I've now been eating clean for over two years and finally feel free of the "diet addiction".

Gale Compton

I've been playing the Denise role, with a bit of TW thrown in for good measure.

Contributing Editor Sassymonkey also blogs at Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.ca ).

sassymonkey has lectured me enough.

Jenna Hatfield (@FireMom ( http://twitter.com/FireMom )), from Stop, Drop and Blog ( http://stopdropandblog.com ) and The Chronicles of Munchkin Land ( http://thechroniclesofmunchkinland.com ), is a freelance writer and newspaper photographer.

...because it feels familiar. It's not unknown or unusual. The more often you "diet" the more it becomes your "normal behavior".

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager
Life. Flow. Fluctuate.

Wow. I can just imagine how that would change your life and make you really conscious of your own weight.

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager
Life. Flow. Fluctuate.

I think there are people who are addicted to dieting. I think I'm one of them. I diet and lose weight and then gain it all back. I fear having to maintain a weight. It can be both scary and happy to lose weight.

and I've thought about it for years. It's a societal issue - we're consumerist, we want everything FAST and NOW, we think bigger is better when it comes to anything we buy or are provided with, we're becoming more sedentary, and high calorie/high fat "treats" aren't treats any longer - they're part of our every day lives.

In order to resolved the obesity issue, we have to completely change society. And, I don't have much faith in that happening.

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager
Life. Flow. Fluctuate.

How do you feel when you're in maintenance mode and the numbers don't go down?

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager
Life. Flow. Fluctuate.

Now I want to know what you and @sassymonkey are talking about - mostly so I can lecture you both at the same time. I'm good at that. ;-)

Throw out the scale! You'll be happier without it.

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager
Life. Flow. Fluctuate.

I think you can definitely get addicted to dieting, especially if you lost so much weight. I think that so many people are obsessed with weight, myself included. I have always been thin. Actually I’ve been the same size since high school. However, my dad’s side of the family was extremely heavy. One of my uncles weighed over 700 pounds when he died. I have always lived my life afraid that my dad’s gene’s would “kick in” and that I would gain a lot of weight. As a result, I have always been so cautious of food and fitness.

We are so obsessed with weight yet the country keeps getting heavier and heavier so something is really off.

I was actually randomly thinking about this just today! We see on TV thin models and actors/actresses. And we worry, "Are we giving young women the wrong idea? Are we causing anorexia or bulimia?" (You can even at this point ask if we're causing a new kind of addiction to dieting -- which I think is absolutely possible.)

And yet America is getting heavier and heavier. Obesity could be called an epidemic. (Meanwhile, as you've mentioned, there is real hunger in the world still.)

Where's the balance? How do we find a happy medium? I think those questions are our struggle today as a society.

Denise
Musician's Widow ( http://www.musicianswidow.com )

I think you can get addicted to anything that brings you pride. That you worked hard to do.

Melissa writes Stirrup Queens ( http://stirrup-queens.com ) and Lost and Found ( http://lostandfoundandconnectionsabound.blogspot.c... ). Her book is Navigating the Land of If ( http://thelandofif.blogspot.com/ ).

We are so obsessed with weight yet the country keeps getting heavier and heavier so something is really off.

I can easily see how someone can get addicted to dieting. I've fought my weight my whole life and I started my blog to help me achieve balance by fighting real hunger in the world.

It has really helped turn my life around but I still think about my weight and food everyday. I've never found a way to turn it off completely.

Saving the World One Fat Ass at a Time!

www.jellykean.wordpress.com ( http://www.jellykean.wordpress.com/ )

Or possibly have a bug in sassymonkey's email? I mean, honestly.

You can be addicted. I have been. Was. Not currently because I haven't stepped on a scale in three months. (GO ME!)

Jenna Hatfield (@FireMom ( http://twitter.com/FireMom )), from Stop, Drop and Blog ( http://stopdropandblog.com ) and The Chronicles of Munchkin Land ( http://thechroniclesofmunchkinland.com ), is a freelance writer and newspaper photographer.