I have created this checklist out of my personal and professional experience with food addiction.

Having a food addiction does not make you bad or worthless.  Food addicts are worthwhile persons who have a problem with food. Remember, self-hate is not the goal here.  The task before you is to face the facts and get on with the process of healing and health. If you answer yes to even three of the twelve then you are probably food addicted.

1. I have been at least 25 pounds overweight for a year or more.
2. Eating is most often the “high point” of my day.  You start thinking about food long before it is time to eat and you often get excited by the idea of a special meal.
3. I am often preoccupied with thoughts of food. You often think about food while you are performing the normal tasks of your life and cannot go for long periods of time without thinking of food.
4. I binge at least once a month.  Food bingeing is a classic symptom of food addiction.  Even a once a month food binge is significant and indicative of compulsive and self-destructive behavior.
5. I prefer to eat alone.  You prefer to eat alone because you are ashamed of your eating habits.  You find ways to sneak food even at home because you don’t want family members to judge you.
6. Food has a major calming effect on my emotions. You often eat to kill (manage) your feelings.  You use food as a tranquilizer to dampen, eliminate and/or change your emotional state.
7. I often eat until I am physically uncomfortable.  You often feel stuffed or in pain after eating.  You don’t know what it is like to finish a meal and feel comfortable or “light”.
8. I often sneak food or eat in secret. (Related to #5 above.)  Sneaking food and eating in secret are signs that we are ashamed about feeding ourselves.  It means that the act of nurturing ourselves has gotten polluted with deeper emotional issues.
9. I force myself to eat “normally” in public.  You consciously control or limit the types and amounts of food you eat when other people are present.
10. I often dream about food. Dreams that frequently include food are a good indication of how important food has become to us and usually give some idea about what food symbolizes.
11. I get anxious when food is not readily available. You have difficulty tolerating events and situations that do not have food present.  You become creative in your ability to include food in your daily activities.
12. I eat whenever I feel a strong emotion. (related to #6 above)  You often go directly to food when you have an intense emotion. Let’s assume that you answered yes to at least three of the questions and you now believe you have a food addiction.  What now?

What not to do.  Try not to go into self-condemnation. You are in good company.  Lots of us are food addicts.  Food addiction does not mean that you are bad.  It means that you are part of a large group of people that suffer from the same problem.

In Part 3, I will share and explore ways to face, embrace and manage your food addiction.  For more information, please go to my website.

[Ed. note: Dr. Matthew Anderson is an author (The Prayer Diet), counselor and national columnist/expert on weight loss, motivation, self-management and relationships. To purchase his powerful and cutting edge 1 hour CD, The Worst Addiction Ever, click here.]

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