Day one on fast food addiction. I thought I was just being lazy, but I just found myself on the verge of stealing my friends credit card to place an order. I can cook. I have access to food. I don’t know how I got here. I never thought this was something that could be a legitimate addiction, not until I almost stole from my best friend to feed it for no reason.
Day 1 starts now. Lets see if I make it to day 2 without doing something thatll make me hate myself.
Hi Nas
Good to see you here. Welcome to the community.
I’ve done a lot of reading about brain chemistry in relation to my own addiction (alcohol) and have come to the conclusion that anything that gives us a dopamine hit has the potential to become addictive. Whether the buzz comes from a substance or a behaviour, our brain responds in the same way.
I’m no expert, but I’d suggest the general advice you read on this forum will be relevant and can be applied to your own addiction. Above all else, the strength and love from this community is empowering.
One day at a time.
Hope to see you around X
Welcome to the community! 
Fast food can be very addicting. I use to eat fast food all the time, Mostly Mcdonald’s. It’s easy, quick and it use to be cheap. When I stopped it was the salt that I craved. I try to prep my food for the week in advance or have easy things to snack on cause I’m not big on cooking lol
You said you can cook. Do you like to bake too? Maybe you could task yourself with making breads or cakes to help the time go by.
Right on Louise. I agree the dopamine hit is at the core of our addictions whether its drugs,alchohol or a process addiction. You and Jennifer are giving @nas some good guidance. I don’t know much but I do know that addiction to anything is a bear. Easy does it nas.
Welcome to the community. I hope this forum will be useful to you.
“Fast food” can be a tricky thing because it is specifically engineered to be as pleasurably satisfying to receptors in our brain and body while eating it as possible. Yet, shifting away to different food comes with the added challenge of actually needing to eat in order to survive.
Having a “fast food” or “junk food” addiction is definitely a real thing. I wish you the best in making the shift to “real food”.
Welcome 
and good for you trying to get this under control. I’m an alcoholic myself, but while I was still drinking I went out to eat every single day, sometimes for every meal. And more than half the time it was fast food. I didn’t want to go shopping, cook, or clean. They really make it too convenient.
When I quit drinking my food cravings did a complete 180 for healthier foods. Now when I do eat fast food, I feel it weighing me down, irritating my gut, and making me sluggish. I wish you luck in your journey to becoming a healthier you 
Thanks for the support all. I definitely feel happier when Im eating fast food and Im not quite sure why. Its gotten so much worse post pandemic, with delivery apps becoming so much more prevalent. I work from home, and its so easy to press that delivery button. Part of my process is going to be figuring out why this gives me such a dopamine hit, it looks like.
Is it normal to be embarassed and proud at the same time? Its only 9am where I am, but I havent ordered breakfast. Or put in an early order for lunch. Im glad, but it seems like such a basic thing that I should be able to do without a struggle.
After giving up Bourbon, I picked up on sweets or salty…a lot…I still struggle with this.
I have added fast food the past 6 months due to lazy boy habits and convenience to wherever Im working.
About a month ago, weirdly I added coffee although I prefer tea!
I"m early in understanding this, but you are not alone.
You should absolutely be proud! Each meal you don’t order something is a victory. Maybe when you get off work today you could go to the grocery store and get a treat you like.
The first week I stopped going for fast food was really hard. It was almost like the craving was literally driving me to pick up food. I could taste the salt of fries before I even got them.
This is exactly it! Its like a compulsion I can taste.
Food addiction is real. It took me a really long time to figure out what was wrong with me. I was totally embarressed with my behaviour towards certain foods. I craved them, I stole them, I was obsessed with them, I thought about them and the ways to obtain them, I dreamed about them, I couldn’t get enough of them, I overate almost every single time way over satiety and any reasonable bodily signal. I just kept stuffing myself with it.
I was so desperate and really felt broken.
Finally I realized: That’s what addicts must feel. I am addicted to these food products. After a while I found out what kind of foods triggered this behaviour: everything sweet besides fruit and all highly processed foods.
I started educating myself about highly processed foods, how they are deliberately designed to be addictive, how this process develops in our brains, and how you can change your food environment.
I also reallized that I started to use these food products to deal with emotions, uncomfortable situations, you name it.
Today I am at day 20. It is not easy. We are everyday surrounded by these food products and it is almost impossible to avoid them. But I don’t want to feel like a total failure and totally out of control anymore.
edit: Two book suggestions on this toppic.
