How do I stop myself from eating all my Halloween candy in one night?

Hi Gloria,

If you really do end up eating all of your Halloween candy in one go, then perhaps - like millions of others - you may be addicted to sugar.

The word "addicted" is a horrible word we normally associate in our minds with substances other than candy. We're not like that, surely?

Believe me, Gloria, people do get addicted to sugar and to other foods as well. And it is just as dangerous and life-threatening as other more-publicized and understood addictions we read about in the news every day.

I know this, Gloria, because I do have this problem. I am a food addict myself.

Sugar just melts away all my good intentions to eat sensibly and thus control my weight and my waistline. I am also lazy and I really don't like to exercise.

Food Addiction and Overeating 

Food Addiction it is very difficult to deal with. For example, if you have a problem with drugs, booze or cigarettes, you can make sure there is never any of those substances in your home. And that helps you stay off the stuff. But you can't quite do that with food, can you? We have to eat to stay alive, don't we?

And the people who love you know you like candy, so they give you more candy, don't they? It's kind of like a mother loving her child and feeling happy when she feeds it. But then, we're adults and we have enough to eat already... We can even be overweight, but those who love us want to give us pleasure.

Years ago, my ex and her mom and dad would always give me a certain candy in a distinct pink tin for my birthday or for Christmas. They knew I loved the stuff. I would always guts down the whole tin by the end of the same day. I just couldn't stop myself.

Binge Eating 

I couldn't resist binging on those crunchy toffees with the chocolate coating and the crushed nuts rolled all over the outside. I was addicted to sugar and to sweet things. I was a food addict as well, but I had never heard of the term. I didn't think about it, and it didn't really worry me back then.

But now I recognize it for what it is... It is a serious, life-threatening disease.

Your medical doctor may not have even heard of people being addicted to food and/or sugar. But if you think I'm making this up, just read the book FOOD ADDICTION The Body Knows, by Kay Sheppard. Or tell your MD to read it. 

Food Addiction is always fatal - if it is allowed to run its course unchecked.