1. Don't go cold turkey
Although treatment for life-threatening drug or alcohol addiction generally requires abstinence, an all-or-nothing approach is impossible for food addicts — everyone has to eat. Besides, some weight loss experts believe that such rigid thinking can make you crave the offending food more than ever. After Patty White's cheese bender, she realized that by banishing it entirely, she'd set herself up for failure. Now she lets herself eat cheese, but in sensible amounts: “I sprinkle some on a taco instead of sitting down to a wedge of Brie.” Says Edward Abramson, PhD, professor emeritus of psychology at California State University, Chico, and author of the book Body Intelligence, “If someone told me that I could never eat another doughnut as long as I live, I would become so preoccupied with doughnuts that I'd probably gobble down a dozen by the end of the day. If I know I can have another doughnut sooner or later, I won't feel so desperate. I can eat just one.”

2. Control your home environment
Just as someone with an alcohol problem shouldn't buy a magnum of champagne, you shouldn't overstock your kitchen, says Gold. “You have to assume that every food or drink you buy will end up in your mouth. You'll see a TV commercial or some other trigger, and that food will end up in your mouth.” Exercise purchase and portion control, Gold advises.

3. Temper temptation
Sometimes it's not just a food that sets you off but also the place in which you eat it — and that's why putting yourself in a situation where you used to eat excessively can be a recipe for trouble. Ex–drug addicts face this problem all the time, reports Marcia Levin Pelchat, PhD, a research scientist at Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia. “Going back to the old neighborhood often triggers a strong craving,” she says. Similarly, the sight of the bakery where you used to buy brownies might melt your resolve. So shake up your routine. If tortilla chips are your weakness, don't go to Mexican restaurants. If you always have ice cream while watching TV, read a book instead (or knit to keep your hands busy as you watch CSI: Miami).

4. Retrain your brain
In order to be satisfied with two cookies instead of an entire bag, you need to change the way your brain sees food on the plate, says Gold. First, switch to smaller plates and bowls to automatically reduce portion sizes. “This can make people very distraught because the brain looks at the smaller portions and decides they're not enough,” says Gold. “But over time, the brain gets used to it.” Next, leave more space on the plate by again reducing the amount of food you serve yourself. Each step may take several weeks to feel comfortable, but stick with it and consuming smaller portions will become second nature.

5. Adjust your tastebuds
One of the best ways to gain control over your eating is to restore your sensitivity to flavors, says Katz. You can do it without depriving yourself: If sugar is your downfall, keep sugar cookies in your diet, but when picking prepared foods that aren't supposed to be sweet — such as pasta sauce, bread, and chips — look for ones without added sweeteners. Check ingredient labels for all the names that sugar goes by, including fructose, dextrose, and corn syrup (for a list of sugar's aliases, go to www.prevention.com/sugarlist). “By removing all that superfluous sugar from your diet, you'll soon reset the sensitivity of your tastebuds,” explains Katz, who says that the same technique can be used to reduce your desire for salt or fat. Be forewarned: You'll have to maintain vigilance. “Tastebuds are very adaptive little fellows,” Katz says. “If you let extra sugar and fat into your diet, you could be lured back into your old patterns.”

6. Exercise regularly
Milky Ways and Big Macs aren't the only things that satisfy the pleasure centers of your brain — so does exercise. In animals, at least, research has found that it increases dopamine levels and raises the number of dopamine receptors in the brain. Making a commitment to work out helped Littleton kick her chocolate habit. As a result of a vigorous exercise routine and a more sensible diet, she's gotten down to 134 — a loss of 114 pounds in the past 3 years. “The feeling I get after I exercise is nothing like I'd get after eating chocolate,” she says. “It's much better, and it doesn't come with guilt.”

7. Learn to eat only when you're hungry
One classic tool that weight loss experts use to teach people how to better manage their appetite is the hunger scale. The scale ranges from 0 to 10, with 0 being ravenously hungry and 10 being overstuffed. “A food addict's goal is to stay away from either of these extremes,” says McQuillan. Eat when you begin to feel hungry (2 or 3 on the scale) and stop when you feel comfortably satisfied (5 or 6). Though it's obvious that you don't want to eat to an overstuffed 10, using the scale to gauge when you should start munching is important, too: If you wait until you're at 0, you may eat all the way up to 10.

8. Deal with your emotions
Even if a brain scan at Wang's lab were to show that you have a physiological basis for food addiction, it's likely that there would be an emotional element, too. It's important to stop using food to cope with your feelings, says McQuillan. This can mean getting better at tolerating sensations of sadness, anger, or boredom, rather than rushing to soothe them with food. Sometimes it means asking what you need to make your life better. “I failed when I tried to comfort myself with food after the death of my dad and after two miscarriages,” says Littleton. “I had to turn around to face it head-on. Now I'm in control of my decisions.”

*This name has been changed.

How strong are your food cravings?
You might be a food addict if any of these descriptions fit. You continue to overeat even though you know it's harming your health and possibly your family and social life; you hide out and eat alone; you feel compelled to finish all the food in your line of sight (or house); you eat to the point of pain or discomfort. Also consider the following four questions, suggests Mark Gold, MD, chief of addiction medicine at the University of Florida College of Medicine. They're an adaptation of the CAGE questionnaire, a tool used to diagnose alcoholism. “You really need to answer yes to only two items to indicate that you may have a problem,” he says.

Have you ever felt the need to Cut down on your eating? Many people overeat on occasion; the difference is that you feel that if you don't ration yourself, you will completely lose control.

Have you ever been Annoyed by criticism of your eating? If you get upset when anyone brings up what or how much you consume, it may mean that you are too attached to eating.

Do you feel Guilty about your eating? It builds up, because at every meal you say you're going to control yourself — and you fail.

Have you ever needed an Eye-opener? You may wake up in the morning and feel compelled to consume. “We have patients who get up in the middle of the night and eat,” Gold says. “They say, ‘I finished a cake — I don't know how I did it.’ ”

Daryn Eller writes frequently on health and nutrition from her home in California.

For more information on food addiction, check out prevention.com.

MORE FROM HEALTH

Health Section Front

Half their size: 2 women shed 316 lbs. total   Feeding your kids: 7 mistakes to avoid   4 Day Diet: Tame temptations, lose weight Joy's LIFE Diet Challenge Work out for less: Shape up and save in 2009 Waistline war: 20 worst packaged foods Life after ‘Loser’: ‘Every day is a struggle’ The family sleep cure Think these 8 foods are healthy? Wrong! 5 quick and easy meals for a flat belly Health Section Front   Add Health headlines to your news reader: