Food Addiction, the Problem and the Solution

Esther Helga Gudmundsdottir

The International School For Food Addiction Counseling And Treatment (The INFACT School) brings you the podcast, Food Addiction: The Problem And The Solution which explores the ubiquitous problems of food addiction and presents the solution. The school, founded by director Esther Helga Gudmundsdottir MSc, is the world’s first and only sugar/food addiction counseling training with U.S. and European food addiction counselor certifications. infactschool.com Host, Susan Branscome, a recovered food addict, interviews guests who are professionals and counselors focused on the disease of food addiction, as well as individuals who have successfully recovered from food addiction. The podcast will resonate with food addicts, those dieting unsuccessfully, those desperate to learn more about food addiction and recover, as well as professionals treating and counseling clients with food addiction and medical practitioners treating patients suffering from obesity and obesity-related illnesses and issues. Subscribe to Food Addiction: The Problem and The Solution wherever you get your podcasts! read less

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The ASAM (American Society of Addiction Medicine) has found Addiction to be a brain disease affecting a person’s physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being and that recovery from the disease is possible through treatment in recovery centers and 12-step programs or similar support. Currently, there is overwhelming evidence and science for food addiction as a substance use disorder. Podcast listeners would include those who might either identify as food addicts, believe they may have a food addiction, or have tried diets unsuccessfully. Also, listeners would include those treating and counseling clients with food addiction and physicians/doctors treating patients suffering from obesity and obesity-related illnesses. This interview-based podcast includes information about food addiction as a disease for which the hope and recovery experience is shared. Guests will be two groups of people: Professionals and experts specializing in and treating the disease of food addiction and, People who have recovered from food addiction share how they found the solution to the disease and share their experience, strength, and hope in how they did it. The INFACT School (http://infactschool.com) sponsored the podcast, which was begun by Esther Helga Gudmundsdottir, MSc, who also serves as the Director. It is the world’s first and only sugar/food addiction counseling training, resulting in professional certification from an accredited certification body. Graduates qualify to receive a Certified Food Addiction Professional (CFAP) certificate from the European Certification Board https://ec-board.com and a CFAP from the US Addiction Professional Certification Board https://certbd.org/ Susan Branscome, host, and a recovered food addict, will interview the experts and food addicts. These podcast interviews will discuss the science and real-world experience of food addiction as a substance use disorder and recovery. We will uncover the experience of recovered guests---the lack of personal control or lack of willpower over the compulsion of food use with diets and other methods of control. The obesity statistics in the world are astounding, especially in the U.S. The use of food as a method to cope with life issues and ultimately becoming physically and mentally addicted to the use of food is discussed. Willpower, discipline, and diets are only temporary solutions for food addicts. Eventually, food addicts begin using food again to deal with their lives versus utilizing recovery solutions and helpful programs. We hope to advance our understanding of treating this disease, especially within the medical community. Recovery, gastric bypass, physicians, treatment, diets, dieting mental health, self-improvement, personal development, food addiction, obesity, serotonin, dopamine, eating disorders, sobriety; overeaters anonymous; alcoholics anonymous, Food addiction, Counseling, Professional training, Nutrition, Emotional eating, Overeating, Binge eating, Binge Eating Disorder, Eating disorders, Addiction Recovery, Mental health, Behavioral therapy, Motivational interviewing, Cognitive-behavioral therapy, Mindfulness, Stress Management, Self-care, Wellness, Health Coaching, Dietetics, Substance abuse, Sobriety

Episodes

My Food Use and Weight was Affecting Everything In My Life

My Food Use and Weight was Affecting Everything In My Life

Lori P. is a recovered food addict who shares the challenges experienced in childhood, during a failed marriage, and after the death of her mother. An accomplished company executive, she had used food and many diets during her life attempting to manage her weight and food addiction. Lori had reached a bottom in her addiction and reached a point of desperation, so she began recovering in a 12-step program. She surrendered control of food and weight through abstinence from offending foods as she physically recovered by releasing and maintaining a 55-pound weight loss. Today Lori uses a spiritual solution to help her in daily recovery as she says God has shown her love and grace and she has learned to love herself. She left corporate life and realized that she was meant to give back to other professional women. As she became clean from food use she began to tap into her gifts and purpose as she started her own company. What a story of inspiration and transformation to a life of purpose and joy and out of the food! https://www.infactschool.online/podcast

No Weight Loss Program Can Beat a Severe Food Addiction

No Weight Loss Program Can Beat a Severe Food Addiction

Dr. Joan Ifland is a leading authority and expert in highly-processed Food Addiction and wellness recovery and has personal experience with food addiction. When she realized that her mental and physical health was being negatively affected by the food she was eating, she began to make changes involving eliminating certain foods and utilizing recovery. Dr. Ifland gives practitioners and clients new insights into why food addiction recovery can lead to health improvement from nutrition-related diseases. She cites a statistic in which 1.6 million Americans will die from diet/nutrition-related diseases each year. She also says that it was no coincidence that tobacco companies purchased food companies years ago and applied an addiction-prone model as they add sugar to foods and make highly-processed “food-like substances”, all of which are highly addictive. Dr. Joan Ifland counsels clients by building awareness around severe cravings disorder and how to break the cycle and live a mentally and physically healthy lifestyle. Her group Food Addiction Reset program information and her company can be found at these websites: Processed Food Addiction https://www.processedfoodaddiction.com/ Food Addiction Reset https://www.foodaddictionreset.com/

Denial of My Food Addiction Caused Me to Live From the Neck Up

Denial of My Food Addiction Caused Me to Live From the Neck Up

Kristie M., a recovered food addict, has been maintaining a 170-pound weight loss for many years. Having been a child of obese parents and one parent who abused alcohol, she identifies as being obsessed with food early in her life and dealt with the shame and denial of not being able to control her weight or food use on her own. There were many food behaviors including secret eating that plagued any success around the use of diets to control her weight or food. A work colleague told her about a 12-step recovery program for the disease that she entered. Despite a relapse about five years into her abstinence in which she gained 100 pounds, she came back fully surrendered to her addiction to sugar, flour, and volume eating and today she maintains a normal body weight. Kristie has experienced tragedies in her life yet today she accepts life on life’s terms. Recovery has taught her to live for today, not dwell in the past or worry about the future as she has changed how she thinks, behaves, and reacts to people and life events. She says her life has been transformed by finding freedom from food addiction with a program that works for her. https://www.infactschool.online/

I Was an Unhappy Fat Boy, Today I’m a Joyful Thin Man

I Was an Unhappy Fat Boy, Today I’m a Joyful Thin Man

After losing 130 pounds and gaining it back…twice, on his 34th birthday, Michael Prager had reached 365 pounds. He was often miserable and isolated and alienated people in his life while feeling the shame of his body size. After many years of dieting, he finally learned that he has an addictive, biochemical reaction to sugar, flour, and highly processed foods and decided to “get out of the driver’s seat” and surrender his will. He wrote the book Fat Boy, Thin Man in which he describes his journey from childhood through recovery from food addiction and reached and sustains a healthy body weight. Michael attended a 5-day food addiction treatment program, Shift, Recovery by Acorn. He now offers the service of getting the message out about food addiction, emphasizing that this disease is not our fault. While he resisted any persuasion to accept a God or Higher Power, he finally succumbed to his version, which helped him release the powerlessness over his food and his weight, and how he had been eating, realizing he had no control once he began to eat certain foods. Michael is highly intelligent and had to learn how to approach life not only with his keen mind but learned the value of feeling his emotions. Michael Prager is an author and journalist in Arlington, Massachusetts, and is an incredibly inspiring guest on the podcast.

Deception And Persuasion By the Food Industry Contribute To Our Food Addiction

Deception And Persuasion By the Food Industry Contribute To Our Food Addiction

Thirty-four years ago, Dr. Debbie Danowski weighing 328 pounds realized that her life was unmanageable and she decided to enter a food addiction recovery program. Today Dr. Danowski maintains a 170 weight loss through a daily recovery routine. In this podcast, we discuss denial, powerlessness and the negative consequences of food addiction. Getting the message out about food addiction is the driving force in all of her work and the release of her newest book Happy Eating and Food Addiction in American Advertising which profiles how the food and drink industries are contributing to food addiction and obesity in the U.S. In her research for her book, she watched over 500 food advertisements and outlined specific techniques used in advertisements for ultra-processed foods, which promise consequence-free eating to consumers while encouraging the over-consumption of unhealthy and addictive foods and drinks. Dr. Danowski presents an analysis of promotional methods in the context of food addiction characteristics and behaviors through an exploration of the themes used in this type of advertising such as using food to rebel, play, relax and achieve happiness and good health. Listen to Dr. Debbie Danowski explain how as a food addict she recovered and how her career has been spent on helping others understand the truth about it and how the food industry plays a role. A 30 percent book discount is available to listeners at this website: Link For Ordering Book with the use of this code: LXFANDF30 https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781666939262/%E2%80%9CHappy-Eating%E2%80%9D-and-Food-Addiction-in-American-Advertising

The "Addict Brain" Highjacks Our Brains Like a Computer Virus

The "Addict Brain" Highjacks Our Brains Like a Computer Virus

In his book, Recovery Mind Training Dr. Paul Earley cites the statistic that addiction is a devastating brain disease affecting over 23 million individuals including their loved ones in the U.S. alone. He says that the single biggest driver around addiction is genetics and that there is a strong genetic link with addiction in families. Dr. Earley describes how powerful and insidious the Addict Brain is as it hijacks our brains without us being aware. The Addict Brain is like a computer virus running autonomously in the background virtually undetectable overwhelming an individual's conscious control by reorganizing life goals and ensuring its survival. Once the addict recognizes this and begins to realize the Addict Brain’s power as negative consequences occur, it is possible to implement new skills and recovery practices and place the addiction in remission. In his Recovery Mind Training method of recovery, he employs six domains including addiction containment, basic recovery skills, and emotional awareness and resilience. The RMT method helps unwind and repair damages to the individual as well as his or her family and social network caused by the Addict Brain. Dr. Earley recommends recovering addicts develop a set of skills and life responses to handle life situations blocking the primitive drive to use the addictive substance. He integrates a 12-step recovery program as part of his model and says when we recover and our behaviors are in alignment with our morals and values we find the feeling of freedom, joy, peace and serenity. He cites the strong connection between successful sustained recovery and those individuals developing a spiritual side. What an outstanding podcast episode as we host Dr. Paul Earley outlining the problem...and the solution! Amazon Link to Recovery Mind Training: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Recovery+mind+training&i=stripbooks&crid=2FV9H3E4BREK6&sprefix=recovery+mind+training%2Cstripbooks%2C97&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

I Used Food In the Same Ways I Had Used Alcohol and Drugs

I Used Food In the Same Ways I Had Used Alcohol and Drugs

When an overweight friend had a stroke, Tony W. realized that if he did not address his own weight and food issues, his health would continue to decline. Weighing 464 pounds, he had many obesity-related illnesses including neuropathy in his feet and five hernia surgeries. He grew up in a family and culture of fried foods and high-calorie foods. Tony got sober from drugs and alcohol using a 12-step recovery program, then began using food even more than he had. He entered the Bright Line Eating Program (https://www.brightlineeating.com/) and has released all of the extra pounds achieving a healthy body weight through eliminating sugar and flour, limiting the times he eats during the day, and weighing his food. The Bright Line Eating Program helped Tony focus on the inner emotional work required around the reasons he was using food. The work Susan Peirce Thompson, PhD (https://www.susanpeircethompson.com/), the founder of Bright Line Eating has done as a neuroscientist resonated with Tony given her focus on the chemical reaction in the brain when we ingest sugar and flour. He realized it was not his lack of willpower which caused his food addiction, but rather his body’s response to addictive substances which set up cravings and obsessive behaviors around food. He talks about how automaticity began to play a part in his daily routine in which he has developed new habits that feel normal. Today Tony W. lives a happy, thin and free life through having recovered from food addiction as he continues to follow his program each day. What an inspiring and hopeful story of recovery from food addiction!

Food Was My Friend, My Lover, My Companion

Food Was My Friend, My Lover, My Companion

Colleen Y. has been recovering from food addiction for over four years having physically released 150 pounds. Like many food addicts, her history involves eating in secret and planning her food binges. She experienced shame and embarrassment about her weight and food use and tried to control her food and weight through diets and lap-band surgery. During a 2-month relapse, after she had become abstinent from sugar and other foods, she realized how serious her food addiction was and became suicidal. She entered a food addiction recovery treatment program Shift Recovery by Acorn (https://foodaddiction.com/) and found out she was very angry and processed her anger there. Working a 12-step program, today she enjoys a rich spiritual life with daily disciplines around food. She is abstinent and has neutrality around the foods she used before. Through the support in food addiction recovery, she found the courage to deal with her anger and made changes in her life so today she enjoys her healthy body and a happy and grounded life with peace of mind. What an incredible transformation and inspirational story of recovery from food addiction!

A Doctor Told Me I Was Committing Suicide with Food

A Doctor Told Me I Was Committing Suicide with Food

Once weighing 335 pounds, Lisa K. lost 150 pounds and recovered from her food addiction through treatment and ongoing 12-step work and recovery support. Early in her childhood she had a preoccupation with food and loved the sugar, fat and starch food combination. Growing up in an abusive home she learned not to feel emotions. Later as a teenager she became a food volume addict and was often teased and bullied about her weight. Despite the negative consequences including strained personal relationships, Lisa continued to eat and could not stop eating once she started, often eating secretly. On Jan 1, 2021, she saw an advertisement for Shift Recovery by Acorn (https://foodaddiction.com/) and after a meeting, entered treatment for her food addiction. In recovery and through support she has learned to feel emotions fully and has repaired relationships as she has created the life she wants to live. What an inspirational story of recovery from food addiction!

The American Obesity Epidemic is An Addiction Crisis

The American Obesity Epidemic is An Addiction Crisis

Dr. Susan Peirce Thompson has the unique experience of being an addict along with having studied the science of food addiction. In her book Bright Line Eating, The Science of Living Happy, Thin and Free she discusses the concept of automaticity which is developing important new habits around the way we eat and behave. Her Susceptibility Scale quiz allows clients to determine on a scale of 1-10 how strongly their brains react to the reward of addictive foods."Her book, Rezoom addresses the ways in which we get off track from the program by lapsing. She offers ways to resume with acceptance and grace around addiction and recovery. Her approach toward various parts of our personalities that drive our food addiction such as the Saboteur, the Food Indulger and the Rebel helps her clients identify obstacles in their recovery and how to face them. She says the food industry is aware of our society’s addiction to sugar and highly processed foods and deliberately is manufacturing it.Her new book is out, On This Bright Day, A Year of Reflections for Lasting Food Freedom has just been released and is a daily inspiration book to help food addicts recover. Dr. Susan Peirce Thompson is an inspiring person and a phenomenal advocate for recovery from food addiction! Susan Peirce Thompson website http://susanpeircethompson.com Bright Line Eating: The Science of Living Happy, Thin, and Free https://www.amazon.com/Bright-Line-Eating-audiobook/dp/B06XGLWG1N/ref=sr_1_1crid=1I017ZYYOH1TC&keywords=bright+line+eating+book&qid=1697104954&sprefix=bright+line+eating%2Caps%2C98&sr=8-1 Rezoom https://www.amazon.com/Rezoom-Powerful-Crash-Burn-Addiction/dp/B09MYBYY5J/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1XV7871MF6JG&keywords=Susan+Peirce+Thompson+rezoom&qid=1697477303&s=audible&sprefix=susan+peirce+thompson+rezoom%2Caudible%2C78&sr=1-1

Follow the Instructions from the Original Recipe to Recover

Follow the Instructions from the Original Recipe to Recover

Dr. Guttorm Toverud has a Ph.D. in Counselor Education from the University of North Carolina and a master's degree in Agency Counseling from Appalachian State University. He specializes in teaching that recovery from food addiction is possible using a 12-step program having conducted workshops for 30 years with more than 10,000 participants. Dr. Toverud trains professionals to treat food addicts with a clinical approach by using one of the most published books in history, the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous as a textbook. While he acknowledges that the 12 steps of recovery are important, his academic approach in training focuses on the first 63 pages of this book which clearly outline instructions around the problem and the solution. Dr. Toverud says addicts come to treatment not for the addiction itself, but because of the negative consequences of the addiction. In the case of food addiction, this can be obesity-related problems and illnesses and/or compulsions and obsessions with food and food behaviors. In the case of addiction, he urges that it cannot be controlled until we follow the instructions and do not start using the offending substance or behavior. What an insightful and inspiring episode with Dr. Guttorm Toverud!

Sugar is Toxic and is NOT A Food, It Is an Additive to Foods

Sugar is Toxic and is NOT A Food, It Is an Additive to Foods

Dr. Robert Lustig has a degree from MIT, a medical degree from Cornell University and a law degree from U.C. Hastings. He is bold in his messaging: Our metabolic health as a nation has been negatively affected by our nutrition---We are not eating real foods, whole foods. Sugar is added to ultra-processed foods and it is making us sicker. 75 percent of our health care costs in the U.S. are due to our poor metabolic health which is related directly to our poor nutrition. Doctors treat the symptoms of metabolic disease and do not urge prevention through eating real food. The food industry and big pharma are all financially highly incented to keep us addicted and they know sugar and ultra-processed foods are addictive. His Youtube video, Sugar: The Bitter Truth (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM) has gone viral with over 24 million views. His most recent book Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine (https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Metabolical&i=stripbooks&crid=3KXLJ2N75LH2J&sprefix=metabolical%2Cstripbooks%2C109&ref=nb_sb_noss_1) offers an excellent account of what is truly going on: Food and sugar addiction are real, the food industry knows this and adds sugar to foods, our doctors are treating the symptoms of obesity and metabolic syndrome by throwing pills at the problem and the pharmaceutical industry is motivated to be complicit. Dr. Lustig is a vocal advocate for placing Food Addiction in the DSM-V as a substance use disorder just like alcohol and drugs so that insurance companies will pay for treatment. What a brilliant and inspiring man Dr. Robert Lustig is! Listen in!

I Understand My Food Addiction is a Disease

I Understand My Food Addiction is a Disease

Erin K, a recovered food addict was exposed to addiction and 12-step recovery as a child which she believes helped her realize that her food addiction could be alleviated through 12-step recovery work. She knew early on that she did not use food for nourishment, but rather to soothe her anxiety and to feel normal. Erin’s powerlessness and her compulsive behaviors around food drove her life. It was not until she surrendered to her disease at the age of 18 and stopped blaming others and taking responsibility for her life that she began to recover from the disease of food addiction. Later in her life, she had a relapse from abstinence and food began once again to dominate her life. Today she has 11 years of successive abstinence and through recovery Erin has freedom from food addiction. She recommends to anyone who cannot control their food or weight on their own to consider recovery and that there is freedom from being controlled by food.

Acceptance is Not Approval and Powerlessness is Not Helplessness

Acceptance is Not Approval and Powerlessness is Not Helplessness

H. Theresa Wright, MS, RD, LDN, is the Founder and Director of Renaissance Nutrition Center, in Pennsylvania where she has developed programs to help people develop the skills to make lifestyle changes that lead to freedom from food addiction and encourage a “sane approach” to eating and living. Website: Sane Food a nutrition therapist registered and licensed dietitian and nutritionist, for more than 36 years, Theresa has helped people struggling with compulsive eating, obesity, eating disorders, weight loss, and food addiction leading them to find freedom and recovery. Growing up in an alcoholic household and witnessing the negative effects of addiction as well as the benefits of 12-step recovery have allowed her to treat food-addicted clients by counseling them on proper nutrition while addressing underlying emotional issues. Theresa talks about the hallmarks of addiction: tolerance, cravings, and withdrawal, and says withdrawal can come with symptoms as our bodies adjust to eating differently, but they are temporary. Once her clients become abstinent from excessive food, trigger foods, and compulsive food behaviors she helps counsel them as they emotionally disconnect from the foods they were using. She believes that our unhealthy use of food is hurtful to our minds, bodies, and spirits. Theresa tells people who are struggling with food to not give up, there is hope to recover and live a wonderful life. https://sanefood.com/

Sugar Addiction is Real….And It’s Not Your Fault

Sugar Addiction is Real….And It’s Not Your Fault

Dr. Nicole Avena is a research neuroscientist, a pioneer, and a world-renowned expert in the field of nutrition, diet, and food addiction. She received her Ph.D. in psychology and neuroscience from Princeton University and is uniquely qualified to address the biology of food addiction as well as its psychological aspects. In her books, Why Diets Fail (Because You're Addicted to Sugar) and Hedonic Eating: How the Pleasure of Food Affects Our Brains and Behavior, Dr. Avena discusses our addictive and dependence-like relationship with sugar and highly processed foods. She reports that sugar is hiding in many foods and we have easy access to this highly addictive substance. Dr. Avena discusses the neuroscience around the brain’s pleasure center and dopamine release when we ingest addictive substances like sugar and dopamine release which can be in “overdrive” for addicts. Our society can tend to shame those who cannot control their sugar intake on their own, yet it is not a failure, it is an addiction. She reports withdrawal from sugar is possible and while it can come with side effects, they are temporary. Dr. Nicole Avena’s hope for the world is for all of us to make the connection between the obesity crisis and eating sugar and highly processed foods by acknowledging this and making changes. She has also written books about nutrition during pregnancy and for our children with the hope we will not raise unhealthy and overweight children. As she and others advocate for change to labeling and the addiction of food in the DSM-5 as a substance use disorder, the fight is a big one against the trillion-dollar food industry. Her next book Sugar Less will be released in the fall of 2023 which furthers the discussion around the prevalence of sugar and the addictive response in our society with 80 percent of grocery store products containing sugar. What an inspiring professional and advocate for bringing awareness around food and sugar addiction in our society! All of Dr. Avena’s books can be found at: https://www.drnicoleavena.com/bookstore.html https://www.drnicoleavena.com/index.html

I Never Imagined How Free Life Could Be

I Never Imagined How Free Life Could Be

Sonja B. has been abstinent and sober from sugar, wheat, processed foods and compulsive food behaviors including volume eating, and nighttime binges, having maintained a 100-pound weight release for 18 years after hitting bottom in 2005. She had early evidence that she used food differently than others as a child and teenager and carried 75 pounds of extra weight in high school. Sonja went into treatment for alcohol addiction and became sober at the age of 20. Her food use continued after becoming sober realizing she was using food in the same way she used alcohol, which triggered a dopamine response in her brain leading to substance addiction. Her message to fellow suffering food addicts, life can be different, and we do not need to use food to escape. We need not be imprisoned by our addiction and compulsive behaviors with food. In recovery from food addiction, Sonja works a 12-step program through planning meals, committing her food to someone, and writing. She deals with life situations by using spiritual and emotional support as she talks daily with others who share her disease. What an inspiring story of recovery from food addiction!

We Get To Learn a New Way of Living

We Get To Learn a New Way of Living

Having struggled personally with food addiction, Amanda Leith entered a food addiction recovery program of the company she ultimately purchased and now leads, Shift, Recovery By Acorn, https://foodaddiction.com/. At Shift, Recovery By Acorn Amanda and her staff help clients struggling with food addiction to find physical abstinence and address underlying issues which produce life-changing results and freedom from food obsession. Amanda talks about the huge diet industry marketing to the public, yet diets do not work long-term for food addicts. She was a late-stage food addict and weighed 350 pounds. Her disease progressed and she was no longer eating for the effects of food, but because she had to continue to eat compulsively or face withdrawal. Today she has lived in recovery for years fully abstinent from sugar, processed foods, and volume eating while maintaining a healthy body weight. Listen to Amanda’s inspiring story of finding her own recovery from food addiction as she now uses her experience and her passion to help others find freedom from food obsession and seek recovery from this deadly disease.

I Did Not Think I Was Lovable, Today I Know I Am

I Did Not Think I Was Lovable, Today I Know I Am

Dee C. is a recovered food addict having maintained abstinence from sugar and excessive food consumption for 37 years and keeping off 100 pounds of extra weight. We discuss the shame and secrecy surrounding the use of food to cope with our lives. After many failed attempts at dieting, Dee talks about the misery of not being able to control food on her own and found the solution to her food addiction in recovery. She believes when she finally became completely honest and embraced the practices around abstinence and worked with other addicts, she recovered from the disease of food addiction. Today she lives a full life and loves the serenity of not being focused on her weight or food.

The Addict Mind Will Always Say, “It’s Not That Bad”

The Addict Mind Will Always Say, “It’s Not That Bad”

Dr. Vera Tarman is the Medical Director of Renascent, one of Canada’s largest treatment centers for substance abuse where she works as an addiction specialist. Dr. Tarman cites the statistic in her book, Food Junkies: the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that by the year 2030, 84% of the U.S. population will be overweight and 42 % will be obese. After recovering from food addiction herself by maintaining a 100-lb weight loss for more than 12 years, Dr. Tarman is on the front lines in presenting the message about the problem of food addiction and recovery solutions through her work, her book, Food Junkies: Recovery From Food Addiction and her podcast Food Junkies. We discuss how sugar and processed foods can be addictive and contribute to the growing obesity crisis and are the “tobacco of the 70s”. Since the truth about food addiction has not been acknowledged and accepted, the food industry, insurance, and pharmaceutical industries continue to benefit financially without addressing in a meaningful way how addictive foods contribute to health issues today. The length of time it takes for people to withdraw from excess food, sugar, and trigger foods varies by individual but is typically three to four weeks. Dr. Vera Tarman is an instructor at the INFACT School https://infactschool.com/ and is an internationally renowned expert on sugar and food addiction and knows recovery is possible. This is a wonderful episode. Check out Dr. Tarman’s Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SugarFreeForLife

It Is Possible to Have a Life Free of Food Addiction

It Is Possible to Have a Life Free of Food Addiction

Mary F. has maintained a nearly 200-pound weight release for 31 years as she has recovered from food addiction. As an overweight child and teenager, she endured ridicule and verbal abuse. The shame associated with not being able to control her eating made her miserable and suicidal. Mary talks about the powerlessness to stop eating once she started, and she discusses the secrecy around her addiction. We address not only physical recovery but also emotional and mental recovery. For many years she and her partner/husband led what is now Shift Recovery by Acorn (foodaddiction.com) helping many people recover from food addiction and find the solution. For over 30 years Mary has worked a 12-step program which has involved measuring her food and working with others. Mary shares the common experience with a number of our guests, recovered addicts as well as working professionally in the food addiction treatment field. What a wonderful and inspiring story!