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Anatomy of a Food Addiction

Nov27

Tonight I want to tell you about a terrific book by Anne Katherine, written about food addiction and compulsive eating. The book is titled Anatomy of a Food Addiction: The Brain Chemistry of Overeating. You can get it online in paperback for around $10.00.

When she first wrote it in 1991, I had been working at a psychiatric facility. I saw some things there that made me realize that I wanted to uncover and get to know the real me. One troubling aspect of my life was my relationship with food.

The stress at the facility was immense and the administrator was a control freak, a very cruel and destructive one at that. I recognized what a valuable resource a good therapist could be so I availed myself of the contacts I’d made since I took the job. Soon afterward, I left  the facility.

Anne Katherine’s book did not reach me in my younger years because my food addiction was not a major concern. I was usually never more than 20-30 pounds overweight and no one seemed to notice, except me .

I played down the addictive behaviors. When I attempted confide in someone, they laughed at me and called me a drama queen. But I knew it was serious business.

When I finally found someone to take me seriously, it was a very special clinical psychologist whom I saw for several years off and on. Between the two of us, we were able to uncover the emotional trauma that had been buried for decades under my food addiction.

Finding Anne Katherine’s book again was a blessing. There are exercises included in the text. They  help you find your own answers, as all food addicts must  if we are to overcome our fear of food and the emotions that send us on an eating spree that doesn’t stop until the pain goes away.

There are all kinds of programs for compulsive eaters but the best ones start with education. When you read this book, you will be able to relate to it, if not identify with it.

Everyone needs a starting place, and this may be your chance to find it. You’ll probably get the best deal if you go to amazon.com, but the library will work just as well.

Happy reading!

Food Addiction is Painful

Nov24

I read a quote tonight that caught my eye. Unfortunately, the author was unknown so I can’t give credit where credit is due.

This is the quote: “Pain is inevitable: suffering is optional.” What a great statement. While pain can be physical or emotional, suffering is always emotional.

By using food to stuff down our feelings, we choose suffering. Food addiction and emotional eating each create their own kind of pain. Self-rejection and shame jumpstart the suffering.

Acceptance and forgiveness do wonders to short-circuit a food addiction.  Since that dynamic duo sometimes doesn’t come from family and friends, it’s up to you to make them work for you.

Rescue yourself from a triggering event by accepting the situation in the moment, embracing it, and then letting it go.  Then forgive yourself for thinking that you have to be perfect to be worthy of acceptance. You’re worthy just the way you are.

Acceptance will help you deal with the pain. Forgiveness will teach you how to end the suffering.

Food Addiction Alert: Fats Have a Face

Nov21

Don’t let the word “diet” mislead you when watching this YouTube video. For food addicts, emotional eaters, and anyone struggling to lose weight, the information about how to recognize fats is priceless.

Zoe Harcombe is an author, Nutritionist & Obesity Researcher, and founder of The Harcombe Diet. I am blown away by the brilliant analogy she uses to identify fats and distinguish them from carbohydrates.

How the Food Industry Creates Food Addicts

Nov13

A few days ago, I wrote about a book by Dr. David Kessler titled The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite.

Here he is in a YouTube video that offers us a look into the ways the food industry manipulates us. Great information for everybody, not just food addicts and emotional eaters.