“You can't stop all foods!” This is the first response of the food addict who is searching for a healthy way to eat. What kind of diet must I follow? What is the menu plan? Is it a nutritious healthy food schedule?
To begin with, semantics are important. We are … [Read more...] about What does a Food Addict Eat? A Diet vs a Food Plan
On August 15, 2011 The American Association of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) declared, in a press release, that addiction is a chronic brain disorder.
As many of the articles in this blog will attest, this is not news to the ‘addiction community’. Doctors, sociologists, scientists … [Read more...] about The American Society of Addiction Medicine Catches Up
I am sitting on a plane, heading to LAX. Even the three letters seem glamorous. Heading to Los Angeles to appear on Ask Oprah’s Allstars. I am being interviewed, on a stage, by Dr. Phil himself. We are talking about the challenges with dating after weight loss. I have a hotel on Hollywood Blvd. I … [Read more...] about Dr Phil and Amber: Food Addiction Interview
As Vancouver addictions doctor and author of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, Gabor Maté phrases it, it is not a question of lacking free-will, but a matter of lacking “free won’t.” The same inability to make the right decision happens with obesity and overeating.
One common method of … [Read more...] about We Are Not Alone! NIDA makes the connection between Food Addiction and Drug Addiction
Dr. Taubes’ book, Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It explains – from a hormonal point of view, why ‘fattening foods’ such as sugar and carbohydrates actually makes us hungrier. You might expect that the fattening foods would fill us up. Not according to Dr. Taubes. If we are eating … [Read more...] about Starvation in Abundance
In an addiction hierarchy, where would food fit? Foods, such as fats, sugars and carbohydrates, are only very recently being recognized as addictive substances. Crack cocaine, heroin, and alcohol are all deadly addictions and widely recognized as such. The idea of food as addictive is a novel … [Read more...] about Where Does Food Fit on the Hierarchy of Addiction?
Twenty-four percent of the adult population in Ontario is obese and another 12% is overweight (See The Toronto Star, June 20, 2011). That’s a total of 3.15 million obese or overweight adults in Ontario and these numbers are on the rise.
Obesity puts people at extremely high risk for heart … [Read more...] about What are the costs of Obesity?
As a personal trainer, my job as I see it is to help people lose weight and get in shape. This is, for the most part, what people come to me in order to achieve. Sounds easy, right? Well apparently it's not. Simple, yes; easy, no.
Most personal trainers - if they're being honest with you … [Read more...] about Are We Getting Fit or Fatter?
Physical Craving and Food Addiction
Mark Cheren, Mary Foushi, Ester Helga Gudmundsdotter, Colleen Hillock, Marty Lerner, Michael Prager, Mary Rice, Louisa Walsh, Philip … [Read more...] about The Science Behind Food Addiction
How is it possible to diet and then actually gain more weight than you started with? Why does the Yoyo phenomenon of weight loss / weight gain inevitably kick in and sabotage our good intentions? Dr. Gary Taubes’ book Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It explains the physiology of why … [Read more...] about Are We Dieting Ourselves Into Obesity?
Lab Band Surgery is currently touted as the best solution for morbid obesity (a BMI over over 40, and in some cases over 35). What is it exactly? Is it Safe?
Unlike a Gastric … [Read more...] about Lap Band Surgery: Proceed with Caution?
Food addiction is one paradigm towards understanding a problematic relationship to food. It is not yet a medical diagnosis, although there are plenty of indicators that food and disordered eating can be an addiction, indeed, an addiction as overpowering as cocaine or alcohol.
Whether or … [Read more...] about What is Food Addiction?
