1. INTRODUCTION
Doctors don’t hesitate to send their patients with alcohol problems to Alcoholics Anonymous. Why do so few send their patients with eating problems to a similar group? … [Read more...] about The Therapist Asks: How Can a 12 Step Group Help the Food Addict?
The Yale Food Addiction Scale is an attempt to diagnose Food Addiction from a scientific and clinical perspective. A diagnosis of Food Addiction from the medical or psychiatric framework does not yet exist, but a Scale such as this marks the first step towards professional credibility of this … [Read more...] about The Yale Food Addiction Scale
We have all heard the taunts delivered to people who are overweight. But is obesity solely the fault of the individual? Why would someone choose a lifestyle that is so problematic from an individual … [Read more...] about Big Sugar : Big Winner By Signe Dewar
Twenty-six years ago and a hundred pounds heavier, I was told "You eat like I used to drink". The information came from a recovered alcoholic. I then sought out recovered food addicts. It was suggested that I put down (eliminate completely) all my binge foods. I wrote them down: there were 76. … [Read more...] about Can Diet Soda Lead To Relapse?
I’ve heard it said that failing to plan is planning to fail.
For this food addict, it is certainly true. And I like to keep it real simple.
Planning when going out prevents failure. Make a call to the restaurant or to the hostess and inquire if they have food that you are … [Read more...] about The 3 P’s to Food Addicts Avoiding Failure
I went in to a coffee shop (not my regular place) for my daily decaf. On the counter were individually wrapped baked items. I picked one up, looked at it, and thought about how it would taste. Suddenly I realized that as a food addict, I was holding and looking at CRACK. I got my coffee and … [Read more...] about Crack Den By a food addict in NY
Over the years I have met numerous professionals in the addictions field, who’ve made many presentations about their areas of study and their experiences working within the realm of their expertise. Between my own addiction and the ensuing treatment I sought, and my current experience as a clean … [Read more...] about Experiencing Dr. Tarman’s “Biology Of Addiction”
An addict will often claim that he or she has to reach a ‘bottom’ before they really quit their drug. The pain of the substance abuse is greater than the pleasure (even perceived pleasure) … [Read more...] about How Low is Your Bottom?
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?
