Finding the idea of food addiction helped a great deal to be sure since it took me to a whole new level.  The next breakthrough for this food addict came two or three years later in the form of a unique personal growth program called The Forum.  I had stopped working with that the national company that had introduced me to alcoholism/drug addiction concepts and was working in a not for profit community agency with children and adolescents in a city where I had never lived and new nobody other than those I worked with.  I then recalled a time when I had many friends who were involved in personal growth work and doing things to become better people and contribute to others. Many of them were doing all sorts of seminars and going to various growth centers.

Landmark Education – Not Just for Food Addiction

I began participating in one in particular that is known today as Landmark Education (see: http://www.landmarkeducation.com). I spent close to ten years off and on taking many of the courses besides their introductory course called The Forum. I also acted as a volunteer to help put the programs on. This work made a profound difference in my understanding of me, my relationships, and how to manage the circumstances that life sends our way. What I got from this work stays with me today so it produces positive lasting change I can promise you that and certainly improved my lot in life as a food addict.  Landmark now has some very good independent research on how well the programs work for people which is dandy indeed.  I can also tell you that The Forum faculty is among the best trained and qualified in the world since they offer their programs across the world.  I heartily recommend Landmark Education to everyone not just those with a food addiction of course. Check it out by clicking here now and they don’t pay me a nickel to recommend them.

Food Addiction as a distinction came my way when next I went to work for a national company that specialized in alcohol treatment centers in general hospitals. I learned all about alcoholism and addictions—how alcoholism is a chronic and fatal disease with genetic, psychological, and spiritual components. I also learned how alcoholics have to change the people, places, and things around them to recover. I learned about the principles of AA and read their literature. It was very enlightening— that said I still did not connect what I had learned with my food addiction.  Also remember in the mid 1970s when I completed my college degrees, no courses were taught in counseling schools on addictions counseling so of course I did not think of myself as a food addict. By the way I did live in three different cities while working for that company over three years.  In one of those cities I met the woman who would be the love of my life and future wife, although I did not know that just yet.

One evening a year or so after leaving that addictions treatment company, I was reading the paper and saw a small listing for a local Overeaters Anonymous meeting. I was stunned. I knew a lot about alcohol/drug addiction, but it had never hit me before that I was a food addict. This was in 1983, and this was quite a revolutionary idea. Naturally, I learned everything I could about OA and read their literature. Understanding I had a food addiction was a distinction that made an enormous difference in my ability to control the chronic disease of obesity.

Emotional Side Part 2

     Food Addiction has emotional or psychological consequences thus in my last post titled Part 1 of “emotional side” I spoke about some of them and the work I did with a counselor.  I also worked on things with the counselor having to do with my vocation and dating. (After all, in that arena I was closer to 14 years old instead of 25.) After my first counseling experience, I decided to leave my wholesale newspaper distribution business and go back to college to finish my B.S. in business and psychology. I went back to college for two reasons: to change my work life and to get free counseling in the college counseling center for my food addiction. After finishing my B.S., I decided to get a Master’s Degree in psychology, which enabled me to continue working on myself in the college counseling center and be involved in the study of psychology and counseling full time.

Food Addiction Relapse Happens

     I don’t mind telling you, this was a very trying time while I was in college—I almost lost it a couple of times. By “lost it” I mean really not surprising for a person who is a food addict since relapse is often a part of recovery. I gained as much as 25 pounds over my all-time-low of 143 pounds at one point before getting myself back on track. Just so you know addiction was not even taught in my graduate school days of the mid 70s let alone food addiction.

     After graduation, I went to work in a community mental health center, working primarily with children and adolescents, for about five years. I continued to be in counseling for myself off and on for those five years. Again addiction and being a food addict were never mentioned.  Still things were getting better. I was very happy in my work and I was dating! I also had a comfortable weight range of 150 to 155 and was able to stay within that range fairly well thanks to a best-selling book of the time (1979) called The Pritikin Program. I followed the Pritikin approach to a large degree.

     The Pritikin approach focuses on fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Processed foods, animal foods such as meat and eggs, and sugar are pretty much eliminated from the diet and that worked for this food addict at that time. It’s a very healthful way of eating, high in fiber and low in fat. Once you eliminate all the junk from your diet, it’s much easier to lose weight or maintain weight loss. For more information about the Pritikin program, you can go to http://www.pritikin.com/.

     Well, enough for now. The plot thickens as they say in my next post since it deals with discovering the addiction model and what that added to the mixture.

Do take a look at my free resources on food addiction by clicking here.

You can find out more about my professional life by clicking here now.

On The Emotional Side Part 1

     Food Addiction had me fooled in the beginning like it does many folks. I focused only on the physical or body aspects of losing weight. When I stopped taking the medications, I went into a “binge/starve” type of eating pattern not uncharacteristic of a food addict. I binged on weekends, gaining five plus or minus pounds, and starved during the workweek to lose the same five plus or minus pounds. I was literally eating myself sick. It was at that point I went to my first licensed mental health practitioner to get counseling. At that time, I thought it was the end of the world to go to a therapist—I thought it proved that I was truly nuts. What I discovered, however, was the beginning of recovery as a food addict and a way to climb out of my irrational thinking and ways of behaving.

     Now again at that time the counselor did not talk about me being a food addict. It definitely wasn’t quick and easy though. Sometimes it was uncomfortable to go to the counselor and talk about things. Sort of like going to the dentist. I don’t particularly like going to the dentist—especially when the drilling is going on. However, after I have gone I am very glad I went. In counseling, I worked on how I was thinking and feeling. Most of us are carrying around “old baggage.”  We learned how to think and feel in our family – this is one of the foundations of what causes food addiction. 

Food Addiction Does Not Mean You Have A Mental Illness

     I do want you to know at this point that there is no scientific evidence that those with obesity have any psychological illnesses or character disorders so just because you are obese it does not mean you have a mental illness.  It is true issues and challenges you may indeed have like other “slim” or regular weight people. So remember obese people do not have mental illness or character disorder rates any higher than slim or regular weight people.  Being overweight is usually not an eating disorder (like Bulimia or Binge Eating Disorder) and does not mean a person has a serious personality disorder although sometimes it does mean there is an eating disorder or a serious personality disorder.  Finally, there is no “official” diagnosis of Food Addiction as yet which would be laid out in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.  After years of study (the last full update was in 1994) and work by mental health professionals there is a massive update of the manual coming out in draft form for comment and the diagnostic term “Food Addiction” may or may not be in the new manual that will be completed in a few years.  I will write more on this topic down the road on this blog.

Want to learn more? Then click here to see about getting my free resources on food addiction.

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Enter Medications

I had no clue I had a food addiction when my journey began. I first began losing my excess weight when I was 23. I was sick and tired of feeling like a freak and feeling pretty depressed by my life. In 1970, there were few 5’5” people weighing over 325 pounds. I shopped at what today we would call the “Plus Size” men’s stores for clothes (there was only one store of this type in Houston at that time). I wore size 56 pants (today 36) and size 24 shirts (today 16). I had no relationships with women. Basically, I went to work (I was quite successful financially for a young businessman), went to the movies (where I had trouble fitting into the seats I was so overweight), lived alone in an apartment, and ate—that was my whole life. I had failed on many, many diets over the years, to say the least. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I certainly did not think of myself as a food addict at that time or thought I was going to try to control a food addiction.

 Food Addiction Help From My Doctor

I went to my doctor—who, incidentally, carried over 500 pounds on his 6’2” frame so can you say food addiction with him! After I lost the weight he would say he should be coming to me for help and paying me. He was a nice guy really. He gave me prescriptions for amphetamines, plus thyroid medications during the day designed to increase my metabolism while reducing my hunger. He prescribed Valium at night to bring me down so I could sleep.  

Of course, it wasn’t too many years later that prescribing amphetamines for weight-loss was stopped due to the dangers. They also discovered Valium was not a harmless, minor tranquilizer but a very, very addictive drug. These drugs—even though dangerous and addictive, with loads of side effects—did three things for me. They decreased my appetite, increased my metabolism, and increased my energy, all of which were useful in supporting my weight-loss. I was lucky not to have had any serious negative effects from the drugs. Doctors are still prescribing drugs for weight-loss today—some of which (like Fen-Phen was) can be even more dangerous than the ones I was on.

A brief aside about medications here: Although medications can be dangerous, not all of them are dangerous or useless in dealing with weight-loss issues. Often medications can be useful in treating some of the underlying causes of being overweight. I do suggest you use caution and educate yourself about these medications before making a decision about using them. Also there are many nutritional products on the market today. Many of these vitamins and herbs are of arguable value and some could be downright dangerous. You should always seek expert advice before taking any medications, vitamins or herbs.

In addition to the chemical boost from the drugs, I also learned about calories. I set myself up with low-calorie foods and stuck to them. I went from being a compulsive overeater to a compulsive under eater that worked well for losing the weight although it is not the best approach and not appropriate for building a psychological foundation for long term success with food addiction. I had no clue about the “binge/starve” syndrome – in a way I had entered a “starve” period. It took me about 18 months to lose over 150 pounds. That was the easy part—the hard part began afterwards. Like I say I did not have a clue on how to stop food addiction and that the hard part was coming after losing the weight at that time. More on that later in this series.

Do you want to sort out if you are a food addict or not? Then to get my free resources on food addiction just click here.

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I don’t remember much before age 8 or 9, but I think all was fine with no major trauma and fine relationships with my parents. When I was 8 or 9 I began to become overweight – probably part of the answer was I now was near stores in the USA after having lived on a military base in Okinawa.  I was also able to ride my bike to those stores.  My father said later that he never should have given me that second box lunch I asked him for on an airplane flight we took back from Okinawa to live again in the USA.  My parents would fight at times over how to deal with my weight problem not surprisingly.  As you might imagine, my father—a boxing champion and military officer—was not thrilled about having an obese son. I guess maybe getting negative attention was better than no attention at all is all I can figure on that count.  I had a miserable time growing up for the most part from age 8 or 9 on with my food addiction only getting worse as I got older.   

By age 11, I weighed 115 pounds. By age 18, I was 275 pounds. I never dated as a teenager—I even stayed home on prom night. I had a miserable time, given how few people were that overweight back then—the teasing from other kids was relentless at times. As a young man I remember I would go to Burger King (one of my fast food addictions) and order two Whoppers and two chocolate shakes to go, hoping the people there would think I was buying for two. I wasn’t—it was all for me.  Not an unusual behavior in food addiction. I would also not go home from work each day without two quart bottles of Coke since I drank about that much each day. I topped out at something over 325 pounds.  I was pretty sick and tired of being a bit of a freak and being sick and tired. 

To learn more about dealing with food addiction and get my free resources then click here now.

Food Addiction has led me to some interesting conversations with people I know.  When they find out I once weighed 325 pounds (now 162 – height 5’5”) they often want to know how I lost all that weight and kept it off for over 35 years.  So here is the beginning of my “food addict” story!  I want to give you the opportunity to benefit from my knowledge and experience if you have an interest. You’ll learn that it’s possible to become maybe not slim exactly but fit and healthy—and stay that way for life. I’ll walk you through step by step how overcoming food addiction happened for me – sometimes by design and sometimes by accident. We’ll cover diet, exercise, and some of the psychological “intangibles” of food addiction that are just as crucial for lasting weight-loss as the ways you eat and move. I’ll also give you information about some valuable resources from other weight-loss experts so you can benefit from their knowledge. I want you to be prepared for what is coming if you are committed to stopping food addiction since the more prepared you are for what is going to happen the easier it will be for you.  The most important thing to remember is that you can do this, and you won’t have to do it alone!

Food Addiction – What To Do?

            I would like to emphasize that it is not necessary to do all of the things I did (50 of them moving forward) —especially not all at once. In fact, I would recommend you NOT do it all at once. Pick the items that you think make sense and start off one at a time. You gained the weight over time, so it only makes sense that it will take time to lose it. A lot of times, food addicts start out all gung-ho and try to make numerous radical lifestyle changes overnight. But it’s hard to stick to such drastic changes, and people tend to get discouraged and revert back to their old lifestyle. If you implement the changes gradually, over time, you’ll have a much better chance of sticking with them. Long-term results are what we are after so the name of the game is progress not perfection.  It doesn’t have to be all or nothing! As the old saying goes, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” One step at a time.

Do you want help?  Then click here to get my free resources to help you with food addiction.