I am also a fan of Bodhipaksa who founded Wildmind although I am not a religious Buddhist myself.  As you may know a lot of Buddhist thought has made it over into the psychotherapy and medical world in the last 20 years for a very good reason.  It works!  Now in my experience Wildmind is not very “religious” in the way they teach…not that there is anything wrong with being a “religious” Buddhist.  If you want to learn more about meditation and what works in Buddhist thought Wildmind is a good place to check out as an opinion.   There are even folks who are Buddhists who are atheists per a recent book called Confession of a Buddhist Atheist by Stephen Batchelor.  I am also a fan of Stephen by the way.  Until next time.

Fat people are slothful, lazy, and just ought to get their act together, right?”

The answer to that Neanderthal question, strangely, is “possibly.” Just because people are fat doesn’t mean they’re not those things.

But the key point is, it doesn’t mean they are. If most of us are honest with ourselves, though, we’ll cop to some of those beliefs, or similar ones. I wish I didn’t, but I do, and I sure ought to know better.

I’ve had a normal-sized body for a couple of decades, but before that, I was a fat kid whose obese adolescence lasted into his 30s. (Top weight: 365 pounds, on Oct. 21, 1991.) Through therapy, support groups, and even 9 weeks in the eating disorders unit of an accredited rehab hospital, I started to change, though, and life has been undeniably better since: Thinner is only the beginning of it.

My experiences tell me that food addiction is real, and that even if it isn’t, getting treated like a food addict works wonders. In one sense, that’s really good news: If you exhibit traits and conditions that some people might interpret as food addiction, you don’t have to believe in it to get help.

The bad news, of course, is that most people who think they just have to get a bit more exercise, or cut out sweets for a while, even though they’ve decided to do those things in the past and haven’t been able to follow through, aren’t likely to take more comprehensive steps.

I relate what it was like to grow up fat, how I changed, and how great it is to be free of the extra weight — physical, emotional, and spiritual — in a book, “Fat Boy Thin Man,” that I’m self-publishing it in July. I wrote it because one of the things I learned in the process is that I’m not that special, which tells me that actions that worked for me can help a great many people.

If you want notice when the book is released, please drop me a line at michael (at) fatboythinman (dot) com.

Recent work by a biochemist named Sheila Collins at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute at Lake Nona, FL outside of Orlando says there is “good fat” for you to have in your body.  There are the “white fat” cells and the “brown fat” cells.  You want to have a lot of brown fat she says as that sort of acts like a furnace that burns calories and generates heat. 

Collins is looking at how to find ways to turn your brown fat system on safely to burn more calories and thus lose more weight.  In short boosting the metabolism that mother nature gave you.  Everyone needs fat cells to live.  They have a lot to do with important hormones science has found.  Also science use to think that after infancy all the brown fat was gone and now they know that is wrong.  If science can find a way to turn on the brown fat you have in your system it should help with obesity. 

In the mean time until they get this sorted out you may need to begin somewhere dealing with your issues.  Try reading the 50 ways I used to recover from food addiction.  Until next time.

I hate to tell you the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has bowed to pressure from the meat and dairy industry in the past and are likely to do so again in putting out their new dietary guidelines so not much food addiction help from them I fear.  I would be pleasantly surprised if this was not the case.  In 1991, the USDA put out a pyramid and recommended that meat was no longer a daily requirement.  Well that was withdrawn in no time flat because of pressure from the meat industry and a new food pyramid was put out.  PCRM is not waiting to see what happens but is becoming proactive in the matter with this release to the press.  PCRM is not stopping with just recommending this new image and scientific recommendations to the USDA but is promoting the new model itself recommending professionals stop using the USDA model at all as it is scientifically inaccurate.  If the government won’t tell the truth and give you food addiction help then professionals must tell the truth and stop using the USDA model.

Now if you are of a certain age like me at 62 you were raised to thing meat was very good for you indeed.  In addition, dairy products but that is another article he says with a smile.  Dr. McDougall makes the point that “meat is cat food – plants are people food” in the article….he does say also that meat is for dogs so not to worry.  He goes on to list 10 major reason why meat is unhealthy for you.  To name the ones that attracted me that he includes:

Meat is unusually high in fat.

There is no dietary fiber in meat.

Cholesterol is only in animal foods.

Meat concentrates environmental contaminates.

Antibiotics are in meat.                                

Meat is in the top two or three significant contributors to every one of the most serious environmental problems.

Now of course there is much more detail in the article and not just of value to food addicts.  So do give the whole article a look on Dr. McDougall’s website.

One of the mindsets I still have to watch out for after over 35 years in recovery even now is thinking one day is different from the next when it comes to eating.  Just because I am on a vacation, does that mean that day is different so I can eat differently?  Because it is the weekend, does that mean I can eat differently?  I was also watching the PBS program by Daniel G. Amen M.D. and was thinking about how he recommends folks think about food like money.  Spending money is the same as spending calories he said…well that has some truth for sure but for folks interested in how to stop food addiction I think that will only take you so far.  Therefore, if you are on a cruise maybe the Amen mindset would work from the perspective of counting calories while on the cruise which could keep you from a relapse anyway.  Now to be fair Dr. Amen’s program was not about how to stop food addiction and is more like a “user’s manual” on how to alter brain biochemistry through eating and nutritionals.  I have not read the book yet as my wife got it first! 

However, I digress.  Schlep on over to the blog post with Dr. May and see what she has to say about dealing with eating on a cruise.  The advice fits for most any “binge oriented” situation and will be helpful to stop food addiction on a cruise or not.  Until next time.

Dr. Whitaker has never made a secret that he has a weight problem although he has said he is a food addict.  He has always advocated a low fat, high fiber diet, exercise and nutritional supplementation.  Well in his latest edition of his newsletter he says he fell off the wagon and put on 40 pounds over the last ten years.  His solution to get back on the wagon (he reports high fat foods and sugar got him again) was to go to TrueNorth Health in Santa Rosa, CA for a week long water fast.  He reported on the scientific studies on the value of fasting in his newsletter and how he sort of “rebooted” his taste buds and cravings as a result of the fast so now he has no desire for high fats and sugars but only enjoys what nature provides in his food….Dr. Goldhamer at TrueNorth calls this process “neuroadaptation”. Dr. Goldhamer has a book out called The Pleasure Trap that you might want to check out….you can get a copy for $3.99 used.  Whitaker was so impressed with his experience he started a fasting program at his clinic.  Therefore, you might want to check this all out rather you are a food addict or just have health issues as fasting is a great approach.

If you want to talk with me and think you may be a food addict I am ready to spend time with you with my compliments.

• fear of disappointment and anger
• unwilling to make their own diet changes
• blaming the morbidly obese person
• to gain power and control over the morbidly obese person

Now another term often used for folks who are food addiction enabling or enablers is “co-dependent” or “co-dependency”.  I liked what I found about this concept in Co-Dependency: A Look at the Disease and Recovery.  I suggest you go to that page now and read up on what is on the page.  This will give you a good picture of what enabling is all about as well as how to recover.  You see enablers are likely caught up in a family disease and have their own personal issues that need to be dealt with and often that has to come first before the “addicted one” is able to have an opportunity to get into recovery.  More food for thought.

The book is on Amazon.com with a nice video of 3:03 with Jeff talking about the book.  The book title is My Footprint: Carrying the Weight of the World and it is not a how to weight loss book.  You can read the reviews on Amazon to get an idea if you would like the book.  Seems like it is also about comedy.  There are only 8 reviews and they are not all positive.  The positive ones seem to be fans of Curb Your Enthusiasm which is the HBO TV show he co-created with Larry David and Jeff is an ongoing character on the show.  The book is not a best-seller on Amazon anyway as it is 3900+ when I visited.  Jeff does say in his videos he is indeed a food addict.  He is down about 60 pounds over his all time high weight.  He does say it is an addiction and people need to understand overweight folks have an addiction problem that is a disease and being overweight has nothing to do with will power.  He also seems to indicate in one video that he no longer eats sugar. 

Well, this seems to be a good thing he put out the book and is getting media attention.  It is bound to be helpful.  That said it seems the book is for fun with even Jeff saying it is not a “how to” book.  It is probably for fans mostly, not for anyone seriously seeking help on how to recover.  Until next time.

I ran across a website for something called “The Anderson Method” so I went to check it out.  Come to find it was a site writing about another mental health professional who has recovered from food addiction.  He has written a book called The Anderson Method.  In addition, he had an article of value on the site.  It does not look like a best seller from the Amazon.com rank but that does not mean it is not a good one.  The book has four positive reviews so that is a plus.  I found a link to his website as this was a piece that he wrote for another site not his site.  Also a nice video from Sarasota ABC TV.  Ah, look he has some free articles on this page as well. Maybe I will buy the book he says with a smile.