Six Reasons Dieting Fails for the Food Addict

Before I released excess weight for good and became known as a certified eating disorder specialist (CEDS),  I spent nearly three decades at various arms of diet centers such as Weight Watchers, Ediets, Twelve Step programs, mostly as the recipient of diets initially and worked as a clinical psychotherapist/addiction psychologist certified as an eating disorder specialist later. But a more accurate title for that job in my earlier days might have been certified diet failure doctor and uninformed therapist: while I lost a great deal of weight and showed the way to thousands, I’d watch one after the other go through the revolving door of failed diet plans.

Like the ongoing dieters, I too joined the up and down weight loss program initially. And while it may not be possible to pinpoint what exactly makes for a great weight loss program, it’s pretty easy to identify some of the avoidable mistakes that can virtually guarantee your weight loss and release of food addiction that will get relegated to a success story. See these mistakes below:

1.     DIET CENTER  HOPPER

Mary joined every weight loss center known to mankind with white knuckle determination and gritted teeth. She was going to lose the weight no matter what. And, of course, the no matter what turned into another failure.  Whatever food program you lose weight with is the very same one you will maintain with. If you can’t figure out how to make the “diet” doable for everyday life, you’re probably not on the right food program for a food addict.

2.     DIET BOOKS

Although hundreds of diet books line the shelves of bookstores, virtual and brick and mortar, It’s close to impossible to eradicate every single little mistake in the diet that was not intended for long periods of time. But what’s not really forgivable are promises that you can eat an ounce of dark chocolate daily and a glass of wine with dinner once you reach a certain level in the program. A true food addict cannot indulge even a small morsel of sweetened chocolate and succulent red wine or they’re crashing. A cocaine addict wouldn’t have just a small smidgen of coke once they reached “maintenance” now would they? Of course not!

3.     DIET FADS

Start eating cookies today and lose weight! Yes, YOU read this right you can eat cookies and lose weight. Eat one cookie for breakfast, one for lunch, and a reasonable dinner, and you too can be thin. Diet fashionistas are the perfect candidates to lure to fad diets. The food addict begs, steals, and bargains, promising after this one last binge to never binge-eat again. So offer the cookie diet to the desperate dieter and she's roped in! But the truth be told, after lured, in a short period of time, after the "honeymoon"  has passed, the binge eating resumes. We are addicts and require real food every four to five hours and must avoid sugar, flour, and wheat to prevent a relapse, so fad diets must be avoided—they don't work—not ever.
4.     30 POUNDS OFF IN ONE MONTH DIET

Yes, you read this right. You too can lose 30 pounds in 30 days! Everyone’s winning at their weight loss with our nutritious packed boxed meals. All “gourmet” meals are prepared for you to take the guess work out of preparation. Yeah right. A food addict first would starve as there isn’t enough food in the small box and second, a food addict would go into a full-blown binge because boxed foods are notorious for hidden sugar, flours, and wheat.

5.     ERRORS OF IGNORANCE

Of course you think this time will be different when you go on the “miracle diet” because you are determined NOW. And you’re convinced the special grapefruit concoction, with Brazilian leaves proven to drop weight while you sleep, is a perfect fit for you. Trust me, there is no magical concoction of leaves, plastic suits that enhance sweat, or any other doohickey that works long term. It simply doe not exist not now—not ever. I swear!

6.     THE HARD SELL

Dante’s juicer is proven to cure you of all illness and restore your body to the size when you were a teenager. Millions of satisfied customers are now wearing bathing suits and win the lotto too.   Not.  There is no quick fix. A change of lifestyle, attitude, and a turn toward a Higher Source you have a good chance of success at your weight loss and releasing food addiction.

Yes, no doubt there are tons of promises of weight loss on every corner billboard, magazine, late night television commercial and broadcast on radio signals around the globe. But before I released excess weight for good and became an addiction psychologist,  certified as an eating disorder specialist (CEDS), I toiled nearly three decades making one "diet" mistake after another before realizing what makes a winner at weight loss and recovery and what keeps a person tied to diet mentality committing one diet error after another. It's your turn to stop going through the revolving door of failed diet plans and this time take charge, make a permanent step towards winning and put to rest the vast array of diet mishaps.

http://weightcontroltherapy.com/

Is It Time To  Clear Your Space?

I flicked on the light, plugged in my fountain and oil lamp, opened the blinds to let the natural light in and rolled up my sleeves prepared to dig into my chore ahead.  At the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve I resolved to clear out clutter in my office and open my work space to rekindle the spiritual energy my office is known for. I spent an entire day dusting, vacuuming, scrubbing window ledges and shredding patient files older than seven years so I’d have space for the stack of files behind my chair, heaped on my desk and tucked in the credenza. I had my work cut out for me.

 
As I moved in silence, from one task to the next, memories of patients swirled in my mind. My heart ached as I came across several patients who died over the years. We bonded—swapped eating disorder war stories—and grew in spiritual, emotional, and physical recovery.
 

When I happened upon Martin’s file (anonymous name), caressing his folder as if he were still present, I remembered the first session of psychotherapy and hypnosis, how trapped he’d become in his body. Martin carried two hundred extra pounds on his 5’10” frame. Without opening his file, all our past conversations bubbled up within me. Like many of my patients, Martin believed therapy with me was his last strand of hope to release his obsession with food.

We began our session with the standard questions I ask during the collection of data phase when first working with a patient. Once I had gathered the medical, psychological, family, and work history I moved into personal belief systems to uncover hidden blocks and buried issues with regards to his eating disorder. I asked Martin, “Do you believe you are responsible for your own recovery? Is it the trigger food(s), or your lack of spiritual connection, or both, that prevent you from recovery? Can your recovery take precedence over an obsession with and addiction to the idea of weight loss? Are you ready to clear out the clutter in your thought process?

 
We discussed different approaches to treating his disordered eating and obesity. I suggested a program of recovery can include but need not be limited to: psychotherapy, a Twelve-Step program, an `anonymous’ support group, the advice of a nutritionist experienced in food addiction, and a prayer group—or a church, synagogue, or mosque group. And the list goes on. I asked, “Which components from this list attract your attention?” He opted for therapy, a nutritionist, and a prayer group affiliated with his church and Twelve-Step program addressing his compulsive eating.

It’s my belief if you’re not in peak condition, mentally, physically, spiritually—if you’re not “right” with your surroundings, and comfortable in your own skin, your full potential will be stunted. Martin believed this to be true, that in order to open his full potential he needed to tap into any and all help available and clear out the clutter in his thought process.

Many of us undergo serious health consequences as a result of food abuse. Initially Martin’s recovery from compulsive eating was out of a medical necessity—raging cholesterol—which led him to seek a doctor of addiction psychology for food addiction. 

 

Most of society doesn’t understand or accept food addiction as a real condition. In fact, people tend to be more understanding when an alcoholic doesn’t drink because so many people don’t drink today, either because they have a problem with alcohol, take medication, or they don’t want to drink and drive. Moreover, alcoholism is seen as an addiction; whereas, this isn't the case with food addiction.

Although Martin managed to reach and maintain a healthy weight, he died at 57 from congestive heart failure, which most likely resulted from lifelong poor lifestyle habits. Sometimes patients go past the point of no return and their bodies can’t repair. Perhaps this was the case for Martin.

Today, my office sparkles and the space I so needed is restored. Although I shredded a mountain of files, the stories will forever remain etched in my heart. As I closed the blinds, shut the lights, unplugged the fountain and oil lamp, I took one last look back at my now squeaky clean quaint space I so love to work in, and smiled at the thought of Martin so excited when he was able to once again tie his shoes, ride a bike, cross his legs, and button the bottom buttons of his shirt. Yes, he died perhaps earlier than his time, but he died after years of getting his life back—no longer imprisoned by his weight. It’s never too late to clear out the clutter and reach for the stars, even if you only touch the moon.

Photos by: Dr. Lisa Ortigara Crego

Eating Disorders and Certified Eating Disorder Professionals

Today is one of those glorious Sunday afternoons when the sun is out and the birds are chirping. It is one of those days where the world feels right and excitement, for no apparent reason, looms above. And yet, somewhere out there someone is suffering alone from an eating disorder. Someone is wondering when the binge will end and the weight will be released. That someone used to be me. It is a lonely, scary place to be.

Today I was reading an e-mail from The International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (also known as iaedp) and learned something I was not aware of. To date, iaedp is the only organization in the world that certifies professional competency to treat eating disorders through its Certified Eating Disorder Specialist (CEDS) and Certified Eating Disorder Specialist-Nutritionist (CEDS-N) certifications (Cumella, 2009). There currently are only 104 CEDS or CEDS-N professionals with active certifications. Interestingly, I am one of the 104 certified eating disorder specialists, and yet there are 923,000 healthcare providers who can offer counseling services in the United States! How could this be? Only 104, or 0.01%, have a CEDS or CEDS-N!

More interesting, to date, there are 642 healthcare providers in the US and Canada who claim to specialize in eating disorder treatment; however, only 104, or 16%, have evidence of their competency to do so through a recognized certification program, the CEDS or CEDS-N (Cumella, 2009). This baffles my mind! Eating disorders are chronic, progressive, and fatal. We need more certified experts working with patients with such a deadly disease.

I read a few years ago that by the year 2015 if preventative measures are not in place we could see 75% of the population overweight or obese. This is a huge number! Think about it, 75 people out of 100 will be wearing extra weight. What will this do to healthcare? What is the answer? I believe we need to move closer to "real" food and further from "processed" foods. Sugar, flour, and wheat, along with high fatty foods seem to be the culprit, especially for us who suffer from eating disorders. And there are plenty of us!

Today, as a provider certified to treat eating disorders, I carry a qualification that few have achieved. It seems unthinkable there are 923,000 healthcare providers who can offer counseling services in the United States, and yet there are only 104, or 0.01%, certified as eating disorder specialists! I think what makes me most uncomfortable is learning healthcare providers are claiming to specialize in eating disorder treatment and yet few have the education, certification and/or authority to do so. The International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals is recognized for certification programs that train and prepare practitioners to deal with a disorder that is growing with each passing minute. Perhaps if the word gets out more and more will sign up to join the certified eating disorder specialists to help those suffering from eating disorders reach a place of recovery.

Although there are many hurdles the eating disorder professional must jump through in order to stay abreast to the ever-changing field of eating disorders, it is well worth the efforts. Every day I am reaching out and helping someone who is suffering as I had. Every day I know someone is dying from this disease. Every day I know I can reach out my hand to another and lift them out of their pain. Nobody has to suffer from this disease. There are answers and help that can take you to recovery. I know...I live in recovery every day.

It is no secret there are millions suffering from eating disorders. As I sit here comfortable in my own recovery on this beautiful Sunday late afternoon I wonder how many out there are feeling alone, binging, purging, or restricting today. I know I will be able to go to sleep tonight with no shame or regrets for having eaten foods that are causing me to binge, crave, or purge. Thank God I never purged with food, but I certainly did my share with over exercising and an occasional bout with laxatives. Just writing the words down makes me wiggle with discomfort. It is hard to believe a decade and a half ago I was really suffering and yet I looked so good on the outside. I was working a program for the most part...but then the disease would rear its ugly head with no warning. Tonight, I will be able to close my eyes and drift off to sleep knowing I am in a good place spiritually, physically, and emotionally.

References:

US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved May 3, 2009 from http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs035.htm#emply

Academy for Eating Disorders. Retrieved May 3, 2009 from http://www.aedweb.org/public/results.cfm

Cumella, E. J. (2009). News for Eating Disorders Professionals. International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals. Retrieved on May 13 from: http://www.iaedp.com/

Photos taken by: Dr. Lisa Ortigara Crego