Thousands Now Have Quit Binge Eating Who Never Thought They Could!

                              
                            

I know what it is to be in need,

And I know what it is to have plenty.

I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation,

Whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

~Philippians 4:12

 

I’ve written Heal from the Inside Out: Release the Obsession with Food, not for notoriety and fame, for my name in lights, or for recognition—but to help free you from the obsession with food. My goal is to share my journey from active food addiction to spiritual recovery—and lead you away from compulsive eating.

My mom and Ma (grandma) were not as fortunate, and died never to know the freedom of spiritual recovery or that their defeat in the battle to lose weight was not their fault. My story compares two adjacent worlds: food addiction and spiritual recovery. It is my hope that this book helps you to recognize, deal with, and resolve compulsive eating—to heal from the inside out. If my journey lifts you from the pure hell of obsessive eating, I will have accomplished my goal. I write for my mom, I write for Ma, and I write for you.

 A Piece of My Story

By 22 years of age my mother had given birth to six children. When Mom was 17, my sister Christy was born, followed by a set of twins eight months later, Michael and Michelle; one year later another set of twins, Daniel and Debborah; and 19 months later (with a miscarriage between us), I was born. My mother was knee-deep in diapers for what must have seemed like an eternity while she was only a kid. I learned early on to comfort myself with a bottle and food. Although I was a scrawny child who was on iron drops for anemia, my dysfunctional eating behaviors were already developed. I remember climbing up on the kitchen counter to retrieve chocolate syrup and pouring it down my throat until I felt the sense of "ahhhhhhhhhhh" that food addicts are so familiar with. I was barely five. I hid in the dark coat closet and stole change from my parents’ coat pockets to buy stashes of candy.

Once, I was so desperate I stole my father's pouch of parking lot change—hundreds of dollars—from the third drawer of the china cabinet and took it to Pennies to buy candy. I was seven and the bag was awkward and heavy to carry. I dropped the bag—coins flew all over and the store owner turned me in to my parents. It was the first and only time my dad ever spanked me.

Does this ring true for you? How far back in your childhood can you trace the start of your compulsive eating? If you have a history of binge eating I can assure you memories of overeating are there—with a bit of digging you have a story that might sounds similar to mine. Knowing where it began gives clues to how to quit addictive eating.

 

 

 Drlisaortigaracrego.com

 

New Year’s Resolution: Stop Dieting and Start Winning in Weight Loss Control!

Mary, a fairly new patient, bolted through the waiting room sprinting to my office like she was running a 10 K marathon. Breathless, she plopped down sinking deep into my hunter green couch, perspiration trickling down her face, and announced, “I’m starting a 500 calorie diet to get rid of this weight once and for all!,”  as she grabbed a fist full of fat from her expanded waist.

 As I listened to Mary promise with such conviction on how she would lose her weight—that she owned the "secret" to drop weight quickly, I felt Mary’s pain and urgency.  Not only do I understand Mary,  I lived her desperation—starting and ending every fad diet inmaginable for over 30 years of my life.  I promised to lose the weight—that I had the quick weight loss secret. One hundred pounds heavier after a series of diets brought me to my knees begging for a transformation.

I couldn’t help responding abruptly to Mary, “Stop, don’t do it! Do not make another New Year’s resolution to diet as it leads to yo yo dieting.”

When I explain to patients what’s really going on with desperate dieting followed by binge eating I often see a twinkle in their eye as they nod, bobbing their head like a dolphin dancing on the ocean top delighted direction is coming.

Mary is a food addict. As she begins to “get it” she has an Oprah “light bulb moment!” realizing that her up and down weight loss is not her fault, but rather from years of dieting and addictive eating.

Today, especially the first day of January, promises of food restriction, clamping teeth shut determined to eat 500 calories a day is a recipe for disaster.

Let’s be clear: There’s no such diet or trick or secret as losing 20, 40, 60 or whatever number of pounds you want to lose in a few short weeks and or months. Mary’s 500 calorie diet sets her up for quick weight loss followed by quick weight gain. I know, been there done that a million times.

Where to begin?  Let’s start with four points:

 

Ø  Admit you are out of control with food. This first step is not easy but it’s a start point to release the obsession with food.

Ø  Understand sugar, flour, and wheat are drugs to many binge eaters. Mary reminds me of the addict who promises they’ll never take another hit, snort, or shoot up again, without admission to the addictive components. Coming from a "will power" frame of mind is sure to fail.

Ø  Develop a spiritual connection to something greater than yourself. Call it God, Yahweh, or Lucy, whatever—just connect to your Divine Source. Mary is two hundred pounds overweight. She is a prisoner in her own body. Addictions are stronger and bigger than our will to stop using, we can’t do it alone.

Ø  Take one day at a time and practice recovery. Mary must let go of the "quick" fix ideation. When humble and focused she can work a whole, natural food plan free of sugar, flour, and wheat. In the here and now, working her program one meal at a time with progress not perfection, I think she’ll make it to the other side: thin and healthy.

 
When I was in the food I promised I would stop. I too vowed to lose the weight and never binge again. I meant it! Once I dropped some weight and started looking good I fell deep into a binge. It wasn’t until I realized I had to let go of the addictive foods I became free of the obsessions and cravings. It’s not a question of will power but rather of letting go of an addiction to specific foods. As simple as it sounds it worked. My weight corrected and I am free of cravings.

 Many patients I work with also are free from cravings and have returned to their normal weight. I wish I could say they all followed my path, but truth be told, many are on the same ride as Mary, believing there’s a quick fix often losing only to gain more weight than what they started with.

Successful patients have a clear understanding it’s a process and that it takes time if they want to enter long-term success.  Eat balanced meals one day at a time is the ticket to recovery.

Although I did not hear specific talk about spiritual recovery, Mary is beginning to echo thoughts regarding some Higher Force to carry her through the process. She grasps it’s not about the food, nor is it about the weight, it’s an addiction to food. It is about turning to a physical, emotional, and spiritual recovery.

 

 

Photos taken by: Dr. Lisa Ortigara Crego

 

*Weightcontroltherapy.com, founded in 2001, offers the public an opportunity to explore  why you eat what you eat and to better understand why food can cause your moods to swing, your cravings to soar, your weight to increase, your self-esteem to plummet, and your fatigue to rage. I blog posts to share experiences, light the flame of hope for all to conquer their poor relationship physically, emotionally, and spiritually to food.

Thanksgiving, Binge Eating, and Leftovers

Be comforted dear soul! There is always light behind the clouds.

~Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

Thanksgiving should be a day of thanks, a day of praise, a day of gratitude, but often for the food addict it’s a day of all out gobbling. Sure, there’s gratitude but it’s not in the front of the addicts mind. Food is!

 

Thanksgiving for the food addict is like line after line of cocaine for the cocaine addict who is trying to abstain. Nobody would think to do that to the recovered drug addict, but little thought is given to the binge eater on this festive day. Heck, she/he should just “control” her food intake and eat in moderation.

Although with good intentions, moderate eating sounds like a simple solution but impossible if the doorway to platter after platter of hot mashed potatoes lathered in gravy, stuffing, hot rolls drenched in butter and one decadent desert after another right is in plain sight with an open invitation—especially once the food addict puts the chemicals (sugar, flour, wheat) into the system which ignites the binge.

Hi, my name is Lisa and I’m a food addict (in recovery!) and I know what the horror of this disease is like, especially on a holiday such as Thanksgiving, and the days to follow.  

Is there always a light behind the clouds?

Can you remain true to your clean eating Thanksgiving weekend with all the leftover festive side dishes ever-so-present every time you open the refrigerator, pantry, or look on the counter tops?  Let’s get real, these foods are calling you and you are blaming yourself for indulging.

It’s not your fault! You have a food addiction and there’s a dark cloud over you.

Food addiction is a loss of control over eating coupled with the physiological tolerance and psychological dependence that occurs when a specific stimulus (food) is ingested. Typically, this addiction can result in negative consequences for basic life functions and relationships with family; social situations; intimate relationships; the sufferers relationship with God and spiritual development; or in relation to the law, health, and work life.

Early in childhood I was fixated on sugar—never getting enough and going to great extremes to obtain it: stealing, hiding and hoarding. Although I didn’t have an awareness of food addiction, I knew something was wrong with my relationship with food. In hindsight, I realized I ate out of control and bargained with myself and God to stop—after this one last pastry.

I felt shame if I got caught stealing food or money to buy food; yet, I didn’t have the mentality to understand I was compulsive eating until my adolescent years when weight began to pile on. And even then I didn’t know there was an actual eating disorder called, binge eating disorder—and that I had it.

The depiction of addiction to food resembles the hallmarks of any addiction. The food addict is caught in the grip of a compulsive, habitual behavior that can’t be controlled.

Thanksgiving was not always a time for me to sit in gratitude. I’m a recovering food addict, and in the past, Thanksgiving marked the eating frenzy that launched my holiday eating. On Thanksgiving day I’d eat until I could eat no more—until the food was all the way up to the rim of my throat and my pants cut into my bulging stomach—promising I’d diet come Monday. And Monday never came.

This Monday, for me,  is just another Monday.  No guilt. No shame. I’ll go forth and continue to eat my four healthy meals spaced four hours  apart—and life goes on—in recovery.

How did you handle your Thanksgiving? What about the leftovers? What would you do differently? 

Photo by: Dr. Lisa Ortigara Crego

http://twitter.com/#!/Drlisaort

http://Weightcontroltherapy.com

Losing Control with Food

I remember when my youngest son Benjamin, at eight years old, blurted out, “I think you’re bipolar Mom!” after witnessing my mood swing from ecstatic to torment following a whirlwind eating frenzy. I used to binge daily on cakes, cookies, ice-cream, and baked potato chips but soon after taking my first bite of a “sugary/salty treat,” I fluctuated between a hair-raising, euphoric “sugar high” and a dark, negative wretchedness.

To make matters worse, my weight swelled to 100 pounds over my ideal weight. From the sugar, I experienced depression, anxiety, and irritability only to return back to such sweets to fend off my melancholy, tranquilize my sense of being ill at ease, and lessen my agony—intense physical and mental suffering. I experienced a violent struggle between outbursts of excitement and despair. A vicious cycle indeed! I didn’t realize these quickly metabolized carbohydrates briefly made me feel wonderful but then took me from that deceptive, blissful high to a tumultuous low.

Hi, my name is Lisa—I’m a food junkie! A food junkie thinks about food every waking moment: She is an addict. I was physiologically dependent on simple carbohydrates such as chocolate, pretzels, and cake. I developed a physical dependence from chronic use of these foods, which produced a high tolerance to them. The chemical dependence is related to changes in the addict’s brain chemistry. Those changes involve the “pleasure circuit,” where, because of a sensitivity to these substances, certain neurotransmitters and receptors create pleasurable feelings after being stimulated by simple carbohydrates.

With an abrupt deprivation of cookies and breads, I experienced withdrawal symptoms, including severe headaches and body aches, and I broke out in a cold sweat and was irritable and fatigued. I found comfort in nothing except returning to sweets and starches. And of course Benjamin witnessed these high and low extremes which often can resemble bipolar disorder. I see this often in my practice when I first begin working with a compulsive eater coming in helpless and hopeless and not understanding why they are suffering with their relationship with food.  I assure them recovery is right around the corner and starts with abstaining from the foods that trigger the issue in the first place.

It’s not to say recovery from the obsession with food is an easy process, because it’s not, but what I do know is it’s doable—I’m living proof. My moods no longer swing from ecstatic to torment after a whirlwind eating frenzy because I no longer binge eat on cakes, cookies, ice-cream, and baked potato chips. Today my foods consist of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and low fat dairy and I’m energized—yet calm—no longer do I fluctuate between a hair-raising, euphoric “sugar high” and a dark, negative wretchedness.

What are your experiences? Share in the conversation so readers can learn from you and visa versa.

 

Photos by: Dr. Lisa Ortigara Crego

 

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Help! Do I Have an Eating Disorder?

“Most powerful is he who has himself in his own power.”

~Seneca

Have you ever gone back for an extra serving of food when you weren't hungry? How about mindless eating between meals on occasion? I’m sure most of us at some time or another took an additional serving (or two) of food or ate unplanned meals especially during holidays, birthdays, hurricanes and long weekends. Let's face it temptations to over-indulge are all around us. But when is it a problem—an illness?

When was the last time you binged on a block of spinach or a bushel of apples? I'm willing to bet not too often. How about a box of brownies, chocolate chip cookies, or a bag of potato chips? Ah...hitting a nerve am I? If you watch your friends, acquaintances, or how about a stranger in a restaurant, I’m certain you will witness at every turn someone who binge eats. Do you?

So, what makes the difference between an occasional over indulgence and an eating disorder? When is it an eating disorder? And of course addiction plays into the mix too. What about food addiction? To make matters more confusing, when is it binge eating disorder and when it is food addiction? And, could it actually be a combination of the two?
 Let’s face it, millions of Americans hide, steal, and hoard food anticipating a secret binge. After their indulgence they're filled with remorse and shame promising to never over eat again. One of the least discussed and most common eating disorder is binge eating disorder. Binge eating is defined as over eating a large amount of food in a small period of time, at least three times a week for six months or longer. Binge eating, or compulsive eating—as it is more familiarly known—affects more than 20 million people in the United States alone. And yet, we focus more on bulimia nervosa and anorexia when it comes to eating disorders.

Although bulimia and anorexia nervosa are the eating disorders that pop into most minds when discussion of dysfunctional eating surface, in my practice, the majority of my eating disordered patients suffer from binge eating disorder and/or obesity. This isn't to say all bingers are obese or even overweight, because some actually can be of normal weight. Also, not all overweight persons binge eat. And where does food addiction fit into the mix?

 Confusing? Yes, for sure it is…

 The biggest challenge is to sort through whether the patient has food addiction, binge eating disorder, or a combination of the two.

The food addict also eats a large amount of food in a small period of time, and like compulsive eating, it comes with consequences that can be lethal, such as obesity, heart disease, relationship issues, body image, and et cetera. The big difference between the two disorders is food addicts crave specific foods that are uncontrollable no matter what attempts they put forth to stop (i.e., dieting, restricting, exercising, et cetera).

I liken food addiction, an uncontrollable craving for high sugar and processed foods, to recreational drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and nicotine. And the food addict needs to consume the sugary/starchy substance in order to function—to feel "normal." In all addiction cases, the substance dependent consumes larger amounts of their drug for longer periods than were normally intended with persistent desires or repeated unsuccessful attempts to quit—even if it interrupts social, recreational, and family interaction—because the addicted substance takes precedence.

When it comes to treatment for binge eating disorder it is often not about the food but rather about the emotional deficits. When it comes to treatment for food addiction it is about the food—specific foods that trigger the compulsion to consume large amounts of it no matter what the cost. Although binge eating disorder and food addiction share many of the same symptoms, food addiction shares the emotional component of binge eating disorder as well as the symptoms such as obsession with body, weight, mood shifts, closet eating, stealing, where compulsive eating is about the inability to deal with emotions.

I suffered from food addiction and binge eating disorder as far back as I can remember—I just didn't know what it was called. I thought there was something wrong with me mentally. I craved chocolate, doughnuts, chips, and anything gooey and sweet beyond normalcy and I tried every diet under the sun—including diet pills, commercial diet centers, starvation, over exercising, none of which helped me tame the compulsion to eat beyond full in spite of the detrimental consequences, which in my case was obesity.

I wish I knew then what I know now about eating disorders, treatment, and spiritual recovery. Perhaps I could have avoided all the pain and suffering with my weight up and my weight down—an endless battle—until now. Today, I live life without the torture of worrying about getting heavy, craving foods I can’t control the amount of. And spiritually my cup is full.

So, if you are one to eat an extra serving, two, or three beyond holidays, birthdays, hunkered down for hurricanes, and long weekend temptations, when you weren't hungry, to the point of devastating consequences that hamper the quality of your life, perhaps you may suffer from an eating disorder such as food addiction, binge eating disorder (compulsive eating) or both intertwined.

 My 20 years experience as a clinical psychotherapist, a PhD in addiction psychology, certified eating disorder specialist, certified addiction professional, and national board certified clinical hypnotherapist has not only made me a recognized expert in my field, but also made me privy to understanding the experience of those (and myself) releasing their obsessions with food and turning to their connection with the divine energy (known as God for some) and people.

 http://weightcontroltherapy.com/

Photos by Dr. Lisa Ortigara Crego

 

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/

You Might be a Food Addict If...

Did you ever eat well beyond full for days upon days without any relief from a full belly? Did you ever eat tray after tray of sweetened pastries? Do you think about eating every wakened moment? Do you shake when you abruptly stop eating certain foods? Have you been on a series of diets with little to no success? Well, if you've said yes to more than three of these questions you just might be a food addict.

Food addiction is defined as an uncontrollable urge for excess food, particularly refined carbohydrates such as sugar and flour substances, which are quick to metabolize. The disease, food addiction, is truly a disease—it's biochemical in nature because the body of the food addict reacts differently to some foods than the bodies of other people. A common link between food addicts is sensitivity to sugars and certain carbohydrates.

Food addiction is often scorned upon by the public, some doctors, and even eating disorder treatment centers. I’ve heard some call this idea cult-like thinking.

Eating disorders are broken down to anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder. As far as eating disorders go, anorexia and bulimia get the most attention. But it turns out that binge eating is the most common. It's not uncommon for a binge eater to wolf down five chocolate eclairs in one sitting and still want for more.

A new survey of more than 9,000 Americans published in the current issue of the Journal of Biological Psychiatry found that binge eating disorder occurs in nearly 4 percent of people, whereas anorexia and bulimia occur in 0.6 percent and 1 percent, respectively.

Binge eaters typically consume more than 1,500 calories in one sitting between meals when they're not particularly hungry, and they binge at least two times a week. As a result, they're five times as likely to be severely obese, which puts them at a greater risk of obesity-related problems like heart disease, diabetes, liver disease, and colon cancer.

Binge eating is an ingredient to food addiction. Not all binge eaters are food addicts; however, all food addicts binge eat. I liken food addiction to heroin or any drug or alcohol addiction in that sufferers find that taking a small taste of chocolate leads them to inhale en entire six-pack of bars followed by a bag of chips and anything else they can get their hands on. This is the same loss of control noted with all addictions followed by the same remorse after. Depression ensues along with self-hate.

Sadly, most binge eaters suffer alone telling no one of their secret never getting the help they need. Psychiatrists tend to treat binge eating as an anxiety/eating disorder prescribing Topamax or Meridia. Yes, these medicines may slow down the urge to eat but it's treating the symptom rather than the problem. Instead, treatment with goals to change and redirect the thoughts, perception, and behavior can produce long term, life changing results. This is not to say medication is not needed in some cases for it most surely is. In some situations medication is needed with therapy.

It's my experience, as a clinician, hypnosis and cognitive/behavioral therapy, along with removing sugar, flour, and wheat from the diet, produces amazing long–term results—quieting the monster within normalizing the eating.

You may be a food addict particularly if you demonstrate the following behaviors several times per week or more:

1. I think about what I’m going to eat at all hours of the day regardless if I just ate a full meal.

2. I plot and plan and worry about cutting down on specific foods. I promise I’ll just eat one slice of cake and save the rest for later, and of course later never comes because I consumed the entire cake.

3. I feel sluggish or fatigued from overeating. I passed out in a nearly finished bowl of spaghetti.

4. I eat past full in spite of pain from my distended stomach.

5. I hide foods and eat them in the locked bathroom (turning on the bath water to drown the sound of opening packages of sweets and crunchy starches) or bedroom where no one can see me.

6. I suffer from withdrawal symptoms when I try to abstain from specific foods like chocolate candy bars, ice cream, cake, or pasta.

7. I steal foods and have left or considered leaving my child unattended to get my food fix.

8. I panic when my “trigger foods” run low or at the thought of never eating them again. I'll simply curl up in a corner and die if I can never eat chocolate cake again!

9. I must have certain foods regardless of who I might hurt to get them.

10.I eat full meals right after I just ate a full meal—there is no full button.

11. I sleep in a reclining chair or with several pillows propped under my head for fear of regurgitation from previously inhaling a large amount of food in a short period of time.

12. I turn down most events to stay home alone to eat.

So, what's the answer to recover from such a debilitating disease?

In my practice I find the most success with patients is combining cognitive behavioral therapy, hypnosis, and for some who are comfortable with a twelve-step anonymous program (Food Addicts Anonymous) geared for spiritual recovery from food addiction.

 
I also suggest eating three meals a day plus a metabolic boost every four hours to prevent hunger and reaching blindly for the wrong foods out of sheer panic.

Avoid sugar, flour, and wheat and instead add fresh fruits, vegetables, lean protein, low fat dairy, whole grains and starches, and a tablespoon of fat to your daily food regime. In addition, eat a wide variety of foods rather than consuming the same types of foods at each meal to avoid developing sensitivity to these foods as well.

Remember to never let yourself get too hungry and carry foods with you when you know you won't be home or close to a place where you can get the right foods.

No doubt it’s challenging to overcome food addiction in our environment, which is almost unlimited amounts of tasty processed foods laced in sugar, fat, and starch but you can, I'm living proof.

Photos by: Benjamin Crego and Dr. Lisa respectively

http://weightcontroltherapy.com/