I'm Addicted To What!?

WARNING: This video contains explicit language.

I always find it fascinating talking with people who are having issues with losing weight or who have lost a lot of weight but have put all or most of it back on. So many have the same attitude and reasoning about why they gained the weight back—I got hurt; I got sick; the diet I was on got too expensive; I got tired of eating like that and exercising; or, I hit my goal and just went back to the way things were. And for many of us who have been or are currently overweight or obese, there’s something that you’re just going to have to do before you’re ever going to truly keep the weight off—you are going to have to admit that you have an addiction.

Our addiction is FOOD! So many people are in total denial and want to blame someone or something else for their weight problems.
 
Many of us who have become overeaters have addictive personalities. Some of us become addicted to smoking, some of us to alcohol, others to drugs, gambling and even sex. All of these addictions can become deadly, but all of these started with a choice. We had a choice to try alcohol, drugs, gambling or sex. We did not have a choice to try food—food is essential. We all need to eat. We don’t NEED tobacco, alcohol or drugs. No one needs to gamble. And of course, plenty of people go without sex. But everyone needs to eat. This is a big part of why food addiction is quickly becoming the fastest growing addiction in America. Over 20% of the population in every state in the U.S. is considered obese.

You probably think I’m crazy for thinking that people are addicted to food? Well let’s look at this…Have you ever lost over 50, 75 or a 100 pounds before? You probably did it by dieting/starving yourself and killing it at the gym or exercising like crazy for 5-6 months. Basically, you put yourself into your own form of rehab. You detoxed your body for a short time period and really tried to get healthy. Good for you! But then something changed in your life—you got hurt, sick or you had something tragic happen like you broke up with someone, lost your job--something sent you into an emotional tailspin. Then what happened to you? You probably fell back on to the one thing all of us addicts find comforting, OUR drug of choice—FOOD! And it probably didn’t take long to put all the weight back on and probably even more.

So now tell me how different it is if you’re an alcoholic or drug user who checks themselves into rehab, gets clean and sober for a time and then all of a sudden one of these things happens to them, what do they do? They go back to their drug of choice.

When talking about addictions, everyone claims theirs is the worst! "I'm a drug addict. It's a lot worse than eating too many Twinkies." Yes, if they find you curled up in an alleyway with a couple of boxes of Ho Hos, they're not going to send you off to the Betty Crocker Rehab Center. But food addiction can be just as deadly, if not more deadly since we must eat food to survive. This is one addiction we truly cannot abstain from. Food addiction is an eating disorder much like anorexia and bulimia, overeatering/binge eating is an eating disorder. Eating disorders can kill you.

So, what do we do when we have an issue like this? You better damn well seek some help! And this problem does not get answered by taking pills, drops, living on a liquid diet or living at the gym. It has to come from within! You need to make a decision to get healthy, break your addiction and then have a support system around you to help you when things go to shit! Because, things will go to SHIT—guaranteed! And probably more than once.

I have an addictive personality, I’ve had my issues with addictions all my life. Fortunately I’ve been lucky enough to break most of these over time, but the one I still struggle with on a daily basis is food. When I tell people this they look at me strangely and ask if after all this time after losing all that weight that I still have problems and the answer is YES I DO! Some of you know that Jen, my fiancée, is an amazing baker. She has made some of the most incredible cakes, cupcakes and desserts you’ve ever seen. And I help with making the frosting for all of these treats. But putting me around all of these delicious goodies is like making a recovering alcoholic be a bartender. All I want to do is eat them, actually eat all of them. And if I didn’t have a support system in place, I probably would. You know you have a problem when the pans are already in the sink and you’re scraping the leftover cake off the pans with your fingers and doing the same with the bowl that had the frosting in it. I’ve done that more than once.

So let’s wrap this up. Losing weight is easy! Some people don’t believe that, but there are plenty of ways to do it. And you can lose it fast if you don’t eat and exercise in excess. Look at the Biggest Loser. Look at shows like My 600-lb Life, did you know that 63% of those who had gastric bypass gain their weight back within 2 years and now many of those patients are requesting a second surgery like a sleeve or lap-band because it didn’t work. The problem is the surgery did work, the issue is the Biggest Loser got them to lose weight, but these people failed to fix the problem--they’re food addicts! They have addictive personalities! You can lose all the weight you want, but unless you fix the underlying problem of addiction, you will never keep that weight off, EVER!

1. Realize that you have an addiction.
   
2. Get your addiction under control, get a plan in place to handle issues that will come up and derail your attempt to achieve a healthy lifestyle.
   
3. Remove yourself from going to places that cause you to have temptations. Remove those things from your home that are triggers to make you relapse. And then, let go of people who are bad influences in your life! This will not be easy, but it’s something that needs to be done.
   
4. Get a support system in place! People that have lost weight, people who know what they’re talking about and that you can feel comfortable and build a trusting relationship with.   

Lastly, as part of my lifestyle change and it goes the same for many others who have become successful with keeping the weight off and fighting their addiction, I’ve hired a coach. I hired someone who helps me with my food and exercise. This has been an extremely important part of overcoming my food addiction and staying in shape and healthy.

This is one of the main reasons we started Warrior of Wellness. It’s to help people learn about food, exercise, time management and what to do when you need help. We also provide you with support, so when you have a question, need some help or need a sounding board to bounce ideas off of, we have our Life[style] Support Forum that is always there for you. We provide you with your first coaching session, meal plan and exercise program. You get our 14 Principles that will help you learn how to live a healthy lifestyle.

Stop dieting! Embrace that you have an addiction and that you’re going to learn what it takes to control it, so it does not control you ANYMORE! You can do this! It won’t be easy, but in the end it will be worth it.