How I Transitioned Away From Bright Line Eating
As I began losing confidence in the beliefs Id taken on in BLE, I slowly began to loosen the structure around my eating with the daily support of three friends who were doing something similar. I practiced listening to my body, responding to hunger and fullness, using mindful eating techniques, working gently with negative body thoughts, and not believing every should or shouldnt thought that entered in my head. I put the scale away, let go of the number, watched my body size fluctuate, and consciously chose not to freak out.
Slowly, I began cautiously deviating from my bright lines and finding a little discomfort, but none of the doomsday consequences Id imagined. I gathered a small support group and we set our sights not just on maintenance but mastery. With lots of support and self-compassion on board, I gradually learned to trust myself again with my food choices. But it did take a while. And it was definitely scary.
Should I Try Fa Before Or After Bariatric Surgery
If youre ready to surgically alter your body, you have nothing to lose by trying FA first. Its free, and it works. Bariatric surgery can surgically alter your body, but it doesnt treat cravings or address the mental and spiritual aspects of the illness of food addiction. If you work the FA program as its laid out, you will not have a need for bariatric surgery.
Carl Lowe, Jr., MD, a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, states:
Surgery can potentially help people with medically diagnosed morbid obesity get down to obesity and then to a place where theyre merely overweight, but its highly unusual for anyone to reach what is medically considered a healthy body weight after bariatric surgery. Typically, a year and a half after the operation, people reach their lowest weightabout 50 percent of what they need to loseand then, over the next ten years, they slowly regain some of what they’ve lost until, they reach a plateau. I tell my patients all the time that they have to change their perception of food and how they relate to it or they will regain their weight.
Read more stories of FA members who considered bariatric surgery in the Stories of Recovery Blog.
Food Junkies Summit ~ Cynthia Myers
Food Junkies Summit Day 2 !!
Cynthia J. Myers-Morrison, Ed.D. served as an educator for one of her careers: including the English Specialist position for all of Los Angeles Unified School District 7-12 schools as well as teaching and administrative positions for 17 and 10 years respectively. Her dedication to lifelong learning and attaining and maintaining freedom from addictions led her to Food Addiction Institute. As Co-chair with David Avram Wolfe for the webinars and in her work as Vice-Chair of FAI, she strives to support individuals, families, legislators, and educators in changing responses to food addiction. Recovery is achievable and maintainable! Additional training in INFACT, IIN, Boston Trauma Center, and other credentialing support her in assisting those struggling with their relationships with food and others. Her interest in genealogy, genes, and Daughters of the American Revolution add depth and history to her current work in Food Addiction.
Recommended Reading: What Are The Steps To Drug Addiction
Principle #: A Food Plan With Specific Bottom Lines
The first food plan often mentioned is now called 301. It is a good example of the use of bottom lines. The 301 Food Plan contains three bottom lines: three meals a day, nothing in between, one day at a time. The bottom lines are specific commitments of surrender. The idea of abstaining from eating between committed meals was a conscious adaptation of the AA principle of not drinking at all. Focusing on one day at a time is also a practical AA practice which keeps us focused on the present and the possible.
Many who use a 301 food abstinence find they need further specific bottom lines about what they do eat. For example, a common variation of the 301 plan adds another specific bottom line, for example, moderate meals and/or no seconds. Others commit to a balance of food categories. Still others break their food plan up into more small meals or having a planned snack at a time in the day when hunger is chronic. Each of these is a general bottom line based on an assessment of past food history.
Sometimes these positive or pro-health parts of the food plan are called top lines. An exercise commitment is one of the most common top lines, for example, walking briskly at least a half an hour a minimum of five days a week. Other examples of top line include sitting down while eating, eating slowly, or preparing meals I like to eat
There is one type of bottom line, eliminating a specific food or a category of foods that is worth addressing separately.
How Do Fa Members Achieve A Healthy Weight
Members work with a sponsor, and a medical professional if necessary, to determine a food plan that will bring them to an appropriate weight. However, abstinence is not a diet and FA is not a weight-loss program. Achieving a healthy weight is a side-effect of abstinence, which requires a spiritual surrender members find that abstinence frees them from the physical cravings that drove them. As a result, recovering food addicts achieve a healthy weight, whether they need to gain ten pounds or lose two hundred .
Recommended Reading: How To Stop An Addiction To Food
Can A Person Be Addicted To Food
Addiction is a dependence upon a habit-forming substance or behavior, regardless of the consequences or the strength of a persons desire to abstain. It is characterized by intense craving, increasing need, and the diseases negative impact on the lives of addicts and those who love them.
Most people are familiar with the concept of alcoholism and drug addiction, but the idea that certain foods and quantities of foods can be addictive is only slowly gaining acceptance. Carl Lowe, Jr., MD, a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, stated that undeniably, food addiction is real. I see it every day. Food addiction tends to remain unrecognized because of the focus on symptoms rather than their underlying cause addiction.
What Is Bright Line Eating
If youre not familiar with the program, its essentially a spin-off of 12-step programs for food addiction. Calling yourself a bright line eater means committing to four strict rules and striving to never break them:
This solution was easy enough to buy into when it was accompanied by the thrill of weight loss, and because I was instantly convinced that my struggles with overeating in the past meant I was a food addict and needed an extreme solution. So I fully surrendered to this way of eating.
Recommended Reading: How To Stop Eating Fast Food Addiction
Casein The Protein In Cheese Contains Opioids Called Casomorphins That Are Addictive
A note about casein: When people say “I’m addicted to cheese,” they may be half-joking but there is some truth to it, according to Dr. Neal Barnard, founder of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine , who has written a book about cheese addiction, The Cheese Trap: How Breaking a Surprising Addiction Will Help You Lose Weight, Gain Energy, and Get Healthy. He calls casein “dairy crack,” because the “dairy proteins in cheese can act as mild opiates. Fragments of casein protein, opioid peptides called casomorphins, attach to the same brain receptors as heroin and other narcotics. As a result, each bite of cheese produces a tiny hit of dopamine.” When that rush subsides, it leaves your brain craving more, therefore you seek more cheese to get your fix.
What Is Food Addiction
Food addiction is characterized by an obsession with food, obsession with weight, and loss of control over the amount of food eaten. It involves the compulsive pursuit of a mood change by engaging repeatedly in episodes of uncontrolled eating despite adverse consequences. The term food addiction implies there is a biogenetic physiological, biochemical condition of the brain and body that creates a craving for refined foods: carbohydrates, animal fats, and salt.
You May Like: How To Help My Addict Husband
How To Create A Food Plan
Although theres no written plan for eating, OA provides some helpful prompts on different pamphlets and worksheets in its document library.
Start brainstorming, both alone and with your local OA group, and write down everything you think could be useful.
Some questions you might ask include:
- What nutrients does my body need to function?
- How many meals or snacks do I need each day?
- What foods encourage overeating or bingeing?
- What behaviors encourage overeating or bingeing?
- What tools or supports do I have to help in my journey?
Try to focus your plan on abstinence by writing out your own affirmation or vision.
Your plan might include eating three meals per day with two snacks, or six small meals with no snacks. Theres no right or wrong plan as long as you make sure youre meeting your nutritional needs and avoiding potential triggers.
OA also offers a couple of pamphlets at a low cost that provide more guidance:
Youll also find several sample food plans that have been approved by licensed dietitians.
However, remember that everyones nutritional needs are different. These sample food plans may be a good guide, but make sure you speak with a registered dietitian to come up with the right plan for you.
Summary
When creating your plan, be sure to consider your nutritional needs, trigger foods, and eating behaviors. There are plenty of resources and sample plans available to help you get started.
Focus on the following areas when writing up your plan:
When In Doubt Leave It Out
The daily requirement for oil is one serving for women and two servings for men, to be divided among two or three meals.
Men need to add two ounces of fish or poultry or one ounce of red meat at each meal to the amounts shown on the list. At lunch, men also add a serving of one of the following: a fruit, a grain,or a starchy vegetable.
Recommended Reading: Is Binge Eating An Addiction
Simple Vegan Food Plan
| JeffJeffN wrote:If you follow the guidelines and principles recommended here, you will cover the basics without having to count servings.Let me expound on this.If you follow a starch based diet with the addition of fruit and green and yellow veggies at each meal, and consume enough to maintain your healthy weight then your day “may” look something “generically” like this…Breakfast: Intact Whole Grains 320 caloriesFresh Fruit 120 caloriesLunchStarchy Vegetable 320 caloriesLegumes 120 caloriesVeggies 100 caloriesFruit 60 caloriesDinnerStarchy Vegetable 320 caloriesLegumes 120 caloriesVeggies 100 caloriesFruit 60 caloriesThat’s 12 servings of Starchy Veggies/Whole Grains and 960 caloriesThat’s 2 servings of Legumes and 240 caloriesThat’s 8 servings of veggies and 200 caloriesThat’s 4 servings of fruit and 240 caloriesthat’s 12 servings of fruits and veggies but only 1640 calories. Of course, you could adjust the fruits, veggies, starchy veggies, etc up or down somewhat to fit your own preference and caloric needs, but the end results would be fairly similar.Not bad! And simple and easy. BTW, those are also some fairly large sized and filling meals. In HealthJeffPS when neighbors, friends and families ask me how many servings of fresh fruits veggies, starchy veggies, intact whole grains and legumes they should eat or feed to their children, my answer is always the same … …as much as you can. _________ |
Principle #: Begin By Using The Food Plan That Works For Others
In early recovery or even coming back from a relapse, we are often ill-equipped to deal with all the choices of a food plan. We just know that what we have been doing has not worked, and we need to try something that has worked for someone else. So, it is not surprising to find many compulsive eaters begin by choosing a sponsor or meeting where they see definite recovery, then surrendering to the food plan that their sponsor or other abstinent food addicts are using.
The food plan might be 301, or it might be a very specific written food plan that has evolved from a sponsors individual experience or it might be a very detailed weighed and measured food plan that has worked for a whole group of compulsive overeaters over time.
When those who were specifically addicted to sugar, flour and wheat wanted meetings together, they formed Food Addicts Anonymous and they also developed another highly structured food plan. Within Overeaters Anonymous, there was also a movement called HOW which was for those who needed more structure and support part of this structure is a weighed and measured food plan with no sugar, or flour. See Overeaters Anonymous.
Many of those with long time of abstinence in OA started by practicing surrender to one of these food plans, and many continue to use this more structured approach to abstinence for years and years, If this is the only food plan that have been stably abstinent on, they decide if it works, dont fix it.
Also Check: How Long Does It Take To Become Addicted To Oxycodone
What To Eat Instead Of Sugar And Simple Carbs
Instead of sugar and simple carbs, most physicians and dietitians recommend eating more fat, protein, and fiber. Thompson agreed.
“It’s pretty basic,” Thompson said. “Protein, veggies, and some fat. Whole. Real. Food.”
Unlike sugar, ingredients like whole eggs, leafy greens, and savory nuts signal to the brain and body that we’ve had enough. In addition to making our stomachs feel fuller, they also help keep blood-sugar levels steady, which helps maintain energy levels and stop cravings before they start.
“There is one thing we know about fats,” Aaron Carroll, a professor of pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine, wrote in the book, “The Bad Food Bible: How and Why to Eat Sinfully.”
“Fat consumption does not cause weight gain. To the contrary, it might actually help us shed a few pounds.”
That means foods like buttery avocados and salmon likely have a healthy place in your diet. Aside from those ingredients, research suggests eating plenty of vegetables especially crunchy greens like cabbage and broccoli as well as proteins like eggs. Depending on whether you’re actively looking to lose weight, whole grains and items like sweet potatoes could have a place as well.
This approach has helped Thompson achieve her goals, and she hopes it can help others too.
“People are not all the same when it comes to food. For many people what I’m describing would be insane. It’s demanding and restrictive,” Thompson said.
Lb Food Addict Describes How A Plant
3 Minutes Read
A plant-based advocate has revealed how he recovered from his food addiction and lost 275 pounds in an inspiring video shared by Million Dollar Vegan .
MDV is an advocacy organization which encourages and supports people to sign its 31-day pledge and give a plant-based diet a go. In the past, MDV has offered to make $1,000,000 dollar charity donations if Pope Francis and Donald Trump signed the pledge.
Those who take part will be offered recipes, health and nutrition advice, and a free Vegan Starter Kit featuring meal plans, tips on where to eat out, and answers to tricky questions.
Also Check: We All Fall Down Living With Addiction
Trauma Caused Her To Go Off Her Plant
Within the same year, Evon was doing well until she was faced with a family trauma, which sparked her to go off her healthy diet, and she found herself back at square one, fully in the thralls of food addiction all over again. Her long battle back left her depleted and feeling powerless, and depressed by the fact that she had gone back to her old ways. She was also feeling sick and had a nervous break-down landed in and out of the hospital, seemingly worse off than ever. Evon was emitted to the psychiatric unit and was diagnosed with mental illnesses, PTSD, anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder. Still, she couldn’t help but remember how good she felt when she had started eating salt-free, oil-free, flour-free, alcohol-free, sugar-free, whole food plant “exclusive.” She resolved to get back on track. One day, just like that, she decided to relive those moments.
Evon marked the date of her fourth attempt to eat this way as her “live-it” since she chose to live, not die. It was January 2020, but she was more committed than ever this time. She was determined to make the switch stick, not only for herself but for her children. Within the first month, she felt like a new person. ” I couldn’t be happier, I felt free, and the weight started quickly coming off again” she remembers.”I was 174 pounds at the beginning of this year, and in less than 8 months she got down to 110 pounds.”
Food Junkies Summit ~ Chef Aj
Food Junkies Summit Day 12!!
Chef AJ has been devoted to a plant-exclusive diet for over 43 years. She is the host of the television series Healthy Living with CHEF AJ which airs on Foody TV. A chef, culinary instructor, and professional speaker, she is the author of the popular book Unprocessed: How to Achieve Vibrant Health and Your Ideal Weight, which chronicles her journey from an obese junk-food vegan faced with a diagnosis of pre-cancerous polyps, to learning how to create foods that nourish and heal the body. Her latest bestselling book The Secrets to Ultimate Weight Loss: A Revolutionary Approach to Conquer Cravings, Overcome Food Addiction and Lose Weight Without Going Hungry has received glowing endorsement by many luminaries in the plant-based movement.Chef AJ was the Executive Pastry Chef at Santé Restaurant in Los Angeles where she was famous for her sugar, oil, salt, and gluten-free desserts which use the fruit, the whole fruit, and nothing but the whole fruit. These recipes can be found in her upcoming book A Date With Dessert. She is the creator of the Ultimate Weight Loss Program, which has helped hundreds of people achieve the health and the body that they deserve, and is proud to say that her IQ is higher than her cholesterol. In 2018 she was inducted into the Vegetarian Hall of Fame.
- Learn more about Chef AJ at www.chefaj.com
Also Check: How To Get Off Xanax Addiction
