Yale Study Probes Food Addiction

"A study published online in the Archives of General Psychiatry showed that the brains of women who have symptoms of food addiction respond to the prospect of delicious food in much the same way that the brain of a drug addict responds to the prospect of drugs.
Researchers at Yale University’s Rudd Center for Obesity Research and Policy set out to probe the potential parallel between food addiction and substance dependence. The former isn’t yet recognized by the American Psychiatric Association as a psychiatric disorder, while the latter is defined by a set of clear criteria.
"Before this study, Ashley Gearhardt, a doctoral student at Yale, had devised a tool for assessing food addiction. She based her 25-point questionnaire (“I have found that I have elevated desire for or urges to consume certain foods when I cut down or stop eating them,” for instance, and “My behavior with respect to food and eating causes significant distress.”) on that used to diagnose substance dependence.
"According to the Yale Food Addiction Scale, as the instrument is called, some of the 39 young women included in the study showed signs of being addicted to food. While some were lean, some obese, and some in between, their weight wasn’t related to their likelihood or degree of food addiction.
Gearhardt and her team used functional MRI to record brain activity as the women were shown images of yummy chocolate shakes and of a clear, taste-free solution. MRI images were also recorded while the women actually sampled those beverages. (The study explains that the clear formula was made to replicate saliva, as the taste of water actually triggers activity in some brain receptors.)
As was expected, the parts of the brain associated with anticipation and craving were activated by the image of the chocolate shake among women with symptoms of food addiction. But once they tasted the shake, the parts of their brain that should signal them to slow down showed decreased activity, essentially encouraging them to seek more chocolate shake.
"The study acknowledges several shortcomings, including its small sample size and the fact that all its subjects were women. But it’s another plank in the platform supporting the idea that some people are obese because they are literally, physically addicted to food, having to contend day-in and day-out with all the food stimuli our society throws their way — not because they simply lack self-control.
As readers of my “Eat, Drink and Be Healthy” column may recall, this is an issue I grapple with: When it comes to matters such as weight management, I’m a big believer in personal responsibility. But when I interviewed food addict Michael Prager last fall, he helped me see that it’s not an either/or proposition. I’ll never forget what he told me:

“When I find out I have an illness, I take on responsibility to make it better. I have no respect for people who use [their addiction] as a crutch.”

[Prager adds,] “Nobody ever held me down and put a doughnut in my mouth.”

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  |  07:00 AM ET, 04/05/2011

Sobering Facts About Obesity In America.

*  In the United States today, obesity is responsible for about 300,000 deaths a year.

*  Obesity complications account for 9% of all health care costs.

*  2/3rds of American adults are overweight or obese.

*  Since 1980, twice as many children are overweight and three times as many adolescents.

* Mild obesity (BMI of 30-35) reduces life expectancy by 3 years, more severe obesity (BMI 40-50) will take about 10 years off your life (about the same as life long smoking). BMI of  23-24 has the lowest mortality rate (this is where each of us should be).







References:

Lawrence J. Cheskin, MD, FACP

http://www.businessinsider.com/shocking-facts-obesity-america-2010-12
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090319224823.htm

Portion Control Using the Freezer

When I finally lost all my weight for good, I used the freezer a lot in my portion control. I had decided I loved my comfort food, but I needed to reduce my portion size in order to lose weight. So I bought a bunch of 1 cup sized containers and when I would make my family a meal, I would eat 1 cup serving, then I would put several more servings in the small containers and freeze them for later meals. The result was, I didn't feel deprived. In fact I could eat more of my favorite meal than the rest of my family, I just had to space the servings throughout the week. I ate better on this diet than I ever had before in my life (I didn't waste calories on foods that were only so so). This also worked with desserts which I allowed my self to indulge in everyday. (I did have to chant in my mind "one cookie tastes the same as a dozen, one cookie tastes the same as a dozen...")
When I followed this plan, I found my weight just melted away, and I was eating delicious foods that I once considered off limits while dieting. And all because I was portion controlling. I lost weight steadily over a four month period until I lost all the sixty pounds I needed to lose and I have kept it off ever since as I continue to portion control (3+ years).
My maintenance plan: I do what I did while dieting, but I cheat more often. But then (and this is crucial) --I STEP ON THE BATHROOM SCALE DAILY. This tell me when I can and can't cheat on the plan.

Helpful hint in sticking to the plan: take up hobbies, get away from places that remind you of food, get busy living life and doing things you enjoy.

My Personal Epiphany

My personal epiphany with weight loss came when I read Twilight-- strange huh? It has nothing to do with the book itself, but more to do with a personal discovery. Before reading that book, I only read about 1 book a year. I was always too busy with laundry, dishes, cleaning, taking care of kids, etc. Reading was something I really enjoyed but rarely allowed myself to indulge in.
When I read Twilight for the first time, I enjoyed it so much I forgot to eat--all day. Seriously, I had one piece of toast that day, and I don't even remember being hungry. I realized that by doing something else I enjoyed, it distracted me from food. I found my perfect weight loss solution. I could stick to a weight loss program if I used other enjoyable activities as a distraction. I also realized how much I was neglecting my own needs. When I began to put myself as a higher priority, I found I could more easily stick to a weight loss program. And then for the first time in over 20 years, I reached my long time weight loss goal and have stayed there ever since--over 3 years.

Reduced Recipe for Fudge Brownies

Reduced Recipe for New York Style Cheese Cake

Different Ways of Losing Weight, One Way to Keep it Off.

I've gone on many diets in the past. Some successful, some not. These are just a few.

1000 calorie diet:
           Lost 15 pounds, but felt deprived. Finally admitted defeat and went back to eating what I wanted and gained the weight back.

The eat what I want and do intense aerobics 5 days a week an hour at a time, diet:
          I gained 20 pounds:(

Martial Arts weight loss plan:
           Lost 40 pounds without even intending to lose weight. When I realized I couldn't eat desserts on the nights I worked out (hypoglycemia) I stopped eating the sugary stuff the six days I was at the studio. Then I lost 40 pounds over the next few months (great surprise:) Regained the weight after having children and not stepping on the bathroom scale.

Portion Sizing Plan:
            Ate 1 a small breakfast, 1 cup of what ever lunch food I wanted, had 1 very small desserts, and finished with 1 cup of whatever dinner food I wanted. I lost 50 pounds. Kept it off for over a year, until I got pregnant.

Calorie counting plan (1200 calories):
            (started 2 months after I had my baby) Lost 2 pounds each week, like clockwork. Found I could eat more if I ate healthy. Final weight loss: 10 pounds lower than my previous pre-baby weight (seen above). Have kept that weight loss off for 2 years and counting.

Only Way to Keep it Off: Stay accountable by stepping on the scale daily and adjusting your diet as you see any increase in weight.

Stress Diet

The following diet is designed to help you cope with the stress that builds up in life.

Breakfast:

- ½ grapefruit
- 1 slice whole wheat toast
- 8 oz. skim milk

Lunch:

- 4 oz. lean broiled chicken breast
- 1 cup steamed spinach
- 1 cup herb tea
- 1 Oreo cookie

Mid-Afternoon snack:

- The rest of Oreos in the package
- 2 pints Rocky Road ice cream nuts, cherries and whipped cream 1
- jar hot fudge sauce

Dinner:

- 2 loaves garlic bread
- 4 cans or 1 large pitcher Coke
- 1 large sausage, mushroom and cheese pizza
- 3 Snickers bars

Late Evening News:

- Entire frozen Sara Lee cheesecake (eaten directly from freezer)

Does this diet look familiar? Maybe you want to lose weight but are not ready for the commitment it takes. Don't wait for a heart attack or diabetes to motivate you. Make a commitment to live a healthier life. (What the heck are you doing with all that junk food in the house in the first place? Get rid of the temptation.)

My New York Style Cheese Cake Recipe

1 1/2 cup Pecan Sandie Cookie Crumbs
1/4 cup Melted Butter
5 (8oz.) Packages cream cheese softened
5 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup heavy cream

1) Preheat Oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2) Mix cookie crumbs and melted butter then press into the bottom of a 9 or 10 inch spring form pan.
3) In a large bowl combine cream cheese, eggs, and egg yolks. Mix until smooth. Add sugar, flour and cream. Blend until smooth.
4) Pour into prepared pan.
5) Bake at 400 for 10 minutes then turn the temp down to 250 degrees Fahrenheit and continue to bake for 1 to 2 hours until set.
6) Turn off the oven (don't open the door) and cool for an hour before removing and putting into the refrigerator. Cool completely before serving (overnight).

With the recipe adjuster:
For a 1/2 measure use a 7 inch spring form pan and for a 1/4 measure use a 4.5 or 5 inch . If you don't have smaller spring form pans, you can use muffin tins-- just use aluminum liners with vanilla wafers for the crust (whole, not crumbled) and fill 2/3.

It's All About Balance

For those of you who think I'm promoting unhealthy eating: that is not my goal. I have spent years dieting and feeling like I couldn't have this and couldn't have that. Well I'm here to say, yes you can. But it needs to be in balance with healthy foods. Increase the "healthy" foods in proportion to the unhealthy ones. There are no forbidden foods, there are just foods that need to be eaten sparingly or in moderation.

Chocolate Chip Cookies Reduced

My Son Finds My Little Cake (1/4 recipe cake)

Living the Dream not the Fantasy, A Weight Loss Story

                The music beat in time with her heart as she stepped into the night club. Her hair hung, brushed feather soft over her cheeks and down her back. She combed her fingers through the soft curling strands and felt a tingle of eyes on her stunning figure. She knew she was beautiful, sleek, slim, tanned and sexy. Then her eyes met his. His look was the only one that mattered.  

                How does reading this make you feel? If you’re a man maybe you’d need a slightly different version, but you get what I mean. If you’re like many other human beings in the world, you may dream that this how life would be if you lost weight. Well I’m here to tell you, that if you keep up this dream, it’s a real sign that you are not ready to confront the reality of your weight.

Weight loss brings a lot of joy and self confidence. But many don’t truly want to confront it and would rather stay in their fantasy while they eat their chocolate and snack on chips. Always thinking, someday I’ll lose the weight and then I’ll be blissfully happy.

I lost my excess weight three years ago and surprise! All my dreams didn’t immediately come true. So why do it in the first place? Well, I may not have had all my dreams come true, but I did find myself much happier than I ever was when I was sixty pounds heavier. What did happen is my husband found me more attractive, I have much more energy, I have learned to enjoy life, and I am anxious for others to put away the fantasy and embrace the reality. The reality of weight loss is truly wonderful, in a very real sense.

First of all I’d like to expose the fantasy that overweight people live in everyday of their lives. My husband teaches nursing at a college. He has his students practice gathering basic information of patient’s health. Each of the students checks fellow students’ weight, height, and blood pressure.  My husband, having never had a weight problem (I know, we all hate people like that) didn’t understand why students were so distressed at having the class see their weight. After all, people have eyes. They can see that a person is overweight, right?

All people to a certain extent are in denial. We don’t allow ourselves to confront the fact of how we really look to others. Being inside our own bodies has in a sense blinded us to how other people see us. We are very quick to pass judgment on others because of how they look, but we truly cannot bear to have the same judgments brought against us. Well, I’m going to give you a secret. That actually doesn’t change after you lose weight.

 I’ve lost sixty pounds and now fit into sizes I’d never dreamed I’d ever wear, sizes I couldn’t even fit into in Junior High School. But when I go shopping and pull those sizes off the shelf, I have a curiously mixed reaction. I love that I can wear those sizes, but at the same time I feel as if the other shoppers around me are scoffing at me. In my head they are saying, “Oh yeah right. There’s no way you can fit into those sizes.” Then I step into the dressing room, look at the jeans I’m to try on and in my mind, I perform a miracle. I see these very skinny jeans that I couldn’t possibly fit into, and yet I pull them over my legs, over my hips and zip them up. I tell you even three years after losing the weight, I’m still surprised and amazed at that. Then I walk out of the store on cloud nine.

So, you may ask, why would you want to go to all the effort to lose weight when it doesn’t truly make you feel different about how you looked? Well, I didn’t lose weight to feel different. I actually lost weight because I choose to be different.

For most of my life, I lived it in a world ruled by food. Every day, I looked for and got my food fix. When I was sad, I ate, when I was happy, I ate, when I was frustrated, I ate, well you get the picture. In any case, my life revolved around food. My happiness in a large part came from the food I ate. Yet, food was only making me happy for the few moments while I was eating it. All the other times, it caused guilt and depression. So what kind of life is that? Was I truly happy? --No I wasn’t. I was miserable.

So how did I change that? What was the catalyst? Well, it was me. I made the decision. Not only to lose weight, but to start putting myself first: before my husband, before my children, before any other responsibilities. You may think that is selfish, well so did I. I believed it my entire life up until I lost the weight. But then there was one day, my daughter did something that reminded me of myself and the thought came to me. How do I want my daughter to live her life? Do I want her to always be too busy taking care of others that she never has time to take care of herself? The answer was a big no! Then I realized that she was learning how to live her life by my example. So by me not taking care of myself, I was teaching her the same. It was then I understood I needed to make a change not only for myself but I needed to do it for her.

But I’d been trying to lose weight for twenty years and had not succeeded before. How would this time be different? I considered the fact that I had been obsessed with losing weight. Thinking about calories, fat, simple carbohydrates, complex carbohydrates, -- I’d studied them all and knew them backward and forward. Yet knowing this didn’t cause me to lose weight. In fact all this did was brought food into the forefront of my mind. So I decided to change my focus. I would think and obsess as little about food as I could. I created the simplest diet I could think of. I had three meals a day and one snack, all portioned sensibly and I would drink eight glasses of water. That was it. That was my program.

Now the big struggle came. I had to keep redirecting my focus from food. When I wanted to eat, I would pick up a book. When a snack attack came, I would turn on some music and dance around the house. And when I allowed myself a sweet treat as a snack, I would repeat in my mind, “This tastes exactly the same whether I eat one cookie or a dozen.” And I would keep repeating it until I began to believe it. I started making only enough food for one meal. And only enough snacks for one serving.  I had to safeguard my environment from too much temptation.

The first few weeks were very hard and then it got better. During the second and third month, I no longer had to struggle nearly as hard. But it still took a focused mind set. And after three years I know I will always have to do this. It will always take a conscious effort. This is not something I can ever go off of. This is a way of life.

Today, after having lost 60 pounds, I still weigh myself every morning. I do this because I realize that my enemy is complacency. I have to be proactive to keep from slipping back into my old habits. I’m not saying I’m perfect. There have been times when I’ve fallen off the wagon, so to speak, but I pick myself back up and keep trying. It’s the keep trying part that has allowed me to maintain my weight for so long. And I expect I’ll have to keep trying my entire life. But I’m happy. Happier than I ever was with that far off elusive dream I once had.

I have my health, I enjoy life, I play with my kids, I’ve written a book, I’ve started a business, I have done so many things that I never would have if I’d still been medicating myself with food. Life is so much sweeter now. And that’s what I want to get out there. To all of you using food to fulfill your life, only to find your heart empty, put down the fork, and step out into the world. We only live our life once, don’t miss your chance to live a happy one.

Comfort Eating

Remember, as with any other addiction. Comfort eating needs to be replaced with another comfort activity. To get ideas, think about the things you loved to do as a child and try doing them. You just may be surprised how much you enjoy them again.

Need an idea? Here's a few:

Listen to music
Dance
Go out and explore (go for a walk)
Pick up a hair brush and do some lip syncing
Take a bubble bath
Take a nap

Go people watching at the park
Read a good book
Draw a Picture
Call a friend
Play a Video Game

In other words, do something for yourself, simply for your personal enjoyment. Isn't that what food has been doing for you? Take time for yourself doing something healthier than eating that piece of chocolate cake.

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