Food Addiction, the Problem and the Solution Esther Helga Gudmundsdottir

Individuals can be predisposed to addiction through genetics says Dr. Marty Lerner, head of Milestones in Recovery  https://www.milestonesprogram.org/  In his book, A Guide to Eating Disorder Recovery, Defining the Problem—Finding the Solution, he outlines the nature of the disease of food addiction and how to recover. Dr. Lerner talks about the “perfect storm”, a person being an addict and seeking brain pleasure-center hits of dopamine and having the available substance, food can lead to the disease of food addiction. Food addicts can recover and enjoy glorious lives free of their substances through daily disciplines such as having a food plan, and exercise, despite whether they are motivated, saying, “When we develop the discipline of doing what needs doing despite the feelings or intrusive thoughts we are moving toward the solution. It’s a doing process, not a thinking or feeling process”, Dr. Lerner says. At Milestones in Recovery, the professionals work to identify with the individual what substances trigger a physiological response for which willpower is not a solution, and encourage complete abstinence from the triggers.   Through what he calls “Constructive Living” we gain freedom from our habitual patterns of self-destructive behaviors and reclaim our lives. In recovery from food addiction, Dr. Lerner emphasized the need for an acronym called SMERF: Spirituality, Meditation, Exercise, Rest, and a Food Plan. The food, pharmaceutical, and insurance industries are financially motivated to get and keep people addicted to sugar, flour, and other processed foods. Until it is recognized that sugar can be addictive, is an additive, and not a food, and other substances such as flour and processed foods are addictive, food addiction will continue to contribute to the obesity crisis in the U.S.  

Anna Maria S., a recovered food addict, was a child of alcoholic parents.  Her childhood was one characterized by instability and sexual abuse. Though she was not aware of the sexual abuse until later in life, once she acknowledged the abuse and processed it, she was able to deal with it.  She began to cope with life stress by using food as a solution early at the age of 7.  After many failed diets Anna Maria was desperate and weighing 286 pounds, she was on the eve of gastric bypass surgery, yet elected instead to enter a food addiction treatment program. There Anna Maria learned her food addiction disease was not her fault and decided to try another way and transformed her life into a new one. After three years of abstinence from sugar, flour, and trigger foods, weighing and measuring her food, and working a 12-step program, she has released 106 pounds.
Today she has freedom from food addiction by dealing with her life through working a program of recovery.  A long-time, self-proclaimed people-pleaser, she has learned to set healthy boundaries.
Her life has transformed into one of happiness and peace, a life she could only have dreamed of when she was using food to deal with her life.  Anna Maria loves to hike and walked 205 miles with her husband on the El Camino Trail in Spain. Tune into this inspiring food addiction recovery story!  www.infactschool.com

Esther Helga Gudmundsdottir is a pioneer in the field of food addiction treatment and recovery. Motivated to continue to get the message out that food addicts cannot control their eating and body weight through diets and exercise alone, she began the Food Addiction podcast. Esther was personally battling food addiction for most of her adult life, carrying 130 lbs. of too much weight. She discovered the solution to her problem in recovery and a twelve-step program which changed her life and led to her life’s mission.   
She is founder and director of one of the first food addiction treatment programs in the world, the MFM Food Addiction Treatment Center in Iceland. MFM has treated more than 3000 people for the disease of food addiction.  In 2017 Esther founded the INFACT School infactschool.com/, the first school in the world to train and certify food addiction professionals and counselors to treat those suffering from the disease. Those completing the training are qualified for certification by the European Certification Board as well from the US National Addiction Professional Certification Board. If you want to know more about INFACT, visit our site at infactschool.com for registration details and certification information.
Esther is the chair and executive director of the board of the Food Addiction Institute. Food Addiction Institute (FAI) was founded in 2005, as an independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to support the healing of all food addicts. https://foodaddictioninstitute.com
In this podcast we address the shame and denial as food addicts try and fail at diets repeatedly since they cannot control food intake in the same ways normal eaters can. Also discussed are the misconceptions by the medical community around food addiction, and rather than treating it as a brain disease or addiction, the health problems associated with the symptoms of food addictions such as obesity are being treated. The science is clear: Food addicts are chemically addicted to foods such as sugar, flour and other trigger/binge foods and once ingested it initiates an addictive response causing them to want more. Abstinent food plans and recovery programs are the solutions for food addicts.  
Though food addiction is a substance use disorder, the American Psychiatric Association has not yet acknowledged it as such through the DSM-5. There are movements afoot to assure food addiction is approved in the DSM-5 so that treatment can be broadly offered and covered by insurance companies. The food and pharmaceutical industries have strong financial interests in preventing this from happening. 
Subscribe to the Food Addiction podcast on your favorite podcast platform. Watch for more incredible episodes coming soon!

The ASAM (American Society of Addiction Medicine) has found Addiction to be a brain disease affecting a person’s physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being and that recovery from the disease is possible through treatment in recovery centers and 12-step programs or similar support. Currently, there is overwhelming evidence and science for food addiction as a substance use disorder.
Podcast listeners would include those who might either identify as food addicts, believe they may have a food addiction, or have tried diets unsuccessfully.  Also, listeners would include those treating and counseling clients with food addiction and physicians/doctors treating patients suffering from obesity and obesity-related illnesses.    
This interview-based podcast includes information about food addiction as a disease for which the hope and recovery experience is shared. Guests will be two groups of people:  

Professionals and experts specializing in and treating the disease of food addiction and,

People who have recovered from food addiction share how they found the solution to the disease and share their experience, strength, and hope in how they did it. 



The INFACT School (http://infactschool.com) sponsored the podcast, which was begun by Esther Helga Gudmundsdottir, MSc, who also serves as the Director. It is the world’s first and only sugar/food addiction counseling training, resulting in professional certification from an accredited certification body. Graduates qualify to receive a Certified Food Addiction Professional (CFAP) certificate from the European Certification Board https://ec-board.com and a CFAP from the US Addiction Professional Certification Board  https://certbd.org/ 
Susan Branscome, host, and a recovered food addict, will interview the experts and food addicts. These podcast interviews will discuss the science and real-world experience of food addiction as a substance use disorder and recovery. We will uncover the experience of recovered guests---the lack of personal control or lack of willpower over the compulsion of food use with diets and other methods of control.  The obesity statistics in the world are astounding, especially in the U.S.  The use of food as a method to cope with life issues and ultimately becoming physically and mentally addicted to the use of food is discussed.   Willpower, discipline, and diets are only temporary solutions for food addicts. Eventually, food addicts begin using food again to deal with their lives versus utilizing recovery solutions and helpful programs.  We hope to advance our understanding of treating this disease, especially within the medical community.  
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