The Diet Plan - Are You Addicted to Food?

The Diet Plan - Are You Addicted to Food?

Jill and Sheila weighed well over 200 pounds each. They were friends of mine, not clients. Both lived out of town, so when we saw each other it was a fairly big deal.

One thing I noticed, with both of them, is that when they were getting ready to come see me, they always asked about food. What restaurants would we visit? If we have pizza on Wednesday, let's eat Chinese on Friday.

It seemed food was on their minds constantly.

Addiction specialists today look for two major symptoms when they are diagnosing a person with an addiction. The first symptom is a preoccupation with the drug. The second is compulsive use.

Preoccupation, of course, means you're always thinking about your drug. Even when you're not doing it, you're thinking about doing it. Maybe you're thinking about the last time you did it, or the next time you're going to do it.

Your whole life revolves around this drug.

Compulsive use is almost a ritual type use. Maybe you use before or after you have sex, or while you're watching TV.

Now, instead of the words "drug" and "use," insert the words "food" and "eat." Scary, isn't it?

Yes, you certainly can become addicted to food, and I'm convinced my friends Jill and Sheila were. So, what do you do if you suspect this is your problem?

Willpower is not enough.

Well, first of all, willpower alone won't work. You have some deep-seated beliefs that need to be modified if you're going to lose serious weight. How do you do that?

Your current beliefs weren't created overnight. You developed them over a period of years, much like a scientist trying to prove his theory correct. You first create your theory, and spend the rest of your life gathering evidence that it's true.

Maybe you didn't actually create your theory. Maybe your parents gave you the theory, and you unquestionably accepted it as your own, as children so often do.

The solution is to create a new theory, one that is conducive to your having the body of your dreams. Then, spend the rest of your life gathering evidence to prove it's true. How do you do that?

Maybe you've been told you're lazy, much too lazy to stick to a workout program. This is where willpower comes in. Make a point to workout, at least a little, every single day.

Eventually your lazy belief will start to fade. But what about if you were told you were big boned, and people with your body type can never be thin? There again, look for evidence to prove that theory wrong.

Look for role models like actors or other celebrities who were built big, but managed to shed the weight anyway. Maybe you know somebody personally who fits the bill.

Despite what your current beliefs are, nobody is destined to be heavy. Anybody can lose as much weight as they want.