Best Treatment for Food Addiction

I'm often asked about the best treatment for food addiction.  Of course, there is no simple, single answer.  But there is a common, logical place to start.  And what is that?  Great question!

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The Best Treatment for Food Addiction Starts Here

Before starting treatment for sugar addiction, always start with an assessment to determine if, in fact, your behavior is driven by addiction.  Maybe it’s not.  There's no point in treating food addiction if there's no food addiction to treat, is there?  So get an assessment. More about that further down.

When it comes to the treatment for food addiction or sugar addiction, one of the first things that we need to look at are the challenges facing people with food addiction. Here’s a big one.  No one wants to think of themselves as having an addiction to food for Pete's sake!  And how weird is it to be addicted to food or sugar? It’s kind of hard to believe we could be addicted to food. After all it’s a necessity of life! It gives us great pleasure and it’s part of our social fabric.

It’s much easier to think of ourselves as “foodies” or jokingly as “choco-holics”. We simply love our food. And, that’s all there is to it! Sure, sometimes we use it to cope with stress and to help us deal with uncomfortable situations. And sometimes we can’t stop at just one piece of cake. But does that make you or me addicted to food?  Maybe yes… maybe no.  But we need to know for certain.

If you’re questioning your relationship with food, it’s worth exploring why, and then getting a few answers. Acceptance and recognition of a problem is the most important step in making healthful changes. But before you can accept and recognize a problem you must accurately define it.  That’s what helps us to venture out to get some help. 

It takes courage to ignore the potential stigma or judgement associated with being an addict.  And that stigma can prevent some folks from ever being assessed for Sugar Addiction.  And without knowing if addiction is the actual problem, there can be no treatment for sugar addiction.  So, the best treatment for food addiction starts with summoning the courage to take a SUGAR® assessment. 

Overcoming Stigma and Societal Misconception

How do we overcome this challenge?  How do we overcome the fear of what people will think of us? We don’t want to be judged or ridiculed by people who don’t understand what we’re going through.

And for that reason, many people avoid getting the help they need. The fear of being judged or ridiculed is so very strong! The problem is that the longer we live in an addicted state the more our health risks mount up. We're no longer just overweight.  Now we’re facing Type 2 diabetes, arthritic pain, lethargy, brain fog and a host of other problems.  That’s an enormous price to pay.  A good coach specializing in sugar addiction can help you overcome this fear and take this first important step.

Specialized Treatment

When looking for the best treatment for food addiction it’s important to know this…There is a serious lack of specialized treatment for food and sugar addiction!  There are no cohesive or standardized treatment protocols. And there are few practitioners.  This can pose a problem for anyone seeking help. And for the few of us trained in this field, it results in a huge workload.

It’s really difficult to find someone who is specifically trained to help people with food and sugar addiction. Most medical professionals simply recommend eating less and moving more. Food and sugar addiction is simply not part of their training.

Or if you speak with a therapist not trained in food addiction, he or she will recommend moderation. The problem is addicts don’t do moderation very well at all! Not being able to moderate is one of the first clues that you may have an addiction!  So the general approach is to treat this as a weight problem without addressing the underlying root cause.

If we treat food addiction as a weight problem we will never succeed. That’s because excess weight is merely a symptom of an underlying problem. And that problem can only be determined by a formal assessment.  And once that assessment is made, the solution requires a tailor-made program for each individual.

Getting Help

Getting help with food addiction requires that we first realize we have a problem. The next step is to find the help we need. 

Some people do reasonably well with a self-help approach… at least for awhile. If you’re a highly disciplined and motivated individual you could try using self-guided programs. Perhaps you could try a few online tutorials and reading books on the subject.

But I caution you. Food addiction is not the result of personal failure.  It has nothing to do with willpower or personal fortitude. It is caused by powerful bio-chemical forces in your brain that are difficult to control and overcome.  So, If a self-help approach doesn’t work, you will need to re-think your approach.

There are 12-Step groups for people addicted to sugar and processed foods modeled on the Alcoholics Anonymous program. Some people enjoy the support and anonymity these groups provide. But these groups are not suitable for everyone. In some cases it’s just not a good fit for whatever reason.  In that case, don’t give up!  Try another method.

Work with a Trained Professional

The best treatment for food addiction is to work with someone who is trained in this specialized field.

I’m a certified, professional coach, specializing in food addiction and therapeutic carbohydrate restriction. I help men and women make peace with food which helps them reach permanent weight loss and other health goals.

The first step is to determine if you are indeed addicted. And from there we develop a work plan and strategies to get you started and keep you going.

Contact me for a free 15-minute consultation and let’s set up the path to your success together.

You can read more about my services by Clicking or Tapping here.

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