I Used Food In the Same Ways I Had Used Alcohol and Drugs

When an overweight friend had a stroke, Tony W. realized that if he did not address his own weight and food issues, his health would continue to decline. Weighing 464 pounds, he had many obesity-related illnesses including neuropathy in his feet and five hernia surgeries. He grew up in a family and culture of fried foods and high-calorie foods.  Tony got sober from drugs and alcohol using a 12-step recovery program, then began using food even more than he had. He entered the Bright Line Eating Program (https://www.brightlineeating.com/) and has released all of the extra pounds achieving a healthy body weight through eliminating sugar and flour, limiting the times he eats during the day, and weighing his food. The Bright Line Eating Program helped Tony focus on the inner emotional work required around the reasons he was using food. The work Susan Peirce Thompson, PhD (https://www.susanpeircethompson.com/), the founder of Bright Line Eating has done as a neuroscientist resonated with Tony given her focus on the chemical reaction in the brain when we ingest sugar and flour. He realized it was not his lack of willpower which caused his food addiction, but rather his body’s response to addictive substances which set up cravings and obsessive behaviors around food. He talks about how automaticity began to play a part in his daily routine in which he has developed new habits that feel normal.  Today Tony W. lives a happy, thin and free life through having recovered from food addiction as he continues to follow his program each day. What an inspiring and hopeful story of recovery from food addiction!