WEIGHT LOSS and FOOD ADDICTION

The purpose of this channel is to help you get bigger and stronger without steroids. With today’s obesity problem, however, I feel obligated to say at least a few words about losing weight. On paper it sounds very simple but in practice results vary substantially. A fighter can lose 30-40 pounds in a month or two, while someone else is struggling to lose a pound. There are many possible reasons for it but here is an observation I have made over years: some people are obsessed with food. As they are eating one meal they are already thinking about the next one. The moment they go on a diet, they start craving everything. They are contemplating their cheat meals for days. They are constantly looking up healthy recipes and counting calories. They just can’t stop thinking about food. They are ADDICTED.
Looking at this situation from such perspective explains why some people are repeatedly unsuccessful with losing weight: they never really address the main issue. For example, one of the mistakes people make while “dieting” is trying to enjoy the limited amount of food they are consuming as much as possible. This is an ill strategy because by doing so they surrender to the power of food over them. You can’t win a fight over this addiction with such defeated mindset.
The more sound approach is to deal with this addiction as you would with alcoholism. Forget about losing weight and focus on cleansing your mind instead. Just like you would get rid of all the alcohol while trying to quit drinking, clean up your house of all the junk food. Get rid of all the spices while you are at it. Your food doesn’t have to taste good. You don’t need all the variety. You don’t need a hidden stash of candy for “emergency” situations. You don’t need your morning coffee to be ready for work. Eliminate these tantrums! Eliminate your weakness!
Once the house is clean, you are ready to get started. We are going to divide this process in two distinct steps. Do not attempt to accomplish both at the same time. Your first step is going to be to start eating clean. Decide on a few food items that you allowed to have for the next few months.
Do not try to restrict the amount of food you consume at this point. Once you learn eating clean, eating less will be a lot easier. Just stick to the same boring meal schedule without any attempt to starve yourself. Take a week or two to figure out how many meals and their sizes you need per day to feel comfortable. You can measure and record your food if it makes it easier. By then you should also realize why sticking to the limited number of food choices makes it easier to keep track of things.
Once you have been compliant for at least a month, you are ready for the second step. Slowly start reducing the portion sizes. Nothing too drastic. Just take away a little bit and stay with that for a month. If everything goes well, take away a little more next time. It shouldn’t be too difficult concerning that you are probably sick of eating the same thing over and over again. At some point you will arrive at the amount of food that allows you to lose weight without feeling hungry. Hopefully your training will be coming along at the same time.
Things get much more complicated when you add social interaction to the equation. The unfortunate reality is that our current understanding of having fun still revolves around gathering together to eat a lot of unhealthy food. These events are normally accompanied by continuous meaningless conversations, therefore, at least some alcohol is recommended to get appropriate silly vibe.
Of course, it is unreasonable to recommend to stay away from all social functions, but do be aware that these situations will require significant restraint on your part. The problem is not that you will get fat overnight. The fact that you couldn’t resist the temptation will remind you that you are still a slave of your addiction, which could leave you feeling disempowered and even depressed.
I am not suggesting that you should never enjoy food for the rest of your life. I am just saying that if obsession with food is suspected, temporary radical measures must be taken. There is no need to dance around this issue. For example, we don’t say that it is okay to be a drug addict as long as you are happy. Think of it as food detox.
Once you defeat this addiction, start SLOWLY increasing the variety and tastefulness of your meals. It is important not to get inpatient at this time and jump right back to the old eating habits. Just like you wouldn’t celebrate successful quitting of drinking by getting wasted, do not reward yourself for defeating food addiction by bingeing. If you do decide to treat yourself every once in a while, a good sign that you truly earned it if there is no feeling of shame afterwards.