Food Addiction, the Problem and the Solution

Food Addiction, the Problem and the Solution

The International School For Food Addiction Counseling And Treatment (The INFACT School) brings you the podcast, Food Addiction: The Problem And The Solution which explores the ubiquitous problems of food addiction and presents the solution. The school, founded by director Esther Helga Gudmundsdottir MSc, is the world’s first and only sugar/food addiction counseling training with U.S. and European food addiction counselor certifications. infactschool.com Host, Susan Branscome, a recovered food addict, interviews guests who are professionals and counselors focused on the disease of food addiction, as well as individuals who have successfully recovered from food addiction. The podcast will resonate with food addicts, those dieting unsuccessfully, those desperate to learn more about food addiction and recover, as well as professionals treating and counseling clients with food addiction and medical practitioners treating patients suffering from obesity and obesity-related illnesses and issues. Subscribe to Food Addiction: The Problem and The Solution wherever you get your podcasts!

Episodes

Food Addiction Recovery is Possible; Treatment is Necessary

June 17, 2025 • 70 mins
Guests Amanda Leith  SHiFT, Recovery By Acorn and Esther Helga Guðmundsdóttir, INFACT School both experienced the misery of obesity and countless failed diets—until they discovered their real problem: food addiction, a brain disease. Like many late-stage food addicts, they used food to cope with life, consuming far more food than their bodies needed. Once they recognized their addiction, they began abstinent food plans and recovery...
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My Mission is to Help Souls Fly

May 14, 2025 • 57 mins
Barney Reason is a recovering food addict who has also overcome addictions to alcohol, drugs, and compulsive behaviors. His journey began early—he had his first drink at age 7 and got sober from alcohol by 25 years old. But as the alcohol stopped, his food addiction escalated, leading him to a peak weight of 365 pounds.  Barney grew up in a deeply unstable environment, marked by abuse, neglect, and chaos—he lived in 16 different h...
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It Is Only Because I am Powerless That I am Willing

March 18, 2025 • 50 mins
David Wolfe is a certified food addiction counselor and co-founder of SUGARx Global (https://www.sugarxglobal.com/), an online community dedicated to helping individuals overcome sugar and food addictions. David has been instrumental in developing impactful programs that support people successfully finding freedom from addictive food behaviors. He is also the co-author of The Fix For Cravings (https://tinyurl.com/yhnnnc3x) with Cyn...
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Food Addiction is Not Your Fault, Yet It Is Your Responsibility to Recover When You Know

February 25, 2025 • 57 mins
Dr. Adrian Soto-Mota brings a unique blend of expertise as a practicing clinician, data specialist, researcher, and educator at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the largest university in Latin America. The Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) (https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/fastlab/yale-food-addiction-scale/) is the most widely used food addiction screening tool worldwide. Dr. Soto-Mota utilized another food addiction ...
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The Problem Was Never My Body Weight; the Problem was WHY I Overate.

February 4, 2025 • 52 mins
Sachir Ajlouni’s incredible journey from obesity and food addiction to recovery is a story of hope and transformation. Weighing 450 pounds at his heaviest, Sachir spent over 30 years trapped in a cycle of compulsive overeating and failed attempts at weight loss, including bariatric surgery. It wasn’t until he entered SHiFT, Recovery by Acorn (https://foodaddiction.com/) a food addiction recovery program that he realized the true na...
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All Behavior Originates In The Brain

January 14, 2025 • 59 mins
Dr. Bonnie Nolan holds a PhD in neuroscience and is a Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor. With expertise in both neuroscience and psychotherapy, she works on the front lines of opioid addiction, understanding the brain's dopamine response to addictive substances. She also recognizes how genetics, environment, and mental health issues like anxiety and depression contribute to addiction. Having struggled with alcohol addict...
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Abstinence Without Food Addiction Recovery Is Just Another Diet!

December 10, 2024 • 53 mins
The INFACT School (https://infactschool.com/) is the only school in the world that teaches students about the science of food addiction and how to treat it.  Graduates receive a Certified Food Addiction Professional (CFAP) which is recognized in Europe and the U.S.  This seven-month virtual training program involves speakers and many top professionals who study the disease of food addiction. Students are taught screening, assessmen...
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I Broke My Own Heart

September 17, 2024 • 59 mins
Christine G. was raised in an alcoholic home and was often compared by her parents to a sibling and was expected to be different. As a child, she began using food to cope with this treatment and she reached her highest body weight of 229.  Her lowest weight was 95 pounds as she suffered many years with bulimia and food addiction. At the age of 13, Christine experienced a traumatic personal violation and didn’t tell anyone for many ...
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Sugar and Ultra-Processed Foods Are Addictive

August 20, 2024 • 59 mins
Large food companies, previously owned by tobacco companies, know that we are addicted to sugar and ultra-processed foods.  These companies are making large profits using the same tobacco addiction model with items they are selling us to eat. Food companies add sugars to food items, like high fructose corn syrup, and 250 other sugars to the engineered items they call food.  Meanwhile, the U.S. population is over 50 percent obese wi...
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I Had A Physical Reaction to Sugar, I Got High On It.

August 6, 2024 • 52 mins
Doris R. grew up in an alcoholic household and as the oldest of five children had a lot of responsibility early in her life. She was responsible for taking care of her younger siblings while her mother worked. Her father was an alcoholic, and her mother was obese and used food. Her first diet was in the 4th grade. A recovered alcoholic, after Doris became sober and her food use increased.  She realized that she needed to eliminate ...
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Recovery From Food Addiction Led Me To Hope and Possibility

July 2, 2024 • 56 mins
Before recovery, Raena Z. weighed 315 pounds and today she is a recovered food addict which over a 100-lb weight release. As an overweight child, she recalls liking food more than others and using food to manage her emotions. In this episode, Raena shares an experience from high school that caused her incredible shame.  After she married and gave birth to her son, her weight continued to climb higher.   Eating in secrecy, she could...
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It Is Scientifically Proven: 12-step Recovery Programs Work

June 11, 2024 • 65 mins
Do 12-step recovery programs work? Yes!  Dr. John Kelly of Harvard performed a comprehensive study which is one of the most widely disseminated research findings in the last five years and was reviewed by Cochrane. The Cochrane organization reviews research studies and is internationally recognized as the benchmark for high-quality information about the effectiveness of health care. Dr. John Kelly specializes in addiction recovery ...
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Food Addiction Recovery is Available through 12-step Programs.

May 21, 2024 • 49 mins
Amy B.’s highest known weight was 265 as she used food for many years to deal with stress, anxiety and life challenges. While there is humor and a comedic lightness in this podcast episode discussion between two food-recovered food addicts, the messages are serious and important in talking about what it was like and recovery from food addiction. A recovered alcoholic, Amy used food in the same ways she used alcohol, addictively and...
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Food Addiction Versus Eating Disorders, What Are the Differences?

April 30, 2024 • 66 mins
These three incredible professionals have not only personally experienced recovery from addiction, but they have made it their life’s work to help others recover from food addiction and eating disorders.  This podcast panel episode is comprised of three well-known experts in the treatment of food addiction and eating disorders, Dr. Marty Lerner, Amanda Leith, and Esther Helga Gudmundsdottir.  Dr. Marty Lerner is the founder and CEO...
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My Food Use and Weight was Affecting Everything In My Life

April 9, 2024 • 47 mins
Lori P. is a recovered food addict who shares the challenges experienced in childhood, during a failed marriage, and after the death of her mother. An accomplished company executive, she had used food and many diets during her life attempting to manage her weight and food addiction. Lori had reached a bottom in her addiction and reached a point of desperation, so she began recovering in a 12-step program.  She surrendered control o...
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No Weight Loss Program Can Beat a Severe Food Addiction

March 19, 2024 • 57 mins
Dr. Joan Ifland is a leading authority and expert in highly-processed Food Addiction and wellness recovery and has personal experience with food addiction.  When she realized that her mental and physical health was being negatively affected by the food she was eating, she began to make changes involving eliminating certain foods and utilizing recovery.  Dr. Ifland gives practitioners and clients new insights into why food addiction...
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Denial of My Food Addiction Caused Me to Live From the Neck Up

February 27, 2024 • 54 mins
Kristie M., a recovered food addict, has been maintaining a 170-pound weight loss for many years.  Having been a child of obese parents and one parent who abused alcohol, she identifies as being obsessed with food early in her life and dealt with the shame and denial of not being able to control her weight or food use on her own.  There were many food behaviors including secret eating that plagued any success around the use of diet...
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I Was an Unhappy Fat Boy, Today I’m a Joyful Thin Man

February 6, 2024 • 53 mins
After losing 130 pounds and gaining it back…twice, on his 34th birthday, Michael Prager had reached 365 pounds.  He was often miserable and isolated and alienated people in his life while feeling the shame of his body size.   After many years of dieting, he finally learned that he has an addictive, biochemical reaction to sugar, flour, and highly processed foods and decided to “get out of the driver’s seat” and surrender his will. ...
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Deception And Persuasion By the Food Industry Contribute To Our Food Addiction

January 16, 2024 • 51 mins
Thirty-four years ago, Dr. Debbie Danowski weighing 328 pounds realized that her life was unmanageable and she decided to enter a food addiction recovery program. Today Dr. Danowski maintains a 170 weight loss through a daily recovery routine. In this podcast, we discuss denial, powerlessness and the negative consequences of food addiction.   Getting the message out about food addiction is the driving force in all of her work and t...
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The "Addict Brain" Highjacks Our Brains Like a Computer Virus

December 19, 2023 • 52 mins
In his book, Recovery Mind Training Dr. Paul Earley cites the statistic that addiction is a devastating brain disease affecting over 23 million individuals including their loved ones in the U.S. alone. He says that the single biggest driver around addiction is genetics and that there is a strong genetic link with addiction in families.  Dr. Earley describes how powerful and insidious the Addict Brain is as it hijacks our brains wit...
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