There are many barriers to healthy eating in our environment, such as social pressures and a low availability of convenient healthy foods. There are also many barriers within ourselves, such as habit and low expectations of one’s ability to improve. Food addiction, whether it is to sugar, fats, or eating in general, can be one of the most powerful internal barriers. Addiction stems from changes in nerve signaling in the emotion portion of our brain. We start off “liking” something, which escalates to “cravings”, and ultimately to an excessive (meaning life-interfering) dependence. Addiction repeatedly overpowers a conscious decision to start living healthier, leading to feelings of defeat and loss of self-esteem. However, scientific studies have shown that significant improvements can come from fighting fire with fire. Compared to trying to overpower addiction with willpower alone, psychological approaches address our emotional perspective, which comes from the same place in our brain as addiction. In a meta-analysis of rehabilitation research for alcohol, opioid and cocaine addiction, all the methods considered (12-step facilitation therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational enhancement, psychodynamic psychotherapy and family therapy) provided relatively similar benefits*. While one method may be better than others for a specific individual, the evidence does not support any one method being superior for people overall. So in general, the specific method of addressing addiction is less important than the common principles underlying all of the methods. Based on a review of the literature**, the core factors found to contribute to long-term success against addiction, regardless of therapeutic method, are as follows:
1. Motivation: A realization that one’s condition is in conflict with important long-standing values and goals. This is the starting point to seeking true change.
2. Initial Success: This enables further change.
3. Identity revision: A change in how one sees oneself (a new vision of ones identity as a healthier person), or seeing oneself in a new light, is the key to sustained success.
4. Acceptance of addiction: The new vision of ones identity must include an acceptance of one’s permanent addiction. Addiction does not go away despite successful behavior change. Self-observation and emotional self-awareness are a lifelong necessity.
5. Planning: Strategies must be implemented to avoid re-triggering events, such as surrounding oneself with healthy food in the home, or ordering a salad in a restaurant even if no one else does.
6. Re-enforcement: The rewards of changed behavior re-enforce the new vision of oneself, which re-enforces the changed behavior in a cyclical pattern of empowerment.
Clyde’s Thoughts: There are 2 core elements serving as the foundation of the 6 factors for success against addiction: A nutrition plan (or just nutrition common sense) to provide the results in steps 2 and 5, and a the development of a new sense of identity that includes both the acceptance of ones addiction (steps 1 and 4) and the confidence to succeed (steps 3 and 6).
Why a nutrition plan or nutrition knowledge is probably not
the main barrier to healthier eating in America: If you ask people to describe a healthy diet, the vast
majority will mention natural foods (such as vegetables) as being good, and
chips or sweets (manufactured foods) as being not so good. This is consistent with the advice of
top nutrition experts, such as Michael Pollen (“Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”) and Marion Nestle (“Eat less, move more,
eat lots of fruits and vegetables…go easy on the junk foods”). So if the fundamentals of healthy
eating are so simple to understand, why is it so hard to accomplish? Put differently, if we don’t even need
a nutrition plan or a diet to follow because we already have enough nutrition
common sense to guide us, why are so many people hurting themselves with eating
patterns they know are not good for them?
A main reason is that our propensity for calories, fats and sugar can
develop into cravings and addiction, which require more than just a nutrition
plan to overcome.
Seeing oneself in a new light: That a shift in how one sees oneself is the cornerstone of
overcoming addiction** was determined by grounded formal theory***, which is a
process of systematically comparing data from qualitative papers on a topic not
amenable to objective numerical measurements. The implication of this result is that a person who has
difficulty making nutritional changes should assess how they see themselves, in
particular focusing on whether they could potentially be in denial about
addictive behavior (self-destructive self-nurturing), and their level of
confidence at achieving and maintaining their goals of being a healthy person
(truthful self-nurturing).
Clyde’s Advice: If you are having a hard time sticking to your nutritional commitments, consider that the problem might have more to do with your reflex response to desirable foods than any shortage of your understanding of nutrition. If an honest self-appraisal of your habits indicates a problem you cannot easily overcome, consider addressing the problem by assessing how you see yourself; are you accepting of the idea that you might suffer from an addiction, and do you see yourself as being capable of real change? Surround yourself with positive re-enforcements to avoid re-triggering, such as healthy foods and like-minded individuals. Seek help as necessary with one or more sessions of any legitimate type of therapy.
The Bottom Line: If you want to turn the corner on addiction, focusing on seeing yourself in a new light might be critical to your success, where your new perspective includes a strong sense of self-confidence and an acceptance of addiction as a life-long issue requiring on-going self-awareness. A supportive environment and any legitimate form of therapy will help significantly.
References:
*”Three lessons for improving addiction treatment from a
meta-analytical study”, Berglund M, Addiction, 100 2005 742. Research paper
quality score: A.
**”Identity shifts as turning points in health behavior
change”, Kearney MH and O’Sullivan J, Western J Nursing Res, 25 2003 134.
Research paper quality score: B.
***”Discovering grounded formal theory”, Kearney MH,
Research in Nursing and Health, 21 1998 179. Research paper quality score: 3.
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