Overcoming Food Addiction Using A Course In Weight Loss by Marianne Williamson

As I share the journey through A Course In Weight Loss, versus trying to do this lesson by lesson I am just going to follow my heart and today my heart is telling me to write about food addiction.  Interestingly enough, food addiction has been the primary topic in the first three lessons of A Course In Weight Loss.

Food addiction has been an issue for me since I was a kid. As a child I was unhappy and scared of pretty much everything. I am not sure why that was the case but that’s the way that it was. I found my comfort in food, the food addiction was formed and it has been with me ever since. Even though I’ve been able to lose more than 100 pounds the food addiction still needed to be dealt with and A Course In Weight Loss by Marianne Williamson is assisting me in doing just that.

Before I get into what I’ve learned let’s take a look at the definition of addiction according to Wikipedia.

Addiction can also be viewed as a continued involvement with a substance or activity despite the negative consequences associated with it. Pleasure and enjoyment would have originally been sought; however, over a period of time involvement with the substance or activity is needed to feel normal.[1] Some psychology professionals and many laypeople now mean ‘addiction’ to include abnormal psychological dependency on such things as gambling, food, sex, pornography, computers, internet, work, exercise, idolizing, watching TV or certain types of non-pornographic videos, spiritual obsession, self-injury and shopping.

I’m going to be very open and candid about this book and what I’ve read through the first three lessons.  I don’t believe that the correct approach to blogging about this book is to preach to you what you should or shouldn’t do.  Instead I’m going to share what I’m learning from it.  Through this, perhaps, you will be able to relate to similar struggles and see that what the book teaches does work.

Well, I’m through lesson three (just finished it this morning) and I’ve already noticed a remarkable change.  I’ve been going through a mindset transformation for the last four months, and have seen some amazing changes as well, but there was still a piece of the puzzle that was missing and food addiction was at the root of the cause.  Enter lesson 1…

As I read through a list of words to include anger, shame, guilt and fear another word came to mind, that although not on the list, was a road block for me in dealing with my food addiction.  That word is resentment.  I quickly came to realize as I went through the activity in lesson 1 that resentment was a big issue with me.  Coming to this realization brought about a feeling of calm and relief over my internal body and I believe the reason for that was my decision to just be honest about the fact that there are certain people in my life that piss me off.

That recognition lead me to a place where I could deal with the anger toward the select few people whom I was holding a grudge against.  A Course In Weight Loss basically gave me permission to tell God EXACTLY why I was angry with these people.  That place of honesty made a profound change in me.  I’ve been battling with forgiveness for a while now and for whatever reason this exercise within lesson 1 of A Course In Miracle finally guided me to a place where I could deal with it.

Long story short, what I came to realize as I started to deal with the food addiction was that this last bit of weight I’m still carrying represents the weight of the burden I’ve been carrying as I allowed the unforgiveness and resentment to grow inside of me.  Thoughts become things, and the thoughts of anger and resentment are heavy.  Those heavy thoughts and feelings manifest as weight on your body as those thoughts become things.  The food addiction was developed as I tried to stuff those feelings.  I quickly came to realize that of all of the things I’ve tried to kill the pain over the years, to include drugs and alcohol, food was my drug of choice.

In lesson 2 I was taken to a place where more forgiveness was required but this time it was pointed at me, or certain manifestations of me anyway.  As I read lesson 2 it didn’t take long to realize that my anger issues with others were really directed at the things about me that I didn’t like, primarily this last little bit of weight that just won’t go away.  My anger toward this, and the unforgivness toward it, is causing my body to hold on.  Lesson 2 took me through an exercise where I was to address this condition, or better said this “ego” and tell it how I felt.  In turn I was to allow this “ego”, this overweight, heavy, fat side I’ve grown to hate, address the skinny, healthy, ripped, cut, trim and happy side of me.  What I found is that when you allow love to intervene and recognize that these “egos”, demons, personalities, whatever you want to call them, just want to be loved as well then the anger subsides and forgiveness can do its’ work.

What I’m learning through A Course In Weight Loss is that forgiveness and love are the key components to overcoming food addiction.

I’m going to read lesson three again later today.  I’ll be adding more soon.

Cheers!

Rex

food addiction

food addiction

food addiction