It's All About the Food and It Has Nothing To Do With the Food.

People ask me, "How is your Sugar-Free Recovery Program different from a diet or weight loss program?"

That question came up this week with a new client in one of my programs. For the sake of the story, we'll call her Sharon (not her real name). Sharon had been to a dietician in the past, had lost weight and was happy, but had not been able to keep it off. Three years later she was not back where she had started and but further behind. She regained the weight she had lost plus a couple of kilos.

She admits that bread and sweets are hard for her to resist and she finds herself overeating them. This bothers her tremendously as she knows it's not healthy, yet she can't seem to "summon up the willpower" to stop (her words).

Most weight loss programs are built around the belief that people who struggle with their weight just need to summon up enough will power or motivation to eat moderately and exercise. They will show you how to count calories, or points, do portion control, give you some great recipes, and ideas how to cut down on snacking and your food intake. Some include exercise regimens as well.

Great ideas, but have they worked for you? They do work for some people but here's the thing- if you are one of the many who have tried time and again to eat less and move more and have failed time and again, it's probably not about willpower or motivation.

If you often find yourself in situations where a voice in your head is saying "Stop! This is bad for you!", and yet you can't stop, you just keep on eating that chocolate or pastry or pizza or baguette, you may be addicted to these kinds of food. And if you suspect you are – diet and exercise just doesn't work.

Sugary, starchy, hyper-processed foods highjack the reward center of the brain and in order to be able to resist them, it's important to retrain your brain and body not to need or crave them. This is done by addressing the addiction rather than the diet.

It's about the food, but it's not really about the food. It's about what different foods do to you or for you, rather than how many calories you are consuming. It's about if you are using addictive foods like sugar and hyper-processed foods to change the way you feel, in a similar way people smoke, drink or use drugs. It's about your relationship with food, and if the one you have right now is moving you forward in your life and health goals or holding you back.

If you think you want to change your relationship with food, know that it is possible and it takes effort and investment – like any relationship that needs to change. The first step is to stop using. Stop eating the foods that you cannot control. The second step is the mindset change so you can stay stopped. Changing your relationship with food and your way of eating is key.