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Food Addiction, the Problem and the Solution

Food Addiction, the Problem and the Solution

By: Esther Helga Gudmundsdottir
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 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!Copyright Esther Helga Gudmundsdottir Hygiene & Healthy Living Physical Illness & Disease Psychology Psychology & Mental Health
Episodes
  • Today I Have Peace and Neutrality Around Food

    Today I Have Peace and Neutrality Around Food
    Aug 19 2025
    Mike Fetherston has walked a long, humbling road through addiction and recovery. one that has included alcohol, drugs, food addiction, bulimia, and as a result, morbid obesity which plagued him for much of his life. His struggle began early. By the age of two and a half, Mike was already turning to food as a coping mechanism, saying he loved food and wanted to feel as full as he could, from as early a time as he could remember. Childhood brought emotional instability and deep discomfort, and food quickly became his escape. As his addictions grew, he eventually faced life-threatening consequences not only from substance use but also from disordered and compulsive eating. Mike found sobriety from drugs and alcohol in 2005. Three years later, in 2008, he entered his first 12-step food recovery program, beginning what he often calls the hardest journey of all. Food was harder than drugs or alcohol. He admits, wrestling with the question of whether complete abstinence from food was even possible, and often would think to himself that people who said they had it were either lying or didn’t have it as bad off as he did. For the next decade, he cycled through food addiction and eating disorder treatment programs and countless 12-step meetings. Despite his best efforts, lasting recovery eluded him. Eventually, he reached a point of total desperation, physically broken, emotionally hopeless, and eating to die. Then, in a moment he least expected, the right combination of desperation, willingness, and support came together for him. It marked the turning point toward the most profound recovery and wellness he had ever experienced. Since 2018, Mike’s recovery has not been perfect or linear. He has relapsed more than once, but each time, he has returned to the support and structure needed to realign with his recovery. He believes his life depends on maintaining abstinence, and his resilience lies in never giving up and continuing to show up and seek recovery even when hope felt out of reach. Mike believes that if recovery can happen for a Man as hopeless as he was, then it can be had by anyone. Now in his 50s, Mike is healthy, thriving, and enjoying a beautiful life with his family. He has maintained a 150-pound weight loss for many years and speaks openly about how addiction nearly took his life but recovery gave him a new one. Mike’s story is also one of service and joy. He transformed his love of food and a lifelong passion for cooking into a recovery-focused mission. Since 2020, he has led hundreds of cooking and meal-planning classes at Milestones in Recovery (https://www.milestonesprogram.org/), known as Cooking with Mike. In these sessions, he shows that people in recovery from eating disorders and food addiction can enjoy abundant, delicious, and nourishing meals while maintaining abstinence. His philosophy is simple: recovery doesn’t mean deprivation, it means positive transformation, supported by planning and mindful preparation. In Fall of 2020, Mike enrolled in the INFACT School (https://infactschool.com/), deepening his knowledge of food addiction and treatment. That education inspired him to expand his role from recovery sponsor to certified counselor, allowing him to guide others professionally. He now encourages others who feel called to this work to pursue certification as well.
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    55 mins
  • The Journey Took Many Turns and Led To Her Purpose

    The Journey Took Many Turns and Led To Her Purpose
    Jul 15 2025
    Sakinah Osborne is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, National Certified Counselor, and Clinical Director at Milestones In Recovery (https://www.milestonesprogram.org/) —a leading residential treatment center in South Florida that specializes in food addiction and eating disorders. Milestones is one of our valued podcast sponsors, known for its abstinence-based, holistic approach to recovery. With a compassionate, multidisciplinary team, Milestones offers personalized care that helps clients heal physically, emotionally, and spiritually in a supportive, home-like environment. Sakinah brings a profoundly human and multidimensional perspective to her work. Before becoming a therapist, she served nearly three years in the U.S. Army. She built a successful career in sales and management, skills that continue to enhance her empathy, leadership, and communication as a clinician. She completed her master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Florida International University and her clinical internship at Milestones in 2017. Today, she guides clients through detox, manages the complex emotional and behavioral dynamics of food addiction, and helps design personalized recovery plans that foster long-term transformation. Her path to this work is rooted in powerful personal experience. Raised by a single mother with a survival mindset and estranged from an alcoholic father, Sakinah struggled with abandonment and emotional disconnection from an early age. She remembers feeling suicidal at just seven years old. After battling debilitating postpartum depression, she recognized she had been living with untreated depression most of her life. It was through seeking therapy that she found not only healing, but her calling—to help others find hope and freedom from emotional pain. Today, Sakinah leads with cultural sensitivity, clinical expertise, and a deep belief in the possibility of change. At Milestones, she witnesses profound client transformation as individuals begin to understand the grip of food addiction and learn new ways of living. Her journey—from the Army to sales to clinical leadership—is a testament to the power of purpose, healing, and service. She is passionate about helping clients discover lives of peace, joy, and self-acceptance.
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Food Addiction Recovery is Possible; Treatment is Necessary

    Food Addiction Recovery is Possible; Treatment is Necessary
    Jun 17 2025
    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 programs, shedding excess weight and doing the emotional work required to heal. Today, they live at healthy body weights and enjoy freedom from food addiction—one day at a time. Today, they devote their lives to helping others understand and recover from this illness.Food addiction is a substance use disorder involving ultra-processed foods, similar to alcohol or drug addiction. Amanda and Esther assess clients using food use history and tools like the Yale Food Addiction Scale. Sugar—technically not a food but an additive—has over 260 names and is often hidden in products through deceptive labeling by food companies.Many of their clients have tried everything to control their food use and/or lose weight, often arriving desperate and willing to try something new. At SHiFT, Amanda guides clients toward abstinence from addictive foods while addressing the emotional drivers behind food use. As cravings and withdrawal pass, clients gain relief from the addiction and obsessive food thoughts and learn to enjoy eating whole, nourishing foods.Unlike drug or alcohol addiction, we cannot abstain from food entirely, which makes food addiction more complex. Yet the solution lies in abstaining from addictive foods and engaging in emotional recovery work.Phil Werdell, website, a pioneer in the field, greatly influenced Amanda and Esther. His teachings on powerlessness and denial are foundational to their treatment approach, and they credit him for shaping their understanding and protocols.Amanda explains the difference between emotional eating and true food addiction in this episode. While emotional eaters may recover through therapy alone, food addicts must first remove addictive substances and engage in structured recovery with support. At SHiFT, Recovery By Acorn, food and emotional issues are treated concurrently.With chronic disease and metabolic dysfunction at crisis levels—primarily driven by poor nutrition, food addiction, and obesity—Esther Helga argues that food companies knowingly exploit this addiction for profit.The International Food Addiction Conference will hold its second event in London, September 4–5, 2025, highlighting food addiction and its comorbidities. At the 2024 London conference, an influential group of professionals reached a Consensus: Ultra-Processed Food is a Substance Use Disorder. Advocacy continues to classify food addiction within the ICD (World Health Organization) and the DSM (American Psychiatric Association), paving the way for insurance coverage of treatment.Don’t miss this powerful episode as we explore food addiction—its root causes, and the hope of recovery.
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    1 hr and 9 mins
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