There was a lot of noise on the net the other day about a new study that concluded that food does not satisfy obese people. I'm not making any excuses for how I demolish a box of Little Debbies, but I can completely understand this.

Based on the findings, which appeared in the Oct. 17 issue of the journal Science, researchers concluded that overweight or obese people don’t get more satisfaction from food than slim people do. It is the reduced level of pleasure they get from eating that makes them overindulge. And while trying to compensate for the reward deficit, they opt for more high-calorie food.

I would add that, just like with drugs, your body builds up a resistance so that you need more to satisfy you the more junk food you eat (in my unprofessional opinion).

They mention people's predisposition to being obese based on the genetics in the study. While I believe genetics do play a role in your body composition, I firmly believe that it is personal responsibility that plays a larger role. I could be lazy and say I (possibly) have this Taq1A1 gene and just live with the consequences. Instead, I chose to work at living a healthy lifestyle and not pointing the finger at anything (or anyone) but me.

Cartoon courtesy of Mike Adams at Natural News

This is the start of my third week on the road to recovery. During the past two weeks, I've had to fight myself to keep from slipping up and relapsing into my old habits. There are plenty of opportunities throughout the course of a day where I could easily give in to impulses that could put me right back where I started. For me, most (if not all) of those choices have to do with food and I've come to realize that I am a junk food addict.

I'm not saying that to be funny, plenty of people make that comment and laugh it off. For me, when I look back at my behavior over the past four months, I see classic signs of addiction. And realizing that I am a true junk food addict, I have to be constantly aware of the choices I make. Now I haven't started a 12-step program, but I have at least taken the first step and that's admitting I have a problem.

How bad of a problem? Well, let's call it 3-4 boxes of Little Debbies a week problem. Each box of six Boston Cream Rolls equaled 1620 calories, 72 g of fat (27 saturated) and 156 g of sugars. That's on top of my regular meals and at least 3 regular sodas a day. I'd say that's pretty bad in anyone's book.

The biggest sign of my addiction is that I hide all this eating. I buy the junk on the way to or from work or as I run my errands and keep any leftovers in the car. Or I'd hit the pantry at night after everyone else has gone to sleep so they wont catch me polishing off a chocolate chip granola bar so I can get one last taste of chocolate before going to bed.

The worst part about this is that I knew what I was doing to myself and was even embarrassed for myself as I would stand in line holding that box of snack cakes. I knew I was sabotaging everything I'd worked so hard for but I just kept telling myself "One more box, then I'll be done". That "One more box" lasted for four months and packed 20 pounds of fat back onto me. That's an average of 5 pounds gained, or an extra 17,500 calories per month! During a month, I took in the equivalent of almost 40 days of calories in just 30!

I have no idea how this addiction came about. Maybe I should go see a shrink to find out what the root cause of this need for sugar is. I'm all for taking personal responsibility, but when something like food holds this much sway over me I'd tend to think it goes deeper than the quick sugar rush I get and the instant gratification the taste brings.

In the end any addiction can be beat and I'll beat this one. For now, recognizing it and understanding it is my best defense. So...

"Hi, my name is Steve and I'm a sugar addict"