Part 1 Part 2 (this one) Part 3

I have a strong reaction when I hear nutritionists and/or registered dietitians say that wouldn't advise a client to give up any foods, because that would be deprivation and no one sticks with deprivation.

I apologize in advance, and again reiterate that I'm not a registered dietitian or any other kind of clinician, but those people, in my opinion, don't know what they're saying. (You can judge for yourself whether I do.)

Part 1 (this one) Part 2 Part 3

I've said before: Many people who engage me about my weight-loss story want to know, "what's the most important action?" What many want to hear, though, is "what diet is going to work for me?"

A writer at the Washington Post was in touch on Friday, asking me to offer a few sentences on my healthy eating goals for the New Year. Here's what I sent...

Welcome to another episode of “10 Words or Less,” in which I ask short questions of interesting people and request short answers in return. Today’s participant is a therapist who is the author of nine books, one of which ("Boundaries") is approaching a quarter million in sales. Remember, please: No counting. “10 words” is an attitude, not a rule, and besides, let’s see you do it.

Name: Anne Katherine
Born when, where “In Indiana. I’m in my mid-60s.” [Befitting someone keen on boundaries, Katherine is careful about what specific personal information she allows online.]
A transformative event in your childhood “Girl Scout Camp. It taught me that women could be strong, gave me survival skills that I still rely on and lifelong friends who are a treasure.”
Where do you live now, and how long have you been there? “Washington State, surrounded by water. I’ve lived here since 1985.”
What did you want to be when you grew up “In my 20s, I wanted to go around the country singing songs that would inspire people to be more spiritual.”
Claim to fame “I think other people would say my books, but I'd say it's that I pay daily attention to developing my inner self.”
Can you say a little more about that? “I value a person developing their ability to observe themselves, so they’re catching on to their subtle patterns, especially those that affect the people they love.”
Are you an addict? "Yes."
What’s your drug of no choice? “Sugar.”

The theorizing has become reality: In July, a round of commentary (including mine) swelled after researchers suggested that foster custody might be preferable to bariatric surgery as a remedy for a child's severe obesity.

I've been pretty sluggy recently about blogging, having been thrown off my game by the Thanksgiving interlude and some low-grade depression. Not that you asked.

This is the first of several posts I’m planning as part of the “Blog-a-Thon To End Sugar Addiction,” which started Tuesday and ends on Monday, Halloween Day, perhaps America foremost sugar-driven holiday. 

I’ve often remarked that “food addiction” is a misnomer that does not serve the very real condition it describes, and I’d say the same thing for “sugar addiction.”

In the former case, the problem is that no one argues that all food is, or can be, addictive. And so, I’ve said, a more descriptive (which not to say “better”) — would be “some-food” addiction. I don’t know any two addicts whose list of problem foods is exactly the same, though it’s fair to say that processed foods are more likely to appear on many such lists, and refined sugar and refined grain (aka flour) are particularly likely.

And that leads to the latter case: For very few people does the term apply to all sugars, which occurs naturally in a number of forms, most commonly lactose, fructose, and sucrose. What I react to in unhealthy ways is refined sugar, in which processing has removed the fiber and other parts of the plant, concentrating what’s left into a crystalline white powder. 

It should not escape your attention that that description — “processing has removed the fiber and other parts of the plant, concentrating what’s left into a crystalline white powder” — also describes cocaine. With only slight variation, it also would describe heroin and flour; the main difference is which plant the processor starts with.

I have long been frustrated by what I hear from my many friends who seek out registered dietitians, because so many of them seem clueless about my experience and the multitudes of others whose experience is similar. 

"Eat everything in moderation, and you'll be fine," is the worst; as advice, it's accurate but tone-deaf. For many people with weight concerns who consult registered dietitians, that's as good as saying, "do that thing you haven't been doing, even though you know you should, even though you've been trying to, sometimes for years." Thanks for the help, Ms. RD.

Is it common for sick people to wish they had a different disease, if they have to have one at all? I don’t know, but a couple of examples have come up for me in the two decades I’ve identified as a food addict.