How OPAAT Works
You’ve probably heard me say that the “One Pound at a Time” 8-week weight loss intensive is designed specifically for sober people who struggle with weight gain and overeating in sobriety.
The reason it’s so important to understand who this program is designed for, is because it gets at the heart of what OPAAT solves – which is addiction transfer.
Addiction transfer happens when compulsive thoughts, feelings, and actions “jump” from one substance or behavior to another. It’s like playing a game of whack-a-mole - just when we seemed to have gotten ahold of our compulsive behaviors in one area, they pop up in another.
At the heart of addiction transfer is the disease of addiction. Simply put, those of us with this chronic injury live with a "third voice" that urges us incessantly to consume things or behave in ways that make us feel good. As we adapt to the behavior or the thing, we require more of it to produce the same effect. And we suffer the escalating consequences of this escalating consumption.
This is the part that “jumps” – the mental urges, and the euphoria of satisfying the urges.
In OPAAT, we face transfer addiction to food head-on, and learn to live peacefully as eaters with the addiction injury. We do this primarily by increasing our emotional sobriety. When it comes to food, that means strengthening our Sane&Sober mind to bypass the addiction voice.
I want to pause here, and show you some examples of emotional sobriety with food (that you can actually try today!):
Slowing down during meals. The addictive mind screams “HURRY!!” when we’re satisfying hunger. Just reminding yourself through your meal to slow down and savor bypasses the compulsive urge and exercises your Sane&Sober brain with food.
Thinking of hunger as a messenger, NOT an emergency. The addictive mind screams “EMERGENCY!!” when we experience even the slightest physical sensation of hunger. Reminding yourself that hunger has a message for you that helps you to decide whether it’s time to eat yet or not, you bypass the addictive mind and can allow yourself to experience healthy hunger before you eat.
Tracking what you eat ahead of time, rather than after the fact. To bypass addiction, we need to put our Sane&Sober mind in charge of our eating by tracking food ahead of time and eating what we planned. This doesn't have to be fancy. You don't have to meal prep (unless you want to!). Just grab a piece of paper, think through your day tomorrow and jot down an “ideal” of what would look happy and healthy for you - given your time constraints and activities.
I would love to know how these suggestions go for you! Please feel free to hit "reply" to this email with any thoughts, questions, comments, concerns.
In the meantime, I invite you to read all about the program here: