THE PSYCHOLOGY AND BRAIN SCIENCE OF SUSTAINABLE WEIGHT LOSS
with Susan Peirce Thompson, Ph.D.
Caryn interviewed Dr. Thompson in 2017 on IT’S ALL ABOUT FOOD and they talked about the Bright Line Eating program in detail. Listen to the interview HERE Dr. Thompson was also on the program in 2014, just before she launched the Bright Line Eating Program. Listen to that interview HERE.
Are You Addicted to Food? Take this short quiz and find out. Based on your unique answers, you will receive a personalized video from Dr. Susan Peirce Thompson explaining how your brain responds to addictive food.
Hello, those links take us to a page where the videos have been taken down. Is it possible to view them elsewhere?
Hi – yes, they are gone for now but will be back again another time. In the meanwhile, I recommend listening to my two interviews at the bottom of the page. Also, if you take the quiz on this page, you’ll be on the mailing list to find out when the next series takes place. https://responsibleeatingandliving.com/food-freedom-video-series/
thanks!
I’m surprised to see this here, as you had responded to comments from those of us who had expressed concerns about this program, mainly due to the restrictive nature of having to weigh and measure all your food, the high expense of the program, and the fact that this is available for free from Food Addicts Anonymous. If you are happy to follow orders (like a good soldier was my comment), then sure, spend thousands of dollars and do the program (maybe it’s cheaper now, but I spent over $1500.00 for my time with Bright Line Eating, and like a number of others, I left with a bad feeling and lots of disappointment.
Hi Judith,
I was meaning to respond to your other post in detail, and I will copy my comment here at that post as well. From a personal stand point, I don’t believe in weighing and measuring food or counting calories. Aside from being a vegan and eating a whole foods, mostly organic diet, I have a lot of freedom to eat what I want, when I want and how much I want, and I have maintained a healthy weight all of my life. When I coach people I encourage them to eat this way, because it works for me and from my research I feel it is the best way to eat. I have no personal experience with addictions or with difficulty losing weight. My partner had struggled with his weight most of his life and found peace with his food when we got together and I introduced him to the whole foods vegan diet.
Susan Thompson has shared much of her personal struggle and how she resolved her weight problem and food issues. She created a program that works for her and this is what she offers to others. Her program does resemble some 12-step programs, because she has experience with them and took from them what worked for her, while adding additional tips and tools that helped her stick to the plan. Her quiz helps people determine whether they are highly addicted to food, most specifically refined sugar and flours. For those who are highly susceptible to addiction, a rigid, strict plan is critical in order to build healthy eating habits and break the addiction. I was very impressed with Susan when I interviewed her several years ago. After speaking with her at length I felt comfortable promoting her program when she launched it. Recently I was given the opportunity to participate in the boot camp and I watched all the videos and reviewed the materials. For someone like myself, who has had no problem with weight, the program was extremely restrictive and not something I would ever be interested in doing, because I DON’T NEED TO. But for those who have tried other diets and failed, and are really ready to do what is necessary to change and create healthy eating habits, this program will absolutely get you there. And you must follow the plan to succeed. Based on how susceptible you are to addiction, you can be more flexible, even not weigh your food, in this program.
When I was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer 10 years ago, I was already a vegan. I created a super healthy food plan to boost my immune system and eliminate foods that would encourage cancer growth. Some would say it was very restrictive. I was happy to do it because I knew it would save my life. A piece of cake or save my life? I chose life. So it depends on where you are at and how motivated you are to achieve your goal. I’ll say it again – if you have struggled with diets all your life and failed to keep the weight off permanently you need to make some big changes. Susan Thompson’s plan is one way to get there.
Susan Thompson is very generous too. You can learn a lot about the program and the foundation of it by watching the Food Freedom Series and listen to all of her regular Vlogs and not spend a dime. The program helps people commit and stick to the plan long enough to create new habits and have materials to go back to when needed. Those with addictions need to follow orders in order to get well. Yes, you need to be a good soldier when you are fighting addiction. I think Susan Thompson’s plan is necessarily restrictive, but also fun and full or love.
Have you found a successful way to attain your ideal weight, Judith? Has Food Addicts Anonymous worked for you? I am not familiar with them.
Kind regards,
Caryn
Thanks for your comment, Caryn. I realize that food addiction is a difficult and complex issue. Thankfully I have been doing very well with the whole foods, plant-based, no oil plan, eating primarily according to calorie density that Jeff Novick, RD lectures about and that Chef AJ promotes. At this point, in the 10 months since following Chef AJ’s plan, I’ve lost nearly 50 lbs, all without going hungry and feeling really good. That’s not something I could find with the restrictive Food Addicts plan that Susan bases her work on.
For me, I was always hungry and always feeling anxious with Bright Line Eating. I was not happy or thin, and I did not feel free. I felt trapped, cornered, enslaved. It wasn’t good for me. I also think Bright Line Eating doesn’t allow someone to eat more intuitively, to learn how to develop the best way to eat what you need in the amounts that are going to keep you feeling full and satisfied. But I guess I’m not truly addicted, even though I scored a 7 out of 10 on Susan’s quiz.
Maybe for people who are addicted, who can’t stop eating and who are out of control, then maybe for them they need this kind of boot camp approach to food and eating. I think they could do this by joining Food Addicts in Recovery. If you google them, you will see they’ve got meetings in many cities across the USA and Canada. I thought about continuing on with them when I became disappointed in the way the Bright Line Eating approach wanted more money from me, and I was having to rely on the support from other members not trained as counsellors. In the end, I just didn’t like the Food Addicts plan with all the weighing and measuring and other restrictions, just like the Bright Line Eating approach. I have to say that it did bother me that Bright Line Eating isn’t a plant-based program. I got tired of seeing yet another breakfast “pancake” made with eggs pictured on the facebook group, or something with chicken or fish in a recipe.
Susan’s videos are good, but they mostly are there to get people to sign up to her program and spend a fair amount of money. I don’t know what it costs now to do the program, but I’m guessing it’s still a lot more than the $149.00 I paid to be a life long member of Chef AJ’s program.
In the end, I’m grateful I found what I needed to help me feel good, feel nourished, and to be losing weight in a way that is healthy and right for me.
Wishing you all the best,
Judith
Judith, I had EXACTLY the same reaction to Bright Line Eating – it made me considerably more anxious, not less. While I applaud what Susan is trying to accomplish, the program is not for me. I’m vegan, so I have no problem with bright lines associated with what I will and will not eat, but the finite meal plans, measured amounts, and timing were too restrictive and left me hungry and thinking about food all the time. I ended up gaining weight, not losing, and feeling like a failure. What is currently working for me is a very pared down, very simple version of Dr. McDougall’s Maximum Weight Loss diet where I’m eating what I want, when I want, and learning to listen to my body again. I asked for and received a full refund from BLE.
Hi Laura,
I’m so glad you were able to get a full refund. I wish I would have asked for a refund like you. I think it’s probably too late now.
What I’m doing is probably similar to you. It’s basically Dr. McDougall’s approach, with an emphasis on no-oil, plant-based meals, and avoiding sugar, flour, nuts, and nut butters. I’m enjoying my starches! Potatoes, sweet potatoes and brown rice mostly. I feel really good. Who knew how damaging oil is to our health and efforts to lose weight?
Wishing you the best!
Can u tell me what your thoughts are on “Honey” as a sugar substitute?
Here at Responsible Eating And Living, we don’t use honey because it is not a vegan product, it is taken from bees. From a health standpoint it is much like all sweeteners and should be used sparingly, as a treat. Date sugar is the most nutritious sweetener, since it is just dried and ground from dates, and has fiber. For people who have sugar addictions, there really isn’t any different between honey and sugar, they both are problematic in this case.
so is date sugar better than honey – as in can be used whilst trying to break addiction?
Date sugar is the most nutritious sweetener and it contains fiber. But it is not recommended if you are trying to break a sugar addiction.
From Dr. Greger’s website, http://nutritionfacts.org/video/the-healthiest-sweetener/, he writes:
“In fact, all these down are basically just sugar—whether dark, light, raw, or turbinado. There are only two health-promoting sweeteners—only two sweeteners that are actually good for you: molasses and date sugar. They’re both good, but out of curiosity, which one falls to second place. Do you think molasses is less healthy than date sugar? Or does date sugar fall to second place?
The healthiest sweetener on the planet is date sugar. Date sugar is not really sugar; it’s just whole dried dates, pulverized into powder. As the only whole food up there, no wonder it’s number one. It’s the only thing I ever use in baking. Because it’s a whole plant food, it has fiber, though, so there is a thickening effect—which is great for smoothies or hot chocolate.”