Today’s topic is a great one, and I’ll follow it with an announcement. A woman wrote: “I am embarrassed to join the community because I don’t have a weight problem, but I have a food addiction. I’m a nine on the Susceptibility Scale and have benefitted from your books and other materials. I’m afraid of being out of place in BLE, but I feel I could benefit from increased support.”
You are not alone! It is shocking how common it is for someone to have a food addiction even with no weight to lose. In fact, a study I did in 2015 showed that 22 percent of the respondents who were at a normal BMI tested high on the Susceptibility Scale.
Food addiction and the propensity to accumulate weight are completely separate systems in the brain. Because many people do come to BLE to lose weight, it can be easy to think that we’re not the right place for you—but that’s not true. Conversely, those who have weight to lose but aren’t high on the Susceptibility Scale sometimes feel they don’t belong here—and that’s not true either.
Almost everyone feels like they don’t belong at some point, for whatever reason: I have too much weight to lose. I don’t have enough weight to lose. English isn’t my native language. I don’t see people from my ethnic or racial background. I’m too young for Bright Line Eating. I’m too old. I’m too much of an introvert. I could go on.
I remember at an early Family Reunion Gathering, Everett Considine was on stage and asked the crowd to raise their hand if they felt like they didn’t belong. And three-quarters of the room—including me—raised their hand.
Having a part of you that says you don’t belong is something that almost everyone needs to overcome. Search “choose to belong” at our vlog page and you’ll find a vlog I shot on exactly that topic. Ultimately, we choose to belong. We claim our seat by sitting in it.
Consider the story you have in your head: that if you are seen in public weighing and measuring your food, without having weight to lose, you’ll be stirring up thoughts that you have an eating disorder. People might think you were disordered.
But remember that all of us in Bright Line Eating, walking around in our Bright bodies, are weighing our food in public.
Here’s my favorite story about this: there was a Bright Lifer who worked at Apple, where there were amazing buffets. She brought her food scale to one and was about to pull it out when a really good-looking guy got in line behind her. She considered not pulling out the scale. But finally, she summoned her courage and pulled it out, and he immediately struck up a conversation about how amazing it was that she did that. He said, “Everyone who is smart weighs their food. It’s the only way to dial in your nutrition.”
If we are the type of person who weighs our food publicly, we can be a beacon to others. They will see that we’re not restricting our quantities—we’re eating healthy, abundant quantities and living in Bright, balanced bodies.
Besides, it doesn’t matter what others think. Those that matter don’t mind, and those that mind, don’t matter, as the saying goes.
All this is to say that I think you belong in Boot Camp. Come all the way in. Bring your body, that is not burdened by weight but is burdened by mental chaos. Start to shed that load. You belong here. Let us love you. You’ll find others who are like you here.
And here’s my big announcement: Starting today, scholarship applications for Boot Camp are being accepted—but only for a limited time. Today through Sunday, September 8, 2024. We will grant twenty FULL scholarships for the Boot Camp in October.
At the end of September, the Food Freedom videos will come out, I’ll do YouTube Lives and a webinar, and the Boot Camp will start in the first week of October. I think you should be part of it. If you need a scholarship, now’s the time to apply.
There’s a link below the video with more info on the application process. It’s scary to branch out—but that’s where the magic is, and the growth starts. I hope you join us.
*Applications for a Boot Camp 2.0 scholarship are now closed.
