Food Addiction, the Problem and the Solution

In this powerful episode, we speak with Jessica Parker, a coach who brings both lived experience and deep compassion to her work with individuals struggling with food addiction. At just nine years old, Jessica experienced the trauma of divorce and the sudden shift into a blended family with five new sisters. Food quickly became the language of love in her home, but it also fueled disordered eating patterns that spiraled into guilt, shame, and obsession around food. Years later, Jessica reached 360 pounds, underwent both gastric sleeve and gastric bypass surgeries, and began to see firsthand the limitations of relying on restriction and surgery alone.Today, Jessica is abstinent from offending foods and volume and thriving after decades of obesity, two major surgeries, and a history of drug and food addiction. A graduate of the INFACT School, she combines science with empathy to guide clients seeking relief. She knows the struggle of trying to control food and weight with willpower or medical intervention and offers a spiritual and recovery-based solution that goes deeper than restriction. Her work centers on teaching that freedom from food obsession is possible—through abstinence, recovery, and connection.Jessica is passionate about meeting people before they undergo gastric bypass surgery, helping them explore a path to recovery that doesn’t rely solely on surgery. With warmth and honesty, she shares her own journey of learning to recognize emotions like anger, breaking free from food obsession, and discovering true freedom. Connect with her on Facebook at Taste of Freedom (https://www.facebook.com/people/A-Taste-of-Freedom/61576852342384/), on Instagram at A Taste of Freedom Coaching (https://www.instagram.com/atasteoffreedom.coaching), or reach out directly at email: [email protected] to learn more about her coaching and recovery approach.

Mike Fetherston has walked a long, humbling road through addiction and recovery. one that has included alcohol, drugs, food addiction, bulimia, and as a result, morbid obesity which plagued him for much of his life. His struggle began early. By the age of two and a half, Mike was already turning to food as a coping mechanism, saying he loved food and wanted to feel as full as he could, from as early a time as he could remember.

Childhood brought emotional instability and deep discomfort, and food quickly became his escape. As his addictions grew, he eventually faced life-threatening consequences not only from substance use but also from disordered and compulsive eating.

Mike found sobriety from drugs and alcohol in 2005. Three years later, in 2008, he entered his first 12-step food recovery program, beginning what he often calls the hardest journey of all. Food was harder than drugs or alcohol. He admits, wrestling with the question of whether complete abstinence from food was even possible, and often would think to himself that people who said they had it were either lying or didn’t have it as bad off as he did.

For the next decade, he cycled through food addiction and eating disorder treatment programs and countless 12-step meetings. Despite his best efforts, lasting recovery eluded him. Eventually, he reached a point of total desperation, physically broken, emotionally hopeless, and eating to die. Then, in a moment he least expected, the right combination of desperation, willingness, and support came together for him. It marked the turning point toward the most profound recovery and wellness he had ever experienced.

Since 2018, Mike’s recovery has not been perfect or linear. He has relapsed more than once, but each time, he has returned to the support and structure needed to realign with his recovery. He believes his life depends on maintaining abstinence, and his resilience lies in never giving up and continuing to show up and seek recovery even when hope felt out of reach. Mike believes that if recovery can happen for a Man as hopeless as he was, then it can be had by anyone.

Now in his 50s, Mike is healthy, thriving, and enjoying a beautiful life with his family. He has maintained a 150-pound weight loss for many years and speaks openly about how addiction nearly took his life but recovery gave him a new one.

Mike’s story is also one of service and joy. He transformed his love of food and a lifelong passion for cooking into a recovery-focused mission. Since 2020, he has led hundreds of cooking and meal-planning classes at Milestones in Recovery (https://www.milestonesprogram.org/),  known as Cooking with Mike. In these sessions, he shows that people in recovery from eating disorders and food addiction can enjoy abundant, delicious, and nourishing meals while maintaining abstinence. His philosophy is simple: recovery doesn’t mean deprivation, it means positive transformation, supported by planning and mindful preparation.

In Fall of  2020, Mike enrolled in the INFACT School (https://infactschool.com/), deepening his knowledge of food addiction and treatment. That education inspired him to expand his role from recovery sponsor to certified counselor, allowing him to guide others professionally. He now encourages others who feel called to this work to pursue certification as well.

Sakinah Osborne is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, National Certified Counselor, and Clinical Director at Milestones In Recovery (https://www.milestonesprogram.org/) —a leading residential treatment center in South Florida that specializes in food addiction and eating disorders. Milestones is one of our valued podcast sponsors, known for its abstinence-based, holistic approach to recovery. With a compassionate, multidisciplinary team, Milestones offers personalized care that helps clients heal physically, emotionally, and spiritually in a supportive, home-like environment.

Sakinah brings a profoundly human and multidimensional perspective to her work. Before becoming a therapist, she served nearly three years in the U.S. Army. She built a successful career in sales and management, skills that continue to enhance her empathy, leadership, and communication as a clinician. She completed her master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Florida International University and her clinical internship at Milestones in 2017. Today, she guides clients through detox, manages the complex emotional and behavioral dynamics of food addiction, and helps design personalized recovery plans that foster long-term transformation. 

Her path to this work is rooted in powerful personal experience. Raised by a single mother with a survival mindset and estranged from an alcoholic father, Sakinah struggled with abandonment and emotional disconnection from an early age. She remembers feeling suicidal at just seven years old. After battling debilitating postpartum depression, she recognized she had been living with untreated depression most of her life. It was through seeking therapy that she found not only healing, but her calling—to help others find hope and freedom from emotional pain. 

Today, Sakinah leads with cultural sensitivity, clinical expertise, and a deep belief in the possibility of change. At Milestones, she witnesses profound client transformation as individuals begin to understand the grip of food addiction and learn new ways of living. Her journey—from the Army to sales to clinical leadership—is a testament to the power of purpose, healing, and service. She is passionate about helping clients discover lives of peace, joy, and self-acceptance.

Guests Amanda Leith  SHiFT, Recovery By Acorn and Esther Helga Guðmundsdóttir, INFACT School both experienced the misery of obesity and countless failed diets—until they discovered their real problem: food addiction, a brain disease. Like many late-stage food addicts, they used food to cope with life, consuming far more food than their bodies needed. Once they recognized their addiction, they began abstinent food plans and recovery programs, shedding excess weight and doing the emotional work required to heal. Today, they live at healthy body weights and enjoy freedom from food addiction—one day at a time. Today, they devote their lives to helping others understand and recover from this illness.Food addiction is a substance use disorder involving ultra-processed foods, similar to alcohol or drug addiction. Amanda and Esther assess clients using food use history and tools like the Yale Food Addiction Scale. Sugar—technically not a food but an additive—has over 260 names and is often hidden in products through deceptive labeling by food companies.Many of their clients have tried everything to control their food use and/or lose weight, often arriving desperate and willing to try something new. At SHiFT, Amanda guides clients toward abstinence from addictive foods while addressing the emotional drivers behind food use. As cravings and withdrawal pass, clients gain relief from the addiction and obsessive food thoughts and learn to enjoy eating whole, nourishing foods.Unlike drug or alcohol addiction, we cannot abstain from food entirely, which makes food addiction more complex. Yet the solution lies in abstaining from addictive foods and engaging in emotional recovery work.Phil Werdell, website, a pioneer in the field, greatly influenced Amanda and Esther. His teachings on powerlessness and denial are foundational to their treatment approach, and they credit him for shaping their understanding and protocols.Amanda explains the difference between emotional eating and true food addiction in this episode. While emotional eaters may recover through therapy alone, food addicts must first remove addictive substances and engage in structured recovery with support. At SHiFT, Recovery By Acorn, food and emotional issues are treated concurrently.With chronic disease and metabolic dysfunction at crisis levels—primarily driven by poor nutrition, food addiction, and obesity—Esther Helga argues that food companies knowingly exploit this addiction for profit.The International Food Addiction Conference will hold its second event in London, September 4–5, 2025, highlighting food addiction and its comorbidities. At the 2024 London conference, an influential group of professionals reached a Consensus:   Ultra-Processed Food is a Substance Use Disorder.   Advocacy continues to classify food addiction within the ICD (World Health Organization) and the DSM (American Psychiatric Association), paving the way for insurance coverage of treatment.Don’t miss this powerful episode as we explore food addiction—its root causes, and the hope of recovery.

Barney Reason is a recovering food addict who has also overcome addictions to alcohol, drugs, and compulsive behaviors. His journey began early—he had his first drink at age 7 and got sober from alcohol by 25 years old. But as the alcohol stopped, his food addiction escalated, leading him to a peak weight of 365 pounds. 

Barney grew up in a deeply unstable environment, marked by abuse, neglect, and chaos—he lived in 16 different homes in 16 years. As a child, his emotions, especially anger, were not welcomed or validated. In response, he turned to food, substances, and compulsive behaviors to soothe his anxiety and numb his pain. 

For years, Barney sought relief from overwhelming feelings, not realizing that the intensity of his emotions was part of being human. Today, he embraces those feelings, knowing they pass, and feels more alive than ever. 

Barney’s recovery has been long and difficult, but he now uses his experience to help others find hope and healing through 12-step recovery. Barney became a Certified Food Addiction Professional (https://infactschool.com/treatment-certification-program/) through the the INFACT School (https://infactschool.com/)

He is on staff at SHiFT, Recovery by Acorn (https://foodaddiction.com/) a food addiction treatment program which is committed to supporting people recover from food addiction and lead better lives.    He helps with SHiFT’s Intensive Treatment program, where attendees learn to experience sobriety from addictive eating, along with the incredible new freedom.   

Barney Reason’s story is a powerful testament to resilience, transformation, and the possibility of achieving lasting freedom from addiction, as well as the gifts of helping others recover.