Chef AJ's site: EatUnprocessed.com Chef AJ's Books: The Secrets to Ultimate Weight Loss: A Revolutionary Approach to Conquer Cravings, Overcome Food Addiction and Lose Weight Without Going Hungry https://amzn.to/2uSuIS1 Unprocessed: How to Achieve Vibrant Health and Your Ideal Weight https://amzn.to/2JZaGtX   Food Addiction http://learntruehealth.com/food-addiction-2/ A lot of us are guilty of food addiction. We usually either think it’s hard to do or ineffective for achieving weight loss or gaining your health back. But that’s not true.  That’s why I’m so excited to have Chef AJ who’ll teach us some tips and tricks in kicking our food addiction forever. Childhood Years Chef AJ’s eating habits during childhood were the standard Jewish diet. It was high in fat and animal protein. In a way, she describes her environment as belonging to a family of emotional eaters surrounded by food.  As a result, her family members suffered from all sorts of diseases. ” Born in 1960, I became fat at the age of 5. One of every three children under the age of 18 is overweight. It’s never fun being overweight especially as a child,” recalls Chef AJ. “Because it led me to do what I do now. I don’t want people to have to go through the pain shame and humiliation.” Chef AJ had two older brothers who told her back then that guys are not going to date fat girls. And they were right. Because during her senior prom, Chef AJ didn’t have a date. So, thinking about her childhood, it makes Chef AJ sad. Growing Up Years Chef AJ’s family moved back to California from Chicago when she was 11 years old. She was not even 5 feet tall and yet she weighed 160 pounds. That is childhood obesity.  When Chef AJ was in her 20s, she weighed up to 200 pounds. Nobody was offering any suggestions. It took an offhand remark from an uncle who happened to be a doctor for Chef AJ to want to change. Her uncle told Chef AJ she could probably go a week without eating and it wouldn’t hurt her one bit. So, Chef AJ tried not to eat, and she indeed lost weight. But in the next seven years, Chef AJ became anorexic. Putting her health at risk, Chef AJ developed liver damage, then her fingernails and hair fell out. “Anorexia is not sustainable. I don’t recommend it for weight loss or dietary control. Because eventually, you get so hungry,” said Chef AJ. “When you haven’t eaten very much for many years, you end up becoming bulimic like me.”  She adds, “It’s worse in some ways. Because with bulimia, you have the energy to do things. You’re eating, but you’re eating a lot. And getting rid of food by exercising or in my case smoking and purging. I remember getting depressed and even thought of suicide in my 20s.” Chef AJ also recalls that back then, they treat bulimia like a mental disease and lock you up in a psychiatric hospital. The funny thing was, for most of that time, Chef AJ was vegan. She became a vegan at a very young age for ethical reasons at age 17 when she attended the University of Pennsylvania. But Chef AJ was what she calls herself a “fat” vegan. Because she didn’t eat many of the healthy foods that she eats today. She had her food addiction — candies, cakes, cookies and ice cream. Plus, a lot of caffeine and sugar.  Effort To Change By the age of 43 and had eaten almost no fruits and vegetables her entire life, Chef AJ soon found had what books call a pre-cancer stage. It wasn’t until Chef AJ was in her early 40s that she learned food had something to do with how we look, feel or what diseases she could get or reverse. “I always thought it was genetic. Genetics are important to a certain extent. But it’s our diet and lifestyle that pulls the trigger,” said Chef AJ. Optimum Health Insitute It wasn’t long before Chef AJ found this magazine featuring a place near San Diego, California called the Optimum Health Institute. Chef AJ first went there on July 6, 2003, and found that although there were no medical doctors, there were chiropractors, nurses, and health professionals. Th