Sarah Jane Clark on food addiction
My name is Sarah Jane Clark and I am a Food Addict.
I spent many years hiding this shameful addiction, but I overcame it and live in recovery everyday, I now work tirelessly to raise awareness of this shameful addiction.
My addiction was fuelled by extremely low self-esteem, I had been a comfort eater from an early age, but this spiralled as by the age 14 years old I had attended a “diet Club” and tried meal replacement shakes. This is when the real addiction began, the toxic restrictive eating of diet culture just triggered me to secretly binge eat my emotions.
I was addicted to high sugar, ultra processed foods, by my mid twenties my periods stopped and I went along to my GP. I felt sluggish and tired all the time and my body ached. Moving my body was not easy.
I was horrified when I stepped on the scales and they headed to nearly 22 stones.
The tears stung my eyes I could not believe how easily the weight had crept on, I had been in complete denial and avoided the scales for years.
I got a very stern “telling off” by my GP she said I would not make 40 if I carried on like I was and I was sent on my way.
I left the surgery in floods of tears, all I wanted to do was to drive to the supermarket and buy a carrier bag of food to numb my painful; emotions but I knew this time was different.
I was at a crossroad with my health, which way would I turn?
Whenever I had tried to lose weight in the past it was always about being a certain number on the scales or a certain dress size but this time was different, this time I was losing weight to try and repair my health.
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I started very gradually by walking daily at night time ( so nobody could see me) , the next step was drinking water, the next step slowly changing the foods I ate and with each step I took my energy increased.
However it was not having the desired affect on my self worth and by the time I reached 15 stone I realised I didn’t actually like my appearance,
Then the “real work” began. Learning to love myself, this was not easy and Started by reading a book called “how to heal your life” by Louise Hay. I also worked really hard on reframing my negative thoughts. It was a slow, steady, progress.
Fast forward to 2024 I now weigh 9 stone 6 pounds and have been that weight for over 3 years, I work out daily and absolutely love exercise. I am grateful every day for my health and feel like I have a second chance at life.
I have run over 50 half marathons and 4 marathons, and I am very proud of my journey.
I want to raise awareness of this “taboo” subject as many women I have spoken to suffer in silence, isolating themselves form friends and family hiding their secret addiction. For many of the people I work with I am the the only person that they have ever shared their shameful secret with.
The UPF industry is now getting more press so people can realise that theses foods are engineered for us to become addicted to them.
As a nation we are becoming more obese, the NHS is struggling due to the ever growing obesity related health issues.
Have you ever asked yourself, am I a comfort eater? Are my eating habits having a negative effect on my health? Do I think about food all the time? Once you start eating chocolate do you find it impossible to stop? If so, it could just be that you are like me a food addict ?
https://www.stepbystepwithsarahjane.co.uk/
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Sarah Jane Clark is paving the way to start having honest conversations about food addiction and it’s impact on our health. I never thought about food addiction in this way until I started following Sarah’s podcasts and her journey. She’s truly inspirational and one of UK’s best and expert by lived experience.
Glad to hear someone actually come out and admit this. I too know I’m addicted to sugar and various processed foods. I hate the way that companies add substances just to make it even more addictive. The govt needs to see that this is fuelling the obesity crisis in our country and, with the state of our NHS and the financial situation we are in, something has to be done. Well done Sarah for highlighting this and speaking out. She is a similar age to me and her transformation is very inspirational. Would like to find out more about her work.
Totally agree! Something has to be done about the companies that are aloud to process the food and brainwash us we need it.
Absolutely amazing story, just reading the article was so inspiring and to maintaining the weight loss show true dedication and believe. Truly amazing
Sarah, yours is such an inspiring story! Thank you for sharing. Emotional eating has such an impact on people especially when food is consumed to try and ‘manage’ feelings… which never works. Well done for all the healing you’ve done. So inspiring
Brilliant Sarah. Such a nice read, to hear where you have come from and too.
Awareness of addictive behaviour towards food and the harm ultra processed foods can cause is a relatively new phenomenon to me. Thank you Sarah for highlighting this and showing how successfully this addiction can be overcome.
Brilliant article. Thanks for sharing Sarah
Thank you Sarah for your honesty and your passion to change.
I do wonder if the government were to take UPFs seriously and not focus on the monetary gain, then maybe the NHS would not be on its knees??
Keep on shining through and inspiring others!
Sarah truly is an inspiration! Beautiful human being – inside and out ❤️
Amazing achievements, fabulous lady and a real inspiration
Thanks for sharing your storey Sarah, what a journey and what an inspiration to others you are.
Great article Sarah, such a helpful insight into your journey and recovery. Your story will help so many others struggling with this issue.
Inspirational
This woman has been through the most real struggle , and I learnt more in an hour of her time than any many hours with a so called expert
Sarah, thank you for sharing your story. This is so inspiring. I need to make small changes also. This has motivated me massively
Lovely article – well done Sarah and thanks for sharing, certainly makes me think about lifestyle choices and the effects it has….
Very inspirational article, as someone who has also been addicted to sugar I know how addictive processed foods can be and how everyday is a battle, no less that a alcoholic, well done Sarah for discussing this seemingly hidden subject, people need to realise they are actually addicted to the food they are eating
What a inspiration
Sarah’s story resonates with so many of us – her communication style is honest, open and brave and makes her so real. Sarah has inspired so many with her journey and as she is so open it makes her more approachable than someone ‘lecturing us’ who knows the theory but hasn’t lived through it!
What an honest and inspiring article that will no doubt have a positive impact on so many people.
So much of what we’ve been told is a lye and having someone like you Sarah, a real person, with real common challenges, is what we need. I’ve found weight and health a challenge all my life and with Sarah’s incredible wealth of knowledge, compassion and enthusiasm to help others I have found that even I was eating to much processed foods, and have seen how her influence has even helped me achieve even better health throughout knowing her. Never give up and hopefully we can get more people to listen and bigger changes to be made by the government!!
100 percent agree, we’ve been conditioned to find this processed food attractive , advertising everywhere telling us we need to eat it.
It reminds me when smoking was advertised on everything and evrrywhere, trendy.
I really hope they start banning advertising processed and fast food soon.
Obesity is all around and it’s not our fault !
What an inspiration you are Sarah. Thank you for sharing your journey and helping to inspire other people.
Thank you for your kind words. I spent many years hiding a large part of my life. By sharing my experiences I feel I have set myself free from the power that food had over me.
Inspirational! Such an important message and support to everyone that has experienced addiction to food, firstyl knowing they are not alone, secondly knowing this can be achieved over time, without the lies, the false hopes and stories that appear , like quick weight loss diets , tablets and potions
A balanced , healthy lifestyle with exercise and moderate eating.
Everywhere you look we are made to belive sugar is a treat! Fast food and high fat content is attractive, why have we been brain washed? So frustrating for everyone that we are attracted and made to belive this type of food is a treat. The chemicals, the daily calorie intake on one item can be over our recommended daily amount by the British heart foundation, how do companies get to promote and sell this to us. How?
Thank you Sarah for an inspirational article, it’s a battle I live with and find your experience very informative. I wish I could bottle your determination.
Well done Sarah. Such an inspiration and I agree losing weight is so much more than what the scales tell you, it’s what your mind tells you.
So good to read that it’s more than just weight, it’s also feeling good about yourself. You’re such an inspiring woman that I relate to and just feel more positive when I read your words. Never stop x
Such an inspiring story. Well done Sarah Jane
This resonates so much. Thank you for sharing and giving others hope.