We Don’t Negotiate With Terrorists

Unmasking the Food Addict Within

Ever hit the “F-its”?

That moment where one slip flips the switch:
Screw it. Eat everything. Reset Monday.

That isn’t laziness.
That isn’t weakness.

That’s food addiction gaslighting you.

I rode that lie all the way to 400 pounds:

“This time’s different.”
“Clean slate coming.”
“Just one more blowout.”

In the moment, it feels like relief.
No rules. No restraint. No white-knuckling life.

Then comes the crash.

Wrappers hidden.
Stomach heavy.
Shame roaring.

And the addict whispers:

“You’re overreacting.
It was just low-carb cookies.”

How I Know It’s Addiction

Because it argues against my own lived truth.

It minimizes regret.
It rewrites history.
It isolates me in humiliation.

I built a prison listening to that voice.
Why would I trust it to lead me out this time?

The Never-Ending Internal Debate

Walking my dog one morning:

Me: No eating till 6pm.
Brain: What about 3?
Me: Dinner is at 6.
Brain: Short window though. Maybe 3–7?
Cream in coffee at 2?
Turkey and cucumbers—barely calories.

Whack-a-mole.

I wasn’t hungry.
I was negotiating.

Exhausting. Familiar?

That’s not appetite.
That’s coping.

Stress.
Boredom.
Emotion.
A brain trained on a glucose rollercoaster.

This Isn’t a Moral Failure

Let’s get something straight:

Cravings don’t mean you’re broken.
They mean you’re human.

There is no magic that erases truckloads of cookies from memory.
But remission? Absolutely possible.

Low-carb starves the beast.
Awareness, structure, and community cage it.

Not cure.
Control.

The Rule That Changes Everything

Say it out loud:

“We don’t negotiate with terrorists.”

Pause.

Don’t react.
Don’t suppress.
Observe—without judgment.

The Check-In Protocol

Before you eat, ask:

1. Am I actually hungry?
– Stomach growling?
– Energy dipping?
– True physical signals?

If not…

2. Why eat now?
– Habit?
– The clock?
– Stress?
– Boredom?
– Emotion?
– Hyper-palatable triggers (yes, even keto snacks)?
– Sight, smell, checkout-mode autopilot?

No shame.
Just facts.

Curiosity drains the charge.

Starving the Dark Passenger

The addict feeds on:

• Isolation

• Self-hate

• “I already blew it” thinking

It fades with:

• Space

• Grace

• Awareness

Remove carbs and it adapts—nuts, fat bombs, “just a bite.”
The game evolves.

Your job isn’t to win forever.
It’s to notice sooner.

That widening gap between urge and action?
That’s freedom growing.