“Hungry …Mister O’Keefe? ”, purred the American Airlines flight attendant in Business Class enroute to Paris sometime in the 1990’s as I was gobbling my way to obesity by 30. It caused fits and giggles for me and my traveling bestie at the time, Richard Samson….who imitated that woman for days….if not months. But looking back, i really wasn’t laughing on the inside. She had hit a deep nerve.

The woman was three rows away and in front of the whole cabin she was telling ME that IM FAT. Thats how the addict’s brain works. In this case, the addiction was FOOD. Oh and there was shame, too…another enabler for an addict of any kind! Closet snacking. Peanut butter on bagels as a night snack. Bowls of cereal at all hours. Eating out despite my growing rolls of fat….and embarrassing waist size. Being a blimp was my double life…but unfortunately it was visible for all to see. For me, food and addiction were Double Trouble, although in a peculiar way it may have saved me from other addictions for many years.

Another time I was flying First Class on Delta taking my baby brother Michael Joseph to the Grand Canyon. (yes, you got it — air travel became the next addiction) He was 9. I was 26, or as he adorably once claimed “Bri, you’re practically 30”.

Midway on our connecting flight to Phoenix heading our way to the Canyon, I noticed Michael having a rather lengthy conversation with the flight attendant. He did that a lot. He’d gab with his friends parents, even on the telephone when he was very young. No surprise, with four much older siblings verbally stimulating him from Day One.

He returned to his sumptuous leather seat which he looked tiny in. A few minutes later the flight attendant brought over a gigantic bag of Delta Biscoff cookies, each wrapped in plastic. “Oh, Michael will love these”, I said. Turns out he told her we were homeless living in the desert (seated in First, somehow) outside Phoenix and that we needed food — and cookies. He got the idea because around that time I was producing most of a “48 Hours” hour with Bernard Goldberg, profiling a family that lived in the desert with no home.

But back to my addiction: I was embarrassed by the 100 cookies…”Michael, you love these”, deflecting the real tummy that would scarf them down. I probably ate 90 of the 100 cookies all before I left the Grand Canyon. That eating and traveling and food on the road helped balloon me to 265 pounds by my 40th birthday. Oh, I won lots of Emmys, traveled the world, left the United States every summer for three weeks with a minimum two continent international vacation.

But I was fat. I was lonely. I was depressed and I was miserable.

In 2008 facing my forties ahead of me and knowing my grandfather dropped dead of a heart attack in his 40’s…I called my boss Jim Murphy and said I needed to go away…to lose weight. But back then I didn’t see it as an addiction. Addiction’s favorite expression is “MORE, PLEASE” and not really even “PLEASE”. And i always had THIRD helpings and bread and chocolate, all deadly to a food addict.

I went off to a very expensive place called Pritikin and dove into their program of food and exercise. I began to run every day for 45 minutes without stopping. The pounds flew off fast. I loved the exercise and wanted MORE of it. Ive wondered if I became addicted to running, though theres no shame attached.

Like my television work, I strived for excellence and success in choosing healthy food and exercise. I reached my goal of 220 by the time I left Pritikin. And continued to lose by running through Beverly Hills, Griffith Park and along the Pacific Ocean. I began making bean vegetable soups…sliced turkey in a whole pepper…and oatmeal berry muffins that have no butter salt or flour…and are delicious. I prepared all my food. Very little meat protein and ZERO BREAD. I melted down to 173 in 2010.

But only recently did I discover the story behind one little detail of Pritikin’s eating plan. On every table was Splenda…a big tray of “more, more, more” Splenda packets. I remember critics of Pritikin said that Pritikin had sold out their soul because Splenda made some sort of deal to be the exclusive sweetener there. If you had a pink or blue packet of sweetener ever visible, you were shamed and sent to a dungeon.

Seriously, one of the lecturers was adamant that Splenda is bad. I have recently found out why.
Flying Delta today, as I write this I have twice turned away a can of Fresca. Years ago I’d rejoice that Delta was the Fresca airline. Whenever I had a Fresca …I NEVER only had one. EVER. Id have two or maybe even three. Theres that “MORE” thing, again.

I yo yo’d back into the Rice Diet Clinic in 2012. No Splenda there. Then my weight came down again. In fact after my very first day I had the second largest one day weight loss in Rice’s history. Men always lose water weight immediately. You discharge sodium which holds the water weight. I lost EIGHT pounds that day. Of course, I pigged out at P. F Chang’s , a sodium emporium, at my “Last Supper” the night before.

Having a scientific understanding what food does to our internal pleasure flume ride of Dopamine is also informative about any addiction. Splenda, Aspartame and my dearly departed Fresca fed my “MORE” and taunted me all day, usually within hours to snacking on candy and baked breads. The fake sweetener DOESNT care about where you get your next fix. And neither did I.

STOP THE INSANITY!! Ms. Power screamed in her infomercials! i wonder if she knew the dirty secret of food addiction. The yo yo dieting game with food I like to think is what addiction experts call “insanity”…doing the same thing over and over with the same old, lumpy sodium and sugar drenched outcome.

But another component of remedying addiction is to make better choices in your food intake or whatever.

On November 9th I had breakfast with a nutritionist Rachel Beller. Her nutrition plan launched me off to what I hope is a lifelong recovery of my food addiction. Ive even extrapolated and grew recipes for her to share with clients.

No more insanity. No more judgements. No more Shame. No more “MORE” No more Fresca!

I have lost 20 pounds with light cardio daily (hiking, walking, treading water) and better food choices. Im taking my time building in the exercise and will add swimming laps and running in due time.

Simultaneously, I gave my last case of Fresca to a neighbor. I have not had ONE microgram of Splenda since that breakfast… And miracle of miracles: Im no longer snacking or bingeing but eating the right oatmeal and whole foods, legumes, beans, nuts and water. VitaminZERO water has also dumped Splenda and now use Stevia a natural sweetener. I might drink three of those a week…instead of three Frescas in one sitting.

Eat right. Exercise when you can. I guarantee you you’re life will get better. It works if you work it.