Dr. Lucy Burns - 'Carb Addiction is not your fault'

Dr. Lucy Burns is a GP in based in Frankston just south of Melbourne, Australia. She graduated from Monash Medical school in 1993 and received her fellowship with the RACGP in 1998. She also has a diploma of obstetrics, a certificate in clinical hypnosis and has board certification as a lifestyle physician with ASLM.

Lucy worked in general practice whilst having her children until 2005, and then worked for the Department of Defence at HMAS Cerberus as a civilian medical officer for 13 years. During that time she noticed a large increase in obesity in the current serving members and the new recruits.

Dr. Burns has muscular dystrophy which impairs her mobility. In her 20’s she managed her weight with exercise. Alas, this is no longer possible and she found that as she got older following the standard low fat style of dieting was unsustainable and unsuccessful. She became overweight/obese and was insulin resistant.

Another Dr friend introduced her to keto and she was hooked. A year later she opened her low carb general practice clinic called 'Epiphany Medical Weight Loss'. Along with her colleague Dr Mary Barson, the pair have also formed a business called 'Real Life Medicine' and have an on-line program that addresses both the physiological and psychological causes of obesity. Her strong belief is to empower people to manage their health through nutrition and the low carb way of living.

[Peter-vnjq]

Man, I needed this. I was on the carnivore diet for months, feeling great, looking better by the day, it was all GOOD. Then I slipped once, and BOOM. A month long bender of chocolate and cookies. Gained all the weight back. I didn't even know it was possible to gain all the weight back so quickly. Now I'm back to square one. It's depressing, frankly.

[maryjanerx]

I turned down cake at a wedding. It helps to remember that I am treating myself to mental health. Food is medicine or poison. Poison is not a treat. The few minutes of enjoyment from eating is not worth the days of feeling depressed, irritable, and cognitive decline.

[melissag.]

"I eat everything I want. I've just changed what I want." Brilliant!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[kerry]

I was on keto and feeling amazing for 18 months. I told friends that I'd never go back to how I used to eat. Cue Christmas.... I ate one chocolate and completely fell off the keto wagon. For six months I gorged myself on anything sweet. Dreadful. I realise that I'm no different to the recovering alcoholic. There's no such thing as moderating your alcohol intake, just as I have no control over sugar once I open the door to it.

[JoyK]

The 'BEST' information I have ever heard. I just wish that I knew about Carb Addiction and Keto when I was younger, ( I am 63) Would have saved me a lot of medical problems and also bullying at school. I have been doing Keto for the last 3-4 months, and my Type 2 diabetes is at a normal range, plus, I am losing weight.

[davehertle]

I have been on Keto for over 2 years. This has been an easy time as I broke the Carb Addiction.
I heard that an alcoholic knows the location of every bar in town. When I heard that I had a moment of epiphany - "I knew the location of every donut shop in town.

[Michael_Mears]

"One of us is going to be unhappy. Might as well be them." Very good. I like that.

[jenniphd]

Thank you for all of this. When my family first went low carb, and I worried about throwing away food my son developed a really helpful statement for me. "The waste of money was when I bought it, not when I threw it in the trash." That really helped me to stop buying "treats."

[BobDiaz]

Friends and family can be the worst thing for having to overcome Carb Addiction. While I don't believe they are trying to be horrible, they try to get you to have cake, cookies, candy, ... or something else that's bad for you. It can be frustrating.

[whiznot]

I ditched sweets, starches and seed oils five months ago and dropped 35 pounds. I'm no longer overweight. The big surprise was how easy it became after the hunger went away and I started feeling great.

[pederjohansen]

Good to see another doctor talking about carb addiction. I have listened to Rob Cywes from the USA and am glad to hear an Australian doctor talking about it. It is as hard to beat because if the social acceptance of food. And now being overweight is seen as the norm rather than a increased risk of health issues.

[kentee]

Spot on. I was a carb addict until I went carnivore. Never thought I could give it up but found it really easy.

[gabrieltorres]

You don’t know how sick you are until you get better. Keep these coming, take back your life people!

[anavonrebeur]

Wonderfully said. I'm viralizing this. Thank you Lucy from Buenos Aires, Argentina, where I lost 18 kilos in 5 months just leaving out allá carbs and alcohol and feel happy eating justo beef, poultry, fat, fish, eggs ...AND very little of each because I never feel hungry!!! ( AND ignore my candy cravings!) When I am craving bread or wine, I just go for.a walk away from the kitchen AND far from supermarkets! Will poder diminishes at night, so I go to bed at 7/8 PM! Watch movida till I fall asleep! No dinner, never!!!

[clindsay]

Great presentation, thank you Dr Burns. Understanding the psychology is key to overcoming these addictions. My mantra is “good health is the best treat I could ever have” - anything else calling itself a treat is fooling us.

[gruntfuttock]

I have recently come to the same conclusion from my own move to a carnivore diet. Eggs, Bacon and steak. The last carb I abandoned was dairy. I no longer have any cravings for carbs in any form. I think one of the things that DSM 5 misses is that a true addict has to stop completely. I found that with smoking in 1996. One cannot just have an odd one here and there, it eventually leads to binging. I understand that alcoholics find the same thing.
If you want a treat, try biltong or jerky, but watch out for the marinade.

[maisie]

Fabulous to hear a GP speaking of carb addiction— for so many years the ‘ medical’ mantra’— when you craved nutritional advice was ‘ well you know what to do — ‘ calories in calories out’ — without the recognition that your body sees calories differently — 200 calories of broccoli is not processed in the way that high fructose foods containing 200 calories are — rant over. Thank you Dr Burns.

[sheilacollins]

My downfall is eating and reading. And I am weakest at the end of the day. I am working on strategies to combat this conditioning.

[deepuls]

Excellent talk - one of the best on carb-addiction and how to reframe your mindset. This is a keeper and pass on to others who this might wake up.

[melissawitherspoon]

Thank you for this! The way you framed this was masterful--made me realize that this addiction is NO different than when I quit smoking. All the strategies you explained I used back then to kick that habit. Been on keto for about 7 weeks and still have to work on the thoughts and feelings. Getting easier as I change what I want and focus on my overall health goals.