Testimonials

Comments about the book

“I am reading your book Sugar Bomb in Your Brain in English. I could highlight the whole book. It is fantastic. I know a lot about food addiction and have read many books. However, I had never read one that spoke to me so much! I am so grateful to have this treasure in my hands. I suggested your book to a friend, and she is amazed – as I thought she would be!
Je suis en train de lire le livre Sugar Bomb in Your Brain en anglais. Je pourrais surligner le livre entier. Il est fantastique. Je m’y connais bien en matière d’addiction au sucre et j’ai lu de nombreux ouvrages à ce sujet. Pourtant, je n’en avais jamais lu un qui me parle autant ! Je suis tellement reconnaissant(e) d’avoir ce trésor entre les mains.”
Nicole
 

Testimonials and cries for help

”Hello, wonderful Bitten,
I just want to thank you for saving my life! I had the opportunity to go with you and a group to the High Coast a few years ago to learn about addiction. Everything worked perfectly until I moved in with my partner two years ago. Then sugar sneaked back into my life. I took control again and attended a course at the Sugar School. I managed it well, but once again it crept back.

After a year of relapse, I’m back on track and have finally understood what you meant by surrender. It’s actually a relief to surrender to the addiction. Now I truly feel in my soul that I am completely powerless over the addiction and understand the importance of abstaining from poison and drug food.

You’ve helped me to get an absolutely wonderful life. I can’t thank you enough! Even my dog feels like a princess now that she eats real food! Her illnesses have also vanished. We lit a candle for Betsy on my dogs’ graves this week.
Thank you for saving lives!
A thousand hugs, N”
 

”Hello! Thank you for your interesting book. It’s a frightening eye-opener. I hope to gain access to the Facebook group, as I realize that unfortunately, I need help recovering from my sugar addiction. Thank you in advance!
Kind regards, LW”
 

”Hello! I have read your book and am completely captivated, gained understanding of my own problems and found substance to understand myself… a lot!
I completely agree with your theory about addiction and how it is connected in the brain. I’m wondering what the opponents say? I understand that you meet strong resistance from, for example, the fast-food industry and sugar manufacturers, as well as those who produce all the strange things we put into our bodies! What are their arguments? Sugar addiction is an addiction like several others and should therefore be treated equally! Thanks for the awakening! I’d be grateful for some tips on where I can find out more about the resistance!
Kind regards, PL”
 

I’m home from work today and I’m ashamed – I ate so much yesterday (binge-ate). Now I’m lying in bed, listening and crying, thinking this will never end. I have previously suffered from eating disorders, including bulimia. I work out every day and eat meal-prepped food according to a diet plan because I don’t know what “normal” is. I don’t know what a normal portion is, and I constantly feel anxiety, daily, about what and how much I eat. I’m ashamed that I binge-eat and spend huge amounts of money on it.

I think this is my last resort because I can’t take it anymore. It controls my life — it controls me – and I don’t want to be like this anymore. I need help. I live and work in Oslo right now and I’m writing to you because I don’t really know where to turn. I love the book and have only listened for three hours, but I recognize myself in everything. It makes me relieved to know that I’m not alone, but I feel great anxiety realizing I have big problems. Thank you for taking the time to read.
Kind regards, IA”
 

”Bitten, I have never met you, and a week ago I had never heard of you. But as I listen to your book, one mantra keeps spinning in my head: I LOVE you. I love your words, your wisdom, your knowledge, your honesty, and your insight. That your book helps me understand. That I am sugar addicted. That your book is the path to my life. I found you through several podcasts, and from there I found your book. A curtain is being lifted from my consciousness. I finally understand what I’ve been doing for so many years – and I had no idea. Until now.

I’ve suffered from chronic migraine for fifteen years and have been on sick leave for burnout for over two years, and with your book, EVERYTHING falls into place. Already as a child, I sneaked cookies, ate baking chocolate and marzipan. Secretly ate caramel sauce from friends’ fridges when we played hide and seek – my idea. I’ve sent this email to my parents and siblings tonight – and it’s ALL thanks to you. Now the journey begins. Now life begins. THANK YOU, Bitten. You’ve already changed my life.
Warm regards, Karin
 

“Hi, please help me. I’m so lost in food, I’m so tired of this now. I’ve read your book and started a little with LCHF, but I can’t do it without help. I work out a lot and have been through eating disorder units, have been vegan, vegetarian, GI method, LCHF off and on since I was 16 — now I’m 23. I’ve had anorexia and bulimia. Now I’m here, alone, after reading your book.” E
 

“I need help! I’m sugar-addicted and have IBS and had gastric bypass surgery, and I don’t know where to turn. I have a dietitian here that I see, but I feel I might need more. I’m not a social person and want to try to manage this with help from you and my dietitian. But since I have my GBP and IBS, maybe I need a different diet, etc.” A
 

“Hello! I’ve emailed you before about my sugar addiction. I wondered where I could find the nearest help as I live in Västerås. Now I’ve hit rock bottom – I and my entire being are screaming for help! Now I want to be free from my imprisoned mind. I don’t know where or how to start. Please, I’m begging you… help me.” C
 

“Hi, I’ve read your book and am quite convinced that my 14-year-old son is sugar addicted. He actually wants to quit sugar himself, but it feels like we need outside help for it to work. For example, what do we do about school meals? (He already eats gluten-free.) Don’t you hold intensive courses anymore? Who would you recommend we contact?” S
 

“I understand that you are a very busy person, but I still feel I need to consult you about the courses you hold.
I’ve long realized, but now mostly accepted, that I’m in great need of help – the right help. I’ve been listening to podcasts with you. I’ve listened and listened, cried a little, and felt both relieved and heavier.
My situation: I’m turning 54 this year, and I’ve dieted my body to pieces for about 35 years. The first diet I remember was in middle school when my mom dragged me to Weight Watchers, and we lived on tuna, cabbage, and eggs. Since then, I’ve been a constant dieter and gym-goer, always overweight! I’ve been a Cambridge diet addict for 10 years and spent hundreds of thousands of kronor on weight-loss methods and gym memberships.
I’ve developed a form of bulimia thanks to Cambridge. When I lost 25 kg with the soups and felt how wonderful it was to be at a functioning match weight, I broke down even harder when I gained it back. Panic! I can’t bear to see my weight go up again, so I ‘take care of it right away’ so to speak.
So, with a diet-ruined, messed-up body and an eating disorder at 54 – how do I get out of this? I can’t take it anymore but honestly don’t know how to proceed to get the right help in the right order. Both my sisters have had gastric bypass, but I don’t want that! There must be another way out of this, and I’ve received so many tips and advice regarding your courses.
How do you know if it’s really the sugar, wheat, or dairy that’s the culprit in my drama? I’ve done several tests and feel that yes, the statements fit, but maybe I don’t see certain things myself.
Bitten! Can you advise me on how to proceed? I’m seriously falling apart soon… but I’m prepared to talk to my employer about this because I think there’s help available to cover costs. Therefore, I need to know a little better which way to go right now to get started. Thanks for reading my email and hopefully taking the time to reply.” N
 

Hi Bitten, I’m writing because I was sitting up in my old childhood room at my parents’ during the holidays feeling awful. Really awful. Physically and mentally. Christmas is always hard for me…
I’m a 37-year-old woman; it’s hard to be moderate with chocolate. It doesn’t matter how much I prepare, plan, and think that I’ll eat moderately – I always fail. My whole life. Christmas is just another display of how completely I break my promises again and again. I had eaten three boxes of chocolate before Christmas even arrived. All by myself.
I’ve tried everything. Another Christmas with the family where my dad and I are the only ones who can’t control how much chocolate we eat. I’m ashamed. I li. I hide wrappers. Mom always watches me when I reach for the chocolate she puts out. Often, she sets it right in front of me – maybe as a test to see how long before I give in. Or maybe that’s just how it feels in my head.

The thing is, my mom has always been very slim, my older sister too. I’ve always been round – and lacking impulse control. Compared to them, I feel very unsophisticated. Mom often stands up, lifts her shirt, pats her stomach, and says she needs to lose weight. In front of me. She’s a size 34 and weighs about 55–60 kg. I know it probably isn’t meant that way, but I take it as a jab and feel even worse. Dad, on the other hand, has the same struggle with sugar, especially chocolate. Dad has also always had problems with alcohol.

The realization that came to me this Christmas when everything went to hell again… is that I’m probably addicted. In the same way Dad is addicted to alcohol. Now, with shame and the insight that I’m addicted – or rather, that I finally admit it to myself – I started googling a lot about sugar addiction and found YOU!”E
 

“Hello again,
I have a few questions… It’s about my 19-year-old son, whom I suspect has both a sugar and gaming addiction. He’s mentally unwell and has more or less stopped going to school. He prefers to stay at home in his apartment, sitting in front of the computer. Sometimes he doesn’t eat for several hours (for example, no breakfast or lunch, only dinner because I make it). He doesn’t socialize with any friends. He reluctantly comes along to family gatherings but usually declines.

I don’t know if I could persuade him to join this intensive course, but I wish I could. I wonder if you have experience with other young people who have been ‘forced’ there by parents? Can it yield any results? Can parents participate?

We’ve seen a psychotherapist, and my son is now on a waitlist for an evaluation (Asperger’s?), but the wait is about six months, and I doubt that’s the right path. Desperate… I just wish my son could feel better and manage to leave home without resistance. He has half a year left of high school. Any tips?” T
 

“Hi, I understand it wouldn’t be possible to answer everything. I know you’re the best on sugar addiction, so that’s why I’m writing! My son is 44 and not yet diagnosed with diabetes, but close. So, his doctor at the bariatric clinic has him trying Victoza. Surgery is not an option, but he weighs 119 kg and is 164 cm tall and easily gets leg sores.

Victoza is supposed to reduce hunger. I’m worried it won’t work since sugar is a drug and a habit – he’s clearly addicted. Maybe he’d need to see results to quit, but in daily life, it’s almost impossible; he’s an adult! I wonder how long withdrawal lasts?
Sincerely, The desperate mom
 

“Hi, my name is xxx, I’m 38 years old and completely addicted to sugar – have been for many, many years! I really need help and wonder if you could help me in any way. Believe me, I’ve tried everything, but I last at most a day and a half without sugar – often not even one day. Then I relapse again and eat a lot of sugar. I’m open to all treatment methods if you have any good tips. Please contact me if possible!” K
 

”Hello, I have read your book. It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read. I knew I had problems with sugar, but this was the first time I got it “confirmed”. My surroundings don’t understand, of course, that I’m addicted. And by surroundings, I mean my family and friends in Greece. In Greece, they don’t really understand sugar addiction. So my question is: do you have this book translated into Greek? I would love to buy it so that more people can understand what sugar means to me and also understand the basis of it for their own health.
Thank you very much.
Kind regards, S”
 

Comments and testimonials have been lightly edited for clarity.