About
Having found peace & purpose after a twenty-year battle with food addiction, I now help others do the same exact thing.
Hi I'm Shelly Hutson, your new food addiction confidant
You can feel safe opening up to me about your struggles with food because I’ve been exactly where you are now. I offer a safe space full of empathy, understanding & compassion.
I know what it’s like to break promise after promise, binge after binge
I know what it’s like to feel you are beyond repair, destined for failure
I know what it’s like to feel shameful, unworthy & disgusting
But I also know what it feels like to break free from food addiction and to experience ALL THE JOY that life has to offer.
Come on in - I’ll share my story with you.
A Rocky Beginning
Like many people struggling with addiction, I grew up surrounded by chaos & uncertainty, worrying about the emotions of everyone around me, but never learning to process my own.
When I was just eight years old, I remember hiding away in a dark closet with a package of hostess snowballs, devouring them in secrecy & melting into the immediate solace they provided.
That was my first memory of binging. While everything around me was spiraling out of control, I took great comfort in having found something I could control - my food intake.
I latched onto this cycle of restricting & binging, and soon found a similar effect with drugs & alcohol, which allowed me to turn my feelings & emotions off like a light switch.
By the grace of God, I managed to get sober from drugs & alcohol, but the bondage of binging and restricting with food continued far into my adult life, haunting me throughout motherhood as I did the best I could to raise my kids and keep up a “normal” facade.
“Finishing my SUGAR assessment with Shelly was a pivotal point in my life. Seeing clearly that I was a sugar addict and I could take control of my life, shifted my ability to go forward with change."
Nancy
Turning The Corner
Maybe it was the newfound space I had when the kids were grown, or maybe it was the fact that my physical health was spiraling out of control with chronic fatigue, depression, migraines, joint pain & pre-diabetes, but I finally reached a point where I knew something had to drastically change.
After reading a book about the addictive nature of flour & sugar, I decided to give up all the yo-yo diets, all the magic bullet solutions & all the alternative strategies that I had hoped would work before, and treat what I knew in my heart was keeping me stuck - the addiction.
It wasn’t a straight shot, but soon enough I found success using many of the same strategies I had used years ago when getting sober from drugs & alcohol.
I learned that in much the same way that I can’t have “just one glass of wine”, I can’t have “just one doughnut”. While I may be able to whiteknuckle my way through moderation for short periods, processed foods eventually trigger me into a full blown relapse – keeping me stuck in the same vicious cycle.
Treating my food struggle as an addiction has allowed me to finally find peace & purpose. I no longer feel ashamed & disgusted with myself, and instead I feel empowered with knowledge & strategies to stay healthy & accountable.
You Deserve Freedom Too
Nobody deserves to stay stuck in this painful cycle. When you begin treating your food battle as an addiction, it can feel like finding the missing puzzle piece. And in doing so, you set yourself on a path toward:
Finally, trusting yourself around food.
Finally, feeling confident about the way you look.
Finally, freeing up space to focus on your passions.
Finally, feeling at peace with your life.
Finally, experiencing joy and happiness.
Take the First Step
There’s nothing that brings me more joy than helping others find freedom from food addiction. I know it can seem scary to take the first step, but I promise, it’s easier when you have someone on your side to help you through.
If you’re ready to take a closer look at your relationship to food, I’d love to chat. I offer a free 30 minute call (video or phone) where we can learn more about each other and decide if we’re a good fit to work together.