What Food Addicts Can Learn From Amy Winehouse

As most of you know by now, the music world lost Amy Winehouse on Saturday at the age of 27. She was known for her amazing voice and talent...but unfortunately she was more well-known for her drug and alcohol addiction and the problems that stemmed from those issues.

It's always heartbreaking when talented people have addictions that interfere with their work and are taken from the world way too soon. But think about it...there are many of us who have an addiction to food which interferes with our own lives. Sometimes our talents are wasted because we're so focused on food - or when we feed our sugar, salt and other addictions it makes us feel so awful that we can't get the things done that we need to accomplish. We get that temporary food high, then when we come down off of it we need more...just like an alcoholic or drug addict.

There are many things we can learn from Amy's demise and apply to our own lives:

1. Surround yourself with people who care about your well-being, and don't be afraid to turn down something you know is not good for you. Obviously Amy had people who supplied her with the drugs and alcohol, and who would also partake of them with her. She needed to be around people who were sober to help break the cycle. Those of us who are addicted to food also need to be around others who live a healthy lifestyle so we can learn how to deal with food properly. And if we encounter someone who wants to make us eat something that will make us fall off the wagon, we need to find the courage to say no.

2. Think about all of the things you've put off and the dreams you have not accomplished because of your addiction. Everyone was waiting for Amy to put out another album after the success of Back to Black, but she could never get it together long enough to make it happen. She attempted a tour this summer, but the first show went so badly because of her issues that she cancelled the rest of the tour. The world will never know everything she could have accomplished if her addiction had not taken over. As food addicts, we put off a lot of things in life to get our own fix. Then we feel ill and not up to accomplishing anything. We all need to sit down and really think...about our talents, what we want out of life, and what we could accomplish if we didn't rely on food fixes; then use these goals and dreams to strengthen our resolve around food.

3. Use your talents to lure you away from addictive behaviors. Amy did use her musical and songwriting talents to express herself, but should have dug more deeply into her gifts in order to release the feelings that made her turn to drugs and alcohol. We should use our own gifts, whether it be writing, music, painting, or something else positive to express ourselves instead of wallowing in the emotions that make us want to eat. And as we find our inner athletes, we realize we do have the strength it takes to do anything!

4. You cannot fight this alone. Very often, Amy tried to conquer her demons by herself. When we are very deeply into addiction, we need more strength than we have on our own. Besides having a supportive group of people around us, we need God to fight this. There will be times when we are alone and no other human being is around to talk us down from doing something unhealthy. But God is always with us...so pray to Him for courage and strength to help you beat your addiction, one step at a time.

When you think about Amy, remember her talent first. Then think about her addictions...and how to help yourself and others beat their addictions so we can learn from her situation. In this way, some good can come out of her tragic end. Rest in peace, Amy.

HUGE Talents...and Journals!

I love that we're getting deeper into what makes all of the characters tick as the show goes on...and you always bring out the best and worst of everyone when you have a talent show! Chloe and Amber practice their dance to "Baby Got Back", and of course this leads to them arguing about whose butt looks better. After they leave the cabin, Becca tells Will that she and Chloe were really close friends the summer before...then Chloe got popular and suddenly Becca wasn't "cool" enough for her. Have you been there? I know I have! It hurts when friends betray you, and it doesn't matter if you're thin, heavy, tall, short...it hurts no matter what. How have you dealt with a friend like that? Chloe's story to Amber is that Becca got jealous of her, but with the way Chloe acts you can tell that 's not the case.

Shay talks to Poppy and George about the new chef, wondering why Dr. Rand hired him when she recommended a chef to her that specializes in healthy recipes. She goes to confront Dr. R, but walks in on a conversation where she figures out that Chef is her dad. She covers by saying she wanted to tell Dr. R that Will is planning on doing an impression of her for the talent show, and takes off without ever saying anything else. A gentleman named Wayne comes to survey the property line, because the tennis camp director sent him. Dr. Rand doesn't trust him, so she walks it with him. They end up talking a lot and he tells her that a "talent" used to be a measure of weight a long time ago. He tells her that the wooded area is her property, but it could be considered a common usage area because there are no signs posted. She thinks he's blaming her for that and gets angry.

Everyone is deciding what they want to do for the talent show, and Alistair decides to make use of the camp's magic kit. Ian wants to write and perform a song, but he's nervous about performing it in front of everyone. I feel so awful for Sierra, who keeps asking to join people's groups for the show and keeps getting turned down. (She winds up performing with Poppy the counselor.) You can see the difference between Amber and Chloe here, because Amber is about to include her while Chloe tells her no in a bratty way.

While everyone is discussing favorite comfort foods and their talents, Will discovers that her journal is missing. She races back to the cabin but it's not there either. She's freaking out, telling Becca that if anyone ever read what she wrote in it she would die. She has come to love writing in the journal but is not ready to share it with anyone. Becca tries to help her find it, even lying to Shay that she's missing swimming because she's practicing for the show...a dance to "Baby Got Back". (Nice quick cover!) Ian and Alistair are doing their laundry and come upon a journal. They don't know who it belongs to because there's no name in it, but Ian sees the poem on the first page as he looks for a name and he is really moved by it. Alistair makes him quit reading it and they take it to Lost & Found.

Amber and Chloe tell Trent and his friends about their dance, and Chloe's camera winds up broken. Chloe wants to use Amber's but she says she lost her camera, so they head to the Lost & Found to look for it. They see the journal and begin reading it...Becca comes upon them and yells at them for violating someone's privacy and snatches it away. Amber's conscience gets to her and she's sorry she read the journal, but Chloe doesn't care. She finds a camera and hands it to Amber. They head back to watch TV with Trent and company...a Bachelor-type show called "Love Handles". The girls love it, but then the guys decide later that they will perform a spoof of the show as their talent. Becca puts the journal on Will's bed, but then she can't resist reading it herself. When Will comes back she thanks her for finding it, praying that nobody read it. Now Becca feels guilty as well.

Dr. Rand is seen at a group meeting in town...it looks like a weight loss support group, and she shares her feelings about her dad, the property line, and eating that muffin. This is good...it's important to know that even adults have to deal with self-esteem problems and other issues. It's not just the kids!

Ian is still nervous about his song, but Will tells him to just act like he's performing it for her to calm him down. Dr. rand starts the evening by telling Wayne's story about the meaning of "talent". As the show starts, Sierra says that the camera Amber has is hers. Chloe insists that it's not, but Sierra proves it by a sticker that her sister put on the bottom of it before she came to camp. Chloe is upset that Amber lied, and their act breaks up before they even get to perform. When their music comes on, Shay nudges Becca and tells her that's her song...get up and go! Becca dances really well while one of the guys sings the song. She really pulled that one off well! Chloe is so upset that she falls into Trent's arms. He holds her and they wind up kissing. She then helps him and the other guys get into makeup and costumes for their little spoof. Alistair is on stage and he messes up his magic...but thinks quickly and turns it into a comedy act. Everyone loves it! Finally it's time for Ian's song. He says he was inspired by a poem he read, and as he sings Will realizes that he read her journal and she runs off. She never gets to do her impression of Dr. Rand after all.

Chloe and Amber make up when she apologizes for lying about the camera. She admits that she's never owned nice things like that and was embarrassed. Chloe tells her all about kissing Trent. Ian finds Will, but they get into a fight. I have to admit, when I was a teenager if someone had read my journal I would have been just as upset. Those thoughts are only for sharing when you're ready, and if you don't want to share they are for your eyes only.

Wayne brings some no tresspassing signs for Dr. Rand and puts them up, saying that as far as he's concerned they were always there. She apologizes for getting angry with him, and he offers to help with some other things at the camp. Looks like we'll be seeing more of him around!

It's nice to see not just size issues being dealt with on the show...we get to see issues that teens and adults have to feal with at any shape or size. I can't wait to see what happens next week! What are your thoughts on tonight's episode?