Food Junkies Podcast: Dr Tro' Kalayjian's TOWARD program for food addiction, 2025

Are diets (even low carb) and medications enough for food addiction?
Dr. Tro Kalayjian does not think so.

Welcome to the Food Junkies Podcast. My name is Dr Vera Tarman and I am your host today, speaking with Dr Tro Kalyjian.
Dr Tro is a board-certified physician in both Internal Medicine and Obesity Medicine and is the founder and Chief Medical Officer of TOWARD Health, a remote metabolic health clinic. His work is heavily influenced by his personal achievement of losing 150 pounds, which led him to develop data-driven treatment models.
Dr. Kalayjian is also a founding member of the Society of Metabolic Health Practitioners and an international lecturer on metabolic psychiatry. He has co-authored several peer-reviewed publications, including the 2025 study we are talking about today - in Frontiers in Psychiatry on his clinic's success in reducing food addiction symptoms. He has also written a 2020 case series on the benefits of ketogenic diets for binge-eating disorder.

His clinic’s latest research, published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, shows how combining low-carb nutrition with real-time support, psychological care, and metabolic monitoring can significantly reduce food addiction and binge eating symptoms—offering hope for those who haven’t found relief in diets or medications alone.

Dr. Tro is passionate about helping others find food freedom, and today he’s here to share the science, the struggle, and the solutions that actually work.

Research Highlights:
Published in Frontiers in Psychiatry (2025):
43 lbs average weight loss
~40–50% improvement in food addiction and binge eating symptoms
Outcomes comparable to medications (e.g. amphetamines, GLP-1s) — but without long-term side effects
Case series (220 people) on keto for binge eating showed significant improvements, challenging the old myth that "restrictive diets worsen eating disorders"

🛠️ What Actually Works (Tro's "Shotgun Protocol"):
Like treating sepsis with a bundled care approach, he bundles these for food addiction:
The TOWARD Framework:
Texting access to your medical team (real-time support like AA sponsors)
Online visits with doctors and coaches
Wellness coaching
Asynchronous education (on-demand app resources)
Real-time biofeedback (CGMs, scales, blood pressure)
Dietary intervention (low-carb/therapeutic carb restriction)🧠 Behavioral + Biological + Social Support = Results

🍳 Food & Physiology:
Therapeutic carb level: ~30g net carbs/day (but customized for each client)
Focus: Real food, nutrient density, stable blood sugar, and ketone production
Biological drivers of addiction: FTO & MC4R genes (linked to low satiety), ADHD traits, dopamine-seeking
Physiology matters: No regulation if you're low in protein, vitamin D, or sleep-deprived


💥 Why Diet Isn’t Enough:
Food addiction is not just about willpower
It's a poly-substance addiction: sugar, carbs, processed fats, additives, and volume
Even abstinent foods (like nuts or yogurt) can become part of volume addiction
“You need more than a food plan. You need a psychological and emotional toolkit too.”

😫 Barriers to Recovery:
Stress, trauma, pain, lack of sleep all increase relapse risk
GLP-1 medications (like Ozempic) may suppress appetite short-term but:
Lead to muscle loss
Double weight regain speed if stopped
Often used without a lifestyle program = future harm

❤️ The Human Side:
Shame, guilt, and blame paralyze recovery
“This isn’t a willpower issue. This is a food relationship issue driven by biology and trauma.”
One of his biggest lessons: “Take the disgust off yourself and place it on the substance. That’s freedom.”

🧠 Mental Experiments That Helped:
Tro experimented on himself with yogurt, berries, fasting, etc., to observe what triggered hunger or satiation
Asked: What makes people subconsciously eat less? → Ketogenic diet consistently decreased intake

📊 Cost & Accessibility:
Clinic costs $500/month but aims to be covered by employers (and is free to many employees)
Medical savings to employers = $2,000–$4,500 per year per person

Final Thoughts from Dr. Tro:
"Don’t believe the lies. Do your own homework. And eat meat."
Recovery is possible, but it must include compassion, community, and comprehensive care.

Tro will be speaking on emotional and cognitive manipulation of hunger at the upcoming International Food Addiction & Comorbidities Conference in London (Sept 2025)

Follow Dr. Tro:
Recent Publication: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/...
Join us via Livestream for two full days of talks and plenary sessions, and, in recognition of your support, use code SSO to get a 40% discount: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ifacc2...
Website: https://toward.health