1.5.13

Dear Friends, I Have a Food Addiction

Those of you who have known me for a long time will not be shocked by this. For those of you who have not known me that long, I used to weigh well over 200 pounds. I did some pretty crazy things with food and was overall an unhealthy person. I was pretty miserable with myself. Even though I put on a pretty good show for the world to see, I was not a happy person most of the time.

Five years ago, on May 1, 2008, I began the long journey towards a better life. I joined a 12 step program called Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA). I found a sponsor who had long term success losing weight and keeping it off and asked him how he achieved it. He gave me a food plan which included giving up flour and sugar 100%.

Since that day it's been quite a ride. My life has gotten better in almost every aspect. I met and married, I have kids now. I got my first professional job and have built up a bit of a resume and have a great job now. Oh yeah, and I lost and have kept off close to 90 pounds.

I will definitely not go so far as to say my life is perfect. A great saying I've heard is "Life sucks better sober", meaning life is still going to suck sometimes, but it'll suck less than if I'm wallowing in active addiction. One thing I can say is that I no longer let external things affect how I eat. Now, no matter what emotion I'm feeling, no matter where in the world I am traveling, my food stays exactly the same. Life has taken me to Israel and New York, the births of my two children, the divorce of my parents and my wedding (not in that order). As a matter of fact, if you were a guest at my wedding and had the dinner, you had an FA safe meal (you just didn't know it).

Today marks half a decade since I began this journey. I am the happiest I've been since my earliest memories; I am in the best physical shape I've been in my entire life; I'm the most fiscally responsible I've ever been in my life; I have a wonderful wife and family. You may look at my food and wonder why I "eat that way". To that I'll just say "I eat this way because I want all of this." Who I am today is in no small part attributed to the way I eat and through working the twelve steps.

I don't often share this aspect of my life. I feel that it's important to let others know that if they are in a similar situation that there is hope. And, if for nothing else, the more people who know of my addiction means the more people I am accountable to. I cannot do this alone. I have the strong support of my fellows in the program and the support of my family and friends is important too.

Have a blessed day!

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.

2 comments:

  1. It is very hard to maintain recovery from food addiction. Other addictions, like drugs or alcohol and cigarette require total abstinence to be considered "clean". But with food, you can't just say "I won't ever eat again." Therefore, staying away from foods that trigger is a daily challenge every time one eats. Therefore, to have stayed away from sugar and flour for 5 years is a HUGE accomplishment! I know you've done it one day and one meal at a time. Keep it up! I love you and am extremely proud of you.

    Elana Miller

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