A Solution To Food Addiction And Obsession
Most people are familiar with the concept of alcoholism and drug addiction, and the idea that certain foods and quantities of foods can be addictive is gaining acceptance.
Food addicts are powerless over where, when, and how much they eat, although many have tremendous willpower in other areas of their lives. Food addiction tends to remain unrecognized because of the focus on the symptoms rather than their underlying cause addiction.
Symptoms of food addiction include
- Compulsive exercise and dieting
- Obsession with food or weight
- Depression, shame, isolation, and hopelessness related to food, weight, or body image.
FA is a program for those who want to stop eating addictively. Like Alcoholics Anonymous, FA treats food addiction as a threefold illness: physical, mental, and spiritual.
What Is The Abstinence Plan In Food Addicts In Recovery Anonymous
An abstinence plan in Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous is something done carefully and accurately with the help of a sponsor in the program. The plan goes as follows:
Food Addicts In Recovery Anonymous Offering A Better Life For Our West Houston Community
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Many people resort to desperate measures to control their weight and the way they eat expensive diets, surgery, medications, excessive exercise, purging, abuse of laxatives, and extreme food restriction. Others dont know where to turn or have just given up hope. Many have found, however, an effective long-term solution through Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous .
As one member from Katy puts it, I have kept more than 60 lbs. off my body for more than two decades. The food used to have me by the throat, I could not stop eating, hiding the fact from my husband, my son and my fellow workers. I thank FA for giving me a better life than I could have imagined. I no longer hurt myself with food. I eat normal food bought in my local grocery store and do not feel deprived.
Based on the Twelve Steps Program used by Alcoholics Anonymous, FA understands food addiction as a physical craving and an ever-increasing dependence upon and struggle with certain types and quantities of food. FA has no dues or fees, nor does it require the purchase of special foods. FA is not affiliated with any public or private organization, ideology or religious doctrine. It is a fellowship of women and mendiverse in age, ethnicity, and socio-economic backgroundwho, through shared experience and mutual support, are recovering from food addiction.
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Organizational And Financial Structure
Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous, Inc. is the umbrella entity that supports meeting groups and FA individuals around the world. It is internally known as “WSI” . WSI is led by thirteen elected trustees and is headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts. FA meetings are also supported and united by incorporated regional associations and smaller, unincorporated regional affiliations .
Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous, Inc. is a 501 non-profit charitable organization that is primarily funded through contributions given by members of FA. The acceptance of bequests or donations from non-members, outside organizations, and anonymous donors is prohibited. Individual members are restricted to donations or bequests of no more than $2,000 in a year.
How Do I Know If I Am A Food Addict
Before joining the fellowship, many members had questions or concerns as to whether or not they were a food addict. Although there was control in some areas of their lives, when it came to food, there was none. While some individuals are capable of demonstrating some self restraint on a diet, it never lasted very long. Because food addiction can come in various forms, answering a questionnaire can help individuals decide whether or not they have a food addiction problem. The questionnaire can be found on the official website, here.
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Does The Program Cost Money
There are no dues, costs or fees for membership to Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous. The only requirement for membership is the desire to stop eating addictively. The program is self-supporting through their own contributions and never accepts outside contributions. Members are encouraged to contribute what they can and when they can but there is never an obligation to.
Guidelines For Meal Plan
Abstinence is a Commitment to Recovery
Definition of Abstinence: We ask for help from our Higher Power to abstain from those substances we find ourselves craving, ever mindful of our addiction to sugar, flour and wheat. Feeding our bodies with a plan of sound nutrition will allow us freedom from the insanity of this disease. With honesty, an open mind, and willingness to share our experience, strength and hope, we can recover from this disease ONE DAY AT A TIME.
Of course, to the new recovering person, this appear as another diet. But we who walk this path of recovery know that this program of eating is unique.
One of the obstacles you may encounter in early recovery is the temptation to alter the food plan to suit yourself. It is our experience that deviations recreate our old food problems. To guard yourself against the tendency to rationalize, it is suggest that you discuss any additions or subtractions you may think are necessary with a sponsor or someone in the program who is abstinent.
ROTATE ALL FOODS.
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In General The Awols Listed On This Site Adhere To These Commitments As Best Practices At A Minimum:
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Abstinence is defined as weighed and measured meals with nothing in between no flour, no sugar and the avoidance of all individual binge foods.
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In addition, specific drugs and substances not allowed for the duration of this AWOL include: caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, marijuana, and all medication taken with the intent to alter the mood in the moment or provide situational relief from the symptoms of addiction.
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Taking prescribed medications out of necessity to address physical or mental conditions is between fellows and their healthcare providers. In adherence with this statement which captures the spirit of Tradition Ten we take no position on this outside issue.
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You are required to have a sponsor who is an abstinent FA member.
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AWOLs are intended to last at least one year .
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Individual meetings last an hour and a half.
How Much Does It Cost To Join Fa
FA is free. There are no dues or fees for membership. According to the Seventh Tradition, we are self-supporting through our own contributions. FA meetings and the nonprofit organization that runs FA are supported by the voluntary donations from those whose lives have been positively affected by the program.
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Why Dont You Publish The Fa Food Plan Online
Because recovery from food addiction is more than just a diet, the FA program is passed down individually from sponsor to sponsee. This gives those starting out in recovery a lifeline of daily support. The result is not just a food plan but real help with food addiction. Diets ultimately fail. Recovery from food addiction can be sustained for decades within the FA program.
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What is FA?
Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous is a program based on the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous . There are no dues, fees, or weigh-ins at FA meetings. FA is a fellowship of individuals who, through shared experience and mutual support, are recovering from the disease of food addiction.
Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous 400 West Cummings Park
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Food Addicts In Recovery Anonymous Podcast
This podcast is produced by Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous, also known as FA. FA is a fellowship of individuals who, through shared experience and mutual support, are recovering from the disease of food addiction. Each episode of the podcast highlights one member’s story of recovery.
For experience, strength and hope on demand, search for “Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous” wherever you get your podcasts.
What is FA?
Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous is a program based on the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous . There are no dues, fees, or weigh-ins at FA meetings. FA is a fellowship of individuals who, through shared experience and mutual support, are recovering from the disease of food addiction.
Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous 400 West Cummings Park
Should I Try Fa Before Or After Bariatric Surgery
If youre ready to surgically alter your body, you have nothing to lose by trying FA first. Its free, and it works. Bariatric surgery can surgically alter your body, but it doesnt treat cravings or address the mental and spiritual aspects of the illness of food addiction. If you work the FA program as its laid out, you will not have a need for bariatric surgery.
Carl Lowe, Jr., MD, a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, states:
Surgery can potentially help people with medically diagnosed morbid obesity get down to obesity and then to a place where theyre merely overweight, but its highly unusual for anyone to reach what is medically considered a healthy body weight after bariatric surgery. Typically, a year and a half after the operation, people reach their lowest weightabout 50 percent of what they need to loseand then, over the next ten years, they slowly regain some of what they’ve lost until, they reach a plateau. I tell my patients all the time that they have to change their perception of food and how they relate to it or they will regain their weight.
Read more stories of FA members who considered bariatric surgery in the Stories of Recovery Blog.
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Antidepressant Prozac Alleviating Eating Disorders
Prozac is the common treatment prescribed given by the medical professional for eating disorders. There are different types of opinions about the medication of eating disorders with Prozac. Few of the people say that Prozac was the best medication for them to fight their eating disorders. But many people report it didnt make any difference
What If There Are No Meetings Available Near Me
While attending face-to-face meetings is strongly encouraged, if it is unable or not an option, there are virtual and telephone meetings available on the website. Because success in Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous is extremely important for all members, a long-distance sponsor list is available for individuals who have no meetings local to them, as well as other options to ensure that abstinence continues in the program. The phone list guide can be found here.
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Pathological Eating Disorders And Poly
When considering that pathological eating disorders and their related diseases now afflict more people globally than malnutrition, some experts in the medical field are presently purporting that the worlds number one health problem is no longer heart disease or cancer, but obesity. According to the World Health Organization , obesity has reached epidemic proportions
What Readers Are Saying:
“This book and the program it is about has saved my life. Not only was I fat, miserable and suffering from health challenges..but I couldn’t figure out how to change the things that were not working in my life. Out of complete desperation, I attended a meeting associated with this book that explained what addiction is. I didn’t know that food addiction can cause some to become underweight, some overweight, some to purge, some to over-exercise, and others to obsess over their bodies in-spite of being a normal healthy weight. I lost over 70 lbs from my highest weight and have been able to keep it off which is nothing short of a miracle. I have a totally normal body image today. I love my life and am not longer fat, miserable or suffering..all because of this book.”
“I have already lost 25 pounds thanks to this book and I am changing the way I view food. THANKS”
“I really thought I was alone in the inner turmoil I had over my eating. This Program truly works as long as I continue to work it and this book assures that I am not alone. I’m not the worst, unique or hopeless.”
“This book is a great book for anyone dealing with food addiction and for those that love them.”
The Book Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous is FA Conference Approved Literature.
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When In Doubt Leave It Out
The daily requirement for oil is one serving for women and two servings for men, to be divided among two or three meals.
Men need to add two ounces of fish or poultry or one ounce of red meat at each meal to the amounts shown on the list. At lunch, men also add a serving of one of the following: a fruit, a grain,or a starchy vegetable.
What Is A Sponsor
A sponsor gives those starting out in recovery a lifeline of daily support. The result is not just a diet but real help with recovery from addiction. Diets ultimately fail. Recovery from food addiction can be sustained for decades.
You can find a sponsor by attending a FA meeting. Find a FA Meeting.
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How Do Fa Members Achieve A Healthy Weight
Members work with a sponsor, and a medical professional if necessary, to determine a food plan that will bring them to an appropriate weight. However, abstinence is not a diet and FA is not a weight-loss program. Achieving a healthy weight is a side-effect of abstinence, which requires a spiritual surrender members find that abstinence frees them from the physical cravings that drove them. As a result, recovering food addicts achieve a healthy weight, whether they need to gain ten pounds or lose two hundred .
What Are The Tools Of Recovery
FA members cannot sustain long-term recovery by merely following a food plan, even when theyve reached a healthy weight. Instead, they find support for continuous abstinence by:
- Committing to a food plan with an experienced FA member
- Attending FA meetings regularly
- Reading FA and AA literature
- Making contact with other food addicts every day
- Seeking help from a Higher Power through daily meditation
- Encouraging and guiding newer members.
You can learn more about the tools of recovery in the Living Abstinently pamphlet.
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Food Addicts In Recovery Anonymous Inc
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Fa Food Addicts In Recovery Anonymous
What is FA?
FA is a program based on the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. We offer help and spiritually based recovery to those whose connection with food can be understood as a form of addiction. We are not a medical group, nor are we connected with any particular form of religion. We charge no dues or fees and our meetings include no weigh-ins. Our membership is international and includes men and women, adolescents, and the elderly. All are welcome.
Who might benefit from FA?People who find help in FA vary greatly. Some of us have been diagnosed as morbidly obese while others are undereaters. Among us are those who were severely bulimic, who have harmed themselves with compulsive exercise, or whose quality of life was impaired by constant obsession with food or weight. We tend to be people who, in the long-term, have failed at every solution we tried, including therapy, support groups, diets, fasting, exercise, and in-patient treatment programs.
Does FA work?Some of our members have been in continuous recovery for over twenty-five+ years. Members with five to ten years of recovery are increasingly common.
We are doing zoom meeting on line or on the phone Monday and Thursday, you can be as anonymous as you want. See attached page for available meeting dates and time. Thank you for your consideration.
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