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Miraculous Journey

Happy June!!

We are just days away from the beginning of summer…yay! I used to dread summer as for me it meant shame and pain. Shame of my obese body that I wasn’t willing to stuff into summer clothes (tank tops, shorts and bathing suits) and the physical pain of the rashes that showed up on my body from the multiple places where my skin chafed (you know what I mean, between my thighs, under my tummy…etc.). Thanks to recovery, summer means something very different for me now! It also seems like it means something different to Skylar. Skylar is an ACORN alum who joined us at our Primary Intensive just over a year ago. In honor of Men’s Health Month (yes, June is Men’s Health month) we asked Skylar to share a bit of his recovery journey with us…..and WOW what a journey! Keep reading to hear where Skylar was only 12 months ago and where he is now. Truly inspiring.

I would love to hear from our other male alum about their journey too, drop me a line, say hi and give me an update.

We also have some exciting news…TWO new locations for upcoming events!! Click here for the details. Ok, I will give you a hint…one location may possibly be in California and one location may possibly be in New England.

May your June be filled with inner peace, abstinence and growth,

Amanda


I’m a 49-year-old married guy who’s been overweight most all of my life. 

As a reference, just over a year ago I weighed in at around 350 lbs. and this weight was quite normal for me. I’ve had periods of some weight release over the years, with diets, trainers and personal cooks. All of these were things I knew I needed just to get me on track to be able to get on with my life and get some “normal” eating habits. 

I’ve had a lot of experience with drug and alcohol addiction. I’ve been around the rooms of 12  Step fellowships for 24 years at the end of this month. This is something that I hold true and love to celebrate. I’ve worked the steps with a sponsor and have taken a lot of other men through the steps. But I did all this with an obese body; not looking within as my eating became an addiction. 

About nine years ago, I first found the rooms of OA. Realizing that “I knew this stuff”, I did what I knew I needed to do. I got a sponsor, bought some literature and wrote out an abstinence list of foods that were my “alcoholic foods”. I started working on the steps, and I lost some weight. I got some freedom, but for a long time, I felt like it was still just a diet that I was on and there was a bunch of foods that I couldn’t eat. Volume of eating and time of eating were things that were still up to me to decide. When I ate out with friends or went to restaurants; as long as I was mindful about what my decisions were I was good: I still had my abstinence. 

Over time I started to allow more and more foods into my life that weren’t there before. At least I wasn’t bingeing on this or that I told myself. But over time I had my weight back although I believed that I felt good about myself. I was somewhat shamed about going to OA meetings so I just started to skip those. And so I was back to the life that I’ve always known, minus a few things I learned in OA. Some time went by and I really fell back into the food, and my ever expanding wardrobe had to get a few new additions to it in the 4 to 5X size range. 

Just over a year ago an old friend from OA paid me a visit. She said that my time was up and the only way out of the food addiction for me was to go to treatment. This was something I had looked at for months and even years. Within the hour, I was booked into the center. I was terrified but completely willing to do this. Over and over I considered and reconsidered: I wanted this, but I was about to get on a plane and check myself into treatment. Am I that screwed up? I knew that I didn’t know what else I could do. From that moment on I decided to stop the binge eating. I put down the sugar and a few other foods that were obviously not doing me any good, and I just waited out my days until I got on the plane.

On May 2017, I arrived, alone and a bit nervous, but totally willing to start something. I didn’t want to call this a new chapter, but it was definitely something different. 

Day 1. I met the group of people who were in a similar situation as me. We talked about food plans and a whole bunch of other stuff and I committed my food for the first time to someone. That week was kind of like going to summer camp, except by the end of it I was able to have a better understanding what food addiction looks like, and how it had me in its grips. 

Committing my food to a sponsor. Weighing and measuring. I was committing to all the things I said I would do at treatment. It was hard. In fact some days it really sucked, but I had willingness. Where it came from I don’t know, but I had it. The one other thing I knew I needed that nothing else out there offered me was a sense of spirituality.

Spirituality was something that helped me all those years ago in my other 12 Step program. Whatever it was back then, I really needed it now more than ever. So when I got home I checked in with my sponsor and scheduled time to work the steps. I did a bunch of grocery shopping and had to clean my kitchen. But not only with a rag and cleaning products; I got a friend to come over and give it a smudge. Some burning sage and an eagle feather filled my kitchen with smoke from the abalone shell. I placed some crystals around. I sat in the middle of my kitchen floor and started to meditate. I needed all the help I could get. And some sort of connection with the powers that be is where the difference lies. I’ve spiritualized my kitchen. 

I made a commitment to my sponsor that I was going to do this food plan unchanged, weighed and measured for 90 days before reevaluating. My 90 days had come and gone, not always easy, but I did it. With the help of a dietitian, my sponsor and my sponsor’s sponsor, I did make some slight adjustment to my food plan. I definitely now know I can’t do this alone. 

Today I have a great relationship with what I get to eat and with my sponsor. I go to meetings regularly and I really understand more than ever what food addiction means to me. I have admitted that I’m a food addict, powerless over food. One day at a time. I get to be free! I’m now under 200 lbs., somewhere I haven’t been since I’m sure I was a teenager. I’m feeling better than I’ve ever felt, and loving the life I get to live today.


Upcoming ACORN Events


Weekly Teleconference “Nuts & Bolts”

Please join us Wednesday evenings for recovery support.

This no-cost abstinence support group is open to all. Led by Sherri Goodman, professional trainee. thereveals@frontier.com
Wednesdays at 7 pm (EST.)
Conference call in number:
(605) 468-8002
Access Number 1014962#


Mary’s Story – Childhood Obesity Awareness Month

 

Hello,
 
Wow, I can’t believe we are in the third week of September already…I was a little shocked when I looked at the calendar today and realized we are only 3 weeks away from Thanksgiving (don’t panic, I am talking about the Canadian Thanksgiving). Fall is certainly evident all around me. I am currently in New Jersey having just participated in the “A Vision 4 You” OA conference – which was truly amazing, inspiring and hopeful – where the leaves are falling and changing colours (that’s Canadian for colors). What a beautiful time of year!!
 
As we continue to highlight Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, our amazing and brilliant Mary, shares her story (see below) of growing up as an obese child and the lifelong scars that the bullying and oppression she suffered have left. Mary talks about how in the third grade she already weighed more than many of her teachers and that she started praying that she would die as the pain was far too much to bear as a young girl. These blunt statements can be hard to read, however we must face the reality and not turn a blind eye. In Mary’s case we also get to see a miraculous recovery…let’s continue to share our stories of pain and recovery in hopes that young people no longer need to suffer the ugly consequences of compulsive eating and food addiction.
 
Keep reading to hear Mary’s heart wrenching story of a young girl who missed out on a happy, joyous childhood as no one in her life knew there was a way out, no one knew there was a clear path to recovery…a path to a life that every child on this earth deserves. Let’s make sure kids today aren’t robbed of this life because the adults around them don’t know about food addiction and the proper treatment. I believe that as a recovered food addict it is my obligation to share this message!
 
I am heading to Florida soon (won’t feel so much like Fall there) as we have a Primary Intensive starting October 6th. It’s a great time to recommit to your program, and I would love to see you there.
 
Peace & abstinence,
Amanda


Dear ACORN Family,

I hope you have enjoyed our emphasis on National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.  Obviously it is a topic that several of your ACORN staff wanted to write on, and I am no exception.  I am going to share a little of my personal story growing up with childhood obesity.

As an obese child, life was very hard.  In fact, I can honestly say that it was brutal and something that I wouldn’t wish upon anyone.  I know that many of you can relate.

I was born a healthy weight of just over seven pounds.  I was a cute little girl with curly blonde hair and bright blue eyes.  I was the second child born in my family and my sister and I were loved and cherished.  I was a “normal” weight until around three years old when I became “chubby.”

My first memory of sensing that I was “different” because of my size was when I was five years old.  One of my young friends and I sang, “My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean,” at a summer neighborhood talent show.  As I stood on the stage singing my little heart out, proud as I could be, I sensed that some people in the audience were laughing at me because I was fat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By the time I was in third grade I weighed 130 pounds which was more than some of the teachers.  Throughout my school years I was subjected to daily teasing, mocking, jokes, stares from people of all ages, bullying on the playground, exclusion from gym teams and being ostracized by my peers.  With each passing year my weight increased approximately 30 pounds and my self-esteem and self-worth plummeted.  The pain was too great for me to bear and, as a young girl, I prayed many nights that I would die in my sleep.  I hated myself.  I hated my life.  But even more so, I hated having to face yet another day with its painful repetition of the day before.

I felt vulnerable to constant negative attention every time I was out in public.  One time, with tears rolling down my chubby cheeks, I told my father that I felt sad and hurt by all the kids teasing me.  He told me that he had been a fat kid too and that he knew how I felt.  With sadness in his eyes, he offered his young daughter the only comfort that he had known which was to simply tell myself that “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.”  I believed my daddy and tried his advice.  When kids teased me, I told myself what he had said.  It didn’t help.  I still felt sad and lonely and hurt.  That was the last time I remember telling anyone about the pain.

In seventh grade I weighed 270 pounds and by the time I was a junior in high school I weighed 290.  The experience of obesity during my teen years was excruciating.  I was never asked to a dance or attended a prom.  I was kicked, tripped and spat at in the hallway.  Every day was a matter of survival until, at the end of each day, I could walk into my home and fill myself with my favorite “comfort foods” which consisted of cookies, chips, and other snack foods that gave me that much-needed sense of relief.

As an adult, people have asked me why my parents allowed me to get so fat.  Why didn’t they help me?  Why did they let me eat so much?  In fact, by today’s standards, I might have been removed from my family home, my parents accused of abusing me.

I am quite clear about one thing: I do not blame my parents.  My obesity was not their fault.  They had no control over my mental obsession with sugary foods and had little, if any, control over my consumption of them.  I hid food.  I stole food.  I snuck food.  I lied about food.  I know today that my parents did their absolute best to support a daughter who, without their understanding, was suffering with the disease of food addiction.

Both of my parents were overweight and did not have access to recovery prior to their early deaths.  Of my four siblings, one sister and one brother have weight issues but they do not identify with my experience of bingeing on addictive foods.  I do not know if they are addicted to food; it is not for me to determine.  Even more to the point, however, my other brother and sister – who were raised in the same household, with the same parents, and with access to the very same foods – have never had an eating or weight problem.  So, I do not subscribe to the belief that obesity is entirely a problem of family or environment.

I have learned a great deal since growing up as an obese child and adult.  I first heard about compulsive eating and food addiction while attending a food-related twelve step fellowship in the mid 80s.  I learned that some people have an abnormal reaction to certain foods – for me, primarily sugar, flour and volume – and that those with this addictive disease and/or predisposition cannot safely eat certain foods in any quantity.

About that same time I attended my first inpatient food addiction treatment program.  I was 34 years old and weighed 340 pounds.  While there I discovered that my obesity was a symptom of the disease of food addiction.  I worked hard in treatment and wholeheartedly surrendered to their direction.  Upon leaving, I continued a multi-faceted recovery journey that lasted well over a year.

As the weight came off, I began to think that I had somehow overcome this addiction and that I didn’t need to do so many of the actions that had given me a sense of freedom from the weight and from the obsession.  This thinking led to four years of relapse where my will to live was of no match for my will to binge.  My last binge lasted 42 days and I gained 56 pounds, during which time I decided that I would eat until I died.  I knew that I could not stop; and I knew that life would not be worth living without sugar.  I was done.

Yet, deep inside of me, there was a little spark of hope, and in January 1990 I recommitted myself to a residential treatment program that used the addictive model.  This time I stayed for five weeks followed by three months in a halfway house for food addicts.  Pain had become a huge motivator.

I surrendered to their direction and did whatever I was told were the  recommendations for treating advanced food addiction:  putting my abstinence first, no matter what; weighing and measuring my food without exception; structuring my daily life around what I need to do to be abstinent and in recovery; surrendering to rigorous participation in a food-related, twelve step fellowship;  cultivating a spiritual life; building a strong network of support; getting professional counseling as needed; committing to helping others who suffer with this disease.

All of these actions – and more – have enabled me to live free of food bingeing and the mental obsession of addictive foods and for over 27 years maintaining a 195-pound weight loss for over 25 years.

The internal scars of growing up as an obese child are, to some extent, still with me, and I continue to experience ongoing healing as a result of the daily actions that I am guided to take.

In reflecting upon my story, my thoughts turn to the hundreds of thousands of obese children all around us who may be suffering in silence and don’t yet know how to get out of their excruciating pain.

While I am grateful for the heightened awareness of bullying in recent years, I also know that bullying and oppression against fat kids and adults continue.  As I perused a few websites specific to Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, I did not come across one article that addressed the possibility of food addiction in our youth and the need for abstinence from addictive foods.  I support the work of organizations like the Food Addiction Institute and others who seek to promote education and treatment for food addiction.


My hope and prayer is that every food addict have the strength and courage to continue their abstinence journey such that our voices and our very beings may share a resounding message of hope, of recovery, and of healing from food addiction and obesity. 

 
What will you do this month to share your awareness of childhood obesity and offer hope to those who still suffer?  Having an abstinent day today is one positive step.  I commit to do that.  Will you?

I offer you my love and prayers for ongoing abstinence and recovery,

Mary


Upcoming Events: 

  • September 30 – Eating, eating and more eating…Why can’t I STOP? – East Greenwich, Rhode Island – Space is still available!
  • October 6 – 11 – Primary Intensive – Bradenton, Florida
  • October 14 – 16 – “3-Days with Phil” – Bradenton, Florida
  • November 3 – 5 – Alumni Retreat – Vancouver, Canada (details to follow)
  • November 10 – 15 – Primary Intensive – Vancouver, Canada

A Food Plan as a Spiritual Tool

Diets vs. Food Plan

In the long term, diets do not work for compulsive eaters and food addicts, but we still need a way to give structure and support to our physical recovery. Since we have become powerless over food, a food plan must be used in a spiritual context. Thus, a food plan is a spiritual tool; it is an instrument for implementing “surrendered” food abstinence.

Everyone’s nutritional requirements are subtly different, but there are general principles and patterns which work for most people. When the food addict is looking for an effective food plan, the situation is similar. Every food addict must look to his or her own food history and be rigorously honest about what has worked and what has not worked. Each of us must check out for ourselves whether a particular food plan works for us in practice. Yet there are principles and patterns which have developed in our collective experience and these provide a helpful guide to compulsive eaters wanting to choose the best food plan for their recovery program.

Issues of Nutrition and General Health vs. Issues of Compulsion and Addiction

It is helpful first to see that we can separate the important issues about nutrition and general health from the issue of compulsive eating and food addiction. While these two types of issues can often over lap, it is practical to consider them separately. Nutrition is an evolving science, and there is still much controversy about basic questions like – What is a healthy weight? What food groups are essential and in what balance? What are the most effective strategies for weight loss (or gain) and long term maintenance? How is diet best supplemented by exercise?

The compulsive overeater needs to answer these questions just as much as the normal eater does. We recommend consulting a doctor, dietitian or other trained health professional regarding these matters. However, as compulsive eaters and food addicts we have an additional question: What do we do when we have a healthy diet to follow and cannot do it? Or when we cannot maintain a healthy eating process and weight over time?

If we are powerless to eat in a basically healthy way – much less in a manner conducive to optimal health, we obviously need help beyond ourselves, and it is in this area that a fellowship – and most importantly the Twelve Step Program – provide real practical experience, strength and hope. As is often mentioned, though, the problem of “putting down” food is different, and more complicated, than putting down alcohol or another addictive drug. The decision regarding exactly how we should abstain and/or from what specific foods we should abstain must be considered in the context of what food we do need and want to eat. This is where a food plan becomes most helpful.

Detoxification

Salad with dressing on the side and scaleIf you are chemically dependent on specific foods or food in general, you are likely to have to go through a period of detoxification. There is no choice here either. Some compulsive eaters will experience immediate relief when they find an abstinent food plan that works for them. This sometimes last several months or even years, though at one point almost all compulsive eaters need to learn to be abstinent when the going is really rough. For many food addicts, however, it gets worse before it gets better. The symptoms of physical detoxification can be very subtle but they can also be quite severe.

Withdrawal symptoms may vary from subtle anxieties to strong physical cravings. Other symptoms of detoxification can include headaches, irritability, fatigue or insomnia. Withdrawal varies for different foods and from one food addict to another Most of all it is possible to have the thought that you have to eat or that certain feelings will be unbearable without food. It is always good to remember that no one has yet starved to death between meals and that feelings any particular feeling is not dangerous in itself… If we don’t eat, any feeling will eventually pass.

This is simple to say but often quiet difficult to do. Food addicts often need increased structure and support for their recovery in the first week to as long as a month because of going through detoxification. Some need extra structured support for much longer.

Similarly, most of us were eating over our feelings, using food essentially to medicate or numb our feelings. We needed to find and use other ways of dealing with even the most difficult feelings if we wanted to stay abstinent and recover. The most common way for food addicts to begin dealing with new and difficult feelings is to surrender to more structure and support: talk more with other food addicts, go to meetings, and use the tools. For long term recovery, this means a thorough working of the Twelve Steps.

It is in this context that we can look at the basic principles of choosing a food plan. Some compulsive eaters need to follow only one or two of these principles in order to discover a food plan that works. Others have to use almost all of these principles. Here again, it is important to base our choice on our best understanding and acceptance of what may be necessary to recovery from this disease. Many of us find it useful, even necessary, to make our choice of food plan with the help of other compulsive eaters or food addicts who are abstinent and who have a food plan that works for them.

Why Use the Term “Food Plan”?

Since most of us have been unable to eat or diet like normal eaters, we choose not to use the word “diet”. To us, diets mean something we can follow by reason and will power alone. We have come to accept that we cannot manage our food by self-control alone. Willpower failed us utterly, so we surrender to our powerlessness over food. The purpose of the food plan is to make this surrender more specific.

Few compulsive eaters chose a food plan because this is always the way they want to eat the rest of their life. Rather, we chose to surrender to a specific food plan because we have surrendered to the fact that we are powerless over food. There is real choice in deciding to use a food plan and what specific plan to use, but the first and most important decision is choosing to use a food plan – and practice surrendering to it – that works for the specific ways we are addicted to food.

There are some choices which are not available to each of us.

Most abstinent food addicts have an abundance of choice regarding what they eat. There are over two hundred different foods in most grocery stores, and only a handful are foods most of us find addictive. However, there is no choice about which food plans or principle will work and which will not. If you are addicted to a specific food, for example, it is not likely you will be able to include this food in your plan and have an abstinence that works.

Most compulsive eaters would like to be able to eat everything they want, exactly the way that they want, and suffer no consequences. Most of us would like to eat like normal eaters, but this choice is simply not available to us if we also want recovery. There is no such thing as surrendered food abstinence without giving up foods and ways of eating that your disease has long been wanting dearly.

Principle #1: A Food Plan as a Principle of Surrender

The simplest food plan is a “one day at a time” commitment to no compulsive eating.

Another version of this principle is “Eat when hungry. Stop when full.” Some food addicts who see this as a spiritual problem are able, with the help of the fellowship, to use this simple principle as an effective spiritual practice.

The problem, of course, is that most food addicts would not have sought help if they were able to do this. Many are mystified by the very idea of developing a spiritual practice in relationship to food. However, for some people, when they try to commit to this principle in a spiritual context – praying , doing the tools and Steps of the program, and opening to the support of the fellowship and other spiritual support – what was previously impossible becomes possible.

It is worth noting here that almost all food addicts have needed much more specific guidelines.

Principle #2: A Food Plan With Specific “Bottom Lines”

The first food plan often mentioned is now called “301.” It is a good example of the use of bottom lines. The 301 Food Plan contains three bottom lines: three meals a day, nothing in between, one day at a time. The bottom lines are specific commitments of surrender. The idea of abstaining from eating between committed meals was a conscious adaptation of the AA principle of not drinking at all. Focusing on one day at a time is also a practical AA practice which keeps us focused on the present and the possible.

Many who use a “301” food abstinence find they need further specific bottom lines about what they do eat. For example, a common variation of the 301 plan adds another specific bottom line, for example, “moderate meals” and/or “no seconds.” Others commit to a “balance of food categories”. Still others break their food plan up into more small meals or having a planned snack at a time in the day when hunger is chronic. Each of these is a general bottom line based on an assessment of past food history.

Those needing even further definition will use a specific “exchange diet” or “point system” as their food plan. Normal eaters often use doctor prescribe diabetic diet, a calorie counting system of a commercial weight loss program or an individually designed exchange diet from a dietitian. If a compulsive eater uses such a diet a food plan, the difference is an acceptance that s/he cannot do this by self-control, i.e. not by willpower or alone. So it is done in a prayerful context and/or by committing the food daily to another food addict. Food addicts learn to do the spiritual part of this work by sharing with each other and by consciously working the Twelve Steps.

Since many compulsive eaters also have eating disorders, it is not uncommon to include eating behaviors as bottom lines. Among the most common are “no purging,” “no restricting,” “no use of laxatives or diuretics.” Those who are compulsive over exercisers will often make a maximum time limit for exercise as a bottom line… On the other side of the exercise issue, many compulsive over-eaters find they have an aversion to exercise. This suggests that they have a minimum amount of exercise as a bottom line and a part of their abstinence commitment.

Sometimes these positive or pro-health parts of the food plan are called “top lines”. An exercise commitment is one of the most common top lines, for example, walking briskly at least a half an hour a minimum of five days a week. Other examples of top line include “sitting down while eating”, “eating slowly”, or “preparing meals I like to eat”

There is one type of bottom line, eliminating a specific food or a category of foods that is worth addressing separately.

Principle #3: A Food Plan Eliminates Binge Foods

For those who are chemically dependent on food, the basic concept is to eliminate the food(s) on which you binge and which trigger a binge. A way to begin is to make a list of all your specific binge foods. Then – best with another food addict who is abstinent – look over the list. Are there foods that are common to all your binges? The most likely suspects include: sugar, flour, wheat, caffeine, excess fat and salt. For food addicts, these foods often act in their bodies like drugs. Sometimes you have to look very carefully. Someone saying that they binge on salad may eat their greens with a dressing that contains any or all of the most common drug foods. Someone who thinks of themselves as bingeing on meat might always use steak sauce, always have rolls or bread with their protein, or just chose especially fat portions. If the food comes already prepared, it is always necessary to identify the ingredients with which it is cooked.

A practical application is to have a “bottom line” for certain highly addictive foods, e.g., no sugar. Many compulsive overeaters have even more specific ways of committing to not using a specific food. Regarding sugar addiction, for example, the more sensitive the compulsive eater is to sugar, the more thoroughly and completely sugar needs to be restricted. Some examples of common sugar bottom lines in order of progressive rigor:

– no added sugar
– no refined sugar or obvious sugars, e.g. corn syrup
– no hidden sugars up to the fifth ingredient
– no sugars, hidden sugars or artificial sweeteners

Each of these “levels” of abstinence is common.

How do you tell what level is appropriate? The answer is usually very pragmatic. What level of abstinence eliminates physical cravings – or minimizes them to the point you can commit what you eat and eat what you commit? What level works over time, i.e. 30 days, 90 days, a year? Some food addicts find a level that works and never needs to be changed over a long, stable period of abstinence. Some find that after a period of strict abstinence, they are able to reintroduce some foods in moderate portions. Others find that the road gets narrower and their bottom line has to become more restrictive over the years.

Principle #4: A Food Plan based on weighing and measuring.

What about compulsive eaters who have binged on almost every food? This is not uncommon, and there is a common answer: weigh and measure. For those who are addicted to volume, the use of a cup, scale and measuring spoons is not a form of dieting but rather a physical aid to portion control. The cup and scales are for these food addicts what glass are for the near sighted, a cane or crutches for the injured, or a wheel chair of the disabled.

Many compulsive overeaters experience mental distortion regarding food volume similar to the distorted body images of all those with eating disorders. The cups, scales and spoons become an aid to the untrustworthy eye. For other food addicts, they are addicted to volume – always or frequently wanting more (or less) food even when all reason says their food plan is a healthy portion. In these cases, the cups and scales become a counter balance to unwanted impulses. Paradoxically for many compulsive eaters, weighing and measuring is an incredibly practical way of simplifying a very complex problem, e.g. dealing with a food plan that has a very large number of variables.

Many food addicts who had resisted mightily the idea of weighing and measuring report later that, after they tried it for a while, they found a great relief. Rather than experiencing it as harshly restrictive, they say that they actually feel much freer when they weigh and measure. It helps relieve the obsession with food before, during and after a meal. Compulsive eaters who have weighed and measured know for certain that they have eaten exactly what they committed.

There are variations of weighing and measuring. Some weigh and measure all their food; some will weigh and measure only their protein, starch and dressing Others will weigh and measure at home but not at restaurants or social events. Some will measure their vegetables and starches in a cup; others will weigh them. Some will weigh and measure for the first 30 days, 90 days or a year, then do it only when they feel anxious, notice they are getting sloppy or just want the practice of surrender. There are some with long time, stable abstinence and recovery who have simply integrated surrender to weighing and measuring into their food plan one day at a time for life.

As with bottom lines, the decision about weighing and measuring comes down to individual choice – usually in collaboration with a sponsor – based upon past experience and upon what works and what does not work when it is tried. What is important – as with other parts of a food plan – is to first make a decision then do the spiritual work of staying surrendered to that commitment.

Principle #5: Begin by using the Food Plan that works for others

In early recovery or even coming back from a relapse, we are often ill-equipped to deal with all the choices of a food plan. We just know that what we have been doing has not worked, and we need to try something that has worked for someone else. So, it is not surprising to find many compulsive eaters begin by choosing a sponsor or meeting where they see definite recovery, then surrendering to the food plan that their sponsor or other abstinent food addicts are using.

The food plan might be “301,” or it might be a very specific written food plan that has evolved from a sponsor’s individual experience or it might be a very detailed weighed and measured food plan that has worked for a whole group of compulsive overeaters over time.

When those who were specifically addicted to sugar, flour and wheat wanted meetings together, they formed Food Addicts Anonymous and they also developed another highly structured food plan. Within Overeaters Anonymous, there was also a movement called HOW which was for those who needed more structure and support; part of this structure is a weighed and measured food plan with no sugar, or flour. See Overeaters Anonymous.

Along with many further variations, these plans have a lot in common. They are all sugar, flour and alcohol-free. They all have a specific exchange plan. They all recommend weighing and measuring. Someone simply addicted to sugar, flour and volume could use any of these plans and get abstinent. Yet for others the details are all very important.

Some using the HOW plan have not gotten abstinent until they gave up wheat and looked at the dozens of hidden sugars itemized in the FAA literature. Some have tried the FAA and HOW plans and not gotten abstinent until they eliminated all carbohydrates and followed the even stricter guidelines of Gray Sheet. What all these specific plans have in common, though, is that abstinence is defined both simply (surrender to a whole plan) and in great detail (there is an answer to most of the endless specific questions that come up when abstaining from food.)

Many of those with long time (decades) of abstinence in OA started by practicing surrender to one of these food plans, and many continue to use this more structured approach to abstinence for years and years, If this is the only food plan that have been stably abstinent on, they decide “if it works, don’t fix it.”

Principle #6: A Food Plan focused on issues of unwillingness

Of course, those coming off of a relapse will have some experiences of their own to build upon. Anyone abstinent in the past for a year or more using a specific food plan has some very valuable information about their disease and about a food plan that worked at least physically at that time. The food addict who has struggled for a long time in OA and not been able to put together any substantial period of back to back abstinence also knows a lot; this food addict knows a lot about what does not work.

It makes good sense to learn from this experience, to put down the foods or eating behaviors that were previously surrendered when abstinent, to inventory the relapse experience, and to be rigorously honest about what we didn’t want to do or were outright unwilling to do.

Probably the most important difference between a diet and a food plan is that most food plans include an aspect of surrender. Those on food plans surrender specific food(s) or eating behaviors that they did not want to give up or actually found that they were unable to give up when they tried. They need to surrender to more help and support or, as it is frequently talked about in Twelve Step programs, a Power greater than oneself.

While diets are temporary deprivation for a desired goal, food plans frequently deal with exactly the food issues where we think we will be deprived, even “unacceptably deprived”, if we put them down. This is not unlike the situation in alcohol and other drug addictions. It is common for the addict to think that they “have to have” their drug, that life will not be worth living with out it, even that they will die if they don’t use. This is the nature of compulsive eating and active food addiction, too.

So, unlike the normal eater who is dieting – or even the person with an eating disorder who is not addicted – the food addict needs to deal with deprivation. That is what a surrendered food plan is all about. In fact, a sponsor can often help a sponsee see the way that their food plan is not working by pointing out the specific food they are unwilling to give up or the specific recovery behavior they are unwilling to include.

The purpose of a food plan is to eliminate just those foods and behaviors over which we have in the past been powerless. We do this first by accepting the support of the program (e.g. sponsor and meetings), second by eliminating the most difficult food just one day at time (we can do for one day many things that we think we cannot do for a life time) and then, most importantly by having a very practical spiritual practice (for example, the Twelve Steps) which help us deal with this very problem of willingness.

Beginning the Process of Abstinence

There are two schools of thought about the strategy for surrendering to a food plan. One says that it is best to proceed incrementally. The other says that it is best eliminate all dangerous food and triggers at once. There is an abundance of experience that both of these strategies work well for some people, and many “true believer” arguments that their way is the only way among those for whom their food plan or their strategy has worked.

There are many old–timers who will say very truthfully and helpfully that their abstinence evolved. Maybe they were only willing and able to give up “junk food” or eating between meals at first, but they did, and this showed them both that abstinence worked and that there were further issues of abstinence to which they needed to attend.

Also, there are people who were able to use certain foods in early recovery, e.g., diet drinks, but later the caffeine or the NutraSweet or some other ingredient was something they could not handle; as they would say the disease progresses even while we are in recovery. On the other hand, recovery is also progressive; what we could tolerate physically in early recovery becomes a problem as we recover more mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

There are also old-timers who will say that until they put down all their major addictive foods, they were not able to maintain their abstinence from any of them. They found that when they put down ice cream, they eventually picked up bread, and bingeing on bread brought them back to the sugar. Others found that though they appeared to have control regarding a particular food, e.g. wheat or a sugar-free desert, it was giving them low-level cravings which in the long run made it impossible for them to sustain their abstinence over their major binge foods, or they started overeating with volume.

To the newcomer, all these details frequently appear very confusing. This is especially true because for many compulsive eaters, there are food plans and approaches to food abstinence that work for them but not other food addicts. And, of course, there are often food plans which will not work for them no matter how much other food addicts say that this is the only way. It is clear that while recovering food addicts have a lot to share with each other, we are only human, and this means that we all need a Power greater than ourselves.

We have this piece of advice: action is usually better than inaction. After consultation with those we most trust – and, if we choose, a period of prayer, it is always useful for the food addict to practice surrender. Even if there are ways that we are unwilling to surrender, it is helpful to practice going to the lengths that we can. Even if a particular surrender plan is not exactly the one that will work, it is worth exercising our spiritual muscles. In the matter of food plans, act boldly that learning and grace may abound.

Now About Weight

We compulsive eaters have taken on some very foolish beliefs about weight. On the one hand, some of us have internalized the dangerous social standard that you can never be too thin or have a flat enough stomach. On the other hand, some of us adopted that irrational position that, since there is no perfect weight for everyone, then we can be whatever size we want to be. All of us have harbored our own fair share of crazy thinking about size and body image. So, what are we to do about establishing a goal weight?

First, as in other matters of our food plan, we tried to be honest, open and willing. We needed to take a long, hard look at our history. We needed to consider the feedback and advice of others, including health professionals, especially if our initial response was reactive. We needed to be open to the possibility that our thinking about our weight was inaccurate and a part of our disease. We need to examine any position we hold too rigidly and consider it might be “self-will run riot. ”

Whatever our goal weight turns out to be, we must be willing to grow towards it. Some of us found that when we put our focus on being abstinent one day at a time, the problem of weight took care of itself. Still many of us find that weighing once a month is a healthy reality check. We still need to commit an appropriate number of calories per day. The scale does not lie, but in our disease, we food addicts do. If we are not making progress towards or maintaining a healthy weight, it is likely that we are either lying to ourselves about our food or need to consult a health professional.

Often we needed to rely at first on others who we trust in this matter. If they understand compulsive eating and food addiction, they are likely to say put your focus on surrendering to just being abstinent one day at a time, and proceed on the issue of weight patiently. Only God can judge our ideal weight. Considering our food plan as a spiritual tool and our abstinence as a spiritual practice will lead us to an answer over time.

There is a cautionary note: if you are committing to any food plan, especially to a highly restrictive plan or one of the more structured plans, it is very important to check it with your doctor or a dietician. Food addicts frequently have additional food-related health issues, and they can be important, even life threatening.

For example, diabetics would not be wise to have a food plan that included sugar. Those with thyroid problems may need to calculate their calorie needs differently. Those with hypoglycemia may need to break their food up into five or six small meals. Those who have had intestinal by-pass operations will not be able to eat meals with large volume. Those with specific food allergies will not be able to eat other specific foods, even though they are not addicted to them. Those on medications for any number of other illnesses will need to be sure that their food plan does not interfere with the working of these medications.

The good news is that these strategies have worked for tens of thousands of food addicts, and that if one strategy does not work, you can try another one. There are a couple of general rules: First, generally, it is best to begin working to abstain from what will kill you the fastest; second, if you are unable to abstain when you give it your all, surrender to more structure and support.

What does more structure and support mean in practice?

  1. Going to more recovery group meetings.
  2. Making calls to more people who are abstinent.
  3. Looking seriously at professional support or treatment.

Surrendering to a food plan is often just the beginning. There is also a process of surrender: committing our food one meal or one day at a time. Here again, OA brings the experience of tens of thousands of compulsive eaters over forty years, and probably the most common practice among all the OA’s who have achieved and maintained long term abstinence is the use of a food sponsor.

Using a Sponsor for Food Addiction

As part of a 12 Step Program, a food sponsor is usually another food addict who is abstinent themselves. They are a guide in defining a surrendered food plan. Equally important, they can offer structure and support in the day-to-day practice of surrendering to the plan. One simple common process generally works like this:

  1. Write down your food for the day specifically, before eating
  2. Read your committed foods for the day to your sponsor
  3. Go to any length to keep your commitment (checking back with your sponsor if a problem arises)
  4. Be rigorously honest with your sponsor about whether or not you kept your commitment, after you eat your meals.

As with other aspects of abstinence, there are many variations in practice. Some begin by just committing “bottom lines.” Some people just write their food down and don’t commit it. Some begin committing specifically, but later commit generically. Some write their food down and check in with a sponsor afterwards in order to be accountable. It is useful information, though, that a majority of compulsive overeaters with long term abstinence have gone through a period of time – often a quite long period of time – when they committed their food very specifically on a daily basis to a sponsor.

Committing your food to a sponsor has many advantages. First, it means that we are not trying to deal with our food alone. For those are not able to deal with their food by themselves, this makes a lot of sense.

Second, the process of committing our food and keeping our commitment builds a whole new set of habits and attitudes over time. In the planning, preparing, eating and cleaning up after our meals there are dozens of small actions, many of which need to be changed over time.

Third, the simple act of not making decisions about our food by ourselves is, for the compulsive eater, one of the best ways to practice surrender. Since for many of us a surrendered abstinence is the only thing that works with our food, it is always a plus to develop our spiritual muscles.

In developing a “surrendered” abstinence, many food addicts are taking on the most difficult task of their lives. After all, for many of us, food seemed to be the most important thing in our lives. For others of us, food was a major comfort in times of pain, stress and celebration. For most of us, we only came to to get help when we began to see that we were – or were becoming – completely powerless over food. Many of us had to face the important though daunting task of improving our relationship to God, as we understand God. Seen this way, developing good food abstinence is one of the most important things we can ever do in our lives.

For a few of us, this comes easily, but this is not the rule. For most the process of surrendering to a food abstinence that works is a long, educative process. Some find it useful to see that the process often parallels the process of grief. In fact, we are often grieving the foods we most wanted and the very idea of ourselves as being able to control our own lives. There is a process of grieving, and – while it is not usually a straight and linear path – there do seem to be stages:

  1. Denial
  2. Bargaining
  3. Compliance
  4. Anger
  5. Fear
  6. Sadness
  7. Surrender, i.e., acceptance

That we need to move through each of these stages – and usually keep moving through them – is what makes surrender a spiritual practice. A food plan is a tool in this process.

The Promise? Not just Abstinence but a Life Beyond Our Wildest Dreams

At one time, most of us saw a surrendered food abstinence as hopelessly impossible. If we were to be abstinent, it would have to be with reservations. Then we complied, as best as we could, one day at a time. We found it was possible, but we were angry, afraid and sad. Was this all there was to life? However, when we stayed with the practice, allowed our selves to feel our feelings and kept at working the Twelve Steps, we discovered a serene abstinence. While many of us had to work hard – over and over again go to any length, when this joyous abstinence arrived, we experienced it almost entirely as a gift. That is the wonderful paradox of the program, while abstinence often begins as a surrender we do not want to make, it becomes the key to a life beyond our wildest dreams, and we are grateful.

© Phil Werdell, M.A.

Bulimia & Food Addiction

Food addiction begins with physical craving, evolves into mental obsession, and, ultimately, becomes a whole life of spiritual illness. It is also a physical disease of chemical dependency upon one or more foods or on volumes of food in general.

Bulimia is a psychological illness, a mental-emotional problem usually rooted in unresolved trauma from before the earliest incident of purging.

It is fairly straight forward to know if you are bulimic. Do you binge and purge?

Do you keep doing this after you decided to stop? More specifically, do you physically vomit food that you have eaten when you are not sick? Or do you use pills, ipecac, laxatives or diuretics to try to take off weight? Or do you exercise excessively – sometimes to the point of hurting yourself – to try and control weight? Do you use highly restrictive dieting over and over again? These are the most common physical symptoms of bulimia. If you are not sure if you are bulimic, you can ask a doctor or eating disorder specialist for a diagnosis.

How does a bulimic know if they suffer from food addiction?

One simple indication is if they were obsessing about and/or bingeing out of control on commonly addictive foods before they started purging. The “food drug” to which people most often become addicted is sugar in one of its myriad forms. The second most common “food drug” is flour and other refined carbohydrates which metabolize quickly into simple sugars. Further addictive food substances may include: chocolate, excess fat, wheat, artificial sweeteners, salt, caffeine and a large volume of any food.

Sometimes addiction to volume is simply another form of sugar addiction, but there is also a separate process in which people do not have the normal bio-chemical sensation of satiation.

If someone was binge-eating before they became bulimic, it is usually clear that this is a primary mental-emotional complication of bulimia nervosa. But is this binge-eating due to psychological problems? Or is it the beginning of chemical dependency? Or is it both?

This is sometimes less easy to discern. One possible indication of food addiction is that there are symptoms of detoxification when specific binge foods are completely eliminated. If the person has food cravings soon after abstaining and wants to eat to deal with the cravings, this is an even stronger sign of addiction to that particular food.

Not all bulimics are food addicted, but, for the many who are, understanding and treating their chemical dependency on food is essential to long term recovery from bulimia. Abstinence and recovery helps develop better emotional skills and enables healing of primary trauma.

If you do not want to abstain from all binge foods completely, there is another way of seeing if you are food addicted. When you try to eat all foods in moderation and find that you still want to binge even when you work at dealing with underlying feelings, this could be because you are also chemically dependent on food. It will take some time to be sure about this, of course, for it can take months or years of intensive work to develop strong emotional skills and work through all unresolved trauma.

One test: have you been doing therapy for a year or more for your eating disorder and are you still bingeing and purging? If so, it might be useful to look more seriously at food addiction, because you may not just be medicating feelings; you may also be biochemically addicted.

Treating Food Addiction

To treat food addiction, it is important to begin by detoxifying from all binge foods and eliminate the physical cravings for them. This means abstaining from all trigger foods completely. You can identify the foods you are addicted to and get support for detoxification exactly like other food addicts, though the bulimic often commits to abstaining from purging as well as specific foods. The Twelve Step fellowships (such as Overeaters Anonymous and Food Addicts Anonymous) are excellent support programs for this process. ACORN workshops are designed to help those who need additional professional help.

We have a number of people working in ACORN who are bulimic and have spent a year – sometimes several years – in therapy for their eating disorders. These bulimics said that although they had been helped in dealing with their feelings, their eating was still out of control. Often their therapist had said that they “should” be able to eat in moderation or that the rigor of committing food to a sponsor every day and weighing and measuring was “too rigid.” However, when they tried treating themselves as if they were addicted, their cravings diminished. They were better able to deal with difficult feelings, and they came to see that they had a food addiction.

There is a lot of misunderstanding about food addiction – even in the medical community. It is not taught at all in many medical schools or graduate programs for dieticians and the differences between bulimia and food addiction are seldom clarified for counselors and therapists.

Questions for Bulimics to Ask

Do I ever think of purging without bingeing first?

If you always plan on bingeing – especially if the binge is on addictive foods – before you purge, then the primary problem may be the food, and the underlying problem may well be chemical dependency. Food addiction is a primary disease, just like addiction to alcohol or drugs. If someone is drinking out of control and depressed, the alcoholic must begin by putting down the drink and accepting that he or she is an alcoholic. If one is medicating feelings with pot or some prescription medication, the drug addict must first put down the drug. For most, there is usually much more emotional and spiritual work to do, but this is not possible while still self-medicating with an addictive substance. It is the same with food addiction.

Another basic question helps you see the difference: Would you suggest to an alcoholic or drug addict that they work on underlying therapeutic issues while they are still using alcohol, cocaine, or some other drug of choice? Well, some foods have exactly the same opiates as in these more socially identified addictive drugs.

The best way for you to tell if you are addicted to food is to treat yourself as if you are food addicted for six months to a year.

  1. First, look at your own eating experience and identify foods and eating behaviors to which you may be addicted.
  2. Second, get the support – from peers and or professionals – to eliminate those foods entirely and to make abstinence the number one priority in your life.
  3. Third, continue to work on any difficult feelings, irrational thoughts and deeper spiritual issues that pull you back to the food.

If you are able to stay abstinent – or, if you make substantial improvement in dealing with food – it’s likely that you are food addicted. If you are not, you are still making progress.

The Process of Abstinence is Surrender

The initial surrender necessary for recovery from food addiction is to accept completely that you are a food addict. This means that you have a progressive disease that is physical, mental-emotional and spiritual in nature. Because it is a disease of the mind, there are times when you cannot trust your own thinking, so you need to rely on a Power beyond yourself. What does this look like specifically?

Physically

Physically, it means – A surrender of one’s specific binge foods, i.e.foods to which you are addicted. If one is addicted to volume, surrender to weighing and measuring or to some other external form of portion control.

This is most commonly done by surrendering to a food plan. A food plan defines the general content of abstinence. Food addicts need to be specific about what it means to be abstinent. What foods can you eat? What foods can you not eat? How much do you eat? How do you determine nutritional balance? It is common for food addicts who are new to recovery or are having difficulty getting abstinent to make this decision with someone who understands food addiction. If this person is not medically trained, it is also important to consult with a doctor, dietitian, or other health professional.

It also may mean to surrender to more structure and support until you are able to be food abstinent and stay abstinent. This might mean physically being in meetings, physically eating with other recovering food addicts, even staying with other abstinent food addicts 24/7. It might also mean putting oneself in a professionally-led recovery group, workshop, or in-patient treatment.

Mentally

Mentally it means – Surrendering to not making decisions about your food by yourself. Since most food addicts are not able to do this alone, it is common to make day-to-day decisions with a food sponsor. In the 12-Step fellowships, this is called committing your food to a sponsor. It also means accepting direction and support to surrender your food specifically one day a time.

In practice, the most common way of surrendering with a sponsor works like this:

  1. Write down your food before you eat it. This means you let go of or surrender spontaneity regarding food. You have to plan ahead. There is a slogan that goes with this principle, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.”
  2. Read what you wrote to your sponsor. This means you give up or surrender self-sufficiency and making decisions about your food alone. It means you give your word regarding your food. The slogan is, “Commit what you eat, and eat what you commit. Nothing more, nothing less.”
  3. Don’t change your commitment (unless there is a health emergency). This means let go of or surrender grazing or snacking between meals. It means let go of or surrender making decisions about food impulsively.
  4. Afterwards, be rigorously honest with your sponsor. This means let go of or surrender of your self-sufficiency and pride. If you are abstinent, say to your sponsor that you are. If you are not abstinent, i.e., made changes, eaten something you didn’t commit to eat, skipped a meal or forgot to eat something, be rigorously honest about how you are not abstinent and develop a surrender plan for the next day. The principle is again summarized in a fellowship slogan, “You are as sick as your secrets.”

This practice of rigorously surrendering one’s food daily with a fellow recovering addict may sometimes seem drastic, but it also seems to be what works for most of the thousands of food addicts who have found abstinence and recovery in the various food 12-Step fellowships. A common response about committing one’s food and/or weighing and measuring is as follows: “No, while I sometimes don’t want to do it, I no longer see it as a burden. It gives me a freedom regarding my food and my life that I never had before.”

Spiritually

Spiritually, it means – Surrender your food and your will to the care of a Power greater than yourself. This usually means surrendering to the practice of making conscious contact with God (as you understand God). This might be as simple as praying for help with your abstinence and life each morning, and saying” Thank You” at the end of the day. It might mean taking time each day for spiritual reading and/or silent meditation.

For someone having trouble with the God idea or with having a personal relationship, it means surrendering to work through the Twelve Steps rigorously from beginning to end (or some other effective spiritual practice).This is best done with a sponsor – or in a group. The bottom line is to have an effective spiritual awakening; a change in personality that enables us to live soberly without using food addictively.

Finally, the ultimate spiritual act for a food addict is surrendering to regularly helping another food addict. This is at once the most practical way to stay food abstinent when all other things do not work and the best way to assure there will continue to be a spiritual community to help you if and when you need it. In the end, often in spite of themselves, abstinence is a way of life for food addicts in that they surrender to being with and serving God.

There are, of course, as many ways of looking at surrendering one’s food as there are paths to God. This is just one that works for many food addicts. Thank God.

© Phil Werdell, M.A.

Frequenty Asked Questions

What program do I chose if I am new to SHiFT?

The SHiFT 5-Week Program is mandatory for those attending a SHiFT Progam for the first time. Click here for more details.
What payment options are available?

At SHiFT we are passionate about making our programs accessible to everyone. If finances are an issue please contact us and we will work with you as best we can to work out a financial situation that suits all.

Brief payment plans may available for those who demonstrate financial assistance. Please call 941-378-2122 to discuss details.

Where will I stay during the programs?

Participants will stay at the program site, which is a private home in a residential neighborhood. Bedrooms will be shared by 2 or more participants. Click here to view photos of Sugar Free Place.

Additional lodging before and after the group is available for $45 per night.

Is there any financial assistance available?

At times, limited scholarships are available or a brief payment plan may be set up for those who demonstrate a need for financial assistance. Please call us at 941-378-2122 to discuss details.
When should I arrive? When does the event end?

ACORN Intensive

The ACORN Intensive© begins at 6:30 p.m. on the first day. We encourage participants to arrive by 6:00 p.m.

The event will end on the last day after lunch (approximately 2:00 p.m.). Departing flights should be scheduled accordingly.

 

Living in Recovery

The Living in Recovery Program begins at 6:00 p.m. on the first evening and ends approximately 4:00 p.m. on the last day.

 

3 Days with SHiFT

The 3-Days with SHiFT program is from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily. This program typically begins on Friday morning and ends Sunday afternoon.

 

Alumni Weekend

The Alumni Weekends begin at 6:30 p.m. on Friday and ends approximately 4:00 p.m. on Sunday.

I am traveling from out of state. What is the nearest airport?

Bradenton, Florida

If you are flying to Florida, you have two options for airports: Sarasota/Bradenton International (SRQ) or Tampa International (TPA)

SRQ is closer to the site (about a 20-minute ride), but it is a smaller airport and therefore has fewer flight options. You can catch an Uber from SRQ for about $20.

TPA is about a 1-hour drive from the site. This airport has several transportation options, including Uber/Lyft (about $75) or Airport Transporter.

Vancouver, BC

If you are flying to Vancouver, your best option is Vancouver International (YVR). As soon as you exit the airport, you will find a line-up of taxis waiting. It’s about a 30-minute ride to the site and will cost about $40.00 CAD. 

Can I attend the programs if I am not abstinent?

All of our programs are open to people struggling with abstinence, have slippery abstinence or for those who are stable in their recovery. The Acorn Intensive allows up to 5 days for those who are not abstinent to remove certain foods from their food plan and detox from addictive foods.

Are meals included in the cost of the programs?

5 Week Program/ACORN Intensive: Yes, meals are included. Dinner is NOT provided the first evening but feel free to bring your own meal or eat before you arrive. Meals will be provided beginning with a metabolic snack the first night through lunch on the last day, including any meals you may need to pack for your return trip. Food is prepared according to the Acorn Food Plan, which excludes sugar, flour, caffeine and alcohol.  You will be responsible for weighing or measuring your portions.  If you have questions about your particular food needs, please let us know in advance!

Living In Recovery: Meals are not provided during the Living In Recovery. The purpose of this program is for folks to get comfortable in a more real-life setting. You will grocery shop and prepare your meals with other participants.

3 Days with SHiFT: Meals are not provided during the 3 Day program, there will be plenty of time for people to prepare their meals in between groups.

Alumni Weekends: Yes, meals are included. Dinner is NOT provided the first evening but feel free to bring your own meal or eat before you arrive. Meals will be provided beginning with a metabolic snack the first night through lunch on the last day, including any meals you may need to pack for your return trip. Food is prepared according to the ACORN Food Plan.  If you have questions about your particular food needs, please let us know in advance!

Do I have to follow the Acorn Food Plan?
If you have been stably abstinent for at least 90 days on a different food plan, you can maintain your current food plan – this information must be received in advance. All others will begin with the Acorn Food Plan. We are open to working with other abstinent food plans however we will need to have a discussion about the details prior to the start of the program.
Will my insurance cover the program fees?

Typically, insurance policies do not cover programs for food addiction. We will provide an invoice upon request for you to submit to your insurance company. Please check with your provider as we do not submit claims to insurance companies.

Focusing on you (This is important)

During the Acorn Intensive the complete focus is on your recovery, no outside distractions are permitted. This means no telephone calls, no TV/video/audio, no e-mail, computer, non-recovery books or activities. Please do not make commitments (e.g. job concerns) requiring outside attention during the Intensive. When you arrive, we will ask for your cell phones (for safekeeping)!

But … In Case of Emergency:

Please have your family members the emergency number provided in the Event Details you will receive upon registration if there is an emergency. This number will be checked for messages several times each day.

What should I bring?

You will need:

  • Casual, comfortable clothing and walking shoes
  • Bring a sweater due to air conditioning
  • Digital food scale
  • Your personal toiletries
  • Prescribed medications

SHiFT will provide:

  • Towels, linens  (you are welcome to bring any bedding that makes you feel more comfortable)
  • Writing paper and pens
  • Binder with materials

Special Considerations:
In support of those with environmental sensitivities, we wish to make the meeting space as scent-free as possible. Please do not bring or use cologne, perfume,

In support of those with environmental sensitivities, we wish to make the meeting space as scent-free as possible. Please do not bring or use cologne, perfume, scented lotions, scented aftershave, aerosols, etc. as these products may cause reactions in some people.

It is recommended that you plan at least one day with little or no responsibility following the Primary Intensive©.

Rest, get your abstinent foods in place and ensure implementation of your aftercare needs.

Are Coffee and Tea provided?

Herbal teas are provided at all SHiFT events. Caffeinated tea/coffee or decaf coffee are not permitted at any of our events. Caffeine is an addictive substance that has been found in some people with food addiction to elicit cravings. Caffeine withdrawal can be hard for some folks so we suggest if possible that you slowly wean yourself off caffeine before you attend (being off caffeine before you attend is not mandatory).

Is smoking permitted?

Smoking is permitted outside at all events. We have had several people who choose to give up nicotine while they are with us and we will support them through this. If people choose to continue smoking that is fine, they will need to do so outside.