Addiction To Food

I am worried about a male friend of mine, you see he has a problem, he eats all day long, whenever he is happy or sad and finds every excuse in the book to buy food or make food, to keep eating it. He is handsome guy and one of my oldest, dearest friends but he has been on numerous diets, gives up eventually and keeps on eating and growing. Right now he is having high blood pressure, high cholesterol and recently had renal (kidney) failure. He is a single dad, raising 2 wonderful kids and the kids need him but he is not taking care of himself. I worry about what will happen to his kids if something happens to him.

In my office, I have seen many over eaters throughout the years and usually they have seen family members overeating as well, it becomes a learned behavior, a solution to solving everyday stressors. I am writing this today because I always address this issue with my patients because it is a cry for help. People lose their sense of self love and self-esteem in this process. Please don’t get me wrong, being average weight is not easy, there will always be skinny people and overweight people, I am discussing today super overweight people.

Remember part of self love is self care and we owe it to our self to stay healthy and live a long life. We must be healthy, think positive, be as active as we can, be spiritual and just be ourselves. In life we need a balance, it is important to recognize when things get out of our control. The first step is addressing the problem, then getting the proper help to get through it. You can do it.
You can get help by going to:

1. Nutritionist and physician ( medical practitioner)
2. Individual counseling
3. Get group counseling about this topic like Overeaters Anonymous (OA)

Who can you turn to:

1. Family
2. Friends
3. Neighbors
4. Support groups
5. Mental health counselors/school/college counselors
6. Church groups (whatever demonination)

Remember… you are beautiful/handsome and you deserve to find the happy person inside of you.  You need to make it happen for you and your family, you all need each other.  Life is meant to be enjoyed so live it to the fullest in a healthier body. You can make it happen, the only person stopping it from happening is you and you have the power in your hands to change it.

Good Luck !!!