Do you ever begin eating a plate of food and find you can’t stop? You could be a compulsive eater and not even know it. If so, Overeaters Anonymous are here to help.
Everyone overfills their plates at a buffet, squeezes in dessert and occasionally eats more than they need to, but if this is something that happens more than you care to admit, you could be an overeater. Don’t fret though, because help is at hand.
Overeaters Anonymous (OA) is a support group helping overeaters in Abu Dhabi to combat their approach and relationship with food. The group has been active in the UAE for more than four years, and is part of the international Overeaters Anonymous group, which helps more than 75,000 people across 80 countries each year combat their unhealthy relationship with food.
The group’s organiser, Sally says, ‘What we do is we allow people to express themselves. Often we find that people that have these kinds of issues are never really given an opportunity to talk about them freely, without being interrupted, without being judged, without people thinking they can fix them, and then we all share our experience and how things have worked for us.’
The twelve-step programme is based on the Alcoholics Anonymous guide. The group meets twice-per-week and work through their problems. ‘We are based on the AA 12 steps and 12 traditions…which means we all get together, we read from a piece of literature or have a talk or people might tell the group about their experience. People also share things that are happening in their lives that might be affecting their eating.’
Often the meetings address more than just the behaviour, with deeper issues contributing to the problem. ‘It’s often about more than eating, it stems from emotional issues and we work through these in the meetings.’
Overeating is not necessarily only prevalent in overweight people with overeaters also being normal or underweight too. Often overeaters have a specific ‘trigger food’, something they cannot stop eating, whether it be chocolate, sugar, salty foods, chips, or anything that someone may find themselves eating excessively.
‘Generally, the idea is to avoid the food altogether. It’s similar to any addiction, once you have that in your system your body has a reaction to this substance. If we don’t put this food in our body, we don’t have to deal with this reaction.
‘We have tools that we use that help us get through our issues. The first of the 12 steps is admitting you have a problem. Some people may not even know they have an addiction to food. It’s similar to alcohol, there are certain foods that trigger us. We find out what our trigger foods are; in other words, what foods we eat that we can’t get enough of, things we can’t stop eating all the time and then we work with that.’
If you think you may need to join the group, Sally says all are welcome; ‘It’s a safe place, we have all been to our first meeting. There is no judgement here and we create a safe space for people to feel comfortable and heal.’
Overeaters Anonymous meets twice weekly in Danat Towers off Muroor Road. www.oeinuae.com, oaabuudhabi@gmail.com (056 743 0514).
Could you be an overeater?
If you answer yes to more than three of these questions then you may need help.
1. Do I eat when I’m not hungry, or not eat when my body needs nourishment?
2. Do I go on eating binges for no apparent reason, sometimes eating until I’m stuffed or even feel sick?
3. Do I have feelings of guilt, shame or embarrassment about my weight or the way I eat?
4. Do I eat sensibly in front of others and then make up for it when I am alone?
5. Is my eating affecting my health or the way I live my life?
6. When my emotions are intense – whether positive or negative – do I find myself reaching for food?
7. Do my eating behaviours make me or others unhappy?
8. Have I ever used laxatives, vomiting, diuretics, excessive exercise, diet pills, shots or other medical interventions (including surgery) to try to control my weight?
9. Do I fast or severely restrict my food intake to control my weight?
10. Do I need to chew or have something in my mouth all the time: food, gum, mints, sweets or beverages?
11. Are there certain foods I can’t stop eating after having the first bite?
12. Have I lost weight with a diet or ‘period of control’ only to be followed by bouts of uncontrolled eating and/or weight gain?
13. Do I spend too much time thinking about food, arguing with myself about whether or what to eat, planning the next diet or exercise cure, or counting calories?
