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FA Press Release/Article Template


NOTE: Below is a press release members can customize by choosing a title and/or local information. Please notify mediawatch@foodaddicts.org when you provide this article to any media outlet. ____________________________________________________________________________________

POSSIBLE TITLES:

Are you having trouble controlling the way you eat?

OR PRESS RELEASE:

[Your Location] Area meetings offer a solution for food addiction Many people have resorted to desperate measures to control their weight and the way they relate to food. They’ve tried expensive diets, surgery, medications, excessive exercise, purging, extreme food restriction—all to no avail. Others don’t know where to turn or have just given up hope. Fortunately, thousands of people have found a free, effective, long-term solution in Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA).

FA is an international, non-profit recovery program modeled on the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Food addicts have a relationship with food that parallels an alcoholic’s relationship with alcohol. Food addiction can manifest in a variety of ways, including overeating, under-eating, bulimia, over-exercise, abuse of laxatives, or painful obsession with body image. No amount of willpower can lead the food addict to normal eating or sane attitudes around food and weight.

As one member puts it, “I’ve kept 65 pounds (29.5 kilograms) off my body for almost 12 years. I couldn’t keep it off for 12 minutes before FA. I would go on a diet, hit my goal weight, and immediately go out and celebrate with food. After that, I’d start putting it all back on and then some.” Another long-term member describes years of bulimia: “I used to tell myself I could eat whatever I wanted because I could always throw up, but the more I ate, the more food I needed. I never thought I would ever get relief from my horrific obsession with food until I found FA.”

(NOTE: Some media outlets like using a local person’s quote. We suggest it has the same theme— what it was like, what it’s like now, and long- term recovery. We also suggest giving some examples from people who did not necessarily come in for weight loss.)

FA understands food addiction as a physical, mental, and spiritual disease, and addresses these three dimensions with a structured, balanced food plan, daily help from a sponsor and fellow members, and ongoing support in working the Twelve Steps of AA as adapted for food addiction. Many members have maintained appropriate weights and healthy ways of eating for over 30 years. People come to FA for a variety of reasons. Some are seeking help with weight-related health problems.

As one member explains, “I was morbidly obese at 341 pounds (154.7 kilograms), with knee and back problems, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and acid reflux. I also suffered from anxiety and depression. Since coming to FA, I have lost 175 lbs (79 kilograms) and have maintained a healthy weight for more than ten years, and I no longer suffer from any of those physical or mental ailments.”

Many come to FA for relief from the self-loathing and unhappiness that accompanied their obsession with food or body size. Another member says, “Because I looked healthy, my doctors did not know that I was torturing myself with at least three hours of exercise daily to work off all the calories I had eaten. FA has helped me to have a healthy relationship with food and exercise, with appropriate amounts of each, and has given me daily tools I can use to maintain balance in mind, body, and spirit.” People struggling with food addiction never need to feel alone again. Whether trying to lose 200 pounds, needing to gain weight, or feeling tormented by obsession with body size, they can find help, hope, and a long-term solution in FA.

There are now approximately 600 FA meetings worldwide--including [# of meetings where in your area, e.g., “seven meetings in the ------- area”]

[OPTIONAL FOR PI SESSIONS]

FA is holding a special introductory meeting that is open to anyone interested in finding out more about FA:

Meeting Date:

Meeting Time:

Meeting Location: - To locate FA meetings and get more information about FA, visit www.foodaddicts.org, or call the FA World Service Office at (781) 932-6300 (or local number) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Possible Sidebar:

Are You a Food Addict?

Ask yourself the following questions and answer them as honestly as you can.

1. Have you ever wanted to stop eating and found you just couldn't?

2. Do you think about food or your weight constantly?

3. Do you find yourself attempting one diet or food plan after another, with no lasting success?

4. Do you binge and then "get rid of the binge" through vomiting, exercise, laxatives or other forms of purging?

5. Do you eat differently in private than you do in front of other people?

6. Has a doctor or family member ever approached you with concern about your eating habits or weight?

7. Do you eat large quantities of food at one time (binge)?

8. Is your weight problem due to your "nibbling" all day long?

9. Do you eat to escape from your feelings?

10. Do you eat when you're not hungry?

11. Have you ever discarded food, only to retrieve and eat it later?

12. Do you eat in secret?

13. Do you fast or severely restrict your food intake?

14. Have you ever stolen other people's food?

15. Have you ever hidden food to make sure you have "enough?"

16. Do you feel driven to exercise excessively to control your weight?

17. Do you obsessively calculate the calories you've burned against the calories you've eaten?

18. Do you frequently feel guilty or ashamed about what you've eaten?

19. Are you waiting for your life to begin "when you lose the weight?"

20. Do you feel hopeless about your relationship with food?

If you answered “yes” to any of the above questions, then you may be a food addict. You are not alone. FA offers hope through a real solution to food addiction. For more information about FA, visit www.foodaddicts.org, or call the FA World Service Office at (781) 932-6300