Phil Werdell, M.A.

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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.