Q. What Do You Think About Overeaters Anonymous? Is their approach consistent with your Intuitive Eating philosophy?

A. Many years ago, I was fortunate to meet the president of the national Overeaters Anonymous (OA). She kindly took me through each of OA's 12 steps, which made it clear that OA can support Intuitive Eating. But group dynamics can really vary. Here are some things to consider:

• Each OA group has it's own "personality"—some groups are wonderful, others not so much. I refer my interested clients to the OA website, which clearly does not promote any type of diet or restricting.
• Abstinence is a personal choice—and it is usually the sticky issue, if there's going to be some sort of conflict. Nowhere in the 12 Steps, does it require you to abstain from a particular food or group of foods. Consider choosing abstinences that are nurturing, realistic and not punitive. For example, you could choose to refrain from dieting, abstain from skipping meals or from weighing yourself.
• Your Sponsor has a tremendous impact. So, it's important to choose a sponsor that supports the Intuitive Eating process. (Over the years, I've had many sponsors refer clients to me, specifically to facilitate the Intuitive Eating process).

Lastly, a very encouraging study from the University of Notre Dame, showed that the Intuitive Eating is an effective approach for treating compulsive eating [1].

You can also check out the free online Intuitive Eating Support Groups and other resources listed below.

Resources:

[1] Smitham L, Evaluating Intuitive Eating for Binge Eating Disorder 2008 (Nov). Univ Notre Dame.

[2] Intuitive Eating Resources

[3] Overeaters Anonymous

Copyright © 2010 by Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD  Published at www.EvelynTribole.com

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