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Introduction
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Welcome to FAT (feelings and thoughts). I took a lot
of time and energy debating if Iwould call the website "FAT",
and came to the conclusion that this was a truthfull honest admission
of how my eating disorder has always been for me my Feelings and
Thoughts = FAT.
For 37 years I have had this compulsion, and have lived with a
cunning, baffling, life threatning disease. When I was a child living
with this condition I was in the minority. I observe children today
and sadly see childhood obesity is not in the minority any more.
My disease led me down many self destructive paths, masking pain
of isolation, fear, despair, sadness, and a huge empty void that
I felt I had to feed every day. All the time I was looking for a
quick fix solution that took me down roads of diet clubs, herbal
healings, diet pills, self help groups and eventually surgery.
All the procudures that I tried treated the symptoms and not the
cause. I had read everything about bulimia and anoroxia, but nothing
was available about compulsive overeating as the medics were still
in the dark about compulsive / emotional eating, just as I was.
This led me to write my story of what my life had been like with
this disease, and all the feelings and thoughts came spilling out
like a river bursting it banks.
My book is entitled - Underneath The Flesh
- My life as a compulsive overeater and morbid obesity sufferer.
An extract of the book is listed below:
AS FEATURED IN 'THE DAILY RECORD' AND 'THAT'S LIFE' MAGAZINE!
Description
'Underneath the Flesh' is the brave, honest and shocking account
of a lifetime battle against morbid obesity and compulsive overeating.
Betrayed by her abusive father and grieving for her late mother
it was almost inevitable that a young Sandra would develop an addiction
to conceal her pain. For Sandra the addiction was food. At her largest
Sandra weighed 28 stone; her weight became a shield, protecting
her from the grief she felt for a lost childhood. As well as her
affection-less, austere and often brutal childhood, Sandra recounts
the traumatic birth of her son Edward, her failed and loveless marriange
and her desperate attempts to lose weight and beat her compulsion.
Despite all these problems and a life of true hardship and pain,
Sandra remains positive. This book ends on a note of hope, a light
at the end of the tunnel and a victory for mind over matter. At
a time when obesity is rarely out of the headlines, this is an extraordinarily
strong, poignant and timely book.
Underneath the Flesh By Alexandria Gallagher-Mearns - available
at www.chipmunkpublishing.co.uk.
"Compulsive overeating or binge eating is a common eating
disorder in which people eat and eat, even after they are completely
full. Compulsive overeaters often feel “out of control”
with food, so much that they literally cannot stop eating. This
problem is different from bulimia nervosa (where people binge, but
then try “purge” food out of their bodies by vomiting
or some other means). Compulsive overeaters don’t “purge”.
Why does this happen?
The reasons for this disorder aren’t completely well
understood. Some people seem to rely on food as a way of coping
with stress or emotional problems. Overeating may give them a sense
of comfort. Most compulsive overeaters think a lot about food and
their weight, which often leads to a cycle of dieting and bingeing.
While on the diet, they feel hungry and deprived, which helps lead
to the next binge. Some people see compulsive overeating as an addiction,
similar to an addiction to drugs. Whatever the reasons, bingeing,
isn’t good for the body."
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