Food helps heal, build, and repair our bodies. It balances metabolism, produces energy, and supports our overall well-being. Eating well, whether one wishes to shed excess weight, maintain weight, or gain weight, means providing our bodies with the highest quality fuel possible. If our nutritional needs are not met, we feel fatigued, unhappy, and unwell. A healthy well rounded diet produces appropriate satiety signals, increase vitality and vigor, improves immune function, builds muscle tissue, and helps lower our risk for chronic disease. The food we eat also supports our brain functioning and influences our emotional health. About Dave - Welcome F.A.Q. - Frequently Asked Questions Milestones 1 - Reflections on various stages of my recovery journey. 4/18/03 - 7/25/03 Milestones 2 - Reflections on various stages of my recovery journey. 8/02/03 - 3/21/04 Milestones 3 - Reflections on various stages of my recovery journey. 5/2/04 - 11/01/04 Milestones 4 - Reflections on various stages of my recovery journey. 11/2/04 - 3/27/05 Milestones 5 - Reflections on various stages of my recovery journey. 3/28/05 - 8/9/06 Milestones 6 - Reflections on various stages of my recovery journey. 8/10/06 - 12/10/07 Milestones 7 - Reflections on various stages of my recovery journey. 1/14/08 - Present Chart 1 - Weight, Blood Pressure, Progress Chart. Chart 2 - Weight, Blood Pressure, Progress Chart. Chart 3 - Weight, Blood Pressure, Progress Chart. Chart 4 - Weight, Blood Pressure, Progress Chart. current Cholesterol Chart Doughnut Epiphany - A powerful personal experience on the way to a binge Changes - Before and After. 4/18/03 at  450 lbs. to 8/14/04 at 291 lbs., and from 8/14/04 to 5/29/05 Pictures Dave's Food Plan Food Plan - What works for me Dave's Book List - Books I consider legitimate and personally very useful A Healthy Diet? - Eating to improve health and lower risk factors for disease Exercise - Increasing activity levels—an essential component of recovery. Fruits & Vegetables - Why they are important to well-being and maintaining a healthy weight Grains - Why Whole Grains are important to well-being and maintaining a healthy weight Meat, Fish, & Fowl - Beans Nuts and Tofu too Fats & Oils - The good, the bad, and the ugly Trans-fats - More on hydrogenated vegetable oils Omega-3, Flaxseed & Fish Oil A healthier balance of essential fatty acids Fad diets, expensive supplements, and weight loss pills - Snake oil or useful tools? Low Carb? - Should we be counting carbs? Why all the hype? Salt, Sodium, and Canned Green Beans - Reducing sodium can help control hypertension Typical Day - What Dave eats on a typical day Food Products - Food products that Dave has found to be healthy and tasty. Abstinence - Dave's thoughts on abstinence in Overeaters Anonymous All or Nothing Thinking - A roadblock to recovery Binge Eating Disorder (BED) - Description and diagnostic criterion Body Mass Index - What it is and handy calculator Bariatric Surgery - Considering a surgical solution to clinically severe obesity Food and Spirituality - Mindfully aware eating Getting Started - Going from, I'll start tomorrow to, I started today Intuitive Eating - Listening to the body's hunger and satiety signals Killing the TV set - Is your TV set trying to sabotage you? Lifestyle not Diet - More on recovery. Dave answers a friends questions OA Update - 2004 update on Dave's thinking about recovery in OA as it applies to BED Passion & Hobbies - Finding things to get passionate about besides food Perfectionism - and perfectionistic thinking. A common roadblock to recovery The Scale - Problems with weighing too often and other ways to mark progress Yo-Yo Dieting - This vicious cycle is part of the problem Letters Section - Articles and Letters I've written over time about recovery and life. Key Concepts of Recovery - 12 key concepts that helped Dave recover from Binge Eating Disorder UnTwisted Thinking - Changing the automatic thoughts we tell ourselves Overeaters Anonymous - This section is no longer supported. It's still here for those who may find it useful