The unfortunate thing was that after each time I lost the weight - and at times, the weight loss was significant, I would always regain it - over and over again. It was very frustrating. And I knew what the problem was; I loved to eat.

My dear old daddy was the same. One time we were visiting him and he had his plate heaped with all sorts of goodies - enough to feed at least two people rather than just himself. Before he dived-in, he looked at my husband Tom and said in a passionate tone, "I love to eat." And he did. And he continued to do so. And in the end, food cut his life shorter than most, because diabetics can't get away with as much as some individuals.

And of course - if we did not like to eat then none of us would be here on this good earth for a substantial length of time, would we?

Yet unfortunately, when we eat more than our bodies require we end up with a problem. Well, not just one problem arises, but several. To begin with, although it's difficult for most of us to admit that we have any problems because we want to see ourselves as good people, as caring people and as kind people - and any flaws that we may have, we like to think that we work very hard to erase them from our lives. But when we discover that we have a disorder, we may feel slammed or stunned. We may not know where to start - or how to remedy our disorder.

At least, this is how I felt when I realized that I had an eating disorder - a big flaw in my personal composite as a human being. Years ago, I wrote something at Diet Bites that took off like a rocket in many media outlets and which has been repeated numerous times, without credit being given to its original author. It went something like this....  

Fact is, where other disorders are concerned such as drugs or alcohol, the individual can get away from temptation - avoid it totally. They have to make an effort to go out and purchase or find the things that they are addicted to. This is not the case with food. For the individual who has an eating disorder - they are tempted with fire and water each and every day of their life as we have to eat to survive.

So many people - thin people as well as so-called 'weight loss gurus' who have never seen a big-old-fat-day in their lifetime often state that they cannot understand - or at times, even sympathize with people who have an eating disorder - or why they can't lose the weight and keep it off.

Think of the situation in this manner...  

Let's say that Jim is a recovered alcoholic. Who would even think to set his former favorite alcoholic drink in front of him three times a day and tell him to resist? Or to take a sip and stop?

The same applies to someone who has been addicted to drugs. But with the recovering food addict - many times, little understanding or sympathy is shown or even given. Yet - three times a day, their 'fix' is set in front of them and they must control how much they put into their body. This doesn't even account for snack times. And without food, the body would eventually shrivel and die. Therefore, in my opinion - an eating disorder is the most serious and difficult to overcome as there will always be continual temptation and opportunity for relapse. This type of addiction offers no time for recovery - no escape whatsoever. It's up to the individual to 'heal' their own self - and to 'keep their personal temple' in order. And this is why so many precious people who are overweight have difficulty in not only losing weight, but also in maintaining their new weight.

And of course another problem with eating too much is weight gain - and many events, excessive weight gain. At times, people eat so much that they gain enough weight to put their very lives in the balances, yet they can't control their eating addiction.

The most frustrating thing about eating for enjoyment is that one can never get enough. And the fact that I enjoyed eating was the main reason why my weight kept returning on those few occasions when I managed to pop back down to size.  

Simply stated, I was unable to get a handle on my cravings. Appetite had nothing to do with it – absolutely nothing at all because it didn’t matter if I was hungry or not, I’d always end up in bed with my favorite Weight Gain Buddies: the Sugar Plum Fairy, Handsome Enchilada Jose, and Miss Sodium Slot Machine.

However, it is important to keep in mind that the love of food is just one reason that contributes to weight gain and obesity. Everyone has a story. For some, stress - whether good or bad is the weight gain culprit. For others, they may have been poor a good deal of their life and once they were able to purchase food, they may attempt to erase those painful memories of when they had very little to eat, simply by enjoying as much food as they wish. They may even secretly fear that the ability to have food may vanish, based on their personal history of 'always doing without' and 'always being hungry' and 'always having to watch others enjoy life while they couldn't even afford to put a loaf of bread on the dining table'.

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