I was given the gift of abstinence. I say a "gift" because it came about because I was scared. I thought I was dying; literally. I thought I had serious liver damage. I mean, I drank for 30 years. So I stopped. But it turned out to be diverticulitis. Still serious, but not life threatening. 

A sober life is truly amazing.

this all aplys to me

so here i am, 6 and half years clean and i am battling my weight...again. having once ballooned up to 314, then gotten down to 233, now, after injury and baumgartner type dive off the healthy food wagon i am at 299. i have to find my way again, out of the obsession of eating. it is "using" in a different sort of way- the drugs are gone but the need to fill a craving remains.

My name is Michael and I am a compulsive overeater. There is no longer any question that I am powerless over my disease, and my life has become (long ago) unmanageble. I don't want to hide anymore. I don't want to seclude. I don't want the dark.