The Pathway: Follow the Road to Health and Happiness

by Laurel Mellin

Regan Books; (January 21, 2003)

Hello everyone,

You know me, as I have been an active part of this group in our early years and even met many of you in Madison over the summer. I have been able to practice CR with success only to be undermined by unexplainable needs to eat to excess causing my weight to rapidly increase. Trying to avoid the craving to go to excess, I've tried everything from hypnotism to counseling. Finally, in despair, I went to overeater's anonymous in early 1999. For the first several years, I had very good success while achieving a BMI around 20. Yet, during the last year (with huge business dealings occurring over multimillion dollar personal acquisitions) the drive to excess reappeared. OA techniques were ineffective. Yet I knew that some of their techniques worked a majority of the time, but I couldn't quiet put my finger on

why.

Then, while strolling through Barnes & Noble two months ago, I came across a book called the "Pathway" written by Laurel Mellin M.A., R.D. (a clinical professor of family and medicine at UC San Francisco School of Medicine) Highly skeptic of any claims, I took a look at it to see if anything resonated with truth from my own personal experience. In a matter of just several pages, I was awestruck over the number of references regarding compulsive eating that I knew as true from years of experience. Knowing that this might need a further look, I bought the book and made a preliminary yet still skeptical reading. What I found is that Mellin's work, based on past studies, has further developed the understanding surrounding the core issues that Overeater's anonymous only danced around. She has included all the techniques from a cognitive and behavior point of view to promote effective change.

When I had a drive to go to excess, I tested a "cycle" , I found the internal drive to go to excess was severely diminished. I actually had

instantaneous measurable results. In addition, her organization appears to be first class.

I will post a second part to this post with an article written in Health Magazine. They named it one of the top 10 Medical discoveries of 2000.

Talk more later,

Mike Bell