The first step to overcoming and                               maintaining sobriety from food addiction is to understand what                                             food addiction is and how it happens. To learn more about                                            those topics, read the previous sections “What It Is” and                                                                “How It Happens”. The reason that a full                                                                                    understanding of food addiction is                                                                                      needed to overcome it is: (1) it is easier to                                                                      achieve sobriety when you understand why you                                                       are doing what is needed, and (2) realizing what is                                                     happening to your body as a result of food addiction can make                                      you want to achieve sobriety. Achieving sobriety is not something                  that can be forced, “only the patient can choose whether to change his or her substance use habits” (Merlo 286). If a family member is suffering from food addiction, keep this in mind if you are going to use one of the tactics to help them, brief intervention. A brief intervention is when you sit the food addict down to express your concerns and provide support for them to reach out to a clinician. “Brief interventions are most suitable for patients at the beginning stages of problematic substance use” (Merlo 286). Once the food addict decides to receive psychological treatment, clinicians tend to use “methods grounded in motivational interviewing, explore the patient’s view on his or her situation, pros and cons of continuing the problematic substance use, and goals for the future” (Merlo 286). Clinicians use these methods to emphasize the fact that only the addict can make the decision to achieve sobriety by communicating empathy towards the patient in hopes that they will become more open to help. In most cases, clinicians will help the patient by providing “environmental modification and contingency management, cognitive reconstructing, and skill building” (Merlo 286). Through trial and error, the clinician will be able to detect how addicted to food a patient is and how much help they will need to receive. If the patient is unwilling to use the clinicians advice, the majority of the time the patient will be required to participate “in an intensive specialized program and typically benefit most from a longer period of treatment” (Merlo 287). These methods are a good place to start for food addict who are looking to recover, or for family members who are trying to get their loved ones to that point. If these options work and you or the food addict becomes mentally healthy to the point of physical recovery, then look at the different steps and diets down below to find what you believe is best for you. Everybody’s body is different, so do not be ashamed and quit recovery if a diet or exercise plan does not work for you. Instead, take the time to find the plan that gives you the benefits you are looking for.