Elizabeth's Story of Recovery

I grew up in a German family big on meat and potato meals. You also ate everything on your plate or you did not leave the table.

My Dad and I ate a large bowl of ice cream with Hershey’s chocolate syrup every night. It was something special with my Dad and I—our ice cream time together. A neighbor introduced me to “fun size” candy bars and always sent me home with Andes candies. As I got older, I got more and more plump—hormones and candies catching up with me.

Ice cream comforted and soothed me. Even when I became lactose intolerant, there was always dairy free ice cream. As an adult, I developed anxiety and depression. Loved ones became ill and passed from this world. I wore myself out worrying about the future rather than living in the present. Sugar offered temporary emotional comfort and satisfaction, but that satisfaction often turned into despair and self-loathing. I could not get enough ice cream—I ate until I felt sick and yet I did not want to stop even then. At this bottom point I knew I needed help. I had asked my Dr. for help in the past and was told, “You know what you should and should not eat.”  I looked up out of control eating online and found COR Retreat. I thought what have I got to lose?

I lost the feeling of being alone. COR Retreat taught me I had a disease—compulsive overeating and sugar addiction. There were others like me! I learned what the Dr. could not teach me, how to have boundaries with food. I found the support I needed and was looking for. I could forgive myself—I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Alone I was powerless, but with COR support I had a strength that I never had before. I wanted to get well and now had the hope it was possible. The 12-step program helped me heal my body, mind and heart. I learned that food is nourishment for my body—not meant to comfort me. I ate because I was too weak to face my problems—instead I ate through them. I learned I don’t have to be perfect. I just need to get through one day, one meal at a time and now I confront problems head on.

I wanted what the COR speakers had. They all had this aura of serenity about them. I thought, you were like me once, filled with anxiety and you experienced insanity around your eating?

What I gained from my COR experience is far more than weight loss. I gained a priceless serenity and a COR family of support. I will never walk this journey alone again. COR Retreat is life changing.