Some of us feel ruled by food. The first time we had too much of a good thing (although it’s usually a bad thing that gets us) was not necessarily the first step along the wrong path, but with too little attention and control and too much regularity we find ourselves hijacked by what we put in our mouths.

Before we realise how serious our situation is, we are riding the tides of the sugar highs and lows as we suffer the mindless face-stuffing of all the worst kinds of food under the sun.

And it is suffering. Surely something in our psyche is being bruised as we look at ourselves consuming a jumbo block of chocolate, an entire discount store bag of lollies, packets of biscuits, half a loaf of bread loaded with butter and jam, drinking the bottle of wine then looking for more.

Extreme situations require extreme measures. To land on firm ground again we have to eschew (there’s a small irony using a word that contains ‘chew’ in it) the kinds of food that brought us to ashamed unhappy fatness. We also need willpower—or simple bloodymindedness—to get through the first few weeks while our blood sugar levels are calming and we are building a different kind of relationship with food, based on the kinds of food and the measurements that they give people at Overeaters Anonymous. Some of us simply can’t do ‘everything in moderation’. We’re not able to come out of the other side of our diet and ease up. Ever. We’re just not built that way. We’re either totally in charge of our food with Sergeant-Major-like exactitude, or we’re totally out of control.

So what do you lose when you decide that this food plan you’re on is a forever thing? You certainly lose some spontenaity around food. You stop seeing food as entertainment or a sop for boredom. You sacrifice some of the enjoyable social aspects of breaking bread with family and friends—or at least you have to re-imagine it to make it work on your own terms.

Is it worth it? I’m starting to think that the answer is a resounding YES. Not just for the weight that you don’t regain (yet again). There is integrity in a controlled diet. Integrity and dignity and a kind of freedom that people who haven’t gone through food obsession never even realise they have.