The program is designed to be completed in a little more than four weeks.  There are four week-long modules and a three-day preparation module before beginning.

The amount of time you need depends on what skills you bring into the program.  For example, if you read and write quickly, you will move through the activities faster than someone who doesn’t.  In general, you can expect to devote a minimum of an hour a day to this program.

This program is for you if you are a normal eater who can’t seem to lose weight and keep it off, an emotional eater who uses food to deal with feelings, or an early-stage food addict who has not yet experienced devastating consequences from overeating.  SHiFT-Recovery by Acorn, has been successfully treating critical-level food addicts for over 25 years.  Based on this success, we created The SHiFT Food Freedom Program to treat normal eaters who are overweight, emotional eaters and early-stage food addicts.  Though many of the treatment methods are similar, critical-level food addicts require more intensive treatment protocols. 

There are a few things to consider when deciding which program is right for you.  To begin, think about what you are looking for from a program.  Do you prefer to work alone or as part of a group?  Do you need structure or can you set your own schedule?  Where are you with your eating habits?  Are you someone who just needs to lose a few pounds or overeats during stressful times or is your eating completely out of control?  The answers to these questions will help you to determine which program is right for you and whether or not you should start with the Food Freedom Program.  The activities in the Food Freedom Program are done mainly on your own at your individual pace while the SHiFT 5-Week Program includes 7 structured days of group and individual sessions followed by 30 days of aftercare.  The Food Freedom Program is designed for normal eaters who are overweight, emotional eaters and early-stage food addicts while the SHiFT 5 Week Program is for critical-level food addicts, those whose lives have been devastated by their eating behaviors.  Think about which of the two sounds best for you based on this information. Whichever program you choose, the most important thing is to begin and move forward to a life of freedom from food dependency.

You will learn to understand yourself and your eating patterns in a way that other programs don’t provide by completing activities designed to uncover the reasons for your eating patterns.  In addition to this, you will be guided into developing an individualized food plan based on your specific needs.  Unlike other programs, the SHiFT Food Formula Program does not solely focus on dieting and weight loss but rather on discovering your personal eating habits and ways to heal the emotional patterns that cause you to overeat.

The SHiFT Food Freedom Program is not a diet.  A diet is something you do for a certain period of time before returning to your regular eating habits.  The SHiFT Food Freedom Program is a way of life.  It’s not something you begin then stop after a certain period of time.  In order to experience true food freedom, you’ll work to create a food plan that you can live with for the rest of your life one day at a time.  The SHiFT Food Freedom Program will guide you in understanding the reasons why you eat the way you do, identifying the type of eater you are, creating a program that works to support your needs, developing ways to remove the obstacles that get in the way of losing weight, and setting up healthy habits that will last a lifetime.  These things are very different from a traditional “pay and weigh” program where you are given a diet and told to follow it.

The entire SHiFT Food Formula Program has been created and approved by SHiFT therapists.  If you find that you need more support, there are opportunities for you to add individual therapy for an additional cost.

If you find that you need additional help after you have completed this program, SHiFT has many different programs and therapy opportunities that will be available to you for an additional cost.  You will also be provided with a list of resources at the end of the program.