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Eating can seem like a full-time job on Thanksgiving Day. But for a certain group, it's for amateurs.

Thanksgiving and the holiday season in general is a particularly perilous time for compulsive overeaters, such as Barbara from Potomac, a member of Overeaters Anonymous, which applies the same principles, group meeting techniques and other methods of Alcoholics Anonymous to people who experience binge eating and are constantly thinking of food.

But unlike alcoholics, people with compulsive overeating difficulties can't simply lock the cabinet and practice abstinence.

"In AA you put the tiger in the cage," said Barbara, 56, who began dieting when she was 17 but has kept off 180 pounds since joining OA. "In Overeaters Anonymous, you take the tiger out for a walk at least three times a day. I don't want to take the tiger for a walk, but I have to."

Binge eating disorder is the most common eating disorder, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease, a division of the National Institutes of Health, and affects about 3 percent of all U.S. adults. It is seen most often among people ages 46-55. Symptoms of the disorder include eating until the person is "uncomfortably full," eating alone because the person is embarrassed about how much they eat, and feeling "disgusted, depressed or guilty" after overeating.

Wheat can act as essentially an opiate for some people, said Elizabeth Blumberg, a licensed nutritionist at EB Nutrition in Rockville. In addition to the emotional triggers, Blumberg looks for blood sugar and hormone imbalances when treating overeating disorders, making them more commonly a female condition.

"Women have a greater tendency to have biochemical imbalances than men," Blumberg said.

The Washington, D.C. metro area chapter of Overeaters Anonymous lists 22 separate weekly meetings in Montgomery County in Bethesda, Rockville, Silver Spring and elsewhere. There are also beginner, youth-friendly, writing and discussion meetings. The group includes utilizing the "12 steps" to recovery from overeating and binge eating, beginning with people admitting that they are powerless over food.

Several members of OA said the holidays were difficult because of the stress created by family members and the constant stream of food at various holiday events. Women in particular can have difficulties because they are often expected to prepare food and spend lots of the time in the kitchen. For some, the fight can begin at Halloween and not end until New Year's Day.

One way to simplify the holiday season and make it less intimidating is not to view it as a season at all, but simply a series of individual events within individual days, according to Dr. Martin Binks, a member of the Obesity Society in Silver Spring, a research and advocacy group.

Although he said some of the absolute abstinence from certain foods as discussed by some OA can be effective, Binks also said moderation is a good strategy.

"It's not a whole day. It's typically a meal, a long meal and a big meal," said Binks, a behavioral health specialist and assistant professor at Duke University Medical Center.