Women’s lives are often controlled by food, and it’s not easy to talk about. Beth Gerber, a social worker from Jewish Family Services, tried to make participants feel comfortable sharing their struggles in a discussion Wednesday night at Hillel.”America has a craze over food, dieting and eating,” Gerber said.Participants requested that their last names be withheld for personal reasons.”I thought that I was alone, but I quickly realized that there are a hundred other men and women with food obsessions,” said Rachel.Gerber stressed that she believes women are their own experts and they make their own decisions about their lives and diets, while others thought society was responsible.”If we spent less time thinking about food we would have more time for other things,” said Lisa.”Dieting is not just about the eating, it is about our mind set. We spend so much time obsessing about the food we want to eat, that when we actually eat it we rush through it,” Gerber said.There are a number of fad diets on the market today, but which ones really work remains a mystery, she said.”I did an all-protein diet where I ate four ounces of protein at every meal and very little carbohydrates. I was able to eat some fruits and vegetables. I was not looking to lose a ton of weight but I wanted a healthy lifestyle,” said Joni.Gerber explained that college is a difficult time to eat on a regular schedule because students lack a routine lifestyle. She suggested women pack a snack to keep them going.”I never thought to pack anything and then I would fall asleep in class because I had not eaten all day,” said Joy.A healthy diet consists of eating a variety of foods, maintaining a healthy weight, choosing foods that are low in fat, sodium, cholesterol and high in fiber, she said. Most of all, the key to a healthy diet is, create a positive mealtime environment.”A lot of the obsession with food comes from society,” said Marisa. “The words ‘I have to go on a diet’ have become a natural part of everyday conversation.”So often, Gerber said, women have issue regarding self-esteem that cause them to go on crash diets such as, the liquid diet, the grapefruit diet or even the cabbage soup diet. “Self-esteem should be taught to women at a younger age so that they are capable of handling the pressures that society puts on us to be thin,” said Joy.