Top Ten . . . Ways I Achieved Abstinence

1. My sponsor asked me if I was willing to stop throwing up.
2. I said yes and made a commitment. I knew that if I wasn’t going to throw up anymore, then I needed to quit bingeing too.
3. God gave me the willingness and ability to keep my commitment. He continued to do so every day for the past twenty-three and a half years. I prayed before every meal for the ability to be abstinent.
4. I planned my food the night before, called my sponsor the next morning, and committed to her what I was going to eat that day. I did this every day for my first seven months of abstinence.
5. I stayed busy between meals.
6. I made phone calls when I had a list of feelings or didn’t know how to handle a situation.
7. I went to a lot of meetings, at least four each week the first few years.
8. I remembered “one day at a time.” Sometimes I could only commit to being abstinent for five minutes or an hour at a time. I still can’t picture the rest of my life without certain foods, but I can do it just for today.
9. I read literature and carried it with me everywhere. One of my favorite books is Lifeline Sampler.
10. My sponsor told me that it was okay to be hungry between meals, and I wasn’t going to die. Imagine that!

— Chris H., Neenah, Wisconsin USA