My trips to the grocery store became much different after I became abstinent more than ten years ago. Many aisles no longer held anything I could safely purchase. The remaining aisles got greater attention from me, and to this day, I read labels, check portion sizes, and compare prices.

There is one aspect of the grocery store that gets my unfailing attention—the racks of women’s magazines that line the checkout register.

How differently I feel now when I see the January magazines with their loud headlines: “Lose the Weight Fast,” “Two-week Diet Breakthrough.” I remember when I eyed those January issues eagerly, searching for the “miracle food” or diet plan that would cure all my troubles and make me look like the 20-something actress on the cover.

OA has opened a new world of hope; a world of abstinence, friendship, and spiritual growth. I’ve been maintaining a weight loss of 50 pounds (23 kg) for over ten years! Whenever I’m tempted to “forget” my abstinence during the holidays, I remember those “Miracle Diet” headlines, and smile. Thanks, OA.

— Ginny H., Springfield, Ohio USA

  • Surrender Happens 24/7

    When I came into OA, I was on the edge of a mental breakdown. I’d tried everything to stop…
  • Fully Covered

    I was thinking about why we buy car insurance aside from the fact that it is required by l…
  • My Abstinence Kits

    When I first came to OA forty years ago, my idea of a plan of eating was a diet. OA member…
Load More Related Articles
  • Low-Tech Outreach

    I am on my intergroup’s public information committee. We make flyers with a tear-off porti…
  • Available to Everyone

    Here are a few ways I carry the message to other compulsive overeaters. I print out OA’s C…
  • Radio-Active

    I was listening to a commentary about obesity on our local radio station. The commentator …
Load More By admin
  • True Freedom

    When a fellow OA member suggested I reflect on what true freedom looks like for me, I disc…
  • Uplifting Recovery

    I’m a group fitness instructor and have been for more than ten years. If someone told me w…
  • Lucky and Relieved

    This program has changed my life. It has taken away my desire to assassinate your characte…
Load More In How OA Changed My Life
Comments are closed.

Check Also

Low-Tech Outreach

I am on my intergroup’s public information committee. We make flyers with a tear-off porti…