OA works for all, no matter where you start, fat or thin, no matter how sick. I am living proof this program of recovery works if you work it.

About half a year ago I was dying from bulimia. I had almost given up hope; my eating disorder was going to kill me. No matter what I did or what I tried, I couldn’t quit bingeing and purging. I was almost at the end.

I knew about Overeaters Anonymous and decided to try recovery one more time. I would work the OA program for all I was worth and see what happened.

The first thing I did was go to my doctor to get a medical okay. She was familiar with OA and very supportive of my joining. The medical stamp of approval gave me some security, but I was concerned and scared. What would happen to me if I stopped purging? Would I begin to gain huge amounts of weight? Since I also have anorexic tendencies, my doctor has always reminded me I was at a healthy weight and needed to stay there. If I couldn’t binge and purge, would I just stop eating altogether? I sat with my doctor, tears in my eyes, asking these questions and more. She reassured me, “You’ll be okay. Just follow the program and you will be fine.” I wasn’t so sure, but I knew I had nothing else.

Recently I went back to the doctor for a six-month follow-up. I was happy to report I was in Overeaters Anonymous and hadn’t had a single bulimic episode since the day I joined. I felt better physically, emotionally, and spiritually than I had felt in years, maybe ever. But the moment of truth was coming up: my weigh-in.

My jaw dropped in amazement. I weighed to the pound what I had weighed when I joined OA. This was my miracle! I don’t need an eating disorder to stay at a healthy weight. The Fellowship of OA, Step work, and my Higher Power make this miracle possible.

— Karen

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