Service Card-Carrying Member By admin Posted on September 21, 2016 4 min read 0 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google+ Share on Reddit Share on Pinterest Share on Linkedin Share on Tumblr The number of members in Overeaters Anonymous is small compared with the number of members in Alcoholics Anonymous, but OA is as valuable a program for compulsive overeaters as AA is for alcoholics. I have been in Overeaters Anonymous since January 1987. I entered the program weighing 193 pounds (88 kg) and have maintained a weight loss of slightly more than 55 pounds (25 kg) for twenty-eight years. Here are some efforts I’ve made to make others aware of our OA program of recovery. I have purchased inexpensive sets of OA’s New Prospect Cards. Each card says we’re interested in helping if someone is having a problem controlling eating. The face of the card says “The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop eating compulsively,” and the card also provides the OA website address and World Service Office telephone number. The back has a space where additional information can be written in. I have left these cards in doctors’ offices, my workplace lunchroom, and on public library shelves. One December, I read a newspaper article about the AA program, so I contacted the reporter who wrote the article and asked if he agreed that overeating during a holiday season is just as prevalent a problem as excessive drinking. I said that an article by him would help make readers aware of the OA program of recovery. The reporter agreed to attend an open meeting and write an article. Whenever I give open talks in another Twelve Step program, I make certain to mention that I followed a suggestion from the Big Book to keep sweets on hand and eat them to sustain energy and focus during recovery (Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th. ed. pp. 133–134), but for me it resulted in a significant weight increase. I inform every audience that I removed the unwanted, excess weight, and easily kept it off, by following the program of Overeaters Anonymous. I know that every member of Overeaters Anonymous carries the message inside the meeting rooms of OA. I encourage each member of OA to also carry the message of OA recovery outside the meeting rooms, and thereby increase the number of people benefitting daily from this outstanding program. —David E., Las Vegas, Nevada USA
