Abstinence Tools & Concepts Understand, Appreciate, Implement, Reflect I came to understand abstinence initially by doing what I saw other recovering OA members doing. This included: weighing and measuring food; following a food plan created by a registered dietician who tailored it for my body’s needs; avoiding sugar and wheat products; doing OA outreach phone calls; attending meetings; doing service; reading OA and AA literature; journaling daily; studying … Read More
Gratitude Recovery Lessons Learned I just celebrated my sixth OA birthday and took time to reflect upon what I have learned. I am sending this to Lifeline per my sponsor’s direction. My recovery has taught me: I am a woman in recovery. I am no longer a victim. There are no mistakes. Everyone I meet is here to show me something if I am … Read More
How OA Changed My Life Time: Now; Place: Present When I started in OA, I worked a “diet” program and attended meetings. I did some service. We did not have much OA literature in 1977, so I dove into the AA Big Book with passion. I had heard of, and found, hope. I was very damaged—emotional and spiritual recovery took many years. As time passed, my program of recovery … Read More
Newcomers Even Before When I first joined OA and wasn’t getting abstinent, I came across “Pray Then Act” (Lifeline, March 2015, p. 16), a story about a person who experienced a sudden, intense obsession to stop for food at a drive-through. She immediately called her sponsor, who said, “You can have it tomorrow.” This advice drove home in a very real way the OA principle … Read More
Higher Power Courage to Change When I pray the Serenity Prayer, I ask for serenity, acceptance, courage, and wisdom. The first word in that prayer is “God.” It is he who grants me these ingredients that lead me to recovery time and time again. For me, the word “serenity” is very important because it tells me I must remain calm in all situations, with everyone, … Read More
Share It Staying With It Thanks so much for the article “One Small Part”. Staying in the moment and paying attention to what’s in front of me has been something I have always struggled with. Years ago, I discovered that when I did not want to do something at work, I got hungry. I’d want to stop working to eat a little snack. It amazed me … Read More
How OA Changed My Life The Brave Person in the Mirror After being a full-time mom to four children, I find myself at a new stage in life; I am now able to travel with my husband when he travels for work. It is wonderful, yet at every hotel or motel, every resort or lodge, big or small, fancy or casual, I consistently find myself confronted with one kind of furnishing: … Read More
Diversity Breakup Note Overeating, you were in control of my life for a while. You ruined my life, took away my friends, isolated me, made me sick, knocked me down, destroyed me . . . and I let you. I didn’t fight back. I welcomed you every chance I got and let you hurt me, and I actually enjoyed it for years—until the day I … Read More
Working the Program Change When Needed I thought I had the OA program down. I knew what I needed to do. I had a plan of eating, and I worked my program. Everything was going great—or so I thought. After years of being abstinent and following my food plan, things began to change. Inexplicably, I started gaining weight. After going to a doctor with complaints of … Read More
Steps First Steps Recently I was visiting with my 1-year-old granddaughter. I noticed that she kept kneeling, sitting, reaching down to the floor and then back up, sitting, kneeling, and pushing herself up. She kept doing these movements, up and down, up and down, over and over in all different ways, almost like she was warming up for something that she was getting … Read More