Steps Tools & Concepts The Powerless Problem I had a problem with my food and weight, which I’d tried most of my life to solve. With various calorie-controlled ways of eating and exercise regimes, I had periods of what seemed like success, followed by gaining weight, feeling worthless, and being uninterested in physical activity. As time went on, the periods of apparent success became shorter: from months, … Read More
Working the Program What Gets Replaced I am a compulsive overeater Who wants what she wants when she wants it: A piece of this, A piece of that, It seems I never have enough. For me, there is also a solution: It’s OA and the Twelve Steps, Where want is surrendered, Needs are met, And enough becomes a reality. But wait—there’s more to recovery: The Principles, … Read More
How OA Changed My Life Recovery Mouthpeace One day, I was trying out a new slow cooker recipe I had created, and I wanted to taste it before serving it to my family. The food was hot, and I wasn’t careful to blow on it. I burned my mouth. I burned it pretty bad. It dawned on me in that painful moment that I’ve spent most of my … Read More
Recovery Working the Program No Disrespect “Don’t dwell on any real or imagined pleasure you once got from certain foods. Change the channel!” (Before You Take That First Compulsive Bite, Remember . . .) Even after years of not eating my trigger foods, I have the habit of not going down supermarket aisles that contain the non-foods I used to worship. If by chance my husband … Read More
Recovery Working the Program Urge Surfing “What can I do instead of eating, when the urge arises?” In 1994, if someone had posed this question to me, my response would’ve been, “Don’t eat.” The result would probably have been compulsively eating and bingeing. This was prior to finding OA, and I was in a cycle of dieting, starving, compulsively overeating, restricting, self-loathing, and eating in secret. … Read More
Relapse Relapse & Recovery When Choice is Not an Option Over the years, I’ve heard people in our Fellowship speak about having “choices” when it comes to food and eating: “the choice to eat healthy or not” or “the choice of bingeing or not.” While this might be true for some, I feel compelled to speak to those for whom the notion of having choices does not apply. I know … Read More
Abstinence Bumper Bowl I am a coordinated, intelligent, healthy individual, so my lack of skill in bowling would come as a surprise to friends and teammates. At first, I’d knock down a pin or two, but soon the gutter balls would begin. It defied logic. I experimented with different positions, ball weights, finger-hole sizes, and speeds, but in the end, I’d get so … Read More
Abstinence Why Would You Want To? “In our belief any scheme of combating alcoholism which proposes to shield the sick man from temptation is doomed to failure” (Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., p. 101). The Big Book promised that working the Twelve Steps would allow me to feel neutral about my former binge foods. This was one of the things that attracted me to OA. I wouldn’t … Read More
Recovery Working the Program Bitter is Better I am a 62-year-old male, and since I came into program at the end of March 2015, my marriage has been restored and my family is mostly on good terms with me. My depression has lifted. I have excellent friendships inside and outside the Fellowship, and I feel a joy in daily living I had not felt for forty or … Read More
Higher Power The Still, Small Voice There is a voice that lives within me. It is calm and soothing and always steers me to the right course, even when my will wants to go the other way. This is the voice of my Higher Power, ever steady and always present. When I’m faced with a difficult decision, this is the voice that guides me. This is … Read More