Newcomers The Magic Number I should be the poster child for “keep coming back” because my stubbornness is finally paying off. I regularly showed up to a meeting once a week for almost two years, but I wasn’t working the program and I didn’t have a sponsor. Today, I am a newcomer with a newcomer’s mind. Until a month ago, I did little more … Read More
Relapse Big Truth When I first came to OA, I had no hope. I thought I would never look normal or be able to eat regular food. I was obese and profoundly depressed. In OA, I found much more than just weight loss and “control”; I found a Higher Power, a Fellowship of people who understood me for the first time in my … Read More
How OA Changed My Life Every Minute, Every Situation The key threads woven into and through my soul and my program of recovery are hope and gratitude. The hope I felt at my first OA meeting was probably what kept me coming back, even though I wasn’t sure for what, besides weight loss, and even though my insides were twisted with pain, anger, and resentment. (I didn’t even know … Read More
Newcomers Comfort and Support There I was, alone, scared, and miserable on a Wednesday morning, approaching the church where the OA meeting was held. I wandered forlorn into the main entrance. Church services were being celebrated, and I had no idea where to go or even who to ask. No one seemed to know where I should go. I wandered around this mammoth church … Read More
Newcomers First Glimpse As a newcomer to OA, I was helped most by seeing how genuinely happy and pleased the other group members were to have me join them that first morning— even though I came with anxiety, shame, silence, and a travel mug of coffee (which violated their rules). The greeter asked me to stay after that first meeting and gave me … Read More
Recovery I Am Home Isolation and hope stand out to me today, in part because of the Voices of Recovery reading on isolation and fellowship (p. 191) and in part because eight years ago today I surrendered my food to my Higher Power. Today I carry a message of hope as I enjoy a life vastly beyond my wildest dreams. One reason I come … Read More
Recovery Day by Day I was having an early-morning text chat with a girlfriend when the conversation turned to her feeling overwhelmed by her weight. She was stuck in her compulsion, and she knew I used to be stuck, too, but had found an answer. She knew I was in program and had seen the physical, emotional, and mental changes I was experiencing. She … Read More
How OA Changed My Life Recovery To the Season I’m writing out the holiday cards, wishing everyone good cheer. Suddenly it’s holiday time, but I don’t feel holiday-ish this year. Dinner with friends and family will surely brighten the day, but being around all that food concerns me more than I can say. “Thank you, God, that’s not my food,” has worked for me before, and when they ask, … Read More
Recovery Paying It Forward My first day in OA, I was desperate and hopeless. I had reached bottom and thought I could not recover. After that first meeting, a kind man gave me a Big Book and Lifeline to take home and read. He told me there was hope and to keep coming back. With tears in my eyes, I left the meeting believing … Read More
Service Principle Portions A plan of eating is only one of the Tools, but it’s a great introduction to working the program when worked diligently. Ever since I began using a weighed-and-measured plan and calling it in to a sponsor every day (a process I resisted mightily!), I have been noticing the lessons it teaches me about the Principles behind the Steps. Honesty—being … Read More