Service Tools & Concepts Service Put Me There Service above the group level was never in my plans, but as I write this, I am the treasurer for my region. Thanks to my region-level service, I am about 30 pounds (14 kg) lighter! After twelve years of recovery and maintaining a 40-pound (18-kg) weight loss, I thought my weight-loss days were over, and I was comfortable with that. … Read More
Steps Stepping to Freedom Entering the rooms of OA nearly three decades ago, I anticipated that I’d be given a diet based on restriction and deprivation. I never dreamed I’d be given a life-enriching recovery program and the freedoms in each of OA’s Twelve Steps: Step One. Admission of my powerlessness means freedom from my mental obsession with food, allowing expanded space in my … Read More
Abstinence Threefold Abstinence Keeping things simple is helpful. Using OA’s definition of abstinence, I had to decide what I could refrain from, one day at a time, no matter where I was or what was happening. Two ingredients that repeated in my food inventory were sugar and white flour. So my definition of physical abstinence was simple: no sugar and no white flour. (My food plan … Read More
Abstinence Half a World Away When I lived in Lithuania, which had no OA groups at the time, staying connected to my OA group in Montana helped me maintain my program and continue to lose weight. My OA group in Montana is small, and the members live in different communities. We have limited access to sponsors, so we use group emails to help us maintain … Read More