Diversity Newcomers Long Shot Win Overeaters Anonymous seemed like a long shot to me. How could it help me? I didn’t have serious weight issues—but my eating was out of control. I certainly was a compulsive eater. I spent most of my day obsessing about what to eat. Should I eat some protein or maybe more greens or perhaps just give up and eat potato … Read More
Higher Power Spirituality Forgetting or Accepting Sometimes, I have resentment about being in this program. I say the Serenity Prayer daily, follow a food plan, and try to give myself ten minutes each day to pray or meditate. I go to a strength and flexibility class three times a week and walk three to five times weekly. I read the literature, listen to podcasts, go to … Read More
Telephone Tools & Concepts Call, Read, Write, Share I was sitting at my kitchen counter doing job-related work. I’d been struggling with food, and I had spent a lot of that day crying as I thought to myself, I am never going to be free. My phone rang, and I didn’t recognize the number. I contemplated not answering, but something prompted me to pick it up. I was … Read More
Diversity Newcomers It’s All Worth It I came into OA at 18 years old. I’ve been in program for two years, so I’m 20 now. Let me tell you, in the beginning, it wasn’t so easy to gain abstinence and honesty. Even though I’d never really struggled with a lot of weight gain, nobody really knew how much I struggled with food because I looked like … Read More
Diversity Newcomers Working Out the Feelings I am so grateful for OA. It’s September 12, 2017, and I have thirty-nine days of abstinence after being in program since January 21, which is a date I will never forget because it is eight days after my mom passed away due to her drug addiction. Her death marked a turning point in my compulsive overeating. What was once … Read More
Keep Coming Back Relapse Renewed Humility, New Peace I am a returning member, back in OA after many relapses over the past fourteen years. Earlier this year, after almost a year of abstinent recovery and losing two thirds of the weight I need to lose for my health, I began experiencing painful and disturbing digestive symptoms. It took months for doctors to diagnose the trouble, and in the … Read More
Anorexia & Bulimia Diversity Keep Coming, or Just Stay I am a compulsive eater, bulimic, and anorexic, and I have found a home in OA. I came through the doors in April 2001 at age 19, weighing 90 pounds (41 kg) at 5 feet 7 inches (170 cm). I didn’t come to OA because of my low body weight; I came because I could not stop bingeing. My head … Read More