Should I Quit?

I had many years of Twelve Step recovery from an addiction unrelated to food, and I thought adding OA would be a snap. I joined OA in January 2010, and because of my previous Twelve Step experience, I knew I had to attend meetings and get a sponsor. Within the first three weeks, I found meetings I liked, and I still have the same sponsor today.

My sponsor asked me to write down everything I ate and when I ate it. She also asked me to do a “daily fifteen” list: five things for which I was grateful, five things for which I needed to forgive myself, and five things I’d done well. I emailed the list to her every day along with my food diary. We began to work the Steps, I wrote answers to questions, and we talked every Sunday morning. I lost about 20 pounds (9 kg) in the first six months and became secretary of our small group.

By eight months, I noticed I had stopped losing weight. I became dissatisfied with my program and began looking for differences instead of similarities in the stories I was hearing. I determined OA wasn’t working for me and it was time to give it up. But I had four months left on my commitment as secretary, so I decided I couldn’t quit something I hadn’t really tried.

I told myself I could quit OA if it did not work for me after I had incorporated all the program Tools into my recovery for the balance of my service position. I began making daily phone calls to get to know people so that when I did have a bad day, I was already in the habit of reaching out. I added another meeting, so I was attending three to five Twelve Step meetings weekly. I added more OA literature to my long-established daily reading, writing, prayer, and meditation practices. I worked the Steps with my sponsor. I redefined my ever-evolving plan of eating using a nutritionist and OA literature. I provided service to my two regular groups by rotating my service position at each meeting and, among other things, typing up phone lists and steering committee notes. I practiced anonymity, and I incorporated an action plan into my OA framework. Surprise! I lost another 30 pounds (14 kg) over the next year.

I am not a Cinderella story. I continue to trudge (not jump, hop, or skip, but trudge) this road of happy destiny. My weight loss has stalled again, but I am learning to balance life as it comes along. I haven’t regained the weight I’ve lost, and my emotional maturity and spiritual connection continue to expand. With my chronic health issues, I need to refine food choices even more and remain creative with exercise to keep losing weight. After going through the Twelve Steps with abstinence questions, studying the Traditions, and experiencing a multitude of spiritual quests, my learning continues. My only job is to remain teachable.

If you haven’t guessed, I decided not to quit OA at the end of that original service term. I’m still working for OA, and it is working for me.

— Laurie B., Rohnert Park, California USA