Abstinence What I Needed By admin Posted on September 21, 2016 3 min read 0 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google+ Share on Reddit Share on Pinterest Share on Linkedin Share on Tumblr When I started OA in August 2015, I thought many things about the program seemed unnecessary or ought to be changed. Some of the Tools seemed pointless—what did they have to do with losing weight? The Twelve Steps seemed good, but surely I didn’t need to work them, because I had dealt with all that stuff before (I thought). I believed in God, my Higher Power. I already knew I had a spiritual problem, but knowing this had not changed anything. So many things about OA just didn’t work with the diet I thought I needed to find. Was this program really what I needed? I did become abstinent by about the fourth week, but at first my abstinence was more a formula for a new diet than a comfortable plan of eating. Being an all-or-nothing kind of person, I decided to try everything just to find out for sure if this really worked. So many testimonials said it did and so many people had long-term success stories. I devoured all the OA-approved literature I could get my hands on. As I read I started to see just how much sense it makes, this way of living. As I worked through the Steps with a sponsor, I became aware of some of the reasons I started to overeat as a child and continued to overeat through my sixtythree years until the day I became abstinent. I dealt with the years of resentment I had for some people (most of them are dead and gone). I started to feel an amazing freedom I had never felt with any of the many diets I had tried. There was serenity and freedom I had never felt and a new, amazing relationship with God. Yes, this was what I needed—all of it! Nine months later I am down over 90 pounds (41 kg) and feeling an amazing joy and peace that I’ve never had before. Keep coming back! It works if you work it! — Judy
