I’ve reached my twenty-ninth day of abstinence. Tomorrow will be my weighing day and my highly anticipated thirtieth day. I’ve never gone thirty days without weighing myself, but the experience has been interesting! It really takes the focus off numeric results and has made me realize other subtleties of physical, emotional, and spiritual recovery. Thirty days ago, I wrote a …

A month ago, I had a visit from my friend. We had been saying for a long time that we should pick a time for her to come visit my studio and see my artwork. Like so many wishful plans, it hadn’t happened sooner because we were both very busy. So when we saw each other at a party a …

On April 24, 2019, I lost my mother very unexpectedly due to a stroke. About a month after my mother passed, my year-long romantic relationship ended very unexpectedly. Today, my father is in a nursing home with dementia. I am an only child. Basically, my biggest fears have been happening, and for all intents and purposes, I’ve been alone. I …

I’ve been thinking that a list of the common characteristics among longtime abstainers and maintainers in Overeaters Anonymous might be very revealing and helpful. In my mind, I picture all these members attributing everything on the list below to working the program—the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions—into their daily lives: They have a healthy and conscious relationship with a loving …

In 1993, I sneaked into my first OA meeting. My shame told me you were all just crazy fat people, even crazier and fatter than I was—what could you possibly do to help me? Twenty years later, my home group was reading “Rozanne’s Story” (Overeaters Anonymous, Third Edition, pp. 7–22), and it struck me that Rozanne was inspired to create our …

I am a very grateful compulsive overeater with thirty-six years of abstinence. That is amazing to me, but not to my Higher Power, who asks me only to be abstinent one day at a time. The adding up of days and weeks and years is in the hands of my Higher Power. My job is to be abstinent today, and …

I was having trouble staying abstinent in the moments between preparing my food and eating my meal. I wrote this prayer to help me pause to connect with my HP before cooking and then again before picking up my fork: “Dear God, please let me be open and willing to hear your voice for your guidance over my food choices today. I am abstinent because of you. …

I was struck abstinent on April 20, 2016. I used to think abstinence was a permanent condition, but it’s not, so I work very hard to maintain mine, which is no sugar, no fast food, and no red-light foods. I eat three meals and two snacks daily. On Sundays, I select recipes, make a shopping list, go shopping, and do …

Looking back to my life one year ago, I would have never thought that I would be as content as I am now. In fact, I do not think that there ever was a point in my life where I felt this way. I was always longing for something comforting, and for twenty years, food provided that comfort. I’d always …

By the time I reached Overeaters Anonymous in December of 2005, I weighed 110 pounds (50 kg). I was about 20 pounds (9 kg) below the ideal weight for my age and height. I had never been overweight, but for years I struggled with under-eating, and experienced a brief stint of anorexia during high school. Since I joined OA, I …