No Choice I was not willing to let go of the food. Therefore, I was not willing to trust. I didn’t want my sugar addiction to be taken away from me. I wanted what I wanted, so of course, I craved and craved and gained and gained, and I couldn’t think of stopping my compulsion . . . until my problems finally … Read More
Emotion Manager I am a compulsive overeater and powerless over sugar. It’s embarrassing to admit that publicly because many people laugh when they hear it. But I joined OA twenty-four years ago, and I’m recovering one day at a time. Physical recovery is happening slowly but surely. Where I’ve really seen progress in my life is in my emotional recovery. Working the … Read More
Heart Full of Gratitude When I think about the next World Service Convention it takes me back to the exhilarating experiences I had at the 2016 Convention in Boston. Over 1,000 OA members from all over the world gathered in one place! I received many gifts from that weekend. My emotions were on alert because my roommate practiced a different food plan approach than … Read More
Abstinent Past My Expiration Date I am a compulsive overeater. Before coming to OA, I tried many diets and weight-loss programs. I always lost the 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 pounds but promptly gained it all back and then some. After losing my three-year-old daughter, I wasn’t able to diet and lose weight anymore. When I finally came to OA in 1973, I came … Read More
Putting a HALT to HALT When I made a decision to turn my will and my life over to the care of my Higher Power, I received an insight into how I could remain willing to live in surrender. In recovery, I’ve often been reminded to recognize when I’m hungry, angry, lonely, or tired—the HALT of the program. Even one of these four can set … Read More
Transferable Skills Six weeks ago, my little brother took his own life after several decades of dealing with emotional pain. He was 44 years old and had struggled with bipolar syndrome and alcoholism since he was a teenager. His death still feels like a knife in my soul, but with the help of OA and the Twelve Steps, I’m learning to handle … Read More
Resentment Prayer I learned early on in OA that if I had a resentment toward someone, I was to pray for the individual to get everything that I wanted for myself. After praying for such a person, I found out recently that my prayer was answered. The thing I wanted was to go back home and visit the small town in which … Read More
Walking Through It When I joined OA in 1977, our program was seventeen years old, and I wasn’t much older. In those days, the only food plan was the gray sheet, a fairly restrictive but useful way to eat. I had no idea how much to eat of what, until a practical food plan gave me a map. I called in my food every day … Read More
Whatever and However As a sickly kid, I learned to be dependent on my mother. She made all the decisions for me, and I learned that I was incapable of picking myself up when I fell. She was judgemental and emotionally abusive—a rageaholic and compulsive overeater. At age five, my clothes fit tightly because I was fat. I ate to bury the pain, … Read More
Not So Ridiculous I’ve been recovering in Overeaters Anonymous for more than thirty five years. I came to OA as a teen, having been bulimic for several years and unable to be truthful with myself. I felt I was unable to survive on the structured plan of eating available in OA at the time, so I left. I returned in 1980, pitifully and incomprehensibly … Read More
