One of my trigger foods was sugar, and on January 4, 2016, I surrendered all recreational sugar to my HP. I have remained abstinent. My attitude has changed. I have written my Fourth Step three times and worked my way through the Twelve Steps three times. I have released almost 100 pounds (45 kg), and my three-legged stool is stable …

I came into Overeaters Anonymous on March 26, 2005, thinking that I only had a weight problem. Soon l became aware that this program is not about the food. It is about how I feel about myself inside and how I react to life in general. When people shared, they spoke about the slogans, but I didn’t think of looking up at the meeting’s banner, which displayed them, to find …

“Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity” (Step Two). That is all I heard twenty-two years ago when I went to my first OA meeting, and I’ve held onto that Step since. God could restore me to sanity, and he did. During all these years, I’ve never even thought to or wanted to leave this lifesaving program. At my first meeting, …

Literature is one of the nine Tools in our program of recovery, and we are blessed to have print and e-book versions of many different types of literature in Overeaters Anonymous. There are countless ways to use this valuable Tool. In my home meeting, we read from The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous, Second Edition to study and …

A few years ago, I flew to Phoenix for a family funeral. My husband and I had lived in the Valley of the Sun for more than twenty years, and we loved everything, even the heat! During our time in this beautiful locale, we hiked a trail off Bush Highway in nearby Mesa, Arizona. The trail is 2.5 miles (4 …

When I first came to OA forty years ago, my idea of a plan of eating was a diet. OA members suggested I have three moderate meals daily with nothing in between, and of course, avoid foods with refined sugar. I was ecstatic at my first meeting when I saw the different color coded plans lying on the table. Each …

I came into OA about thirty years ago and have been abstinent from sugar and white flour for twenty-four years. Since becoming abstinent, I’ve had: No more cavities—from age 7, I’d spent hours in the dentist’s chair. No more debt—I’ve learned that contentment is enjoying what I have, not getting what I want. No more locking myself out of the …

Before OA, I was not the person I wanted to be. I wanted to be a good daughter, a good sister, a good friend, a good girlfriend, and a good worker, but I was unable to be any of those. I blotted out feelings of shame by focusing on food and weight. “If I can just get to my goal …

I just got back from a work trip to Connecticut. My work requires 30 to 50 percent travel, and for several years, eating while traveling has been very problematic for me. A plethora of foods at airports, restaurant choices with trigger foods, and being alone with a company paid per diem have proven to be a destructive combination. Recently, my …

Thank you for a terrific publication. I cannot imagine not having it. I know times change, but the end of Lifeline will be a big loss. As you work on what comes next, please consider something in print—even a quarterly publication would be helpful. The content is what’s most important. Thank you again for all you do. — Becky N. (more…)