Steps Traditions The Springboard I never destroy my Fourth Step work, so I can quickly make an Eighth Step amends list using the folks I mentioned in Step Four. But my Eighth Step list often includes more names than I’d written before. There are always more people I have harmed, even people toward whom I hold no negative feelings whatsoever, not even resentment. I … Read More
Higher Power Spirituality A Mistaken Belief After almost ten years in OA and a physical abstinence of my own definition, I struggled with the fact that I was still stuck in obsession and compulsion around food. I had a way of eating that was more or less nutritionally balanced, but I still obsessed about knowing exactly what I was going to eat. I was alternating between … Read More
Meetings Tools & Concepts Quickly or Slowly Like many compulsive overeaters, I entered the rooms of OA only to lose weight. I’d tried dozens of weight loss programs and lost weight, only to gain it back plus more. I came for the vanity and stayed for the sanity. I really listened to the Big Book promises when they were read aloud at OA meetings, and I realized … Read More
Share It Relatable Insight I could relate so much to “OA Is Ready When You Are” (September 2018), especially these parts: “Just because I’m not thin does not mean I’m not abstinent or that the program isn’t working.” “I think it’s a mistake to focus too much on physical recovery.” “Before OA, I was crazy and unbalanced.” “I thought the rest of the world … Read More
Tools & Concepts Back on Track I experienced miraculous recovery working the Steps of OA. I’d never in my life been more spiritually fit, more emotionally sound, more physically recovered, yet I felt as if I’d just touched the tip of the iceberg of everything the OA Fellowship could fulfill in my life. It was “steady as she goes,” and the pounds came off slowly but … Read More
Keep Coming Back Relapse OA is Ready When You Are It works if you work it. I’m writing because I’ve been listening and talking to OA members who have been around program for less time than me but have expressed disillusionment; I’ve heard concerns and criticisms about OA, the recovery of our members, and the effectiveness of the program. Comments have gone something like this: I don’t know if OA … Read More
Diversity Newcomers Threefold Accountability One night, my sponsor asked me how I would feel about putting my scales away and only weighing myself every thirty days. At first, I was like, “What? You have to be kidding me!” I loved to weigh every day because it gave me a measuring stick for my progress. But I was in the program, literally willing to do … Read More
Higher Power Spirituality Craving vs. Conscious Contact I’ve long felt that, for compulsive eaters, one of our worst fears is simply being hungry and having to sit still and do nothing about it. The association between physical hunger and existential void triggers the sense of hopelessness that preceded so many of my forays into the deadly rituals from which I now abstain. Its black-sheep brother, the craving, … Read More
Tools & Concepts Uncategorized Things I Crave This is the first year that I am not making New Year’s resolutions. My resolutions usually lasted only through New Year’s Day anyway before it all got too hard or my desire waned. The action plan is something that I use every single day, and I only have to use it for today. There is no expectation other than in … Read More
How OA Changed My Life Recovery Clean Clothes, Balanced Life OA has improved how I look, and not just with weight loss. I look better in my clothes now that they’re not covered in food and drink stains. When I was eating compulsively, I was reckless. I ate as much as I could as often as I could. I wasn’t careful or dainty, so I sure didn’t eat like a … Read More