Recovery Working the Program Able to Identify A simple definition of insanity is “unsound reasoning and judgment.” Where has my reasoning and judgment been unsound around food? I have been continuously abstinent for twenty-four years, maintaining a 100+ pound (45+ kg) weight loss. My food plan is sugar-free, flour-free, and volume-free. I follow a structured approach because it is the foundation of my physical recovery: it is … Read More
Tools & Concepts Working Wonderfully I have been in OA now for over twenty-eight years, and I have come a long way. When I first came into the program, my food plan consisted of eating very little—I was a starve-and-binger. At the meetings I attended back in those days, there was no clear process for how to pick a food plan. I had a sponsor … Read More
Tools & Concepts Myths vs. Truths During my first eight years in OA, I had unconsciously created some odd expectations around my plan of eating! Thanks to the intense writing of my Fourth Step, I have identified several of my plan of eating myths and truths: Myth: I will not want to eat anything but my plan of eating meals. Truth: Physical cravings have ended. Myth: … Read More
Higher Power Spirituality HP on a Personal Level For twenty-three years, I had been active in OA but never could get lasting abstinence. So, I started focusing on the spiritual side of the Steps, immersing myself in gaining a closer relationship with my God and Higher Power. I didn’t want to just believe in a Higher Power; I wanted to know my HP on a personal level. The … Read More
Abstinence Grace-Full Breakup I never thought I could or would even be willing to have an abstinent holiday season, but by the grace of God and what I’ve learned in this Fellowship over the past year, I did. Not that I didn’t gaze lovingly at some of my binge foods, but at each moment I had a choice to make: the choice between … Read More
Recovery Working the Program 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
Higher Power Trusted Angels After a life of binge eating, primarily on sugar, I found my way to OA in 1991. I became abstinent right away, got a sponsor, worked the Steps, and stayed abstinent for about two years. I then lost my abstinence and was in relapse for four-and-a-half years. I became clinically depressed, gained back all my weight and then some, and … Read More
Higher Power Ten-Cent Miracle It was about 2 p.m., and I was sitting at my desk, where I work as a receptionist. The phone calls were coming in steadily, but between them, my mind would start to wander. I could hear the vending machine in the break room calling my name. It was over an hour until my next break, but the voice was … Read More
Higher Power Instant Gratification It was Saturday night, and I was on my own. I was driving home to have my dinner, but I was accompanied by plenty of thoughts about food and finding a way to have just a little something sweet. After I got home and ate, I brushed my teeth and left my house to meet some friends at a social … Read More
Diversity Newcomers The Great Miracle Recently, I was asked to write a response to a newcomer’s question: “What can OA offer me?” I suffer from two problems that make me powerless over my compulsive eating: a physical problem and a mental one. Certain foods, ingredients, and eating behaviors trigger me to eat uncontrollably. Many times while eating trigger foods, I tried to will myself to … Read More