For me, the disease of compulsive eating is like the best friend you love to death and stick with no matter what, until you notice she is crazy, hurts you, lets you down, and doesn’t give you the support you once got from her. Then it hurts so much that you want a “friend divorce,” but you also can’t believe …

“I never have to be alone again . . .” It was June 1989: I was powerless over food and my life was unmanageable. I had just lost forty pounds (18 kg) again and quickly gained ten pounds (5 kg) back. I was on my way up the scale and full of anger and rage. I felt totally helpless, hopeless, …

I awakened abstinent today, clearheaded and present. Wow. Another day, G-d! It’s a far cry from the hangover of a binge. I call my caring sponsor each morning at 7 a.m. to commit to myself, to her, and to the G-d of my understanding my three planned, delicious, abundant meals. When I write down and prepare my meals, it sets the tone …

In 2003, I was in my 30s and I couldn’t stop bingeing. In spite of the fat, depression, headaches, stomachaches, diarrhea, and isolation, I just couldn’t stop. So I came to OA, got a sponsor, and started weighing and measuring my food. My goal was to work the program intensely for one year and “get it.” (I had always been a …

When I walked into the rooms of Overeaters Anonymous, hope felt like a possibility, a possibility of a better life. I’d been bottling up all my feelings again; my mom had recently passed away and my wife and I had just moved into the South Bay area. Fear, anger, and sadness were churning inside me, and I did what I …

When I got into program, I weighed about 240 pounds (109 kg), well over my target weight of 190 pounds (86 kg). I was bingeing and drinking too much alcohol, plus I was mildly depressed. I thought my spiritual life was okay, but really it was a cycle of small peaks and deep valleys. I’d get some abstinence, but then …