I am on my intergroup’s public information committee. We make flyers with a tear-off portion and give them to members to post on bulletin boards at supermarkets and libraries in their neighborhoods. If space is limited, we use business cards and sticky notes. A couple of months ago, I started sending OA advertisements every two weeks to my free local …

Here are a few ways I carry the message to other compulsive overeaters. I print out OA’s Courier newsletter and give copies to my health care practitioners. I let them know I’m available should one of their patients or clients want to learn more about OA. I tell close friends I’m happy to talk to anyone they know who wants …

I was listening to a commentary about obesity on our local radio station. The commentator said one of the usual criticisms about people who are obese: “Why can’t they simply stop overeating?!” It made me upset enough to send in my own commentary, which was read aloud by one of the radio hosts the next day. Another person called in, …

Recently, I had the honor of working the OA booth at a local fair. The fair ran for many days, and it gave several intergroups the chance to reach out and help change the lives of strangers. Another OA member was working the booth with me, and I and recall her sharing the following: “Three years ago, I was wandering …

Before OA, I lived a life based on self-centered fear. I was always concerned with what you thought of me: Was I too fat? Too incompetent? Too uninteresting? Too shy? I avoided social situations, stayed home, and numbed out with TV, alcohol, and food. Now, I work daily to outgrow my fears. I face them with courage and ask God …

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 …

I cannot believe I have been abstinent long enough to have made it to Step Twelve. When I first came to this program, I would not have thought my life would be as it is now. It is very different. I am more open to life and active in it. The spiritual awakening I have experienced involves knowing I am …

My paternal grandmother was full blooded Tarahumara, the tribe of indigenous people in northern Mexico known for long-distance running. My daddy was a runner, and always told me that there is a runner somewhere in me too. I never believed him. A few weeks ago, I signed up for a 5K training program with my 16-year-old son. I don’t even recognize …

I don’t remember how I heard about OA, but I do know it wasn’t from any of the many medical or support professionals I went to for help. During my thirty years as a compulsive overeater, I never heard about OA from any doctor, nurse, therapist, plastic surgeon, nutritionist, dietician, eating-disorders charity, or acupuncturist . . . and the list …

Overeaters Anonymous seemed like a long shot to me. How could it help me? I didn’t have serious weight issues—but my eating was out of control. I certainly was a compulsive eater. I spent most of my day obsessing about what to eat. Should I eat some protein or maybe more greens or perhaps just give up and eat potato …