“Don’t dwell on any real or imagined pleasure you once got from certain foods. Change the channel!” (Before You Take That First Compulsive Bite, Remember . . .) Even after years of not eating my trigger foods, I have the habit of not going down supermarket aisles that contain the non-foods I used to worship. If by chance my husband …

What is healthy self-esteem? It is self-confidence and self-respect; serenity; speaking up for myself; treating myself as well as I treat others; having faith; being present for life; taking risks; trusting myself and others; being honest; pursuing dreams; being my own best friend; making decisions that are love based, not fear-based; liking my body and treating it with love. Have …

Two doctors gave me tough love at crucial times in my recovery, for which I am now grateful, though I wasn’t at the time. Shortly after I joined OA in 1990, my new friends suggested I see my general practitioner about my recurring stomach upsets. This doctor told me bluntly that the upsets were due to my anorexia, specifically from …

When I came into OA in July of 1995, I was working for a weight-loss company and terrified of losing my job because of my weight gain. I was following a diet plan, which is quite different from a plan of eating, and I had to report my food to my manager and weigh in each month. I was in …

When I first entered OA, I did not understand the interconnected web among the members. Someone gave me a daily readings book at my first meeting, but I never went back there. Years later, when I’d gained about 40 pounds (18 kg) and been warned I was pre-diabetic, I went to another meeting in a different city. I just listened …

One Friday in September, from noon to 6:00 p.m., our DC Metro Intergroup sponsored a table at a wellness fair in Silver Spring, Maryland USA. I had my doubts about coordinating for the fair and wanted to back out numerous times. But then I was reminded—I did not have to do anything alone, and HP was in charge. I contacted …

I have had two knee replacements in two years. The first time I wasn’t abstinent, but this most recent time I was. I want to share the difference. The first time I was in rehab, I was physically, spiritually, and mentally bankrupt. I paid an acquaintance, my eating buddy, to bring me non abstinent food. I ate sugar and white flour …

All my life I’d been the skinny kid. My brothers and sisters nicknamed me “Stick” because I was so thin. I could eat anything and not gain weight. On my wedding day in 1991, I weighed 115 pounds (52 kg) and wore a size 5. During my first year of marriage, I gained 10 pounds (5 kg). Then I had …

For thirty years, I was bulimic, but I have not purged in almost eight years. When my weight reached an all-time high of 293 pounds (133 kg) at 5’11” (180 cm) two years ago in February, I decided I’d had enough and was going to get weight-loss surgery. But the surgery center didn’t want to operate on me because of …

Surrender . . . surrender to the program, surrender to a Higher Power—for some reason, I have found it very difficult to surrender. I am a man. I am an attorney. No one becomes an attorney by accident. It takes years of hard work and dedication. My profession is filled with strong-willed people who want to be in control. I …