I love reading and learning about the Steps and Traditions through our Twelve and Twelve literature (I am brand-new to any Twelve Step program). When I read Step Five for the first time, this sentence really stood out for me: “Honesty is a key factor in our recovery from compulsive eating, and so we will want to develop this trait” …

I have always been so guarded with every aspect of myself. Just the prospect of being exposed and having someone see the rawest, most honest version of me has been painful and terrifying to think about. My earliest memories are associated with the desperate need to be accepted by everyone at any cost, by any means necessary. I worried that …

A plan of eating is only one of the Tools, but it’s a great introduction to working the program when worked diligently. Ever since I began using a weighed-and-measured plan and calling it in to a sponsor every day (a process I resisted mightily!), I have been noticing the lessons it teaches me about the Principles behind the Steps. Honesty—being …

If asked whether abstinence is the most important thing in my life, I would have to answer, “Yes, abstinence is one of the most important things in my life.” Part of my abstinence is avoiding sugar and volume eating. But when I had complications from surgery, I was ordered by doctors to eat frozen dairy desserts, drink nutritional supplements containing sugar, …

I have been thinking about how proficient I was at feeling bad, and how I am now learning to feel good. My food compulsion started at age 7, which is when the worrying began as well as before-school stomachaches, bad dreams, fear at bedtime, and the chameleon-like behavior I developed to deal with people who were different from me or …