Abstinence Clear Definitions What is abstinence with respect to food? It’s a good question. Overeaters Anonymous defines abstinence as “The act of refraining from compulsive eating and compulsive food behaviors while working toward or maintaining a healthy body weight” (Business Conference Policy Manual, 1988b (amended 2002, 2009, 2011, and 2019). This sounds reasonable . . . except it doesn’t define compulsive eating or compulsive food … Read More
Abstinence What a Gift to Grow Abstinence has changed my life physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Abstinence has stopped physical cravings and emotional swings. It has opened the doorway for acceptance and understanding as well as Step work around my powerlessness over food, people, places, and things. Abstinence has opened me up to Higher Power, inner growth, and open-mindedness. One day at a time, Higher Power and … Read More
Recovery Working the Program Turning to the Tools When being judged negatively for belonging to OA, I have experienced the same emotions that I used to reactively eat over. But using the Tools of the program has helped me stay in the solution. Reading Conference-approved literature, writing, telephoning a sponsor and other members, receiving phone calls from sponsees, attending meetings, doing service, and having an action plan has helped … Read More
How OA Changed My Life Recovery Lost Half, Gained Everything I am at a peculiar milestone. I now weigh 168 pounds (76 kg), and that reflects my 168-pound weight loss. It’s also been three years since I started my transformation. I joined OA in January 2013. The following September, I was sitting in my chair and purposefully eating myself to death. I felt done with life; I could no longer … Read More
Relapse Relapse & Recovery Help Through the Tools As I sit here at day forty-five of my abstinence, I am amazed and grateful for what has turned out to be like a joyride! I’ve had a couple days of waking up crabby, but I told my sponsor, put it out on calls, surrendered it to God, and soon found myself back on my joyride again. When I think … Read More
Tools & Concepts Leap of Faith Having come to OA weighing 330 pounds (150 kg) at age 38, I just wanted to look normal and be thin. When I finally plunged into the program after watching from the sidelines for six months, I chose a sponsor who had a large weight loss, which was what I wanted. We focused on a daily schedule, a workable food … Read More
Tools & Concepts Sponsorship Lift Before I joined OA in July 1992, I had never heard of the Twelve Steps or the Twelve Traditions or other fellowships. I knew literally nothing about OA. But I walked into the rooms over twenty-seven years ago, and I stayed. I’ve stayed the entire time despite an imperfect abstinence, a brief relapse, and a difficult time finding the right … Read More
Recovery Working the Program Our Shared Solution We recover together or not at all. This is the “we” in the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. OA is not an “I” program. I tried the “I” program. It was all I knew; wasn’t I supposed to apply my will to problems and overcome them? But my food issues were impervious to my efforts. I was stuck. And I … Read More
Meetings Tools & Concepts Language of Unity A number of years ago, my intergroup passed a motion supporting our belief that while meeting formats may differ, there is but one Overeaters Anonymous. Over the last few months, we had discussed as a group the “language of unity.” We agreed that what we call ourselves and each other can serve to unite or divide us. One of OA’s … Read More
Traditions Autonomous Solution Tradition Four: Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or OA as a whole. I worked Step Four in order to take responsibility for my past actions. No one else could do it for me; no one else could even really tell me how to do it. Others could guide me, but I had to do … Read More