In August 2008, several of us were sitting in the proverbial OA circle before a discussion was to begin and joking about the way we fit on our chairs. My comment was, “My thighs always hang over the edge.” The man next to me noted he didn’t have that problem and mentioned he could “help me with my food.” My …

I had prepared a salad and was fully enjoying the two sources of protein in it when it occurred to me that I don’t usually put more than one source of protein in my salads. With a start, I realized I had made a mistake: I double measured. It’s not like someone had died, but I realized that, if such …

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 …

My action plan is a prescription for recovery from my food addiction: Eat three moderate, weighed-and measured meals Pray morning, day, night, and as needed Connect daily with my sponsor and OA friends Attend two to three face-to-face OA meetings a week Read OA-approved literature and other recovery and spiritual books two to three times a day, or more as …

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 …

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 …

God has blessed me with more than twenty-five years of abstinence, and I am still grateful every day. The most important day for me to be abstinent is today. I was in OA seven years before I got abstinent, and I’ve been abstinent ever since, praise be to my HP. During those seven years, I experimented with abstinence and also …

A number of years ago, my area had two intergroups with quite a bit of dissension between them. Fortunately, some of the members saw that what they were doing wasn’t working. They had the idea to disband both intergroups and start a new, unified intergroup. Our local fellowship was on board with this idea, and Unity Intergroup was born. I was …

My first day of abstinence was December 28, 1979. I’d been in OA a year and a half. Even though my bingeing and purging had ended, I still stole food from supermarkets and insisted on creating my own food plan. That day in December, on vacation, I stole a binge food. Then I called my food sponsor (who, for some …

My problem with food is that once I develop cravings, it’s impossible for me to moderate my eating. When cravings set in, I only get more and more extreme in my obsession with food. My body has an allergy to sugar, flour, alcohol, and highly processed foods; these trigger the mental illness of my addiction, which in turn makes me …