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
Recovery Working the Program No Choice I was not willing to let go of the food. Therefore, I was not willing to trust. I didn’t want my sugar addiction to be taken away from me. I wanted what I wanted, so of course, I craved and craved and gained and gained, and I couldn’t think of stopping my compulsion . . . until my problems finally … Read More
Gratitude Recovery My True Value Freedom from compulsion and excess weight is the treasure that those of us plagued by food addiction covet most! What does this freedom look like? A wise man said, “It’s a sparkle in the eye that exemplifies it.” Another source says it’s the genuine, natural smile on one’s face that whispers acceptance of others—after all, a smile is the universal … Read More
Gratitude Recovery Roll Slow A gratitude item of mine has been “Learning to slow my roll, so I can learn my role.” And it still holds true every day of my OA program of recovery. What a gift! When I slow down, my Higher Power can show me the right path to take, the right choices to make, the right words to say, the … Read More
Recovery Relationships Connecting to Hope and Help I’ve always been a loner, happy in my own company, where I write, create, talk to myself, and can completely be myself with no mask, no pretenses, and no judgement. I had been a misfit throughout my life, always extremely self-conscious around other people. In the company of others, I would feel an element of forced politeness and false cheerfulness; afterwards, … Read More
How OA Changed My Life Recovery Peaceful and Active I am 91 years old and enjoying a fairly active, peaceful life because of OA. I joined OA at the age of 51, after struggling with my weight since childhood. I’d always dieted but immediately regained the weight. I was a degreed registered nurse who knew a lot about food and diets, but that didn’t help. Since childhood, I had … Read More
Working the Program What Gets Replaced I am a compulsive overeater Who wants what she wants when she wants it: A piece of this, A piece of that, It seems I never have enough. For me, there is also a solution: It’s OA and the Twelve Steps, Where want is surrendered, Needs are met, And enough becomes a reality. But wait—there’s more to recovery: The Principles, … Read More
Sponsoring Tools & Concepts The Only Thing That Worked Hi, I’m Chris B., a compulsive overeater and powerless over food. I would not be alive today if I didn’t sponsor. I say this because it’s my truth, and I cannot keep what I’ve received unless I give it away. I used to weigh over 430 pounds (195 kg). I used to question whether I could sponsor someone or not. … Read More
Steps Stepping to Freedom Entering the rooms of OA nearly three decades ago, I anticipated that I’d be given a diet based on restriction and deprivation. I never dreamed I’d be given a life-enriching recovery program and the freedoms in each of OA’s Twelve Steps: Step One. Admission of my powerlessness means freedom from my mental obsession with food, allowing expanded space in my … Read More
How OA Changed My Life Recovery Recovery Celebration In recovery, I have freedom from: pretending to be a normal eater and wishing people would just go away so I could eat using all celebrations as an excuse to binge eating secretly as I baked, prepared, and served food—and continuing to eat long afterward squeezing into only a few select pieces of clothing (usually with elasticized waistbands) making commitments … Read More