Stanley is my “new” 10-year-old cat. He keeps my action plan in line and helps me work my program: trust God, clean house, and help others. Since he is the purrfect lap cat, I am reluctant to shoo him off when he joins me for morning tea. While I wasn’t willing before to sit quietly for prayer and meditation, I …

New Year’s resolutions are magical thinking: Tomorrow I’ll lose weight, quit overeating, exercise, eat only low-fat, or only fat, or only whatever else is the fad of the day. By July I’ll lose 100 pounds (45 kg), life will be perfect, and other insane fantasies. An action plan is sanity: Today I’ll follow a food plan, exercise, and use the …

Most folks who know me only see my weight loss over the last few years, but the most significant changes in my life happened on the inside. It’s what cannot be seen, but seems to be sensed. It’s all due to OA. I came to OA in 1994 looking for a solution to my recent weight gain. I had kept …

I wrote a song once that said: “I am stuck in the middle of the hard part of my story.” I was 27, and I thought it was a clever lyric for a challenging time. Eleven years later, I see that difficulties back then pale in comparison to what’s happening now. Due to a series of stressful events, I am …

I have found differences between “trying to be abstinent” versus “being willing to be abstinent.” If I am trying to be abstinent, I am in a state of great confusion. If I am willing to be abstinent, I am in a state of great humility. Trying to be abstinent implies I should be able to do it, but I am …

I have been in the rooms of OA for over eight years. The feeling of being recovered eluded me until recently—but now, through fearlessly and fully working the Twelve Steps, I have finally found the joys and promises of Overeaters Anonymous. Just like many others who share this addiction, I am a true people pleaser and always want to be …

When I was young, learning to ride a bicycle seemed like a monumental task—exciting, but difficult to learn. I wanted to do what the other children could. Riding a bicycle looked like fun, and I wanted to have fun. My mom held my seat and ran behind me while I pedaled. When I wasn’t looking, she let go. The scariest …

Today I’ll walk the spiritual path by using an action plan. I will: Think of others. This relieves me of the “bondage of self” (Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., p. 63). Tell my Higher Power I’m grateful. Gratitude brings my mind into a peaceful place. Know HP wants my happiness and well-being. I can “act as if” until I believe it. …

My first OA meeting was during the summer of 2012, following more than forty years of dieting, starving, bingeing, purging, abusing laxatives, and compulsively exercising. After a lifetime of yo-yo dieting and periods of extreme anorexia, my weight had once again ballooned, rising to 220 pounds (100 kg). Since childhood, food and the number on the scale had been my …

I have a strong belief in the existence of a spiritual dimension, but not in a traditional God or divine being. My experiences of this spiritual dimension are my best guide to deepening my understanding. For me, a vital spiritual experience is a state in which I move beyond ego and self-will and feel total peace. Sometimes that state is …