Tools & Concepts Body by Willingness, Jeans by HP 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 … Read More
Recovery Working the Program Ten Things Here is what has helped me get abstinent: Planning out my food for the next twenty-four hours and making my lunch and snack night before. Making a commitment to my OA sponsor (by phone or email) of what I will eat for the next twenty-four hours. If I need to change it, I call her ahead of time. Being rigorously … Read More
Anorexia & Bulimia Diversity Helpful Voices I’m an addicted people pleaser. I don’t want to make anyone upset, inconvenience them, start a conflict, or rock the boat. My drive to get along has caused me to lose my voice. I’ve made some headway, but I have a ways to go. Recently, I realized how it has hurt my recovery. A few weeks ago, I went through … Read More
How OA Changed My Life Recovery Before and After Before OA, I lived a life based on self-centered fear. I was always concerned with what you thought of me: Was I too fat? Too incompetent? Too uninteresting? Too shy? I avoided social situations, stayed home, and numbed out with TV, alcohol, and food. Now, I work daily to outgrow my fears. I face them with courage and ask God … Read More
Recovery Working the Program Discipline for the Day With enormous gratitude, I celebrate nineteen years of OA recovery this month. However, it is not the number of days abstinent that defines me today. What matters most is taking actions to manifest outwardly the changes inside me. This does not simply come about by following a food plan. It is also not enough to say, “God, do your thing.” … Read More
Steps All Day Long In June 1991, I finally figured out for sure that I’m a compulsive eater. So, I found a local OA meeting and haven’t left, nor do I plan to. OA is clearly the last house on the block for me. My story is one of very slow progress. At this point, I’ve been abstaining since the end of January 2005. … Read More
Relapse Relapse & Recovery Long Journey, Strong Memory Today my husband and I are living our retirement dream, thanks to OA and the Twelve Steps. My life is so different today than it was before program. Today, I have a life and food has its proper place, thanks to a food plan that works for me. Two years ago, I relapsed after seventeen years of abstinence. It was … 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
Recovery Working the Program Resentment Prayer I learned early on in OA that if I had a resentment toward someone, I was to pray for the individual to get everything that I wanted for myself. After praying for such a person, I found out recently that my prayer was answered. The thing I wanted was to go back home and visit the small town in which … Read More
Higher Power Spirituality “Harmonic” Power When I attended my first OA beginner’s meeting three-and-a-half years ago, I brought a concept of God that I’d cobbled together from childhood. And, coming from a family of atheists, I’d felt an unspoken need to keep my spiritual beliefs a secret. Standing in a circle, holding hands, and saying the Serenity Prayer at that first meeting was terrifying. It … Read More
