Service Tools & Concepts Health Fair Help from HP One Friday in September, from noon to 6:00 p.m., our DC Metro Intergroup sponsored a table at a wellness fair in Silver Spring, Maryland USA. I had my doubts about coordinating for the fair and wanted to back out numerous times. But then I was reminded—I did not have to do anything alone, and HP was in charge. I contacted … Read More
How OA Changed My Life Recovery Eating to Be Undesirable I spent the first part of my adult life wearing sizes 7 and 9 in clothes, until the event, the incestuous encounter. What made my incestuous situation unusual? My perpetrator was my father, and I was an adult when it happened. I was in such shock after the event that for the next few days my brain (to help me … Read More
Atheists & Agnostics Living Instead My psychologist recommended I go an OA meeting, but it took three months before I actually set foot through the door. I told him I didn’t think I could give up sugar and didn’t believe in god, so OA wouldn’t work for me. He laughed and told me that was the addict speaking. It took me those three months of … Read More
Tools & Concepts Miracles to Me The word “abstinence” comes from “abstain,” which means “to refrain from.” Since we cannot completely refrain from eating, we have to figure out a food plan that meets our nutritional needs but does not include trigger foods or things we’re addicted to. “Keep it simple” is the best advice anyone has given me when it comes to my food plan. My food … Read More
Tools & Concepts Thought, Preparing for Action Step Three: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. When I first joined Overeaters Anonymous, the first three Steps annoyed and frustrated me. What were these Steps that could not be proven with any tangible evidence? I wanted to be writing my inventory in Step Four so … Read More
Abstinence Tools & Concepts Understand, Appreciate, Implement, Reflect I came to understand abstinence initially by doing what I saw other recovering OA members doing. This included: weighing and measuring food; following a food plan created by a registered dietician who tailored it for my body’s needs; avoiding sugar and wheat products; doing OA outreach phone calls; attending meetings; doing service; reading OA and AA literature; journaling daily; studying … Read More
Steps First Willingness, Then Ability The other day my sponsee was telling me how grateful she was to have me in her life. I had to agree—I was also grateful. Had I not been willing to be a backup for her sponsor then none of the following would have come to pass. This member, who was in her second pregnancy, needed to reach out by … Read More
Service Carried to My Clinic This year, I decided to donate a subscription of Lifeline to my health clinic. Last year, most of our groups each donated a subscription to various health care offices in our areas, and I thought I could do the same as an individual. So I contacted my health clinic, and the clinic staff were very welcoming and appreciative. They gave me a … Read More
Service Pass It On – a Lifeline Project Imagine all of the still-suffering compulsive eaters waiting in doctors’ and dentists’ offices or sitting in emergency rooms with nothing to read but magazines touting recipes and dieting. Imagine compulsive exercisers at the gym seeing magazine after magazine featuring nothing but unrealistic body types. Let’s give them a gift: Lifeline. What a refreshing change! Stories of recovery! Stories that save … Read More