Service Tools & Concepts Making Connections It’s as simple as this: I settled for food. To block the pain of my love starved existence, I used food and sugar until my carefully constructed façade of beautiful well-being began to bloat from the excesses I needed to eat to feel safe. But I had to do something to keep from losing my looks, the one thing that … Read More
How OA Changed My Life Recovery Dancer in the Mirror For years, I’d walk my dogs at a local park. Nearly every night, we’d pass a recreation room where there was a Latin dance aerobics class, and I’d watch from a distance. I didn’t want to invite the humiliation of being a morbidly obese woman watching people exercise. I had been ridiculed in public before. In the mirrors, I saw … Read More
Anorexia & Bulimia Diversity Could and Would For thirty years, I was bulimic, but I have not purged in almost eight years. When my weight reached an all-time high of 293 pounds (133 kg) at 5’11” (180 cm) two years ago in February, I decided I’d had enough and was going to get weight-loss surgery. But the surgery center didn’t want to operate on me because of … Read More
Abstinence These Wonderful Things If asked whether abstinence is the most important thing in my life, I would have to answer, “Yes, abstinence is one of the most important things in my life.” Part of my abstinence is avoiding sugar and volume eating. But when I had complications from surgery, I was ordered by doctors to eat frozen dairy desserts, drink nutritional supplements containing sugar, … Read More
Abstinence Abstinence Adjustments I joined OA in 1978 when I was 51 years old. In the beginning, my abstinence adhered to a strict, weighed and measured, very low carbohydrate plan. One extra green bean and I started over. I had a sponsor and was blessed with willingness from the beginning. I attended meetings and went to coffee afterward to share and learn. I … Read More
