In the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous it says, “No man, we saw, could believe in God and defy Him, too. Belief meant reliance, not defiance” (p. 31). This is interesting because it clarifies the difference between understanding the concept of a higher power, and actually believing in a higher power. To truly believe is to accept …

This morning I was struck by the thought that preparation is a key element in my plan of eating and has a significant place in my daily action plan. Before OA, I made meals, but it wasn’t the same. Now, I am willing to commit the time it takes to think out a menu; shop for the ingredients (or, lucky …

A plan of eating is only one of the Tools, but it’s a great introduction to working the program when worked diligently. Ever since I began using a weighed-and-measured plan and calling it in to a sponsor every day (a process I resisted mightily!), I have been noticing the lessons it teaches me about the Principles behind the Steps. Honesty—being …

I believe the OA Fellowship tells us that all recovering members have two things in common: They have a sponsor, and they are willing to be a sponsor. Being a sponsor has given me so much more than I could ever give. I have been touched by the love and appreciation I receive from those I sponsor. In reaching out to …

The telephone is the hardest Tool for me to use. I have stubbornly resisted this Tool during all my ten years in program. Even in my teenage years, I did not like answering calls from my girlfriends. Whoever heard of a teenage girl who doesn’t like to talk with friends on the phone? My disease causes me to feel inadequate, …

This is my twenty-ninth year in OA and my twenty-sixth year in recovery, which for me means back-to-back abstinence and maintenance of a healthy body weight. When I walked in the doors of OA in 1986 at the age of 30, the compulsion to binge was strong. I knew if I could eat well consistently, I would not have to …

Who would have thought, when I entered my first OA meeting six months ago, that my life was going to change in every conceivable way? After almost forty years of yo-yo diets and spending most of my adult life on diet pills, I was about to discover my weight problem had nothing to do with willpower. What an eye-opener that …

On January 19, 2016, I will enjoy forty years of recovery in Overeaters Anonymous. On that day, the fifty-sixth anniversary of the founding of OA, I will wish I could say I have forty years of abstinence. But I have had plenty of ups and downs, sometimes enjoying years of abstinence, sometimes struggling to maintain a few days. On that …