OA Program of Recovery
April 28, 2006 by Mark
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
“Overeaters Anonymous offers a program of recovery from compulsive overeating using the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of OA. Worldwide meetings and other tools provide a fellowship of experience, strength and hope where members respect one another’s anonymity. OA charges no dues or fees; it is self-supporting through member contributions.
Unlike other organizations, OA is not just about weight loss, obesity or diets; it addresses physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. It is not a religious organization and does not promote any particular diet. To address weight loss, OA encourages members to develop a food plan with a health care professional and a sponsor. If you want to stop your compulsive eating, welcome to Overeaters Anonymous.”
HTH,
Mark
Eating is easy. It never says “no”, “stop”, “haven’t you had enough”. When I sat home on date night, hiding in my room while everyone I knew was out having fun, I’d be shoveling food into my mouth.
I was so desperate to stop eating I had a surgical proceedure to have the “LAP BAND” put in. They never explained it might not work and if they did, I was so hopeful I chose not hear the warning. It did not work for me. The only weight I lost was from the 6 weeks following surgery because I physically could not swallow the food. Once the swelling went down, I learned how to eat and off I went into binging again.
Around this time, a friend introduced me to OA and I went to my first meeting a week later. The first meeting I went to, I cried. For the first time in my life I heard my story of obsession with food come out of anothers mouth. I knew I belonged to those people, that room, this group. Immediately I learned about food addiction, compulsive overeating, trigger foods, and the need to avoid these in my daily diet.
Today, I have lost 73 pounds and still losing. In order to maintain my abstinence, I work the steps daily, call my sponsor, & eat only committed foods. Working the steps has helped me to identify the reasons I eat and working steps 4 -9 has given me the remedy to my disease, but only if I continue to work them. There is nothing easy about facing the pain that has made me grossly disfigure my body with food but it’s a lot easier than living in that body.
Good luck to you in your search. If you want the recovery I have found, get to a meeting & find a sponsor. You too can have the life you’ve only imagined.