Ira shares the recovery he has experienced as a result of his 28 years of abstinence and 140-144 pound weight loss.  He tells the group to take what we like and file the rest away for later use, because we will never know when it will come in handy. He struggled with weight his whole life, and knew that he was hurting himself, but continued eating until the pain endured was great enough to spark willingness in him to work the program.  In OA, he has never been without a sponsor, and has received a spiritual experience that changed his personality so that he could refrain from compulsive overeating, make amends to those around him, and live a happier life.

Jim shares how the disease crippled his body to the point of heart issues and Type II Diabetes as an adult.  He had experience with other programs and luckily his doctor (also his sponsor) encouraged him to come to OA.  After 13 years of abstinence, he doesn't struggle with the food like its a tiger 3 times a day.  He developed a relationship with his Higher Power and grew to be able to leave the weight in his Higher Power's hands. OA Overhauled Jim's Attitude, and as long as he does the footwork, his Higher Power takes care of the rest of his life.

Steve came from Long Beach tonight to share his story of honesty and self-discovery.

His top weight was 335 pounds and in 2.5 years of abstinence, he has lost 115 pounds from that top weight.

As a child, he knew he was different from his fellows and had resigned himself to a compulsive overeating death after he got out of high school.  His Higher Power stepped in, however, and brought him around Overeaters Anonymous until Steve finally took hold of the program.

His abstinence is not strict like a lot of other 100 pounders, but he knows today what does and doesn't work.  In addition, the way he works his program helps him to stay out comparison with others and allows him to focus on his program and his spiritual growth.

Domingo has wrestled with Compulsive Overeating since childhood but it wasn't until he joined OA and threw 'all in' that he became a winner in recovery

Long term sobtriety, more than 2 years abstinant, more than 100 lbs down and super grateful. This is a great pitch.