Both parents alcoholic so I grew up in a dysfunctional environment.

My father killed himself rather than stop drinking. 

I treated my body like garbage can for drugs, alcohol. and food. Sober at 31.

Even though I was around the 12 step community I was outside as I was still eating compulsively.

I was in and out of OA for years. Couldn't do it my way. I didn't need meetings I 'Lived' the program. Not.
I completely forgot what meetings did 'for' me 

After 2 seizures, multiple brain surgeries and a commitment I ended up surrendering to the OA Program.

Today I am working to be more God centered than self centered. I am of service and have a quality of life I can rely on.

I was large as a child. first meeting August 1988 and the recovery started.'

I grew up in an unsafe household. with multiple candidates fr 12 step work. 

When I started babysitting all my money went for food. 

I ended up in the biggest size I could find. No where to go.

The laughter pissed  me off. It took a while for me to have the change.

I got a life, i started dancing in recovery, I have a sponsor and I am a sponsor. Gone through steps multiple times, and continue to find new things.

A morning ritual is a core component of my program.

My last relapse was during the pandemic by overeating abstinent food. 

My food plan is pretty tight, I take my food with me most of the time.

As a child chubby turned into obese and brough in speed.

I just wanted to be able to pick a dress off the rack.

I had lost weight but was very unhealthy when I was 12 stepped in a hair salon.

Changed from 'What are you going to do about it' to what am I going to do about it.

Finally arriving at OA with heart disease , and diabetes he follows direction and his whole life got better, 

Compulsive overeating trumps, everything, booze, drugs, excersizer AND wil power untill OA was the ace.

She learned in OA she had accepted 4 big lies.

1, I will start on Monday

2. I will just have a little bit from the bag/package.

3. It doesn't show so no one will know.

4. I can do it myself.

Loosing the weight was not enouigh to make the perfect life. A 200 pound weight loss, although remarkable, could not fix her. It took the steps, honetsty, doing the work,calls and a solid sponser she was willing to listen to in order to achive real recovery.

It took Mike  long time to "Get it". For years he dabbled in OA Waving the banner of sobriety convincing himself they were different. He tells his story with humor and emotion and comapssion everyone can identify with. 

Food became a safe place during an uncertian, unsafe and challenging childhood. Eventually it stopped working. OA is now offering a great life. 

Relapse may be part of alot of our stories. Tim recounts his on again off again relationship with OA. There is hope for everyone

Imelda T. shares how being of service has been a crucial part of her recovery and 205 pounds of weight loss.

Helen shares her story of hope and strength and overcoming body dysmorphia to loose over 100lbs!

Quincy shares her experience of strength, hope and heavy metal and amazing recovery after a childhood of sports, obesity, and dieting.

Sean M, who first joined OA as a 9 year-old, shares a frank and heartfelt story of strength and hope about how he came of age in OA.

Ira shares his story of hope.

As a kid diagnosed with clinical anxiety, Robin steals food from convenient stores. He uses amphetamines around 17 years old. He finds that it works so well at getting thin. Over time, however, he realizes that there seems to never be enough weight loss to satisfy him. He comes to OA in 1983 and leaves in 1990, gaining 100 lbs and developing a nasty case of acid reflux. He is around 300 lbs when he gets back to OA in 2000. Today he holds a much more normal weight. He is a firm believer in reading the literature and working the steps. For him, making amends has been central in his recovery, and he holds the belief that God works through the wisdom of the group in meetings. Service is extremely important, whether it’s at home or in a meeting.

Milly grows up in a fearful home where mom teaches the kids to never trust anyone. Dad is in the military for thirty years, and home life is very dysfunctional. She is sexually and physically abused by one of her brothers. At sixteen, she gets into a bad accident reaching for a candy bar that she dropped and had to have. At seventeen, she gets into abusing heavy drugs, and gets arrested twice. She is hospitalized for a bad LSD trip. She becomes an IV drug user too. At twenty-six, she joins weight watchers and loses 100 pounds. She gets pregnant, and has an abortion. At thirty, she comes to an OA meeting. She loses weight and then leaves. At thirty-five, she has a baby. Things change. She vows to never use drugs or alcohol again; however this does not apply to her compulsive overeating. At forty-six, she loses ninety pounds. At fifty-two, she finds out that she has uterine cancer. In January 2002, she goes back to OA, and sticks with the program. She finds it was a piece of cake to put down the drugs and alcohol, in comparison to abstaining from the food. She has to end her consumption of sugar completely after being in OA for six weeks, and then finds she has to start working a program if she is to stay abstinent. Today she works a very service oriented program of recovery. She has a solid food plan. She has a social life she never thought possible, knows great people, and has lots of fun in recovery. Although she was never religious, her main focus today is her relationship with her higher power, whom she believes has a great plan for her life. She has had some major life events happen while in recovery, and OA has been of immense help during these times, providing her the opportunity to stay abstinent time and again. Furthermore, she is able to set a great example for her son because of the program. She shares some very useful tools and a lot of great experience, strength, and hope with the group. Her abstinence date is February 21^st, 2002 with a maintained weight loss of 100 pounds.

Just celebrating 3 years and 190 lb weight loss, Jon reveals the challenges he faced in his disease and the promises coming true in his rcovery.

Nancy B. will carry you through an emotional journey--from tears of pain to tears of joy-- that allowed her to lose 113 pounds, earn a year of abstinence, eliminate all her diabetic medication through OA, and recently walk 35 miles for a cancer charity.

She tells about the amazing amount of alcohol her raging alcoholic mother and stepfather drank, how her obese grandmother made her feel loved for the first time and cooked greasy redneck food for her.  Her heartbreaking tale continues with the trauma of being molested by her stepsister and mom’s boyfriends, how she used food, promiscuity, and pulling out her hair to deal with it. Food met every single need she had and would help or appease any emotion she had,

She tells how--when her husband was out of town--she consumed meals so massive that she would pass out, spending up to $300 per day on food, draining their savings, topping out at 325 pounds. She tells how constantly eating helped her deal with the emotions of being diagnosed with cancer.

She shares how she joined at 18, dropped out after a few months, and rejoined a year ago, finding kindness and a happiness she never felt before.

She shares the wisdom she has gained: how all that is required to attend OA is a desire to stop compulsive eating, how abstinence came by the power of God, how she believed that this could be something that happened for her, how all she had to do what was before her and leave the rest to God’s hands, how she deals with a codependent relationship with her husband, how God took all the strengths and weaknesses and mashed it together into something that is priceless, and how she hopes that she always will have the heart of a newcomer which is the sweetest and recovery and lets us work the steps of this program. Don’t miss Nancy’s wonderful share.

Elle tells you in her honest, humorous style of her path from 260 pounds as a compulsive eater to eventually find peace in abstinence and a healthy weight. Her inspiring story begins growing up a restless, discontent kid in a spiritual family. She discovered alcohol and drugs at a young age, preferring "speed" to lose her appetite, and at age 15 committing arson and joining AA.  You'll be entertained by her stories of entering beauty pageants thinking that it would keep her from over eating (which of course ended up badly), trying various crazy diets, letting go of a job she loved as personal trainer because she gained weight, and eventually scheduling a gastric bypass but having to join OA instead because she ran out of money. She finally realized our job is to stop trying to paddle upstream, and not to postpone enjoying life just because we aren't perfect.

Wanting to die in the disease, desparate to live in recovery, Ben's lighthearted style of story telling underlies a remarkable journey  from a seemingly hopeless state of incomprehensible demorlaization to a life beyond his wildest dreams.

Edith Rae is an cin if OA in the program since 1971. She filled in with a 15 minutes pitch that captures the real heart of long term membership, participation and abstenance in OA.

Jon E, Overeating as an infant is living the dream today

Dee- 15 years and continuoausly passionate about OA.

Roy L from LA with 32 years offers his path with the BIG Book as his foundation.

John K From LA Brings a powerful message to Keep on coming.

A pair of  OA Icons talk about the joy of recovery

Bob H from Garden Grove lives joyus, happy and free due to solid recovery today.

Long time recovery

Great message of recovery at a young age.

Michael M From LA Brings his story or how OA touched his heart to start his road to recovery.

Annie P from Van Nuys shared her journey from victim to empowerment in OA. A touching and inspiring story that touches everyone somewhere.

Laine P from North Hollyword Maintaining 150 Lb loss.

Helen N from Long Beach-13.5 Years abstinate

Linda  E 27 years in program offers an inspiring story of the miracles of OA

Luanne's passion for the program is infectious and an inpirational journey.