Skinny until 15.

My family was full of chaos. Food was my friend for home and school.

I was always hustling to get money to buy what I wanted. I was a very unskilled thief.

I was over 260- was prescribed diet pills and made it down to 190.

Food was only one of the bad choices I made which cost me my marriage. 

In mid 30's I got almost to 300.

First introduced to How and it worked for a while as a diet for the wrong reasons. got up to 350.

OA has hooked my up with a higher power. Today I live OA, Use the tools.

When moving, I would clean the refrigerator with my mouth.

They asked me to read at my first meting. What I read did not resonate with me.

I was told to 30 in 30 and being an over achiever I complied but still didn't really get the program. and it didn't last long.

I finally asked God for help to get home with eating and it worked. My eyes, ears and heart began to open.

I did the steps in a week and a half. full time and thoroughly. however 9, 10 and 11 were hard for me to grasp. If something was defective a wanted to throw it a way.

Eventually I embraced that I was the problem. 

Great recovery for 14 months, then relapsed in 1990. A spiritual experience brought me back for good.

I began my journey onto my food addiction at 18 years old

I always felt different and like I didn't fit in.  Food was my friend.

My pattern was binge and purge

I left home at 20.

I married my 'project' to change my behavior.

Each of my pregnent was a major weight gain followed by dramatic  weight loss.

Started OA in '88 but abstinence didn't start until I did treatment in '90

Multiple long term relapses became my story. driven by My Will.

When I finally connected with my higher power my life really got better.

Free from binging and purging from Nov 1986 thanks to God

I did all the nasty things overeaters do. No normal suggestions helped at all.

When I am talking, I am not learning.

I have fallen in love with my Higher Power. and I believe he returns the favor.

My God was big enough to help me with the IRS.

Not all my dramas have happy endings but I do get through them and stay abstinent.

i had to take the first step before I joined OA. I knew I had a problem.

I have a daily reprieve. I wake up and the work starts. Te 12 steps are about Ego reduction.

Self help books, workshops or pictures did not help.

I went to my first meeting,saw God on the wall and walked out. I did not come back for a year.

I had amazing weight loss in the first 9 months. and realized I was on my way out without the steps.

Through grace I surrendered and became teachable.

The ones who helped me the most in the  beginning have passed on. I am their legacy and carry their message.

I experienced a great deal of challenges in my 1st 37 years. I now believe I was born an addict, regardless of my traumas.

Life has thrown me a bunch of more challenges. The steps help me survive  and flourish in the face of new adversity that I face.

I was pretty normal as a child, athletic 6'4". 
Eating did not kick until my thirties going up to 360.

I had a family and kids, seemingly normal, however on my way home for a family dinner I would stop at multiple drive-thrus to pre-binge before going home to eat another dinner with dessert.  I could hide the nags but not the smell.

A diagnosis of diabetes and a need to  inject insulin sent me to a drive in.  Another 4 years before getting to OA.

When I left my job for a 'Sabbatical' to focus on my heath the reality was my overeating became my full time job.

Jan 1999  admitted my addiction and my recovery in OA began at 400 LBS

I eventually got a letter from my doctor indicating I was diabetes free.

Today I have a sponsor and I am a sponsor.

I put bows in my hair to keep focus on my head and not my body.

I did well with pay and weigh programs, therapies, diets, everyone worked once. I wanted to have my jaw wired shut.

I got up over 300 lbs after grey sheet helped me loose 40  lbs.

I did not understand the concept of alcoholic foods.

I bounced in and out of multiple 12 steps programs searching for the perfect program, the perfect sponsor etc. I would not surrender to anything completely. I manipulated everybody and everything to do it my way.

God is definitely doing for me what I will not do for myself. Ordering from a fast food the machine is broken. lots of times.

Today I am willing to look in a mirror and say 'Judy- I love you"  and mean it.

Today I have daily rituals for my recovery which keep me emotionally and physically stable.

3 Factions OA. Strict, Loose and in between. They all can work. The trick is to find what works for you.

I am a compulsive eater and compulsive dieter. I think I have lost over 2000 lbs

I quickly realized OA was much more than a weight loss program.

My current weight loss that I have maintained for 14 years is over 100 lbs and I am not looking for it.

Even after attaining my target weight I was not satisfied with me.

Who - Did I eat differently around someone.
What - What food might be creeping in that did not serve me.
Where- Were there slippery places where I tended to stretch the boundaries of my food plan. Always best at home.
When - Was there a time of day that simply called me to eat.
Why - What was I telling myself that was not true.

Today I eat to live rather than live to eat.

Growing up we did not have a lot of food so we ate all we could when we could.

Stayed thin through college and marriage until my first child. Then it was on.

I was tricked to going to my first meeting unwilling to acknowledge my issue initially.

Embraced the program slowly. Did not get a sponsor until after a year. I managed a food plan because of my health issues not because has surrendered.

Today I honestly work my food and my life with my sponsor. 

Today I don't eat over the choices I make Good or bad.

Providing service  whenever I can keeps my locked in to the program. Those I sponsors keep me grounded in the basics which is what I need.

I know the program works because it has worked for me and I have seen it work for others over and over again.

Even with multiple physical and mental issues it was in these rooms I finally felt safe.

I couldn't deal with my diagnoses and it took it toll bringing me into 3 programs. I would rather be an addict than have a mental issues.

I had to write a letter about why I hated OA. Pretty revealing.

Eventually I stopped blaming everyone else and accepted responsibility for my action. thus started my real recovery.

I use multiple outside experts instead of self diagnosing, self medicating and failing. 

I am embracing being a healthy woman, in a healthy body with healthy relationships.

I do service which keeps me in the center of the herd.

I work the steps and embrace the traditions to the best of my ability.

My emotions may jump around but they are authentic.

In program almost 40 years.

Both parents into their own addictions.

I could manage my food, it wasn't that bad . . . until it was that bad.

7-11 Was my downfall as i promised to start over every day.

I was leading a double life as psychotherapist and food addict.

In the beginning  (first 10 years) I made the group my Higher Power. so I left the program because I wanted to have a normal life. Back after 3 years.

Came back and ended up weighing and measuring for the next 10 years. Knew it well enough that I left the program.

Next time was a big book study. Finally got that my spiritual problem manifested with my food.

Today I have food neutrality.

I am still peeling the onion. It just never stops but today I appreciate it. 

I started early 3 or less. There were no boundaries and no safety. I just wanted to be loved but food  gave me that feeling.

I was a 'chubby' kid and felt shamed even at the doctor's office.

I was 6 with my  first diet. It became a way of life proving my unworthyness.

Food became the cause and the solution of my shame.

My dad dies when I was 16. He was the only one who i felt loved me unconditionally. Now I was alone and leaned into the food like never before.

16 - 49 in my disease.

Married  kids and food.

My last nine months was a sneaky brutal binge threatening every I thought was important.

I finally acknowledged I had a God sized problem I could not handle alone

I realized a food plan is an act of self love while a diet would be an act of self hate.

The gift of desperation kicked my recovery into gear. Moving me into the steps  for real.

Staying in the present where it is always Now O'Clock is critical.

Started with sweetened and condensed milk and our family was a member of the 'clean plate club'

When I left home at 17 it was Game on! 

I was not connected to my body and always shocked when I saw a reflection.

When my husband left I stopped drinking but food took over. 

At 60 I went to my AA sponsor about my weight and they suggested OA  in 2012 (287 lbs)

I got a food plan from a nutritionist. 

I would get a little time. one bite - - then more again.

Finally got solid abstinence Oct 2020. dealt with all the feelings I had suppressed mostly about me.

Today i know the phrase 'Not My Food'  and use it.

Feb 11, 2020  398 lbs  I was still not ready to 'surrender' I fell and needed fire department to get me up.  Then I was ready.

I have maintained a 185 lb weight loss.

Spirituality - Humbug. It was about the weight in the beginning.

I worked the steps and learned about me. One step at a time.

I ended with a very strict food plan but could do it for one day . . .at a time.

I made it back to the top of the Bariatric surgery list but HP said "do Nothing". By the time came to sign on the dotted line they said I had already lost what they would anticipate from the surgery.

Even when I couldn't show up for myself I showed up for service.

My HP shows himself to me daily as I work with others.

Condensing 43 years into a 20 minute talk

I was eating anything I could as long as I can remember. Rather than a defect my eating was a defense.

I took massive amount of diets pills. and YoYoed on the heavy side of the Yo.

I married and got pregnant. the doctor said my my weight could harm the child. I did not care. Gave birth at 300.

In 1981, at 329, I planned to eat until died . 6 Months later I went to OA. 6 months later I got a sponsor.

I was dilegant n my food plan, got down to 115 and still my life was not perfect.

Relapsed, plus 65 lbs, and finally back- against my will into OA in 1997

Today My life is OA and OA is my life. I do service, outreach, sponsor, read literature and immerse myself in the lore of OA. 

Any appropriate social skills I have today I learned in OA.

OA Speakers,100 pounder, Hundred Pounder, Millcreek, KaraL

I was an obese baby.  First diet at 5 years old. In my family compulsive overeating was our life.

There was never any leftover candy in our house 

Fat was  not a problem, it was who we were.

I learned to diet and was successful, for a minute.

As I was loosing weight I would think about what I was going to eat at the end of the diet.

1st time in OA I lost weight, broke abstinence and put all weight back on.

2nd time came back on really fast.

God did not sprinkle pixie dust on me to relieve the compulsion.

Eventually using tools, a sponsor, a higher power it is working one day at a time.

I came in to OA in 1975 at 25 years old, 340 Lbs. and have been in 50 years.

I lost jobs because of my weight. They could do it and told me so.

Started with grey sheet food program.

You guys spoke honesty and I did not know that language. 

I had a huge issue with the spiritual components of the program. I was sure we didn't meditate in La Hambra, CA.

Today I sponsor, do service, travel, and have a good life. 

Originally in OA in '88.  I had a problem with lookalikes. Sugar free type alternatives to red light foods.

At events I would click the disposable cameras so I was always behind the camera, never in front,

I experienced the progressive nature of the disease. 5 year  first relapse, 3 years second, then 1 year

Embracing Step one perfectly is required to eliminate the first compulsive bite

I wore scrubs because the had all sizes and pockets.

I did have Bariatric  surgery but did not tell anyone due to expecting program judgement. It was me projecting my own judgment back at myself.

My mother was Manic/Depressive and a Compulsive Over-eater.

When I was 9 , my older 19 Year old brother was hity by drunk driver and was in a coma for 3 months. I needed more allowance to buy more candy.

I went to diet DR. at 16. Goal weight in a week. Game on!

What ever I did. I didn't look good enough. 

In 1976 I wen to OA, They sent me to AA and my food took off.

Much later (2013)I was working in chemical dependency and weighed 230.. They intervened and sent me to OA.

Today abstain from some foods, write it down and eat consciously. Now down 110 lbs.

The love, support and inspiration I get in OA keeps my heart open to so much. A home group and Service position keeps me in the middle of the herd.

I grew up in NY and a large Italian Family. Eating was a sacred ritual.

I needed to learn to protect myself from my brother.I protected my self with food up to over 500 lbs. Everyone felt it was OK to give me advice.

My wife passed in 2020 presenting my with major life choice. 

I had the bypass surgery but statistics told me I might need more help. OA was that help. I originally thought they were nice because they paid by the pounds  loose.

I learned my phone could be used for more than just ordering take-out,

I became willing to change  so I did with help I could not have imagined was available. Help  is so much more than advice.

Bulimia and anorexic was an eating disorder, I was just overweight.

Every day was the same,Great intentions, Break my intentions and then beat myself up.

I am a poster child for step one. with an allergy of the body and obsession of my mind.

Today i am living the definition of abstinence. for 12 years

Resentments are the thought' The past didn't go my way'. My fears are the thought the 'The future will not go my way.

There was a lot of time between my coming to OA in 1988 and the start of my current abstinence in 2011.

Pictures. Shame based eating even very young.

No matter how poorly I was treated growing up no one treated me worse than I did.

Joined the military to loose weight, it worked AND I was dismissed for failure to maintain below weight limit.

Came into program 2008 and followed direction. I has worked ever since.

Even at a good weight I am still working on the authentic Domingo 

Today I like others, I like me and value those relationships.

I use the big book, steps and tools of this program for any problem that comes up.

I wear my program like a loose garment. there is room for me to be me inside this program.

Even though we have unique stories there s a common thread that joins us.

I Have one picture form 2004. I have not been there for a long time but i could be me tomorrow.

I thought I could control EVERYTHING.

I wrote a new plan for my food and my life every Sunday. Worked perfectly until Monday noon.

All my self hate was projected on to other people.

What brought me into OA was an event where I dramatically picked my food over  my kids. 

I got a sponsor who remains with me today. 

I have a morning ritual based on the direction I would like to face today.

Every day My relationship with my food reflects my relationship with my world.

My higher power holds my n a tight string .

2010

5 years old eating rolled balls of bread, chubby and judged by my parents

Evan heavy I excelled in athletics just to prove my dad wrong.

I had a feeling, I needed to eat.

I maintained a weight loss with hours of excersize and handfuls of laxatives.

in 2015 I went to an Xmas party and partook of the food to the fullest.

Early 2016 I started meetings for 9 moths with no food plans,steps or honesty. 

I just recently got honest on al levels and the difference is palpable. I am using all the tools. 

My anger has been replaced with tolerance .

Wide weight swing - 5'8' and 108lbs  And way up.

Confusing childhood. Finish you food, you're fat but a later a reality check indicated I was not.

I was given 'Metrical' as a kid. On the cleanup I could finish lots of plates.

Protein shakes lost weight fast. seemed like a plan. until every parts of my life was compulsive including fasting, excersize, weighing myself, drugs and alcohol.

I sober first in '82. My sponsor suggested OA which I had never heard of. They were my people. and fell into the program. 

After a year of success and weighl loss I shifted my addiction to men. and  up to 360.  next time into the program it took all the lessons and truly embraced it long term.

I was fat and teased by my family

Came into OA 55 years old, 130 lbs overweight with 30 years sobriety.

Recently I was at a party that had EVERYTHING that was of my list , abstained and had a great time actually relating with my family.

None of my alcoholic foods are in the produce aisle.

Accountability is still uncomfortable for me.

Long timers mentioned they do service, so I got involved in service.

As a result of my abstinence I am able to learn so much about OA, its working, the tools and Zoom etc y and offer it back when needed. 

It is important for me to attend strong meetings where people ave gone through all the steps.

My weight popped between first and second grade. Food helped me handle my home life.

Admitting I was a compulsive eater was easy. Surrendering to the program - not so easy.

I developed daily practices,  had a spiritual connection and i was working. When it slipped, I slipped for about a year.

When I came back I embraced the reality of the program and my life changed - for the better.

Meeting my current husband (11 years) was only be possible because I was using the tools of recovery in all my affairs.

I continue to do the steps in a variety of ways each revealing something different.

Today I ask myself questions about how I can improve and then act on the answers.

Addictive family, Dinner was a challenge. A smorgabord  of food behaviors.

My first obsession was bread and I knew enough that is brought me sham

My first real addiction was cocaine and it helped me eat less. Exercise bulimia was also part of my story.

When drugs and alcohol left my left there was room for food.

Being in 2 12 step programs, heard of OA and one more time I found a way to not belong.

I discovered my emotional triggers fro binging and continue to do the work one day at a time.

OA Really did save my life.

1999  5x shirts .'6'4''  over 400 lbs,type 2  diabetes

I remember Mary G.,  the person who first greeted me at my first meeting. I identified as a compulsive over eater not realizing I was taking the first step. She was diagnosed with cancer,and always shared she wanted to die sober and abstinent.

Abstinence gave me the ability to have continuous improvement in every area of my life.

Coming into OA I have lost weight ans gained skills

Started with junk food early in my youth. I powered through sugary, snacks.

My physical activity offset my eating unll I got married.

I treated myself with bags from the gas stations.

Food programs never worked long term.

Covid was a disaster for me and my food intake.

I was in another program but had never heard of OA. When I did find out I jumped in with the help of the meetings i went to.

My program has not been perfect but never left my meetings. I continue to learn in practice personal skills which are bringing me a great life.

I lived in LA when they started 100 Pounder meetings.

I became and addict in infancy with teabags filled with sugar instead of a pacifier.

I married at 17 to get away from my parents. I was not anything resembling a adult relationship.

Came to OA first in 1976 In LA embraced the grey sheet food plan an lost 140 lbs. and relapsed as a blackout eater in and out for 7 years.

Took me a long time to connect my weight with my food.

Finally got it abstinence coming up on 40 years continuously.

When I came to OA in 92 I was broken. They asked me to read at my first meeting. I said "I can't read, I'm new" - Really?

I call my disease my Lower Power.

I will go through the 15 newcomer questions to confirm I qualify. I do.

Today I am half the man I was both in weight and size.

My relationship with my Higher Power, service and the steps are the foundation for my recovery.

I excelled in academics to hide my insecurities up through scholarship in undergrad and flunked out at Grad level.

I am a sugar addict, Not a normal eater. I ended up suicidal in a locked ward.

I tried going Vegan which was really not compatible with my body.

My first 12 step program was ACA, Finally into OA where I learned I had to clean up other addictions to be sober in OA. Today I am active in 3 programs.

My motto is to do more of what works and less of what doesn't.

I continue to work the steps out of the big book examining my part and what basic instincts are out of whack. i do a little every night.

I do a little every day. 

I was not wanted and ended in an orphanage. I was adopted by parents who had their own personal and relationship issues.

Big as a child and picked on at school. 

At 20 I worked in LA, saw diet DRs, used speed and lost weight with unintended consequences.

Got married for all the wrong reasons.

Failed at DRs food plan, Did not qualify for bypass surgery, Was sent to OA - the free one. Eventually leaned into the program.

The miracles started kicking in and have not stopped.

"Missed first few minutes, Mike G, amung a crew of guys whose sole purpose was to eat BBQ and lots of it. REALLY LOTS!!!"

My BBQ band was my way of being. I would eat tons, publicly, deliberately and proudly.

I came into OA 

My sponsor suggested go to 3 meals a day and 5 things I don't eat.

Meetings made it seem real. I was doing the deal. Others were doing the deal. Eating was my connection- now it is OA.

Now I sponsor men and i REALLY do care about them.

I came in with a list of what my higher power was not. I found I could determine what it would be.

My food is now a gift from my higher power building me, nutritionally, 

I used to used food to keep my rage down. it pooped out as I recovery. I stayed the course and have some scene of emotional sobriety, appropriate reactions to life

Grew up as a perfectionist which served me well during that time.

Always overate. No amount of education would help.

Drifted near OA but left when I realized there were no 'cheat days'. Like my Birthday.

I next came back for a while dabbling as OA 'adjacent' I knew the word but not the behavior.

I finally accepted that I am NOT the best judge of what I should be eating. 

Member of multiple 12 step programs. 

I am retired and more to hang by the fridge.

I grew up in alcoholic home. and learned to avoid everything with all five children with working addictions. 

My brother was morbidly obese and recently passed away.

I learned to use food to escape, specially at night.. Dinner . then the junk until I passed out.

I do the first three steps before every meal.  I slows me down to eat mindfully so I know when I am full. Helps me feel satisfied.

If I don't go to meetings I can forget and end up listening to my disease rather than my sponsor.

There are lots of opportunities for service. It really make a difference for my recovery and helps others...

I took notes during meetings and used the notes as a topic for sharing during outreach calls.

First OA meeting 1979. i@ 230 and  binging chocolate.

I learned to ' Act as If' i believed these suggestions might possible help. Regardless of whether I 'Felt like it' or 'Believed it' or 'Liked it'

I weigh and measure my food. 'Sharing pictures'

The weight of my body and the weight of the food I eat are the touchstones of truth. 

I was willing to go to any lengths and it has worked. 

Good to have a home group where you know them and they get to know you. 

I came to my first OA meeting early, thought it was a free weight watchers. 

My family enjoys exercise and outdoorsy stuff. 

My dad put a padlock on the pantry for me and a padlock on the liquor cabinet for my brother.

For a long time my I thought the most important thing was that I was not slim. Being fat was the cause for all my problems.

In 1999 I went to OA full of shame the whole meeting  but kept coming back.

Physical recovery was the last thing I achieved.

I know I am either maintaining or gaining. That thought helps me stay on course.

Came into OA through Al-Anon.

I grew up in a dysfunctional home and coped by being good and eating, supressing any emotions and pretending to be what they wanted.

I accepted a suggestion from my wife, went to an OA meeting and knew I had found my people.

I fell in line, got a sponsor worked the steps lost weight. Lost my sponsor, stopped working the steps and some weight came back on.

Today with a new sponsor I am  working steps like a newcomer and my recovery is coming back.

I still wanted to be my own higher power or let other be that Power That has changed with my surrender to the OA Program. 

Now I am turning everything I can over to my HP and my life is getting better.

The more honest I am with my steps the more I discover. 

I am gaining acceptance of things that happened,things I have done and myself.

My core family emotion was rage. Learned to ask for NOTHING.

As an anorexic I was not connected to my hunger until I was way overdue for food and then I binged. 

I entered recovery by removing all sharp knives and having my friends hide them from me.I was not well.

Today I still weigh and measure my food at home.

Every step has life lessons. 

My food plan is redundant - That works well for me.

I have been with my food sponsor for 30 years. He knows me well.

My friends are in recovery.

I am in other 12 step programs. I have to be good in all 3 to call myself 'sober'

Topped out over 300 LBS  Now I have 44 years abstinent.

I was overweight early and hated myself growing up

I was berated by my family.  Went to first OA meeting at 17 in 1973.

I had lots of difficulties with the steps The grey sheet helped me loose weight. . . A lot of weight. but not for long. 

I ate my way into the threat of diabetic blindness. All my reasons for avoiding OA were trashed my first meeting back.

I was full of resentments and did not want to be told what to do.

Eventually I began the inner work and got better results in my body but specially in my mind. There are always reasons to eat. Better reason to abstain.

My parents were both Holocaust survivors which brought food issues.

My parents in the food business which made it easy for me to catch this disease.

In 4th grade was prescribed  Speed.  as time went on I tried many prescription drugs as well as the pay and weigh.

Working at Knotts Berry Farm there were rides I was not allowed to ride.

I got a newcomer pack, read it, learned it and eventually figured i would be here for the long haul. 

In OA with a sponsor I got the unconditional love I was desperately seeking from my family.

I continue to learn in this program.

I went to AA Meetings to support another and it filtered into me and my food.

Even with sponsors I went insane with dieting. which led me away from the program.

In 2008 I hit another bottom which took me back to program.  I jumped into all aspects of the program, steps, service, a daily ritual.

My experience is that with my yellow light foods I was in denial that they belonged to the red light list.

My wife was taking a client to AA meetings sitting in the back. Mentioned they had a problem with alcohol like I did with food and mentioned OA. That did not please me. 

I ended up in OA wanting relief from the grief without making any changes in my behavior.

Eventually I embraced actually doing as told, getting a food plan, doing the steps.

I have done the steps and continue each time I take a sponsee through them.

I have daily actions regarding my food, my programmed and my life. 

I can still be driven by pride, self centeredness or fear but not as often not as long and not as intensely.

I was adopted and that comes with its unique baggage.

I always felt there was something wrong with me.

My story matches so many others, My mom comforted me with food and it worked. 

I came to OA in 1976. I followed the strict food plan, lost weight and collected sponsees. It cost me my family which was not a bad thing.

I started meetings at my apartment. And found a church that synced well with my program.

I unknowingly married an alcoholic which led to my relapse. which led me to Al-Anon. which opened my eyes even more.

The beginning of her sobriety was also my return to abstinence.

I have a morning ritual which includes my sponsees, reading, walking and it seems to be working . . for me.

Always bought clothes in Husky.My parents would bribe me to loose weight. did it, got the prize then right back up.

It was suggested. I go to OA. and found out it was not Order of the Arrow.

First food plan was grey sheet. lost weight, too much weigh. 

I was sent to AA and  discovered 'Solutions.. Learned to listen for the similarities, not the differences.

I was directed to a sponsor who scared me the most.

How do you keep weight off? - repeatedly running up the steps.

Today I can be honest with God, Myself and my sponsor.

I share my gratitude with individuals freely. 

My first food plan was no sugar which seemed impossible.

When I got 21 Days i was eligible to be a sponsor.

The foundation of my abstinence was still no sugar my food plan is built on that. That gave me too much wiggle room.

I ended up down to 88 lbs on the food plan I had been given. It did not last and I left OA

From then on I went up and own with insane eating and insane diets.

I calculated how much laxative I need to take take to offset my eating. 

Today I have a daily ritual, solid food plan that works and a relationship and conscious contact with a higher power.

2 Periods of abstinence.

For me abstinence is binary, I am or i am not. 

When I came back I was eating from the produce aisle and still gaining weight.

There was a shift when I changed from eating emotionally to eating nutritionally based on a food plan.

I have a Higher Power and I shorten it to God.

I still feel the pull. Today I call me sponsor instead of giving into it.

Half of my abstinence is an attitude,

Program always comes first.

Sober 32 years , Abstinent - 2 Food is a bigger deal and harder
Top weight  over 350 lbs.

I am now in a body and a mind that does not include dieting.

I just wanted the diet, I can do this!  For a while

For me steps 6 and 7 were the miracle steps. Transformed my relationship with me.

I imagined a abstinent life of suffering. I din't hear that, just imagined that.

I was not ready for so long, I prayed be ready and one day it happened. I stopped convincing myself of the path I imagined and started to accept reality which was not anywhere near as bad as my scenario.

I have maintained an over 300 lb weight loss for past 4 years.

in High school I had friends who were concerned. at 250 lbs.

As I moved up in weight I just gave any thought of approproiate eating. I knew I needed more that a diet. 

I prayed to have the weight removed and it was still there in the morning.

Massive health problem gave me pause to think about it No More.  I was sure I was going to die and surrendered to that which led me to surrender to believing i was a compulsive over eater which allowed me to allow OA into my life.

I hit a bottom which was the moment I stopped digging. 

Once I got a sponsor and started working the steps, my recovery started.

Not only the weight loss but keeping it off is a miracle,'

My children no longer have to be my caregiver. I get the be the dad.

OA - Simple yes, Easy no

Came in over 350. Was told I needed surgery but not until I lost 70 lbs - I put on 20.

I got candy to keep my dad's alcohol secret and got paid with candy to rat him out. 

I learned to pray, but for stuff.

I ended up married and pregnant an got permission to eat like I wanted. 

I volunteered for everything  all over the place to prove I was worthy.

There was a moment when I realize I was choosing between life OR chocolate cake.

i am no longer alone. I work with a sponsor and my doctor.

Highest weight - 460

I had lots of real feelngs, food kept me safe.

I had skills, sought and achieved validation. but it was never enough.

I had a way of pushing people way, and feel rejected. Food never rejected me.

2018 dangerous diabetic diagnosis.doubled up on food and medicine.Made since to me.

11/11/2020 arrived in OA and admitted I was powerless over food. Had negative side affects.

Got a sponsor early on and went through the steps but still do step 1,2 and 3 every day.

Every step was transformational the first time trough and still is. More is revealed every time I go through them.

 now know I have a multitude of characters defects which I work on AND characters assets which continue to grow.

1st abstinence I lost over 200  lbs.

Verbally and physically abusive upbringing. Food helped.

Top weight over 400.

2 devastating losses brought me to my knees.

My self talk was extremely negative until I started working the steps

Still working on improving my relationship with a higher 

power.

Thin untill High School Up to 350.

Drugs were the only diet than helped until OA.

After car accident 1983  I ended up in OA. I heard my story. Abstinent since 5/31/83

Initially I was reluctant because of the God stuff.

Jumped into the steps I WANTED what you had.

When my sponsor went out I moved to the middle of the herd.

I realize now I was very angry my first 5 years.

I hate the phrase 'More will be revealed' It is true and today I have twe steps to handle this new stuff.

I talk the tools in and out of the program........

Missing first two minutes of recording. :(

Dieted in college comparing myself to everyone else. First time I thought it was a problem.

Going to Weight Watcher did not work as I was not willing to take directions and be different from my peers.

Somehow I thought the larger I got the more invisible i became.

Knowing I could eat in class was a gift from God.

By the time I got to OA I was pretty beaten down. I could not fit in a booth etc. Could not keep lying to myself.

In OA I saw the light in people eyes, They told a shameful truth and people clapped. I wanted that.

Two parts of my abstinence.Temporal and substance. When and what I eat are different components for my recovery.

once I decided I wanted what you had and became willing to go to any lengths it all kicked into gear.

After a while my mind, my heart and my soul opened up and could receive  the gifts of this program.

I came from a long line of good cooks and compulsive over-eaters.

I thought I could eat whatever my husband ate, added baby weight and kept it all and more.

Medical, pay and weigh, hypnosis and a multitude of other weight loss schemes failed to work for very long.

June 201 I started a diet took me form 317 to 192 in two years. No steps yet. 2020 landed in OA, qualified according the test questions, discovered my tribe but didn't know it yet.

Today I am retired andand not afraid. I work the programs, am involved with my meeting. do service and have a good realtionship with my higher power.

I am active, accountable and am loving my life due to OA.

Abstaining over 37 years. Came in over 340 lbs.

I came to OA because a friend but n=knew nothing of any anonymous program. 

My only motivation to come to OA was because I was afraid of loosing my children.

Could not come up with a good enough lie to not go to the 2nd meeting.

I got a sponsor who tricked me into more meeting per week and discovered a thurday night meeting of people just like me. Still my home group.

I do everything for one day. Same routine. I invite my higher Power into every aspect of my life listed out loud.

I have never left, I am still teachable, and I can ask for help.

Topped out 576. lbs in 1999.

Came into program thinking I would loose enough weight to do Barriatric surgery. God had other plans.

It was 'suggested' I work the program.

My food plan has changed but my program has not.

i was a compulsive rebel - today I have a pause button which helps me to take more appropriate actions.

Today I have a God of my understanding which, like my program, has never failed me.

I am blessed with a home, a family a career and a partner. I am 350 Lbs lighter without surgery. It is all result of my working the OA Program to the best of my ability.

I recovered through AA literature and it has stayed my focus.

I remember the anticipation and pleasure from my first steak when I was 6 and my life changed.

I would binge on bologna sandwiches.

I could not stop doing the binging which caused me so much misery.

I realized there was something wrong with me. Nobody did what I did with food.

In my mid thirties my world became very small.

Working a graveyard shift allowed to go to 3 meetings a day. I had physhical success from my diet. No recovery whatsoever.

Finally it seemed that getting a sponsor may be helpful.

I surrendered my sugar and was allowed my atheism. So I stayed.

Today my health, my PTSD and my Atheism have been addressed.

For me I remain in action for my recovery and helping other which helps me. 

I discovered comfort food as a infant.

I was tall and big before I was 9.

At 25 I had my first suicide attempt.

I was blackout eater.

I have been paddled back to lifetwice at 350 lbs. There is so much more.

Today I have a daily ritual, which keeps me sane, abstinent and useful. I record my food and and express my gratitude to my Higher Power maintaining a 150 Lb. weight loss.

I Was in mental hospital at 16 and learned about drugs. It did not help my weight but I was taken to AA.

Found OA grey sheet in 1977. Got physical recovery and several relapses.

For me the "OA Diet" worked briefly several times  with more weigh gain up to 300.

For more than 35 years I took what I liked and left the rest. 

Eventually I actually did all 12 steps with a sponsor

Today I have a food plan. Participate in service, sponsor people, and work the entire program to the best of my ability.

First came into OA in  2006. 

After multiple relapse I finally realized my recovery HAD to be my primary focus in order to have the rest of my life.

As a child I wanted to be invisible but my weight made that impossible.

I had excel spreadsheets for the diets I would start on Monday.

Today I have am maintaining a 150 lb weight loss.

The level of my honesty is reflected in the quality of my recovery.

I have walked through a myriad of problems and not turned to the food.

My daily ritual for my recovery it sacred for me.

When My relationship with God is right relianace of food is gone.

33.75 years abstinent and maintaining121 lb weight loss.

Prior to OA I was a nutritional expert gaining and loosing over 700 lbs a little at a time. 

I knew how to get shinny, but not for long.

Heavy I was angry, Thin I was angry. Hmmmm.

About the time I was planning my suicide I went to OA. Found people who didn't overeat AND they didn't want to. They had the 12 steps.

I have had tragedy and good fortunes and did not turn to the food on either end.

I  can put an abstinent meal together anywhere in the world.

I do not believe I could just go to a couple of meeting a week and maintain my life. It is the whole program. meetings, sponsoring, calls and introspection that works for me and keeps my disease at bay.

2002 Came to OA hundred pounder. Knew about AA and felt sorry for those poor addicts.

My pitch is for those who are tortured by what they eat.

I was convinced I need a sponsor, needed to call him and I recived a new life. Got involved in service, met a girl and got married. 

By 2017 I lost interest in recovery. my weight climbed, my enjoyment in my life plummeted.

Every plan I made feel through until I the only thing left was back to OA.

I thought if I lost weight fast I was getting better.

Today I make no food decision on my own. I am food neutral.

I am an atheist who prays a lot.

There are some gaps in the recording due to poor internet.

*****

 Even as a child the goal of being thin and eating as much as possible were at odds.

At 11 I went OA. They were nice but that was all I remember.

At 15 all I wanted them to do was' Stop Talking!'

I followed a diet and called it recovery.

In '94 I began my recovery, getting a sponsor and following directions he gave me.

I got amazing results loosing weight AND found the ability to spout OA wisdom like it was my own. 

I got so good I began sponsoring myself because I was so good. 

Finally got back with all my weight, followed new directions with a slight degree of humility developed and relationship with my higher power and began the road to real recovery.

My childhood was devoted  to sweets.

A friend died of obesity when we were 41. Got me to a doctor who scared me healthy for a moment.

Found a new diet online called OA. Followed grey sheet, lost weight with no recovery. and paid the price.

Finally found my way back to OA and the Pizza Box meeting. They were extremely serious about their recovery AND had fun.

Today I have have a daily ritual including the tools of the program and tools I have learned from other abstinent members.

Today I do my best to do the right thing around food, relationships, driving -  life.

My step zero is to always remember WHY I am in OA.

Isolation is my enemy.  The fellowship helps me conquer that enemy.

Sugary and starchy foods are a problem for me.

I was a chronic dieter and nothing ever lasted. 

At 5' 1" almost 300 lbs is a lot of mass.  My thinnest got me hospitalized. Always Malnourished.

I came to O. A. seeking and external solution to an internal problem.

Self loathing is not the path to recovery.

I was inspired (Not my idea) to attend an OA Conference. I was struck abstinent at that weekend.

I am always moving toward or away from my Higher Power. Toward is better.

I cannot do this alone. I need all of you and all the tools.

My GPS is God's Powerful Spirit.

Came in 2007 at 519 lbs

I had a core belief ' I am not ok". If thing did not go the way I wanted it proved me right, kept me outside. I learned to accept that truth. My relationship with food verified it more.

My weight went up, down, up more, down, up more up to a high of 525.

The honest awareness and acceptance I could not do it by myself got me into O.A.

Step 1 was a grieving process for me.

When I want too know what I am supposed to do, I look at what I am resisting.

Any time I think I got away with something, it becomes a heavier weight than the food. 

Came back into program from a terrible relapse in 2010  Took until 2014 to get abstinence.

My mother put me on diets very young. No diet lasted very long.

I went from a small town catholic girls school to NYC nursing school. discovered I really like to party.

Married with two children I thought there would be a top to my weight gain. Did not find it.

Anxiety pills and vodka produced the expected result and ended up in the ER. 

Finally I committed  up in OA followed direction, did service, had friends and thought I was good and could do this without meetings. That did not work. and I got up to my highest weight.

In 2014 I started my real journey to recovery into a life beyond my wildest dreams.

I think I was a compulsive over-eater as kid. Thin kid with a belly. I got in trouble for bumming food.

I picked up drugs and that worked for me. I ended up putting down the spoon and picked up the fork.

I ended up using and eating up to over 300 Lbs. 

I found out about OA, got a food plan and literature and did it on my own. But not very well.

Finally realized I needed a sponsor. got a real food plan and accountability. He helped me realized how many of my thoughts were insane. Helped me discover the phone was not my enemy.

Riding a stationary bike, I lost 100 lbs, gained 80, lost it again all while riding the bike hours a day. Discovered the quantity of appropriate food I was eating made a difference.

By the time I finished the steps I was eating extra bites with the obvious results. 

For the past 20 years I call my sponsor, am accountable for my food, sponsor other men and hold the programs as sacred.

Spring bringing a sense or renewal parallels my experience in OA

Prior to OA I was a Seed, full of potential but eating and nothings happens, In OA I germinated and began to grow - spiritually. But not right away.

My highest was at least 562. so far over 300 lbs

Walking upstairs is a miracle given to me by my participation in OA.

There are "God shots" which give me appropriate times to share about program.

Things tend to work out better when I am present and that only happens when I am NOT in the food.

The problem is rarely what I think it is, It is more likely how  I think about it.

I came into OA wondering why everyone was cheerful.

My eating habits were reflected in the birth weight of my children.

I picked a sponsor for their energy and joy, not the weight loss. 

I don't know what ' A little bit' means. I am better off when have a solid food plan and don't have to think about it or make decisions.

I survived my son's wedding. 

I work to avoid complacency.

I am maxed out with 2 sponsees, school and a family. It all brings me joy as long as I work my program.

I am look forward to  what God has in store for me tomorrow.

Normal weight up till 11 when my Dad died.

In HS I was 4'9" and 250.

My mom put me on every diet available and none worked.

1st time in OA I  lost over 100 Lbs but it brought up issues I was unwilling to deal with.  OA works if you work it. I didn't.

Came back with a clearer understanding my step one.

I lived with the paradox of the my weight saying 'Notice me' and also wanting to be invisible.

My 2nd time in ended with one bite of See's candy.

I came back a 3rd time with a commitment not to leave, no matter what.

Today I am comfortable in my body, I am healthy and happy. 

I know OA saved my life, gave me self-esteem. I exercise regularly, talk with my sponsor and more. 

My food plan varies based on an honest evaluation of my relationship with particular foods at particular times.

I have had all the promises come true and can still be a jerk.

I came into program 40 years ago. 

Living in Woodland hills drove to LA to meeting. the obsession hit and I bought food on the way home but was to sick to eat it. 

GOD = Gift of Desperation.

I came in angry at everybody and everything. Today I am a safe person.

Find someone you trust and can really talk to.

Happy joyous and free is feel safe and secure in yourself.

At the end of one successful diet I gained 17 lbs in one week.

I still report my food in every day. It is what works for me. 

Never a time when food wasn't the most important thing to me.

First OA Meeting when I was 12.

At 23 I was my top weight 423 but because I was young the physical damage was not that bad yet.

I broke toilets, lived through surgical complications and more all because of my weight without any change.

My body was killing me and I couldn't do anything. It was the only body I knew

When I fanallly return to OA that meeting was about death and I felt at home.

For the first year I  sponsored myself rigorously and had some results until I hit my own plateau several times.

Regardless of where I was food wise I never left the program.

I am two different people. My life in the food and my life in recovery.

Today I have a life where I am trusted, I experience love in both directions and I have self esteem.

100 Pounder multiple times.

I lost the weight but i was still me and my best friend was food.

I am a survivor of abuse as a child. As an adult I addressed my part and moving from victim to survivor.

I was always my own worst critic and I was brutal.

When I found my first OA Meeting I was broken and hopeless. They welcomed me. 

Current weight loss is about 155 lbs.

Service has saved my life. I recommend it.

I continue to connect the dots from my past to adjust my future.

My disease wants me dead. Today I want to live.

Top weight over 500 lbs in high school. Now around 195. 

I flucuated between 350 and 500 many times.

Coming into OA I had a food plan AND I restricted. I started lying, the food and weight was coming back and I acknowledged I was in relapse.

I eventually ended up praying, had a spiritual experience and the journey to recovery started for real.

Rigorous honesty became a way of life as I made my amends.

I still want more - That is my disease.  But I don't act on it - That is my recovery.

Cannot remember a time when I was not obsessed with food.

Major disappointment when I realized my size was related to my food and thought it was my fault.

Going away to college opened up all the doors.

Top recorded weight was 236. now about 135.

On my own I lost weight but was super unhealthy and the stress was still terrible. Why can't I control this?

Came into OA realizing I was an alcoholic with food. Crazy for the first few moths, Then settled down as I did the steps.

Some of the tools every day.

No matter how long I have been in the program I need to be accountable for my food.

I gained 110 Lbs in my last relapse which brought on a host of physical problems

When I took my 1st compulsive bite 4 years ago it did not occur to me downhill path I would go down.

I never stopped going to meetings or the OA birthday event.

In a moment without my intention I jumped back in. got a sponsor and took direction against my will.

Day by day I developed and improved a relationship with a higher power. . for REAL.

Now I have 2 years.

A ropes course became the metaphor for my not having and then reconnecting with my higher power.

Joined OA In San Fernando Valley for a year.

The premise ' I can do it in my own' did not work. My intellectual armor was the wall I kept banging into.

Coming back to OA it was a spiritual focus on the steps and tools which  relieved me of the bondage of self and made the difference for the long term.

Our food plan is personal based on our PARTICULAR way of eating compulsively.

I was packing food. Loved being full.

Day after day - "I'll never do this again."

I married the first guy who asked and had 2 kids by 21.

I believed I was a victim . . .of my husband, of my disease of everything.

It was always a diet, Goal weight and immediately 'game on'

I got caught eating a spoiled sandwich for the first time I was outed for a particular behavior.

When I admitted I was  a compulsive over-eater I had my own identity for the first time.

I embraced the concept of 'No Matter What' from the beginning.

I feel anxiety over any change in my food plan.

I avoided the God stuff in the beginning. then it changed.

When I ate I got things done.

I was choosing food over shelter.

A 300 lbs I felt small.

I went to OA, got embraced, hooked and started my recovery. I get an apartment and a job the first week.

The foundation of my recovery is honesty. That creates the space for God to come in.

My recovery is not a return but a discovery and becoming who I am.

I am in multiple 12 steps programs and I need to be. but OA is my home base.

I have been through a lot of emotional events and stayed abstinent.

Question begin @ 26 minutes.

Thin to normal until late teens.

by 24 years old I added 3 kids and 125 pounds.

Tried to manage my weight myself with little results

Came to OA 2 years ago, Had 1 short slip after 6 months and now a back on track.

I have medical issue and medicine that affects my weight.

At one point I would try to make my husband responsible for what I ate.

As a child my constant discontent was only salved with food.

Joining the service kept in under control . . for a while.

When everything failed even in the program I finally surrendered and got a sponsor and followed direction. and i worked.   Who knew?

I am not an occasional or moderate over eater. I am addict as outlined in the Big Book

My relationship with my higher power mirrors my recovery.

My recovery jumped into high gear when I started working the program as outlined in the Big Book.

We are united by a very personal and individual disease.

well over 300 LBS a number of times was one way my disease manifested in my life.

Rapid weight gain and rapid weight loss was a recurring pattern.

My therapist 'suggested' OA.

I became abstinent immediately. It was a shock. I found I was able to out foods down for one day . . repeatedly.

The Doctor's Opinion in the Big Book meant a lot to me.

I Liked the effect of my reaction to my addictive behavior. As a result of this program I HAVE experienced the psychic change.

I had my stomach pumped at age 5.

I ate over every single feeling. My family tried everything, doctors, bribes etc, some worked . for a second.

Food was my second addiction, Poor me. Joined a very strict  program, Felt great for two years, then back out and plus 100.

Important to trick the fast food clerk that it wasn't all for me.

Found OA in order to work the steps on food through the Big Book.

Honesty was a real problem for me. Or rather lack of honesty.

First miracle was starting on a Thursday. This time through the steps was an eye opener (understatement). Doing what was asked yielded real results.

Zoom is gift of Covid allowing me to sneak back into the rooms before I was perfect.

Today I do morning prayers, text my sponsor, read from the Big Book. commit my recovery to my higher power.

Still working on my honesty.

I had a good childhood. No major drama, church etc.  However Love = Food and I wanted love.

with weight - Loosing =Good, Gaining = Bad.

Only in hindsight do I realize food was my drug even as a child.

I was active which helped keep my weight down but I still used pills.

Left on my own in college - Game on! 

Through marriage, kids the YoYo got bigger, more expensive, and more devastating.

I knew there was a spiritual problem but knowing it didn't work.

I ended up in OA,, surrendered to God, have given up 197 Lbs, and maintain it.

Stats - came in 2011 at 35 years old and 320 Lbs. Now maintaining a 150 lb loss for the last 4 years.

Only one of 5 kids who was overweight.. I was a participant in my life. My weight did not define me but it was always with me.

Lost 90 lbs before getting pregnant, Put on 100 during and after.

I had heard about OA from my mom forever so I knew where to go when I was ready.

3.5 years for physical recovery. Finally hooked up with a sponsor and worked the steps from a phone meeting way before Covid forced it upon us.

Going through the steps and the Big Book transformed my recovery, my relationship with a Higher Power and I achieved food neutrality.

I ended up overeating with fruit which was triggered by dextrose in salt pack at work AND because I did not tell the truth to my sponsor.

Today I maintain my weight and my clothes always fit.

I can be with my family without enjoy them enjoying thier food.

I work the steps every day as need without shame. and wrap my day up with a review of my successes and a ask God to help me get better in other areas.

I put on 250 lbs in high school.

I had success with a soup, Valium and scotch diet, for a minute.

I thought drugs would be my solution. I had highly negative side effects.

I ended up in OA with 3 three meals nothing in between one day at a time and today I have a level of serenity and acceptance beyond anything I could have imagined.

My goal weight is what I weigh today and adjust my food plan  accordingly when it drifts.

I can find an abstinent meal in any restaurant in the world.

My never ending journey through the steps has ups and downs with continuous improvements in my behavior.

My dreams are coming true because of OA.

Young trauma, Covered it up with food. There was a moment when I really did eat a full dinner for 5 by myself.

I used my size and was successful in football and still wanted to avoid the spotlight.

My binge was a cycle. dramatically dropping weight for specific events.

I struggled with letting people in. Good at work but no social skills.

A woman, God and church came into my life and chased the binges away - for a while.

I was sure if anyone knew how I ate they would reject me - horribly.

I had a medical emergency which turned into a miracle. Then  ate up to 670 Lbs

Treatment ended up in white knuckle recovery. worked for a year. Back up and back to treatment where the OA seed was planted.

Miracle after miracle led be into my current successful recovery and a quality life.

I come from an obese family so we were all big boned.

I was able to be a large drug addict.

My 20's and 30's was a series of Pay and Weighs.

I started out as an OA Rockstar led to 'I got this'.  Back up to 300.

I came back and have been weighing and measuring for over 5 years. It works for me.

It took me while to find my spiritual groove for my life and my food. Everyone is different.

I have been in the same weight zone and have been the same size for years. I no longer weigh myself so I am not affected by the number.

I wish I could include my family on me recovery journey but that it is their choice.

I am no longer envious of 'normal' eaters.

I did not realize I was overeating until I found  family photo when I was 9. I was devastated.

I believed I was a hopeless case.

Came to OA at 29 and found my people. Got a sponsor and got up to step 5. Then I met him.

Got to top weight. The was series of OA meetings I didn't go to. Finally back to OA 26 years after the first time.

I have done the steps multiple times; each time different because each time I am different.

I thought nobody did what I did, lied, hid etc

I have had the same food plan for 18 years.

Today food is fuel for my body. I came in just to change my body, what changed was everything.

As I read the big book I identified with so many of the stories.

I have admitted, accepted, surrendered and changed.

My sponsor says "What do you want to talk to me about that you don't want to talk to me about?"

Action is the magic word.

Now my life is the opposite of the Bedevilments (Big Book P. 52)

Geographics, Hair/no hair, nothing helped me stop eating.

Today I have over 15,000 days abstinent.

I thought OA was going to be a cult, I went to a meeting halfway out the door. Instead I heard MY story and had recovered.

I resonated with the term ' Food Addict'.  I Did go through withdrawal. and I only had to do it once.

Aha - If it works for you it might work for me. Worth a try.

Much to my chagrin the day I hit goal weight was just another day.

Our spirituality is based on service.

1st abstinence after my third son for a few years and thought 'I got this' and did not leave meetings.

Thought I couldn't do school and OA, -I Picked school.

Ended up in pain unable to walk much and all the physical stuff. I was scared I would die in my sleep.

Controlling my program got me to 242.

Following a food plan gave me food neutrality.

My life is not perfect but I am not in the Hell I had with the food.

The least of my positive results is my weight loss. My family relationships are so much better. I aspire to behave as a woman in recovery one day at a time.

I know in my heart ' It works if you work it . . with a sponsor.'

Food was my little buddy. Didn't know how to be without it.

In Jr High I controlled my weight but I was an emotional wreck.

I vacillated between managing my food or my emotions but not both.

I had the lap-Band surgery and gained 20 lbs because I was always a grazer, small amounts all the time.

Second surgery for sleeve, same results. just took longer.

Covid was my last food failure but OA on Zoom became my Savior.

I got a sponsor who gently dragged me through the steps and I have some recovery.

My relationships, my finances, my self talk has all improved - ALOT.

Daily 10th step keeps me emotionally present.

Missing First 15 Minutes of the speaker.

Outreach calls are gestures to God that I am willing to participate.