Started with 'Set Aside Prayer'

In 2006 I was over 600 Lbs

I did not care about drugs or alcohol. I judged them not realizing I had found my drug of choice.

I came into OA and just ate 3 meals a day, lost weight and figured ' I got this' until I didn't.

I kept separate based on how big I was.

I finally found someone who was abstinent and was willing to do whatever he asked. I ended up 'Telling the truth about me food' and everything changed.

It was months of withdrawal but I did not eat. 

This thing saved my life. I owe OA everything.

Topped @ 296 - Now 146  I see the difference every day in the mirror.

Complete abstinence for almost 3 years

People noticing my weight loss was very disconcerting.

Came to OA 9 years ago, heard the word God and did not come back for a year.

I recognized I had some compulsive behaviors but I could not embrace the seeming rigidity of abstinence.

In 2022 I watched people come in and recover following the program I was unwilling to follow.

In Jan 23 all the pieces fell into place for me to attend the OA birthday in LA, get a sponsor and throw myself into the program worked the steps as if my life depended on it. 

Today I have a life beyond my wildest imagination.

Stats -pic @ 330 a little less than my 360 top weight.

As I grew up the was no eating restriction. 

My dad dieted annually and I learned that was the way.

Not the freshman 15 but freshman 50 and kept going.

I went to an OA meeting early, thought 'I'm not heat bad' and tried to diet on my own.

In sobriety I was eating alcoholically and went back to OA pretty quickly. Lasted until I had a piece of cake at an AA meeting. 

I considered Surgery and lost so much in OA I didn't qualify for the surgery. 

During Covid I ended up in a phone meeting I really heard recovery through the Big Book.

Everything I have learned has been through the 12 steps.

Topped out at 248 lbs.  and 30 years sober. Now at healthy body weight.

After dinner my kitchen is closed!!!

In 6th grade I turned to food for comfort and got all the pain that goes with that.

I had been angry at God and threw myself into multiple vices. 

I knew the 12 steps could work for food if I worked it. and I did.

Got sober, got married and good things were happening . .; so I ate my way up and doubled my weight in my marriage.

I know that to drink/eat is to die. 

I left a class in college when I found I had to speak in front of the class.  Today I share whenever asked. . Just one of the gifts of my program.

Commitments help me participate beyond what's convenient.

(Missing first couple of minutes due to technical issues)

My issues caused me to lie and turn to food early on

I did not gt to my top weight by eating appropriately. I ate like an alcoholic."

"Half measures availed us naught". That was for others, not me.

My mom called the doctor when I was 6 months old because I would not stop wanting the bottle

I was sneaking food al long as I can remember. 

Over 200 LBS by the time I was 13.

At 14 I was homeless and I kept growing.

By 24 over 500 lbs I had a stroke. and hit 571 in a nursing home.

I thought cancer would take me but that was not to be.

I ended at OA where I met a guy who said he was over 600 lbs. I would not believe him until I saw pictures.  I went all in.

I have rediscovered my personal hygiene.

Today my abstinence is a rule, not a wish.

I have a sponsor with a sponsor and I am a sponsor.

I became diabetic because I want what I wanted with my food.

I successfully dieted . . for a minute - topped out at 325.

The enemy of wisdom isn't stupidity, it is rationalization. I rationalized everything I ate.

I finally realized that my allergy and compulsion was out of my control forever. I had to follow the steps in the big book to really recover.

I remember to do the opposite of my impulsive actions and leave the results to God.

Food is no longer a reward, my relationship with God is the reward.

Topped out at 485.

Even though I was in recovery over 25 years but the earlier recovery I was not. I always ran part of my program.

You don't get to 485 from a few cheat days

I don't have the compulsive eating a 'little bit' I cannot live on a 'Little bit' of recovery.

Today was another opportunity to get out of self.

I have been high and low but never this healthy. I am not the same guy I was in my disease.

The life I have today always goes back to the third step- Turning MY will over.

My recovery is important but what keeps it going is helping another.

My relationship with my Higher power and people takes time and effort., It is worth it. 

Came in 2104 eating and purging at 280 lbs

Before OA I was a physical, emotional and financial wreck 

I went to Grad school but remember only a little since my real commitment was to my food.

I had weight loss surgery and still came intro OA 30 lbs up from the surgery.

I came to OA not to change my body, just not top hate me.

I had no idea feelings were normal and did not have to be avoided at all costs.

Today I have a clear abstinence and clear food plan. I have identified my alcoholic foods and behaviors.

I have a relationship with a husband and kids that would not exist without my program.

I didn't need any power outside of me when I had food. Today without the food I need my Higher Power all the time.

I loose weight But not for long

I just surrendered to being 'husky' 

Once woman who said I was handsome so of course I ate over that too.

Married a woman who was a great cook. 

Went to a doctor who gave me a food plan which I gave to my wife to cook and it worked. Had to do it for another month. Holiday party for a cheat day did not end.

I heard about weight watchers and OA. OA was free.  a bunch of women who were nice to me.

Followed the program. lost 130 lbs in 1 year and ended up with a big book, 

After a relapse I came back and started a men's step study - for me.

As soon as I thought of food I would have to eat.

I was compulsive eating or not eating.

I could not loose weight eating a pound of bacon a day.

My way was not working until I found OA at 65 years old.

I was amazed when I found out there were other people who wanted to stop but could not. 

I developed a relationship with a God of my 'not' understanding.

I have a morning and evening ritual to keep me on the recovery path and in relationship with my HP.

Every step has special value for more me. 

Hiding food at early age. 

Always was the biggest in my class.

Middle school the space from when I got home and mom got home was my binge time. Exercizing when she actually got home 

I really knew about the hole is my sou I was filling with food but did not know what to do.

At 16 I was baby siitting for money and driving for food.

My first examination of eating over feelings did not work because I by the time I asked the feelings were gone.

Lots and lots of diets worked. . for a minute.

My bothered ( who was over 500) joined OA  and I listened to a zoom meeting. HOW COULD THEY SAY THAT OUT LOUD. and I was not alone.

I still have to trick my disease by by telling it I was only done for today.

I found another level of acceptance in a gym. 

Start every day with thanks to my higher power. 

I am not recovered but I AM Free.

I didn't want to change how I ate, just did not want the consequences.

I believe I was born a compulsive eater, Over or under did not matter. 

I came to OA In 2016 because I wanted a diet for free with group support. planning to leave once I got what I wanted.

I had not moral compass. The only reason I didn't steal food was because I was afraid of getting caught. 

 Food was my anesthesia for my life. 

Diets made me think had power which I did not have. I am a compulsive eater.

I had an image of how I wanted to be and I was not. That was unacceptable on so many levels.

In the disease I was overworking or unemployable. No middle ground

My home groups a 100 Pounder Meeting. 

I resonate with those at the bottom who continue to eat.

I I thought my clothes would trick you when my face didn't

I never knew what a "Normal" body size was. 

I lied to myself everyday about what I would eat.

I have been in the program for about 20 years.  however 

3 years ago I was deep into a relapse, waking up in the middle of the night sick.

The day I got abstinent the change was so dramatic it affected me negatively physically and emotionally for weeks.

One day of abstinence is a miracle. 

Abstinence is scary, joyful, amazing and everything in between.

I continue to grow and change, make mistakes, work the steps and still looking for a way around it.

A Leap of Faith

Topped out at more than 285 LBs

Kept asking myself questions about how to fix my body paired with ongoing self deprecation.

I got exhausted from malnutrition. 

I gained weight on the injection program.

I little voice reminded me I had heard of something like Overeaters Anonymous. So found it online and  went to a meeting.

At first I was drawn to the pain of others because i felt I was not alone.

I had analyzed the problem and finally heard about ' the solution' in the Big Book - The Steps. and got a sponsor.

My disease fought for its survival but I followed the direction I was given.

My leaps of faith were when I trusted what I heard could happen IF I followed the program of OA.

My body is a miracle.

My family was in the food business. I had access to all foods anytime.

I was bullied in Jr and Sr High school.

4 months before I came into OA I had a dream about my death and my daughter's pain.

I did ultra sports at 385 lbs. It allowed me to load up with food. 

Focus on recovery - loose weight. Focus on weight - loose recovery.

Bariatric rules  were similar to OA  food plan. OA was cheaper.

Got a sponsor followed direction, lost 190 lbs in 15 months.

I can play with my grandkids on the floor. . and get up on my own.

My heart function improved over 40%

I was never regular size. Over 500 lbs when I got out of high school.

Could never get under 300 before program. OK at 350. 

2019 over 500 and smoking crack.  Not a happy camper..

Sober the to OA. . Lost a bunch of weight. and then took my will back.

I was  given direction to pray which was not he kind of direction I thought I needed but I did it anyway.

My life was changing but really kicked into gear when I really did the steps with a sponsor.

I have a list of alcoholic foods I do not touch however I also have no craving.

Today I do daily program work and I get nuts if I don't.

I still get resentful I have to work a spiritual program around food. 

In program for 47.5 years.  Currently 4.5 years continuous abstinence.

Talking today about Emotional sobriety. Recovery is not just abstinence.

For 43 years I would turn it over and take it back but never left.

The steps as written in the Big Book of AA have brought me emotional sobriety.

Today I can go down any aisle in the grocery store. Previously I would avoid aisle based on who was shopping. I now experience personal neutrality.

My mother was gorgeous but had mental issues. My dad was hugely racist. My role models was badly skewed.

I had major feeling with no appropriate way to handle them. I was a mean nasty kid.

I tried everything but fit nowhere. Drugs alcohol, spiritual practices and 2 steps programs. 

I had been sober over 30 years when I was 12 stepped back into OA.

Call or text my sponsor with my food almost every day.

Today I go to 3 OA meetings a weeks ,Sponsor and stick close to my food plan.

Came in @ 280 

I have generations  before and current with compulsive behaviors. 

I had original escape mechanisms of reading and fantasizing.

In 7th grade I learned to tools of compulsive eating.

I felt I never got got Life's Rule Book until I came into program.

I began my journey of recovery- wanting a change. I did not get to OA until My way yielded a 3rd plateau.

I learned of OA but I needed AA which had stronger recovery to help me to work my OA program.

I had to completely rewire my brain, A psychic change.

I have a food plan that works for me. It has changed overtime but not by me alone.

Top weight over 400 (when I came into program)

@400 I was always hot and did not realize it had anything to do with my weight.

I used to send fake pictures of my food. No clue about rigorous honesty.

Not a fat kid but always obsessed with food. 

I always thought could stop, I just changed my mind. . daily

I same in from another program but couldn't accept food was that bad. 

I had to try every diet, every food plan thinking I could handle it, I was unique. Eventually I accepted I really needed help.

Half in sucks. Never as much as I wanted or as little as I should.

Something happened, A called my sponsor and came all in, did what he said and got a day of solid abstinence, Repeat.

I was a taker on OA. when it shifted to a giver my recovery got more solid,

I actually like people in OA, I have  friends all over the US as a result of being ALL IN and sharing it, daily.

Introduced to OA in 83 - worked well as a diet- a couple of times 

in 1999 I was over 300LBS. 

I In high school I started gaining weight and had no idea why. It went from a choice to an obsession. 

I got a sponsor who introduced e to all the tools to use for one day .

I made calls, went to meetings, did as my sponsor suggested.

Anonymity remains in the forefront of my relationships

I still have a sponsor who has a sponsor. I sponsor as well and love to do service. 

Today I have a clear food plan that works for me. 

My life is wonderful. i am married, with grand kids and full of abstinent days.

As a sponsor I can share how I live abstenentley

Just so you know  - This program works!

Picture 1 - 420 Lbs and lots of heath issues.

Picture 2  -3.5 years later in healthy body.

Today I have freedom from the bondage of self. Freedom to live a quality life and way more.

I was always 'Husky' and had an addiction to sugar and flour but didn't know it at the time.

I have found that when I fully work the program, follow suggestions. and avoid opinions about an experience I have NOT had, I am no longer obsessed with food and my life goes well.

I binged with food and alcohol and both worked . .for a while.

at 49 I needed triple bypass from damage from alcohol, then proceeded to put on 160 lbs. 

I was 12 stepped for OA at an AA Convention.

I had a one day slip in 2020 when I got bad health news.  Hmmmm.   Since then total every day abstinence. 

***( The audio quality is not up to par. But it did make me pay  closer attention for a powerful message - Recorder )***

Stats - I joined in 2011. 32 years old and 0ver 300 lbs and lost and maintained  150 lb weight loss. 

I dabbled with a diets which yielded intermittent results in time and pounds. as is is said,

When I got to OA I heard my story but they were older,

As before my self will got me marginal results.

I took 3.5years to do the 12 step.

Phone meetings became my community.

We read from the big book of AA but I did not get the relationship between us. until really completed the steps from the Big Book.

I have lost 100 lbs twice before I came  to OA.

I was an only child and in my family and my friends houses everything was about the food.

I was the biggest my entire school experience. Never thought of myself as dainty.

I had no clue what an appropriate amount of food was.

My husband and I became eating buddies until I did the protein shake diet. At the the end I went back to my old ways.

Hypnosis worked . . . for a minute.

I came into program at 61 years old.

At my first OA meeting everyone looked normal. But was as they shared I realized they were like me.

In a short time the voices in my head, telling me what to eat, went away.

I continue to learn about my disease and myself.

I LOVE THIS PROGRAM! 

I always want to be profound but I have to remember it is not about me.

 I came in in 2003 after weight  loss surgery. Since I was already loosing weight I did not embrace OA right away. Half measures at best.

After 7 months I started gaining.  Then I became desperate and honestly worked the steps. I got into service bit if you called me at home I wouldn't answer.

It did not hold and I eventually went into relapse until 2021.

I heard the BAA Big book should be read like a text book. My recovery really started when I embraced that. 

My mother was a huge part of my recovery, 4th, 8th, 9th steps were transformational.

Going from I cannot stop, 

I was an exercise  bulimic before I knew what it was and still gained weight.

Found OA went to a few meetings and decided to do it myself which failed miserably. 

I have been abstinent for 22 years and still call y sponsor every day (I am on my third sponsor).

I sponsored early and it worked great. I stayed abstinent and so did some of them .

Started with pictures. Young pictures don't indicate major  problem yet.

Got dismissed from Marine Corp because I could not maintain the weight standard.

By 2007 many areas of my life were out of control

Came into OA over 300 lbs 

Today I stay under 200 with my doctor acknowledging my program and results.

I can have a 'gutter ball day' but a 10th step puts me back on track.

Came in over 500 Lbs

My portion was bag box and carton or more.

My problem was my bondage of self.  Food wasn't my problem, it was my solution.

I was the result of what happened to me as a shild which I cannot change I can change how I react.

Taking the next right action was/is My form of willingness.

I didn't believe it could work for me but I did it anyway.

At 419 I was in the hospital being told I HAD to loose weight or die think giving up my 'friend' was that same as death.

The moment I was willing to ask for real help, that I could not do it alone was the beginning or the relief from the bondage of self.

OA in not a program of learning. it is unlearning my way.

Diabetic, fatty liver disease and less than 30 years old.

Finally got it in 2008 after my third son. In until 2012 and not back until 2021

Started sneak eating around 8 years old. It didn't stop.

I reset my time over a year ago because I was eating abstinent food compulsively.

I am honest about my food. It may nor be perfect but I tell the truth

Now I have a service position at every one of my regular meetings.

My marriage was in danger when I came into the program. Working MY programs helps my marriage.

My friends in the program tell me the truth especially when I don't want to hear it.

Maintaining 70 LB weight loss for 17 years.

I was a sugar addict as long as I can remember.

My first diet at 11 years old and it never ended Thin, fat, thin, fat, thin, fat ........ every diet worked for a minute.

After multiple diets my food plan became 'I'll eat whsaever I want' up to 185.

My first OA meeting was a sugar addict abstinent fro 22 years. That got my attention.

I just kept going understanding little. It was a service position that changed it for me. People got to know me, I fell a part of.

I know from experience the first bite of sugar will take me out.

Today I have a great life because my daily routine is based on this program from before I get out of bed until I fall asleep with another day of abstinence.

My favorite prayer is 'God please help me.' Great for anytime.

I was 250 feeling different and alone.

I thought all sorts of crazy things would be a good idea. all looking for the right diet.

Today I no longer have to kill myself from the inside any more.

While in my weight uncomfortable is a major understatement.

I had been able to get thin . . . for a minute.

I never forget the humiliation of needing a seat belt extender.

I have yet to do a perfect say and it is reflected with my nightly 10th step.

The steps were transformational. not easy or fast but I followed directions and it changed my world . for the better.

I was 'chubby' by 10.

As I got older I got heavier and lonlier.

I lost my first 100 pounds early in high school. But I was still discontent and drooped out in 10th grade.

20 - 30 yrs old - Loose weight, get job, gain weight, loose job  and blamed the world.

In 1999 I ended in CA, lost 150 on my own and I had arrived . for a minute.

I ended in OA, was loosing weight and I was my God.

I got a sponsor, followed Direction, did the steps, had appropriate results and ended up employed.

My recovery is dependent upon by being honest and I have proved the difference.

My relationship with my higher power is my lifeline which I hold dearly and daily,

Compulsive overeater shares experience.

I was not a fat kid but was still obsessed with food.

Unhealthy childhood led to a plethora of issues arriving over the years.

I used a complicated plan of compulsive eating, drugging, exersizing to maintain what I wanted.

I came into OA relatively small and put on all my weight in programs. 

I put on 100 lbs with my first pregnancy and I was sober.

Steps 1-3 getting right with god, 4-9 getting right with people, 10-12 rocketed into the 4th dimension.

Things I have learned, Crisis thoughts pass. So I wait.

An abstinent member of OA shares her journey or recovey

Lynette 

AN Abstinent member shares her story.

In OA 18 Years, Up and down 100 multiple times in and out of OA.  Currently 4 years.

I used to think food was my problem. Life was my problem. Food was my solution.

I was sure being overweight I would get Covid and die but it did not stop me.c

In all `18 years I never left OA but i definitely hopped around meetings, sponsors, food plans.

I knew I could not do it alone, but I kept trying and THAT failed.

Behind a picture at an OA birthday I heard what I needed to jump back into the program for real.

Staying in the chair is not enough. I needed a sponsor and to work the steps and to do service.

Missed 1st 30 Seconds - Dow Compulsive over eater also celebrating 38 years sober.

I first got abstinent through HOW program.

In abstinence I remembered things I had suppressed.

I got sober at 31, quit smoking and ate to stuff all the feeling and it worked.

I was not willing to give up the food. 

No wonder I couldn't connect with God, I was worshiping my refrigerator.

Maintaining my abstinence is related to my being of service.

Feb 20, 2025 =8 years

I grew up in dysfunctional family like so many others. 

Food felt like an escape.

The voice of my disease told me I needed a smaller body. what ever it was.

I knew the squeaky tiles in my house so I could sneak to the fridge.

I became completely obsessed with food and my body.

I cried a LOT in the beginning. 

Now,  for me, it is OK to be vulnerable, I realize I am not the center of the universe. Living in the grey area is equivalent to being right sized.

My criticism of me can be as damaging as the food.

Today working my program includes sponsoring and being sponsored, being of service and living the principles in all my affairs

From Early childhood always full plates. Both parents were compulsive eaters. 

I learned how to sneak food without being heard or discovered.

I was the only kids in the point system program with my mom. I did not get it and hated it.

i went to college at about 300 lbs. I learned all about nutrition but it didn't help me.

My parents encouraged me to try OA. Much of my life was working but not my food.

I did my first meeting on Zoom and cried and still felt at home.

In the beginning is was all about the weight and I did not embrace all the work

The steps helped me to acknowledge I was perfectly imperfect.

The concept of a higher power did not come easily but it has come to me.

Even if I don't enjoy me feelings I allow them without turning to the food one day at a time.

Very active childhood. Family outdoor activities. 

I was driven to seek attention and approval. so I excelled.

It was a slow weight gain spanning 30 years, 2 kids 

Occasional diets led to a short term dip but adding more eventually.

I was led to the 15 questions and passed. I belonged.

There 5 OA Actions that worked for me.

Compulsive Overeater shares her journey of recovery.

By the time i was 21 I needed to give up a plethora of inappropriate behaviors. Food was my drug of choice. 

My dad paid me for every pound I lost.

I could present well but hated myself on the inside regardless of how I looked.

I raised my hand for my 'First 30 days' for 4 months.

Finally i have not had sugar since 1985

I was sober for 4 years but my world was grey because of my food.

I thought OA abstinence would be a daily struggle to not eat.

I no longer hate myself. There is more to improve but now it is because I love  self enough to change.

My higher power took away the self hate causing me to eat sugar.

I was filled with anger and resentment.

I weighed in at 370 for cancer surgery.

I don't remember how I found OA. At that time I was a wreck on many levels.

I was in program briefly and quit for 28 years.

I went on a brutal binge when my brother died.

Today I will go to any lengths for my recovery. That insures  I have received the gifts of the program. I am adjusting my character. I read with my sponsee. I embrace the prayers and the slogans to remind me of what is appropriate.

My mom, when she cooked it was for six kids even though there was just me.

I was a people pleaser but I never felt it was real.

My brother was a drug addict who got clean and introduced me to concepts of the 12 step programs.

I went to AA because that is all I ever heard of. I got a sponsor who was also in OA and led me there. He was my higher power. He passed away. I left.

Found me way back. My 3rd sponsor help me actually get a relationship with a higher power and got me writing in my big book.

My Nuggets
Our  mind can complicate anything to avoid taking action.
Only the first step can be done perfectly.
Don't use the 4th step as a tool to beat yourself up..
When I would get upset I learned to pray for them immediately. It changed me.
The process of finding the answer can be more important than the answer.

in program 15 years with intermittent abstinence until I found my current one.

My first meeting in 78 but resisted the God talk.

Married, one child maintaining weight. No so for second child.

I realized I could start my abstinence mid day.

After my First OA Retreat I left food on my plate and experience grief.

Retreat in 98 asked what I was bringing rather to  than what I was getting from the meeting and the program.

Today I am a service junkie at all levels of OA.

I often bookend my meals with a phone call as a reason to reach out and to stay on track.

First 10 minutes of recording failure. recording starts @ 9.40 into pitch. First few notes about it

It all started with a new years resolution to loose weight.  In November I joined OA.

Richard Burton is my higher Power.

My anger issue got much better. I did not want to make amends.

A half gallon of ice cream did never got its lid put back.

I began to consider what others a might be going through. Acting the same at work as in meetings.

I do not eat white flour, white sugar, white potatoes, and cheese.

My credit card debt got handled by my abstinence.

I set up Thursday Live meeting and get to share with people every week. Great community.

Before; I was extremely shy, no social skills, compete introvert.

My grandmother made three bowls of M&Ms for me and my sisters. I always compared who had the most until I found the 1 lb bag.

I really discovered amazing food in college and there was no monitor. I studied and 'mastered' Bulimia.

Food and alcohol were my paired vices. 

I joined the beverage program but still purged to handle my food- sort of.

Finding OA I was asked if I was willing.....  I thought "No', said "yes and did it.

Today I have a program, Do service to insure I go to meetings. 

I have an appropriate amount of personal drama to keep my life interesting maintain my abstinence.

OA - Topped out at 285 

I have tried to use exercise to outrun my compulsion.

I tried fasting. diet pills, protein shakes, all failws quickly.

In 2014 I came back for the third time and embraced OA Recovery adjacent.

I finally embraced the concept of red light foods and held to it... for 4 years.

A workshop called 'Sober Eating' really buttoned up my current recovery,

I have a sponsor, I have service commitments, I have sponsees, I have a daily ritual focusing in my recovery.

Tech issue this week, No promo details.

A great speaker and has spoken several times in the past year.

I am not a 100 pounder so I would compare (I'm not that bad)  in the beginning. 

I used food to anesthetize myself and it worked in my youth.

I was known in my family as a sneak eater.

Somewhere I knew it wasn't all about the food but I still thought it was about the food.

I was a sneak eater even when I didn't have to. Holidays were a time when I didn't have to sneak. But I still did.

Relationships were a trigger for weight gain.

I was clear that God could not help me with my food.  But he did.

I spent a long time just dipping my toe in the program confidant that I already had it because of my other program.

Finally getting a sponsor, listening to him, working the steps through the the lens of OA. 

Eventually things were happening that I could not do. Thus a higher power became present for me.

The box In which I placed my HP  continues to get bigger,

Grew up in a small town.

Married and unmarried at 19. Married once more in 2014 until present.

I called OA and the conversation just calmed me. She is still my sponsor today.

I cleaned my pantry of any foods I would be sad about loosing. 

I learned alternative ways of handling my emotions rather than binging.

I lost 80 lbs.got pregnant and lost that weight.

Maintenance has been a challenge. The traditions are important fore recovery. I personalize them and use them as the basis for my relationships.

My relationship with my HP has helped my emotional stability and to make better choices. 

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.