Interview with Esti: Compulsive Eater and Dieter

Esti remembers as a teen feeling a compulsive need to diet and believing she was heavier than she actually was. She ate to cope with negative emotions and could not stop thinking about food.

Esti recalls immediately feeling comfortable at OA meetings and finding abstinence. Looking back, Esti says her inner life has changed significantly, and she is able to live her life without obsessing about food.

Interview with Dodie: Compulsive Eater

Before OA, food ruled Dodie’s every waking moment, even from a very early age. In college, Dodie weighed 215 pounds (97.5 kg) and felt trapped in ugliness. When she realized she had a problem with food, she found OA, and now maintains a 85-pound (38.5-kg) weight loss.

Interview with Bob: Overeater and Overexerciser

Bob was already in shape and at a healthy weight but learned in OA that his exercise habits masked a food addiction. He describes how OA gave him a safe place to find recovery and build a productive life.

Interview with Kathleen: Binge Eater

Kathleen’s binge eating and low self-esteem made her ill and unable to hold a job. She was in the midst of bingeing and counting calories when she heard on the radio a public service announcement about Overeaters Anonymous. When she attended her first meeting, someone told her “You’re not alone anymore,” and that was enough to give her hope and start her on her recovery journey.

Interview with Bob: Compulsive Overeater

Food was Bob’s sole obsession. He was selfish with food, and his unapologetic overeating even drove away friends. As an agnostic, he was uncomfortable hearing talk about God at his first meeting, but he stuck around, and now his life is changed completely and for the better.

Interview with Mary: Compulsive Overeater

Mary joined OA after a visit to her mother made her significant weight gain an unavoidable topic of discussion. In OA, she was surprised to find people just like her, people who had exceptional problems with food. She was also surprised to see how serene and healthy these people were as a result of working the OA program.

Stepping Up to Recovery

“I cannot believe I have been abstinent long enough to have made it to Step Twelve,” says Michele. “When I first came to this program, I would not have thought my life would be as it is now.” What changed for Michele? Read the story to find out!

Three Words: I Am Alive

Jo used to steal food from the plates of hospital patients and eat their leftovers. Working the OA program, allowed him to come clean in Step Nine and find a new way of living.