Gloria, a compulsive overeater and food addict, and Neil, a compulsive eater, host this workshop on OA’s Third Step: “Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.”
Mary, a compulsive overeater, hosts this workshop on OA’s Second Step, which some regard as a bridge from the powerlessness of Step One to the resolve of Step Three.
When an anonymous OA member started working Step Two and needed to contain his skepticism with some logic, he found a bedrock of truth in the ideas he had accepted in Step One. “If I practice honesty, the Principle of Step One, then I cannot wiggle out of these truths.”
“When I came into OA . . . I was working for an important corporation,” says Carrie. “It just amazed me that OA meetings were so much more efficient and effective than corporate meetings.” The reason? Our Second Tradition.
Recorded in 1999 on the occasion of OA’s 40th anniversary, OA’s founder Rozanne S. shares her recollections of OA’s simple beginnings and giant strides. Listen and learn about the history of OA’s Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions, world service, and early group conscience.
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.
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.
Beth learned about OA after she noticed a coworker losing weight and becoming noticeably happier. When she realized that she was out of control, she asked if she could join her coworker at a meeting. At the meeting, she was relieved to hear that OA is not a diet program and that the other OA members had problems with food that were similar to her own.
OA invites DIVERSITY and promotes UNITY. In this episode, one OA member speaks about recovery from a man’s perspective and another describes finding a “non-traditional” Higher Power
“By admitting my powerlessness over food and my life in Step One and by continuing to come back for twenty-nine years, I have maintained an 80-pound (36-kg) weight loss,” says Kristin, who previously had done many years of “research” into dieting.