Every single time Denise B. from California USA tried to leave the OA program, her binge eating and excess weight returned. Read as she shares years’ worth of experience, strength, and hope on a journey that has ultimately has led her to absitinence and recovery.
What does it mean to live life in between mealtimes? Follow the story of this anonymous OA member who describes her day and how even small, mundane activities can reflect back to you your own state of recovery.
Roberta L. from California USA joined OA in 1979. In spite of an early relapse, she kept coming back. She experienced her spiritual awakening in 2002, and since then she says, “My self-esteem has blossomed, and so has my life.” Enjoy her story of living in recovery.
Donna from Massachusetts USA has seen just about the worst in terms of the hardships that life can throw at you. Yet in OA, her life has been transformed into one of abundance. “I love the real stuff of this world,” she says. “I appreciate the struggle.”
Lisa A. from California USA saw that abstinent OA members not only committed to their plan of eating but also committed to working the OA program. Keeping her abstinence has required adjustments over the years, but nevertheless, “I am free from compulsive eating . . . and free to experience the promises . . . of the Big Book,” she says.
Elaine from New Zealand reflects on Lifeline and the amazing changes OA has brought to her life. “The OA program works. . . . Though I have wanted to leave many times, I have stayed and begun to see the transformation of my outlook on life.”
The sexual abuse that Blanca suffered as a child led her to gain weight in an attempt to make herself less attractive, and led later to multiple suicide attempts. Thankfully, her desperate attempts to outrun her pain were soothed and solved in Overeaters Anonymous. “My practice of the Twelve Steps leaves me with some very empowering ways of seeing life,” she says. “My smiles . . . . are coming from a place of inner peace, confidence, and happiness.
“I was a fat kid, a fat adolescent, and . . . weighing 315 pounds (143 kg), I was a fat adult,” says Stuart, an OA member from Louisiana USA. Stuart suffered relapses and weight gains “but I never quit coming back,” he says. “In concert with my Higher Power, I have achieved a normal body weight of 139–144 pounds (63–65 kg) for the very first time in my adult life. . . . I am eternally grateful.“
“It’s that time of year again,” says Edward, “when the national focus is placed on . . . food!” Learn how Edward uses his recovery to change the focus of any holiday from food to living in recovery.
“Connection with another person on any level is what I love most,” says Elizabeth from Missouri USA. But even after losing 120 pounds (54 kg) her defects of character kept her emotionally isolated. See how she found success working the OA program.