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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
AJ joined OA when she became medically obese, which triggered worries about obesity-related illnesses in her family’s history. Today she is no longer obese, and with the help of other OA members, she is living in recovery from compulsive eating.
Matt, a young person in OA, talks about his recovery journey and the impact that other OA members had on him as they carried the message to him through their example of taking themselves and the OA program seriously.
OA invites DIVERSITY and promotes UNITY. In this episode, one OA member describes their experience with weight-loss surgery and another OA member shares their rock bottom moment and coming back to achieve a 100-pound (45-kg) weight loss.
OA invites DIVERSITY and promotes UNITY. In this episode, health issues add to one member’s challenge and another member speaks to the LGBTQ+ experience in OA.
OA invites DIVERSITY and promotes UNITY. In this episode, one OA member speaks from the perspective of an English language learner and another member speaks about entering OA as a young person aged 18–30.