Mill Creek OA 100 Pounder Speaker Meeting

I couldn't loose weight, even for $5000 dollars. Even my therapist convinced me I was different. I was NOT a dieter. Once in OA I never left. There really was nowhere else for me to go. I was full of anger. OA has released me from that aura. I even want the best for my Ex-husband - BIG Miracle. Today I can truly look at food as art, and not miss it as food.  Really.

My Life in college was my personal brown out. Everything was dim and half power. Health issue had me stop sugar, flour etc. It did not go well. I went to OA because I recognized I had cravings. Embracing my feelings was a long time coming. I am still working on it.

 I heard about OA from a speaker in another 12 step program. Surprisingly a boyfriend didn't fix me. For me, 3 meetings a week are required for my recovery to progress. Today my daily routine includes morning and evening rituals. My willingness to make ammends is now, When I get to do it is up to God,  

9 years of not quite abstinent = Lying Change in recovery is not about pain, it's a about growth. I still don't like hearing "It takes time". I still send my food in, do service, make a ton of calls. It seems to work

Cheryl B 10 Min First time in program I got weight loss and little more. Anne T 20 Min Several periods of multiple year abstinence. I learned to binge on food in my food plan. result = 40 lbs.      

**There is a missing 65 seconds after 1:30. ** This day 42 years ago was my first OA Meeting. Top weight over 400 lbs. Came into OA at 380. I was an Atheist and completely unwilling to be converted. By 16 years I was deep into relapse and terrified of being seen but went to a convention. For the last 15 years I continue to work the steps and improve my spiritual life.    

Growing up in an abusive home, in college and grad school  my best friend was sugar/candy. My life was one crisis after another. One is not enough including suicide attempts. I went from 88 lbs to 223 and everything in between for 40 years. I was having physical problems, labelled as obese and that got my attention, getting me into OA. Started out only willing to call my sponsor daily. Eventually...

I did food plans like I did diets. Today I do the program - the steps, writing, meetings, exercise, service, higher power. Seeing others who have lost 100, 200 300 pounds and more inspired me and helped me believe it was possible for me. I could still eat compulsively while on my food plan.

My food choices were based on convenience. MY convenience. The 12 steps clarified my defects which I had overlooked, denied or suppressed. I switched careers rather than address my overeating. Planning my food helps me avoid impulse eating. A single mistake is not a slip. A second time... let's talk. I have a daily 'quiet time'.

I ate lots but stayed thin through basketball. Eventually I got married and slowed down playing and slowly moved into obesity. I started the yoyo for years. There are some gaps in the recording and lost the last minute. I went to OA for a while. It worked so well I left. In my 70s I ended up morbidly obese with heart problems. This got my attention. My wife passed and I was alone and fat. I am bac...

At 41 I had a wake up call with way dangerous blood results. I found I could mess up and if I told the truth you would still allow me at the meetings. Consistency in my program includes meetings, a food plan, a sponsor, calls and the truth. I carry food when I travel so I am in charge of what I eat. Daily basics every day.

Continuous member since Jan 24 1994 Abstinent from Feb 16. I have written for my sponsor every night over 4300 times. Resentment, remorse, rebellion, resistance cause me problems She offered a VERY clear analysis of how she uses the steps consistently.        

In NYC following an acting career I was just surviving - I had to call back to California to find a meeting in New York. It took me more than a year to really accept the first step. One moment at a time, one day at a time, one step at a time OA had brought me a life of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual recovery. Today I have gratitude for all that has happens. Step 1-12 explained as what t...

A marriage without ANY recovery was not working. I heard a speaker I had nothing in common with and identified with everything she said. Working the steps will GUARANTEE you will change. I have had the same sponsor for 20 years. AND I work with other members on specific issues.

 **  Due to technical diffuculties there is 7 minutes of sharing  missing starting @ 8:29 Didn't know what eating regularly meant until I was in a foster home. Ate my way up to 440 Lbs.  Today I have a routine for my food and my life activities. Miracles don't hapen without the footwork.  

I was a compusve overeater in the fasion industry. When I got to OA I did what I was told. and it worked as long as I did it. I keep doing fourth steps (When told to) and they are always transformational. It is too easy to forget what works. That's why I have a sponsor. The program keeps me abstinent, the fellowship keeps the rest of me on track ...no matter what.

Abstinent from 10/86 I was 10 when I got on my first diet from my mother worked for 5 days. Food took me out of where I was, unsafe, and put me in a safe place. My bravest moment was to stand, Indentify a compulsive overeater and in that moment I became 'a part of'. It was a shock when I realized the world did not revolve around me. I continue to improve my conscious contact with 'God'.  

1st meeting 1988.  I knew what was the right way to eat but I could not refrain from binging/eating for any length of time. Grew up in home with no structure. Could not imagine talking about my food in front of men. I  got  a sponsor,what she asked me to do made no sense but I did it anyway. Discovering a higher power is an ongoing process for me. Recovery is in the seeking. For me it has been a s...

Used Lunch money to buy candy on the way to school.  Hit 250 in high school. Found OA in college, followed the program and.... it worked. My relapse happens slowly, loosing one peice at at time until I was completely out of the program. Gastric Bypass seemed like a miracle....  for a while. The food blocked me from the joy of the American Dream. From all out to all in was the beginning of my recov...

Graduated HS @ 270 with 50" waist. It frightened me. Fear ruled me. I fixed/avoided with food. I was willing to go to ANY lengths. Alone - Every diet work for a short time... Once. 46 days in OA led to my worst binge ever. It was a turning point. I discovered a Higher Power of "MY" understanding. Abstinence gave me lots of extra time to do my program.              

Food was my crutch when I was 12. Even pudgy brought about massive shame. God was for uneducated, weak- willed people. I attended meetings without participating until somebody actually talked to me. Not a program of feeling, thinking, wanting... It is a program of action !    

lost 140 lbs first time in OA. After a major relapse I have 17 years today. I am a skid row compulsive over eater. I learned to show up, sit in the front, raise my hand, be of service and tell the truth. The Doctors Opinion nails it for me. My program is the infrastructure for my life. I now have someone who I love and loves me. I never thought it could happen for me.  

Abstinent since 9/8/2003 My addictions does not get triggered if I avoid foods I am allergic to. I knew the foods I was allergic to but kept buying and eating them into oblivion. and wake up with another failed commitment to do it differently. A friend from another 12 step program mentioned OA. I went but did not work the OA  program. I was afraid to go shopping at first. I did all the steps in or...

Growing up I looked good on the outside.  But..... Everything I did I did compulsively, Food/ Sugar was the major negative one. I learned to tap dance at as a child and used it  physically and emotionally for years. I created a seemingly cool life on the outside as a designer in Europe until I can back to US. Not cool = Not OK Women were meeting is a restaurant I worked at were having an OA meetin...

I always saw myself as a fat child, but in retrospect is was not always true. I had heard about stopping hard drugs and it sounded like my trying to stop eating chocolate. Long before I got into OA. 2 weeks into OA I discovered Fear and Resentment were the underlying issue for my compulsive eating and cravings. Growing up I never learned how to identify and talk about my emotions in realm time. Th...