Food for Thought: April 25th

Forgetting Food

Abstinence enables us to stop being preoccupied with food. We decide that we will have three meals a day with nothing in between, and we have a definite plan for those meals. Whenever cravings or thoughts of food begin to distract us, we put them out of our mind. We remember that food has proved to be a false friend, and we no longer permit it to control our life.

Through OA, we have found new interests and activities. We have friends to call when we are lonely or upset. When we are feeling shaky, we can go to a meeting. Perhaps our new energies have led to involvement in community activities, new jobs, hobbies and projects.

Each of us faces a certain amount of sluggishness and inertia when we decide to get involved in something new. It is easier to stay in the same old rut, since we often fear what is untried and unknown. Let us not permit apathy or anxiety to weaken our resolution. Escape into food and overeating is no longer an option.

Keep my thoughts on the new possibilities, which You have opened for me.

From Food for Thought: Daily Meditations for Overeaters by Elisabeth L. ©1980, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation

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My food plan for abstinence is a bit different than the traditional 301 OA plan of 3 meals a day, nothing in between, one day at a time. My food plan is 6 small meals a day at 8 am, 11, 2, 5, 7 & 10 pm. The meals are pre-determined & measured, and eaten as fuelings at those times. Period. Sugar & white flour is not part of my food plan because they are trigger foods that lead me to binge. If I want to live life without the burden of food addiction weighing me down, then I use a Food Plan to dictate what goes into my mouth. Period.

I can fight the addiction, but then IT will win.  I can try to fool myself into thinking there is an easier, softer way to keep the addiction in remission, but I will be brought to my knees yet again, when the truth smacks me in the face.  I can convince myself that food addiction is not quite as serious as the other substance addictions, but that is a lie which will come back to haunt me over & over again.

After 4 decades of yo yo dieting and fighting the truth, here is where I find myself. In the end, it is easier to accept a Food Plan of abstinence than it is to fight & bargain with an addiction that cannot BE fought or bargained with.

Abstinence allows me to explore new possibilities for myself. It allows me to get OUT of my own head and INTO the joy of life, instead of sitting on the sidelines, devoted to food, which gives me no real pleasure.

 We must each discover our own truth.

It does not help us if those we love find their truth. They cannot give it to us. It does not help if someone we love knows a particular truth in our life. We must discover our truth for ourselves.

We must each discover and stand in our own light.

We often need to struggle, fail, and be confused and frustrated. That's how we break through our struggle; that's how we learn what is true and right for ourselves.

We can share information with others. Others can tell us what may predictably happen if we pursue a particular course. But it will not mean anything until we integrate the message and it becomes our truth, our discovery, and our knowledge.

There is no easy way to break through and find our truth.

But we can and will, if we want to.

We may want to make it easier. We may nervously run to friends, asking them to give us their truth or make our discovery easier. They cannot. Light will shed itself in its own time.

Each of us has our own share of truth, waiting to reveal itself to us. Each of us has our own share of the light, waiting for us to stand in it, to claim it as ours.

Encouragement helps. Support helps. A firm belief that each person has truth available - appropriate to each situation - is what will help.

Each experience, each frustration, each situation, has its own truth waiting to be revealed. Don't give up until you find it - for yourself.

We shall be guided into truth, if we are seeking it. We are not alone.

Today, I will search for my own truth, and I will allow others to do the same. I will place value on my vision and the vision of others. We are each on the journey, making our own discoveries - the ones that are right for us today.