Voices of Recovery: July 13th

Once we compulsive overeaters truly take the Third Step, we cannot fail to recover.

Some mornings I awaken earlier than usual, my mind alive with frantic thoughts. The fear has returned. I will not get something that I want; things will not turn out well; my live has been reduced to keeping my disease at bay. These are the products of my self-centered fear: negativity, anxiety, living in a future not yet formed with an ungrateful heart. I see only what my disease has taken from me--everything that I "deserved."

I take my quiet time and begin to see new possibilities. I surrender the need to know how it will all turn out. I realize that I am getting well, a day at a time. I am learning how to trust. We who have been deeply affected by this disease band together to teach each other how to live without resorting to compulsive eating. I am exactly where I'm supposed to be. When I take my fear to God, He gives me the ability and the desire to see my life more clearly. My faith leads me to everything I need to surmount my difficulties if I am open to receiving the gift. I trust that God will take care of me.

*********************************************************************
12 Steps

1. We admitted that we were powerless over food - that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understood Him.
4. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. We made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. We continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other compulsive overeaters and to practice these principles in all our affairs.



We of Overeaters Anonymous have made a discovery. At the very first meeting we attended, we learned that we were in the clutches of a dangerous illness, and that willpower, emotional health and self-confidence, which some of us had once possessed, were no defense against it.

Do you eat when you're not hungry?
Do you go on eating binges for no apparent reason?
Do you have feelings of guilt and remorse after overeating?
Do you give too much time and thought for food?
Do you look forward with pleasure and anticipation to the time when you can eat alone?
Do you plan these secret binges ahead of time?
Do you eat sensibly before others and make up for it alone?
Is your weight affecting the way you live your life?
Have you tried to diet for a week (or longer), only to fall short of your goal?
Do you resent others telling you to "use a little willpower" to stop overeating?
Despite evidence to the contrary, have you continued to assert that you can diet "on your own" whenever you wish?
Do you crave food at a definite time, day or night, other than mealtime?
Do you eat to escape from worries or trouble?
Have you ever been treated for obesity or a food-related condition?
Does your eating behavior make you or others unhappy?

Have you answered yes to three or more of these questions? If so, it is probable that you have, or are well on your way to having, a compulsive eating problem. We have found that the way to arrest this progressive disease is to practice the Twelve-Step recovery program of Overeaters Anonymous.

*****************************************************************************

 When I am abstinent, I do not wake up in fear every morning. I do not feel the need to rehash yesterday or project into tomorrow.  When I am abstinent, I am able to live in the NOW, one day at a time, with God by my side & with joy in my heart.  The day is filled with hope & wonder, instead of fear & anxiety.

Physically, I am energized & feeling alive.  Spiritually, I am relying on God to guide me, and feeling Him in my heart & soul.  Emotionally, I am strong & calm.

If I am not abstinent, nothing feels right; the entire world is a bit off, and I am spiritually, emotionally & physically hurting.  God has faded into the background, and my fear keeps me dwelling on yesterday & tomorrow. Self-pity may prevail, but normally, it's self-hatred instead.

I may be an addict/compulsive overeater, but I do NOT have to act like one! The steps give me a blueprint to sanity, if I choose to work them to the best of my ability.

Why, then, would I choose any other path?  Why, then, would I take that first compulsive bite, knowing where it will lead? 

For today, I won't.  For today, I will rejoice in the simplicity of my life, thanks to my structured food plan, and I will be grateful for it.

Today, I will allow God to run my life, and resign my post as CEO.  God is way more qualified to play that role than I am. 

I can't; He can; I think I'll let Him.