Eating Disorders - OA June 2014

[MajestyJo]

Sunday, June 1, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Take an Idea Break

When we are bored or tired, it has been our habit to reach for something to eat or drink. Food has been our number one stimulant.

There are many sources besides the refrigerator to which we may turn for refreshment. We may stimulate our minds instead of our appetites by reading something worthwhile and thought provoking. We may listen to music or simply take a good look out the nearest window. In addition to intellectual stimulation, there are many sensory feasts besides food, which we may have been neglecting.

During our recovery from compulsive overeating, we grow less obsessed with food and more interested in the world around us. When our brains are no longer dulled with refined sugar, we take pleasure in new thoughts and ideas. The next time we find ourselves thinking about something to eat, let's try consuming something pleasant with our eyes, ears, or minds instead of our mouths.

May I enjoy fully all of the senses and abilities You have given me.

Like the concept. So many times I feel empty, I go to food, when in fact, it could be my spiritual and emotional needs that are in need of fulfillment.

[MajestyJo]

Monday, June 2, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Different Strokes

Though we are all very much alike as compulsive overeaters, we are also individuals with individual differences. We may work the OA program differently and we may define abstinence differently. The only requirement for OA membership is the desire to stop eating compulsively. Each of us takes a separate path to that goal.

Through the program, we grow more tolerant of the people who think and act differently from ourselves. We share what has worked for us, and someone else is free to take it or leave it. Our attention and concern is of value to those we would help, but we cannot prescribe for them.

Some of us follow a doctor's guidelines for our eating plan. Some of us are not always willing to weigh and measure. Some of us eat smaller, more frequent meals instead of three a day. What is a binge food for one person may be perfectly fine for someone else.

We are all learning how to be responsible for ourselves. No one forbids us this or gives us permission for that. Our differences are God given, and we accept each other in love.

I need to be more tolerant.

Of myself and others, I have always been my worst enemy. No one beat me up more than I beat myself. What good is it to call your self names?

[MajestyJo]

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

A Democratic Disease

There is nothing snobbish about our disease. It attacks individuals of every social and economic group. In OA, we meet the young and the old, male and female, rich and poor. One of the amazing things about an OA meeting is that it brings together in meaningful communication people from very disparate backgrounds. Even the generation gap closes when a common problem is the focus of genuine concern.

Thanks to OA, we experience warm fellowship. Perhaps for the first time, we come together with other people in a situation where game playing and ego building are at a minimum.

To be accepted for what we are and as we are is a healing experience. We may take off our masks and let down our defenses since we do not need to try to impress anyone in OA. As children of God, who happen to be compulsive overeaters, we are all equal.

We give thanks for OA.

My eating disorder was just one more part of my diseas of addiction that I had to address. As my sponsor said, "A grateful addict, need never pick up." That means any kind of substance, be it liquid, powdered, solid, boiled, baked, stewed, fried, braisedd, or the flesh and blood variety.

We are all equal. We are all addicts. What does an addict look like, "Someone who is using." Thanks to OA and other fellowships, we don't have to pick up and abuse ourself and others, just for today.

[MajestyJo]

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Avoiding Extremes

The Greek ideal of the golden mean is a concept, which we would do well to ponder. Most of us are extremists, as evidenced by our compulsiveness. We are all or nothing people, and our histories are full of times when we "couldn't believe we ate the whole thing."

Before coming to OA, many of us alternated between starving and bingeing. Either we attempted a diet so limited and stringent that it was impossible to follow for very long, or we indulged our appetites by eating everything that did not move.

OA endorses the practice of moderation. Learning it is difficult for most of us and something, which we have been unable to do by ourselves. The members who maintain their abstinence and have a strong program serve as guides and sponsors for those of us who are beginners. Old and new, all of us rely every day on our Higher Power to lead us in the way of moderation.

May I avoid extremes and learn moderation.

One of the hardest things to learn. I was all or nothing at all. There was no concept of just have one. It was hard to think just two won't hurt me.

So grateful for the healing this program has given me. So glad that my God and I can work on things one day at a time.

[MajestyJo]

Thursday, June 5, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Good Spirits

Many of us find that we need to avoid alcohol as well as refined sugars and starches if we are to maintain abstinence. The resemblance between compulsive overeating and alcoholism is striking. Frequently, alcoholics are compulsive overeaters and vice versa.

Both alcohol and sugar induce an artificial high which, in order to be maintained, requires increasing quantities of the addictive substance. Both food and drink may be used as escapes from the unpleasant realities of living, and the abuse of both involves similar character defects.

The spirits found in alcohol and sugar let us down. They are no substitute for faith in a Higher Power and the peace and joy, which that faith brings. Alcohol distorts our perception of reality and eventually acts as a depressant. God's Spirit in our hearts clarifies our understanding and gives us enthusiasm and deep joy.

I need Your Spirit, Lord.

I firmly believe that when we surrender to our God instead of to our disease, that Spirit is with us. It is up to me to build a relationship with it. When I am using, I am talking to myself not to my Higher Power, my drug of choice gets between me and my God, even if it is just for today. You block the negative, you also block the positive.

When I was on the AA Help Line it was suggested that I not talk to anyone who was under the influence. They won't remember talk to you or what you said. I did a few times because I got some lonely people and they just wanted to talk. I don't know if my words were heard, but it always helped me when I shared with another suffering alcoholic/addict.

[MajestyJo]

Friday, June 6, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

A New Boss

When we turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understand Him, we have a new employer. From now on, we are working first of all for our Higher Power.

Before, we were probably motivated by egotism, the desire for personal power, prestige, and superiority. Since we were number one, we used our appetites to serve ourselves with the inevitable result that no amount of food, sex, or material wealth was enough. God did not create us to satisfy ourselves; He created us to serve Him.

Recovering a sense of stewardship may take time for those of us who have spent many years trying to gratify our own desires. We need to pause often each day to ask for God's guidance, so that the work we do, the activities we enjoy, and the thoughts we think may all serve Him. Under His direction, our talents and abilities develop and our appetites serve His purpose.

May my thoughts, appetites, and activities serve You.

May my appetite be healthy and feed my mind and spirit as well as my body.

I have a new boss, and I am not it.

[MajestyJo]

Saturday, June 7, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Perfectionism

Part of the ego reduction necessary to our recovery is the acceptance of the fact that we are not and never will be perfect. Perfectionism gets in the way of recovery because it imposes impossible, unrealistic goals which guarantee failure. If we do not think we have to be perfect, then we can accept our mistakes as learning experiences and be willing to try again.
Deepening acquaintance with our Higher Power is good insurance against perfectionism. We come to believe that He accepts and loves us as we are, and this gives us the courage and humility to accept ourselves.

We are not perfect, but we are growing. In spite of our weaknesses, we can serve others according to God's plan for our lives. Accepting our own limitations makes us more tolerant of the faults and weaknesses of those around us. Together, we progress.

I am thankful that I don't need to be perfect.

Always a good reminder that perfectionism is part of my disease, it is not a recovery tool.

[MajestyJo]

Sunday, June 8, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Trick or Treat

Our devious minds have a way of enticing us with visions of sugar plum "goodies" which can trick us into forgetting that we are compulsive overeaters. What may once have been a treat is now, for us, poison. The so-called treat can trick us into taking the first compulsive bite, which we know is always our downfall.

We need to change our thinking so that we no longer consider refined sugars and starches and former binge foods to be treats. Eating them has caused us great unhappiness in the past, and we will not be deluded into thinking that another time will be different.

Through the OA program, we are gaining the self-knowledge which arms us against the assaults of temptation. Our enemy is clever. We need the protection of our Higher Power and the strength that comes from working the Twelve Steps.

Protect me, Lord.

I have a disease that tells me that I am just F.I.N.E. and this time it will be different. This won't hurt you. It is not your drug of choice, so it is okay to use food to fill the void left my your other addiction.

Lord protect me from myself. Give me the knowingness and clarity I need to know the difference between my God and the voice of addiction. Just because I love it doesn't mean it is good for me.

[MajestyJo]

Monday, June 9, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Greedy Thinking, Greedy Eating

Contentment comes from being satisfied with what we have. Since "bread" is a symbol for material things, it is easy to use food as a substitute for the money and possessions we may avidly desire. Overeating can be a form of compensation for the enticing worldly wealth, which seems so attractive, yet is out of our grasp.

When we desire abstinence more than we desire material things, we are able to maintain it. When we allow material cares and concerns to obscure our spiritual goals, then our abstinence is in danger! Each of us is confronted with the choice of striving to satisfy physical cravings or working toward spiritual ideals. We cannot serve two masters.

We may have thought that we could get rid of our greed for food and continue to indulge our greed for other material things. Our Higher Power does not work that way. He demands nothing less than complete allegiance.

May I serve You without reservations.

When I get needy, I get greedy. My drug of choice is more, no matter what the substance is. My God meets my needs. If I am needy, then that means that I need a little talk with my God.

[MajestyJo]

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Procrastination

This is a particularly dangerous habit for compulsive overeaters, since when we put off unpleasant or difficult tasks, we may revert back to our old escape route - eating. The result is that the unpleasant situation is still with us, and we are less able to deal with it. The longer we procrastinate, the larger the difficulty looms. Even small responsibilities left undone weaken our self-respect.

Often we procrastinate because of fear that we are inadequate for the job to be done. Sometimes we are simply rebelling against doing something we do not want to do. If we are taking a daily inventory, we will examine our motives and use the subsequent self-knowledge for constructive action.

Whatever it is that we are putting off, it will rarely become easier to do later. This is especially true if we are procrastinating about our abstinence! The time is now.

Since today is all I have, may I use it wisely.

Procrastination is part of our disease. When I say to myself or others, "I have lots of time," or "It's not going any where, it will be there tomorrow," I can wait until later, I want...," I am in my denial.

When I procrastinate, I miss out on today. When I put it off until tomorrow, it doesn't happen. Tomorrow never comes, it is always today.

[MajestyJo]

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Our Security Blanket

Turning to food when we are afraid is a tendency shared by many of us. Since being fed reassured us as infants and children, we compulsive overeaters reach for something to eat when we are anxious or apprehensive. When the anxiety does not disappear, we eat more.

The desire for security is basic to all of us. Unfortunately, we often look for it in the wrong places. A fortress of fat is not much protection against the hurts and dangers to which we are all vulnerable as human beings. Overeating does not keep us safe from real or imagined threats.

We need to accept the fact that there is no such thing as absolute security. All of us are mortal and subject to hazards and destruction. Paradoxically, our security consists in relinquishing our lives to the care of our Higher Power. When we feel safely centered in Him, we have the courage to take risks and give up our worn-out security blankets.

I trust You to care for me, Lord.

My security blanket in today, is knowing that my God is near and all I have to do is turn to Him/Her. My God reveals Himself to me each day. I can see Him doing for me, what I couldn't do for myself.

[MajestyJo]

Thursday, June 12, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

More Than Bread

Without a Higher Power, we grasp at material things for security and inspiration. Since they do not give us the ultimate satisfaction we seek, we are left in despair. We need more than bread, but we do not know how to go about getting it.

OA leads us back to the spiritual basis of our lives, which we may have lost. All we have to do is be willing to believe in a Power greater than ourselves. When we see what has happened to others who have suffered from the same hunger that plagues us and who have found meaning and fulfillment, we let go of some of our doubt and cynicism.

Lack of faith is perhaps our greatest impediment to spiritual progress. We have been thing-oriented for so long that it is difficult to change. We can agree, however, that the food we overate was not enough to satisfy us. That there is a spiritual source of nourishment, which will be adequate for our needs, is a conviction, which grows stronger the longer we work the OA program.

I pray for the spiritual food which satisfies.

The thought that came to mind was "Man can't live on bread alone."


Man does not live by bread alone

Meaning

Physical nourishment is not sufficient for a healthy life; man also has spiritual needs.

Origin

From the Bible, Deuteronomy 8: 2-3 (King James Version):

And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.

also in Matthew 4:4:

But he answered and said, it is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

and Luke 4:4:

And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

[MajestyJo]

Friday, June 13, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Research

In OA meetings, we sometimes hear reports of "research" done by a member who breaks abstinence in order to find out whether he or she is still a compulsive overeater. The experiment invariably proves that once a compulsive overeater, always a compulsive overeater. Among the results are remorse, regained weight, and weakened control.

It has been said that we are like someone who has lost a leg. We do not grow a new one. We can, nevertheless, learn to live with our disability if we are willing to abstain and follow the OA program. Most of us find that we cannot go back to eating binge foods moderately, but we can avoid them. We are like the alcoholic who can lead a normal, satisfying life as long as he or she stays away from alcohol.

Further research is not necessary. By accepting our need for a disciplined eating plan, we can benefit from the experience of those who have been in the program longer than we.

May I remember that further research is unnecessary.

[MajestyJo]

Saturday, June 14, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Positive Addiction

Since we seem to have addictive types of personalities, we can make this characteristic work for us, rather than against us. We can develop life-enhancing habits - positive addictions.

The OA program is an example of positive addiction. We become habituated to writing down a food plan, attending meetings, making phone calls, and working the program. We replace the negative addiction to compulsive overeating with a positive commitment to abstinence.

Other activities, which we perform regularly take on the character of positive habits. Exercise is a healthy routine. Hobbies and creative self-expression can be habitual parts of our daily schedule. Whenever we choose a life-enhancing activity and perform it regularly until it becomes an ingrained habit, we are using our addictive tendency to build ourselves up rather than tear ourselves down.

Thank You, Lord, for positive addictions.

They can be healthy, and yet they too can become an unhealthy addiction, if there isn't any balance. I had to turn my thinking about my computer and bridge over to my Higher Power. When the hobbies and interests take up all your thinking, and you become obsessive compulsive, you are acting out in your disease.

The same thing with food, when I find something that is healthy to eat, if it takes over my thinking and is followed by action, like instead of having once or twice a day, it becomes to be more. Whenever my mind starts thinking more, I know I am in my disease and I need to turn things over to my Higher Power.

[MajestyJo]

Sunday, June 15, 2014


You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Our Barometer

When we find ourselves preoccupied with thoughts of food, we know that something is wrong. Our obsession acts as a barometer, which measures emotional pressure. If we are out of tune with our Higher Power, if doubt, resentment, and egotism are taking over, then our disease symptoms begin to surface. It is time to stop and take inventory.

The experiences, which other compulsive overeaters share with us, give insight into our own behavior. We gain a sharper awareness of our own defects and are less prone to blame external circumstances for our hurts and difficulties.

If we are becoming obsessed with food again, or if we are rationalizing deviations from our eating plan, we need to carefully examine our emotional and spiritual life. Something is out of gear. Concentration on Steps Ten and Eleven is especially important when compulsive thoughts and behavior indicate that all is not well.

Make me sensitive to the state of my emotional and spiritual health, I pray.

When my systems says "Yeah!" instead of "Nay!" I know that I am acting out in my disease says `Yes`this won`t hurt you, my program say `Nay`to what is harmful to my health and well being.

I know I should say `Nay`to brownies, but when I eat them any way, I am acting out in my disease. My God and I are working on this, along with thoughts of an Aero chocolate bar.

[MajestyJo]

Monday, June 16, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Satisfaction Comes from Inside

Why do we continually expect to be satisfied by taking in and possessing things from the outside? Amassing material goods and possessions more often than not stimulates rather than satisfies our appetite. What we do and contribute satisfies us more than what we have and consume.

When we are at peace within ourselves and in contact with our Higher Power, we make fewer demands on the outside world. When we are able to use our abilities in productive work and can give of our emotional and spiritual strength to other people, we feel replete.

Nothing from the outside can bring us happiness if we are at war with ourselves. Chronic dissatisfaction indicates that we have not turned our will and our lives over to God's care, but are still trying to run the show egotistically. Complete surrender opens the way to satisfaction.

I want to surrender to the inner needs of my spirit.

So true, love the quote at the bottom. That empty feeling, that big void isn't always about what we eat and drink.

[MajestyJo]

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Conflicts

To be alive is to have conflicts. We find ourselves in disagreement with other people and in conflict with ourselves. Often, the things we want seem mutually exclusive, such as more money and more free time, more food and fewer pounds.

Our Higher Power does not promise us freedom from conflict, at any rate, not in this life. Like all growing organisms, we struggle with opposing forces. Frequently, our overeating is an attempt to escape the conflicts, which we should be facing. Sometimes we need to be more self-assertive with those around us instead of futilely trying to suppress justifiable indignation with food. There are times when we need to fight for our legitimate requirements.

We cannot always resolve our internal conflicts without a long and difficult battle. Time and maturity are often necessary before a problem is seen in its proper perspective. Some problems we may expect to wrestle with as long as we live. Having faith in the light, even when we cannot see it, makes our darkness bearable.

Lighten our darkness, Lord.

As my sponsor told me many years ago,"You didn't get this way over night, you can't expect to heal overnight.

The biggest thing I had to learn, was to bring that conflict out of the darkness into the light and allow the healing to take place. It isn't going to change and get better, if we internalize and keep it there. It needs to be acknowledged, the feelings felt, in order to be able to let go of the conflict and not feed into it.

[MajestyJo]

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Homesickness

There are certain foods, which we will always associate with home and which make us nostalgic to recapture the past. No matter how much we eat, we cannot go back home and again be the babies and little children we were. No food will satisfy our longing for the love, care, and safety most of us associate with home. Even (and especially) if our dependency needs were not met when we were young, eating unnecessary food now will not help.

As we grow in relationship with our Higher Power, we begin to believe that home lies ahead, rather than behind us. We begin to see that our homesickness is for a spiritual state instead of a physical place. Wherever we are, we are pilgrims and travelers, not sure of our final destination but drawn toward something more than what we know in this world. We sense that though we are in the world, we are not of it, that we are homesick for a spiritual fulfillment.

May our homesickness bring us closer to You.

Never thought of it as homesickness. My mother was an awesome cook. One night my mom put spaghetti and meat balls in front of my dad for dinner. My father replied, `What kind of an excuse for a meal is this?` Everything was made from scratch. We had our own cattle, chicken, ducks, pigs, and a hug vegetable garden. We picked wild berries and had our own raspberry and strawberry patches.

Never though of the food being a body memory.

[MajestyJo]

Thursday, June 19, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Taking Inventory

Blaming circumstances and other people for our difficulties, including compulsive overeating, is counterproductive. We cannot control external circumstances or other people, but we can work on changing ourselves. In order to change, we first need to be aware of the attitudes and characteristics, which get us into trouble. If we overeat or have a tantrum when we do not get our own way, then we need to learn how to function without demanding that everything should go according to our personal schedule and preference.

We take inventory in Step Four and we continue to take it in Step Ten. It is a valuable tool for our growth. The amazing result is that as we recognize and begin to correct personal defects, our relationships with others improve tremendously. With a positive change in our attitude and behavior, there is a corresponding change in the way other people respond to us.

Taking inventory involves recognizing our good qualities as well as our weaknesses. In OA, we measure our wealth not by what we have but by what we have given.

Teach me to give.

Until I could do an honest Step 4, I was told to work Step 10. Remember recovery starts with me. No one else can do it for me. I am the one who needs to be honest, open, and willing.

[MajestyJo]

Friday, June 20, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Head Hunger

Those of us who overeat are responding to distorted signals. When we consume food that harms rather than helps our bodies, we are eating in response to some irrational demand in our head rather than because of legitimate physical hunger. The mental obsession with food is an illusion, but one to which we cling with great tenacity.

When we feel "hungry," we need to stop and evaluate the signal. Is it coming from our stomach or from our head? Often, it is after a meal that we most strongly crave something more to eat. This is either because we ate so fast that our stomach has not had time to register satisfaction or because eating has awakened a giant, insatiable appetite for more. It is frequently our mind that wants more, even after our body has had quite enough.

Emotions such as fear, anger, and anxiety can trigger "head hunger." We need perception and insight to know whether the hunger comes from our body or our mind.

May I learn to respond to the legitimate needs of my body.

Hunger can be a void. Something that needs to be filled with spiritual food.

[MajestyJo]

Saturday, June 21, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Discipline

If we think of discipline in terms of punishment, we miss the more constructive meanings of the word. Discipline is order, training, practice, and study. Without it, our lives are ineffective and full of chaos. Before we came to OA, our eating patterns were probably chaotic. We may have been short of order in other areas, too.

Discipline is a tool, which produces self-respect and a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction. When we discipline ourselves to eat three measured meals a day, we achieve physical and emotional results, which make our spirits, sing! The discipline of the OA program liberates us from the tyranny of self-will and self-indulgence.

As we develop trust in our Higher Power, we begin to see that the hardships and difficulties we face are means to spiritual development. Through them, we acquire self-discipline and strength. Our lives become ordered according to God's plan.

Make me willing, Lord, to accept the discipline of an ordered life.

This is something that I don't do well. I believe I need to go with the flow. When it doesn't flow, they I need the discipline to sit down, take an inventory and see what I did wrong or what I didn't do.

Perhaps if I had the discipline first, I wouldn't have walls, barriers, and structures built that dam the flow of the spirit.

Have to give this some pause for thought.

[MajestyJo]

Sunday, June 22, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

God Is a Verb

We cannot contain our Higher Power at a fixed point or in a closed system. However we may understand God, our understanding is always limited. The Power that rescues us from compulsive overeating is an active force, which constantly beckons us to move on. What we were to do yesterday is past; a new day brings new challenges and opportunities.

Our compulsion had us trapped in a pattern of self-destructive repetition. We did the same dumb thing over and over again. When we turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understand Him, we are linking up with the source of newness and creativity. God moves, and if we are linked with Him, we also move. His spirit changes us, and what we thought and did yesterday is not adequate to the demands of today.

Trusting our Higher Power means acting according to His promptings. We follow Him as He leads us into new tasks and activities and ideas. We learn from experience that He is always more than adequate for our needs.

May I follow where You lead.

Ironically, I posted this same reading yesterday. I saw it and it spoke to me and didn`t look at the date. This is a reinsurance that it was something I needed to read and give it some thought for my own recovery.

[MajestyJo]

Monday, June 23, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

The Everlasting Arms

God moves, and yet He is always here. "Underneath are the everlasting arms." Our former support systems failed us or proved inadequate. We overate because we had no firm ground of support to rely on.

Now we see that since our lives belong to a Higher Power, there is nothing temporal which can remove us from His care and protection. Whatever happens, the everlasting arms are there to uphold us. Knowing that, we no longer need to overeat. We are able to endure whatever comes, whether it is physical hunger, emotional anguish, or spiritual depression.

To experience God's support, all we need to do is admit that we are powerless to sustain ourselves by our own efforts. What a relief not to have to depend on our own ego! If, when we are perplexed and upset, we will stop struggling and take time to be quiet, we will feel the inner peace and support which comes from our Higher Power. The everlasting arms are always here, underneath us.

I need You, Lord.

We don't have to do this program alone. We are not alone. There are others out there who have gone through what we have gone through. One addict sharing with an other, leads to recovery.

Our God of our own understanding is there when we put our day into His Care.

[MajestyJo]

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

A Program for Living

The OA program does much more than promote our recovery from compulsive overeating, essential as that is. It gives us a structure for our daily lives. Before OA, we chased illusions and despaired when they let us down. Now we have a concrete plan of action for living richer, fuller lives.

We have found like-minded friends who help and encourage us. Instead of isolating ourselves and consuming, we are experiencing the fellowship of sharing. We find that the more we contribute to OA, the more we get out of it.

Practicing the Twelve Steps involves every aspect of our lives. We cannot be honest in our efforts to work this program without being honest in all our affairs. What we learn about ourselves through OA can be applied to our other activities as well. We were eating compulsively because we did not know how to cope with the rest of life. As we become better equipped for living through the guidance of our Higher Power, we recover from our disease.

Bless our program, we pray.

Love the words "A Program for Living." When I was using, I was existing, from one bite to the next, one drink to the next, one pill to the next, and when I wasn`t using, it was on my mind and took up my whole being and my thought of my substance of choice took over my mind, body, and spirit. I stuffed and didn`t allow myself to feel.

They say work the Steps and that is true. What I had to do was take the words off the pages of the literature and apply them to my life.

[MajestyJo]

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Accepting Change

One day my mother and I were working together in the garden. We were transplanting some plant for the third time. Grown from seed in a small container, the plants had been transferred to a larger container; then transplanted into the garden. Now, because I was moving, we were transplanting them again.

Inexperienced as a gardener, I turned to my green-thumbed mother. "Isn't this bad for them?" I asked, as we dug them up and shook the dirt from their roots. "Won't it hurt these plants, being uprooted and transplanted so many times?"

"Oh, no," my mother replied. "Transplanting doesn't hurt them. In fact, it's good for the ones that survive. That's how their roots grow strong. Their roots will grow deep, and they'll make strong plants."

Often, I've felt like those small plants - uprooted and turned upside down. Sometimes, I've endured the change willingly, sometimes reluctantly, but usually my reaction has been a combination.

Won't this be hard on me? I ask. Wouldn't it be better if things remained the same? That's when I remember my mother's words - that's how the roots grow deep and strong.

Today, God, help me remember that during times of transition, my faith and my self are being strengthened.

A good reading, which bring to mind, that if I seem to be in a strange place or things don't feel just right, we could be going through transition which leads to change and growth.

Accepting change is the key to recovery. Just not my eating, but my life as a whole. I found that often, I was the last one to notice.

[MajestyJo]

Thursday, June 26, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Abstaining Is Not Easy

Abstaining is not easy, but it is much easier than overeating! The reason that we think it easy to overeat is because overeating was a habit. In actuality, processing the extra food was hard on us physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

When we abstain, we break an old habit and learn a new one. The transition requires concentration and dedication. We abstain every minute of the day and night. Even when we are eating, we are abstaining, because we are eating only planned, moderate meals. We are not overeating compulsively, according to whim and irrational pressure.

Some of us apparently have to go through a certain amount of "white knuckled abstinence" before we arrive at the point where abstaining is easier than not abstaining. Others of us are able from the beginning to relax and abstain comfortably. Whatever our individual experience, we each have available to us the Higher Power that sees us through.

May I stay with You when the way is hard.

It isn't easy, but it is simple. Don't pick up no matter what.

When I surrender my thoughts and actions over to my Higher Power, they are made easier.

[MajestyJo]

Friday, June 27, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

You Can Do It

If you really want what OA has to offer; there is nothing that can stop you from succeeding with the program. The program works if we work it. OA does not pass out recovery on a platter, but the tools for recovery are available and proven effective if we are willing to use them.

Go to a meeting today. Re-read your literature. Call another member. Call several members. Get a sponsor, if you do not already have one. Write out what is troubling you. Find a way to be of service to someone else. Abstain now.

Most important, take time to listen to your Higher Power. Ask for the spiritual insight, which you need. Remember that you are now committed to following God's will for your life, not your own way. Seek the inspiration that comes from the people and the books, which lift up your spirit and show you the way. Then follow.

Lead me, Lord.

Loved the title, "We can do it." Through the God of out own understanding, all things are possible. He doesn't do it for us. He leads, guides and directs us. We have to be willing to be willing to quit using.

[MajestyJo]

Saturday, June 28, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Spiritual Awakening

Many of us remember back to a vague time in childhood when our world seemed right and we were full of enthusiasm. Somehow, somewhere along the way, we lost that feeling of rightness and security.

For some of us who experience a spiritual awakening through the OA program, childhood faith is rediscovered and takes on new meaning. We may have lost sight of our real selves and abandoned our original faith in a Higher Power. When we have a spiritual awakening as a result of the Twelve Steps, everything falls into place, and what was lost is recovered, plus much more.

This spiritual awakening continues as we continue to work the program. It gives new meaning to our present lives and new hope for the future. We see that spiritual growth is "where it's at" and that nothing else will satisfy our needs and our longing.

May I continue to awaken.

One of the benefits of recovery, we grow in awareness and experience, one day at a time.

[MajestyJo]

Sunday, June 29, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

The Joy of Abstaining


For someone who has suffered the physical, emotional, and spiritual anguish of compulsive overeating, abstaining is not a restriction but a release. We are released from indigestion, lethargy, fat, and the torment of never-satisfied craving.

If we dwell on the negative aspects of abstaining, such as the foods we are not eating, we will be unhappy. If we continue to concentrate on food, rather than on life and the spirit, we will find it difficult to abstain. The OA program gives us a new set of priorities and opens the door to new life if we are willing to leave our preoccupation with food outside and walk in.

It is good to feel full of energy rather than full of food. It is satisfying to discover new ways to give. There is deep joy in day-by-day spiritual growth. All of these joys become ours through abstaining.

We give thanks for the joy of abstaining.

If I abstain, I don't have to have hang overs or go through detox.

Chocolate hangovers are the worst.

[Lady1021]

Since I tend to choose dark chocolate over any other kind I tend to not have chocolate hangovers. I do however have dairy hangovers. They are the worst for me. They take over my mornings and I sometimes miss my beloved (7 am) meetings. The ones I go to in place of my homegroup don't measure up at all. I'm so glad you have this thread. Overeating is something I have been doing since long before I even started drinking. It is also something I have struggled to admit to or talk about far more than my alcoholism. For the first time in my life I have hope that I can someday recover from it. I even feel that I have the willingness to do so.

[MajestyJo]

Monday, June 30, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Praise God!

We did not create this program on our own, and we did not achieve abstinence by ourselves. Our recovery is a gift, just as life is a gift. Light, the natural world, our nourishment, talents, love, and fellowship - all come from our Higher Power. Our role is to receive, use wisely, share, and enjoy the blessings God has showered upon us.

When we get over the idea that we can do everything by ourselves, we become receptive to the moving force that creates and sustains us. As we stop looking at life from our own egotistical point of view, we begin to see God's glory. No longer a slave to our appetites and desires for material things, we are able to rejoice in our Higher Power and to share our joy with those around us.

Our recovery from compulsive overeating makes us examples of God's power to heal and renew. For all of His miracles, we praise Him.

In You, there is great joy.

My immediate thought was Praise God, pass the ammunition. He is the ammunition, He is my Armour, He is my Power and Strength.

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