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MajestyJo
09-01-2014, 01:29 AM
Monday, September 1, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

We practice the OA principles in all our affairs, twenty-four hours a day. Ours is not a diet program but a way of life. When we were eating compulsively, food occupied the central place in our lives every day. Abstinence replaces food as our prime concern, and maintaining abstinence means working the program.

When we do this, we are amazed at how well the day goes. Our work is easier and more productive. We spend less time and energy hassling with ourselves and other people. Best of all, we do not always have to be right. Being able to admit mistakes delivers us from egocentricity.

Being straight with ourselves enables us to be straight with others, and they in turn respond more positively. We are less concerned that everyone likes us and more concerned about growth in the program. By placing principles before personalities, we get less snarled up in confused, game playing relationships.

May You be foremost in my mind, twenty-four hours a day.

For this 24 hours, I choose not to use food as a way of life.

MajestyJo
09-02-2014, 02:06 AM
Tuesday, September 2, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Stop Overeating, Start Living

Physical abstinence is just the beginning of the new life OA offers to us. When our Higher Power controls our life, we become free of the mental obsession with food. Then we are able to get down to the business of living, which we avoided with our illness.

Rather than reaching out with both hands to grab and hold on to all we can get, we begin to think in terms of giving and serving. We may start by sharing what OA has done for us with newcomers to the program. It is the newcomer who is our reminder of who we were and where we came from.

We find that though we can never eat spontaneously, we can live much more spontaneously than before. Because we feel less guilt and fear, we can experience the joy of acting from the center of our being. Knowing that our Higher Power is in control, we have trust and faith that the results of our actions will be okay. Each day becomes less of a trial and more of an opportunity.

Today, may I experience the spontaneity that comes with Your control.

Like the title. My mom died at the age of 40 due to her over eating. She used food to deal with her feelings and was told to lose weight. The doctor said, "If you end up in the hospital again, I can't guarantee you will leave, and she didn't." As they say, "You can't scare an addict." For me to gain weight was to die. I had a big struggle to lose my pregnancy weight when my husband went off to another woman, it didn't help that she was fatter than my normal weight. I later got to 192 lbs, and knew that if I kept gaining, I would die and came to a decision. I lost 30 lbs. and it has been up and down from there, but that has been livable. My sponsor had an eating disorder and for her, to lose weight was to die. Like they say, it is the thinking behind the substance.

MajestyJo
09-03-2014, 01:39 AM
Wednesday, September 3, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Friends and Enemies

Sometimes our friends or members of our family urge us to eat food that is not part of our plan. If we allow ourselves to be manipulated into eating something to please someone else, we are in danger of losing the most important thing in our life - abstinence. Anyone who tries to make us feel uncomfortable because of our illness is acting as an enemy, rather than a friend.

To some people close to us, an explanation of our food plan may be helpful. Repeated discussions, however, are usually unnecessary and unproductive. We alone are responsible for what we put into our mouths. If those around us cannot or will not understand, then that is their problem, not ours.

When confronted with food, which we know is harmful to us, the simplest response is a firm "No, thank you." When we ourselves are determined to maintain abstinence, no one else, whether friend or enemy, can prevent us from following our plan.

Protect me, Lord, from my friends and enemies.

When I saw the title, before I read the reading, I thought, "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer." An old saying, but one I found out to be true.

One thing I did learn on my journey was that I could be my own worst enemy.

MajestyJo
09-04-2014, 10:32 AM
Thursday, September 4, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Too Thin?

After losing weight, we may find ourselves being told that we are getting too thin. Often, the people who tell us this are not particularly thin themselves. Their comments are ostensibly made out of concern for our health, but it is more likely that they arise out of envy. Another reason could be their own personal fear of losing weight. Then, too, a thin person will sometimes feel threatened when we, who were formerly fat, come down to normal weight.

Whatever the reason, it is not the responsibility of anyone else to tell us how much we should or should not weigh. We alone are responsible for our own body.

When we turn our will and our life over to the care of our Higher Power, our body is included. The God who creates us will show us how He intends our body to look. We do not need to be concerned or swayed by the remarks of those who may not have our best interests at heart.

I trust You to take care of my body.

Made me sad when my service sponsor said to me, "I am fat." She was referring to the swelling from her surgery." She use to be a model. It is not a good thing when all we see when we look at ourselves is 'fat' or we look at choose to ignore it, if it has gone beyond healthy.

MajestyJo
09-05-2014, 02:29 AM
Friday, September 5, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Sponsors

Most of us never outgrow our need for a sponsor. Someone who has had similar experiences can give us the understanding, which we require in order to continue to grow in the program. A sponsor who maintains current, clean abstinence and who seriously works the program is someone who inspires us to follow. We could not control our disease by ourselves. As we recover, we continue to need help.

With a food sponsor, we can discuss our particular menus and problems. When we make a mistake, we need to share it with another person in order to profit from it and put it behind us. A program sponsor gives us encouragement and insight as we work the steps. When we are maintaining our desired weight, a maintenance sponsor helps us make any necessary adjustments. Sponsorship is one of the most important OA tools, and we are foolish if we do not take advantage of it. Alone, we are powerless over food.

Thank You for sponsors.

Heard a young tennis player say tonight he was managing himself at the moment. To sponsor myself, is total chaos, the thought of me taking my own advise and having no one around to disagree with me and no one to bounce things off of or show an alternative outlook on things, gosh only knows where I would have ended up. In a ditch somewhere for sure.

As I was told and found out, me alone with me is bad company. Thank God for the sponsor(s) in my life. I have had three pass away.

I was fortunate that my first AA sponsor had been to OA and to Emotions Anonymous.

MajestyJo
09-06-2014, 02:42 AM
Saturday, September 6, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

The Pause that Refreshes

For strength, we are learning to lean on our Higher Power instead of food. We have undoubtedly taken many "breaks" which involved ingesting one or another addictive substance. Instead of making us stronger, those substances eventually made us weaker. Thanks to OA, we are finding a dependable source of refreshment.

Starting the day with a few minutes of contact with God enables us to draw from His strength that which we need. Throughout the day, when we become weary or perplexed or pressured, we can pause to renew that contact. It is a constant source of Power whenever we open ourselves to it.

Allowing ourselves to become too busy is asking for trouble. We can concentrate actively for only so long without a period of rest and relaxation. Frequent time out each day to consult with our Higher Power makes our work more effective and our leisure more creative.

I seek Your presence, Lord.

Love the title. The world today is so caught up in busy. The old tape say "The Devil makes work for idle hands." I heard a woman with over 20 years say she did't have time for meditation so she was glad of a new meditation meeting that started. I was shocked. I wouldn't have stayed sober without meditation.

MajestyJo
09-07-2014, 01:41 AM
Sunday, September 7, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

I Am a Compulsive Overeater

The one fact, which I need to remember constantly, is that I am a compulsive overeater. If I forget it, I will eventually break my abstinence. There is no way that I can eat "normally," like most other people. I either eat according to my OA plan or I eat very abnormally, according to my compulsion.

Because I am a compulsive overeater, I do not take tastes of this or that, and I do not have snacks. I have found from sad experience that this kind of uncontrolled eating is impossible for me to handle. I know that I need to plan every day the three measured meals, which I will eat.

Because of the new life that OA has given to me, I am grateful for my disease. Without it, I would not have found the measure of peace and serenity, which comes to me every day as I work the program.

May I remember I am a compulsive overeater.

May I always remember, that my mind needs to rethink the phrase, "Some is good, more is better." I need to cut down on the size of the plate and take smaller portions.

MajestyJo
09-08-2014, 03:48 AM
Monday, September 8, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Amends to Ourselves

By our compulsive overeating, we ourselves have usually been hurt more than anyone else. Because we could not trust ourselves, we had little self-respect or self-confidence. In many cases, we actually hated ourselves for what we thought was weakness and now know to be a disease.

By ourselves, we cannot control the illness, but through OA and our Higher Power, we are able to recover. With recovery comes a new attitude toward self. We see that we find happiness by abstaining from compulsive overeating and seeking every day to do God's will. New power and order enter into our daily activities, and we begin to approve of ourselves.

The best way that we can make amends to ourselves for self-hate and failure to develop our abilities is by maintaining our abstinence each day. We then gain the confidence to say no to those things which are not in our best interest. Instead of destroying ourselves with too much food and the wrong kind of activities, we are building a new life fed with the nourishment from our Higher Power.

Thank You for new opportunities to grow.

I was told to put myself on top of my amends list. I also heard someone share that we make amends to ourself the moment we walk through the doors of recovery.

MajestyJo
09-09-2014, 09:17 AM
Tuesday, September 9, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Amends to Others

The people most affected by our disease were undoubtedly the members of our own family. Then came our closest friends, if we had any when we were overeating. These people were directly affected by our negative moods and by our withdrawal away from them into overeating. They also may have been affected by not getting food which should have been theirs, but which we had eaten. Some of us stole money to buy food that we did not need but had to have. Some of us stole food.

Making amends is sometimes embarrassing and often difficult. It involves much pride swallowing. A simple, sincere apology may be all that is necessary. There may be concrete acts, which we can perform. As with making amends to ourselves, the best way we can make up for the hurt we have caused to family and friends is by abstaining from compulsive overeating. As we abstain, we reach out to those around us instead of withdrawing. Our own sanity is the best gift we can give to others.

May I have the courage to make amends.

For me, the key was willingness. As long as I was willing, the courage, the doors, and the right words were there when I needed them.

MajestyJo
09-10-2014, 02:31 AM
Wednesday, September 10, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Listening

As we learn to listen to our Higher Power, we also learn to listen with more awareness to others and ourselves. Being willing to spend time alone, in quiet, is essential to listening. We often fear silence and being alone, and we escape into distractions and busy work.

Prayer is not so much telling and asking as it is listening. Prayer in this sense may be practiced continually during the day. By taking Step Three, we are giving up our will and becoming receptive to the will of our Higher Power. We focus less on our egotistical concerns and more on God, as we understand Him. That understanding grows through listening.

By listening, we become aware of needs, feelings, and responses within ourselves, which we had previously ignored. Knowing ourselves better, we are more direct and honest with others and more responsive to them. The communication which develops with our Higher Power is on a level deep enough to relate us more meaningfully to everyone around us.

I will listen today to Your voice.

Listening and learning to listen is important. We shut down and shut off people for years. Not only others, but our God if we acknowledged as coming from God or blamed it on the Devil or ourselves, it didn't matter the source, we just used to shut down and numb out, and we had to practice listening, and acknowledge that inner voice, and find the willingness to not only acknowledge it but act on it.

MajestyJo
09-11-2014, 05:43 AM
Thursday, September 11, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Praying Only...

In Step Eleven, we are "praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out." How that simplifies our prayer! We do not have to worry about asking for the right things in the right way. We simply pray that we may know God's will and be given the power to do it.

This Step is closely related to Step Three, since we are leaving the decisions up to God. He knows better than we what is best for us to have and to do. We make ourselves available to His direction without attaching conditions and clauses about what we will and will not do.

This kind of prayer frees us from much worry and anxiety. We accept abstinence as God's will for us, since without abstinence we are powerless to do much of anything. Beyond that, we are prepared to live each day as our Higher Power gives it to us, trusting that He will show us His will and supply us with the power that we need.

This is my prayer, Lord.

Praying for His Will, can't go far wrong with that. So miss the material from my sites from early recovery sent to me by friends in recovery. I needed a safe place to put all the material sent to me in e-mails. I am so grateful that some of it is posted on other sites.


Reflection for the Day

It's time for me to realize that my attitude -- toward the life I'm living and the people in it -- can have a tangible, measurable and profound effect on what happens to me day by day. If I expect good, then good will surely come to me. And if I try each day to base my attitude and point of view on a sound spiritual foundation, I know it will change all the circumstances of my life for the better, too. Do I accept the fact that I have been given only a daily reprieve that is contingent on the maintenance of my spiritual condition?

Today I Pray

Since my illness was spiritual -- as well as physical and emotional -- may I mend spiritually through daily communion with God. May I find a corner of quiet within me where I can spend a few moments with Him. May He make His will known to me. May I worship Him from that inner temple that is in myself.

Today I Will Remember

To spend a quiet moment with God

You are reading from the book:

A Day at a Time by Anonymous

THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

This reminds me of how the God of my understanding makes Himself known to me on a daily basis. I like the God/Dog syndrome as I call it. God is a reflection of my Higher Self. What people see in me, is the message I carry to the world.

The Big Book says we need to go through a psychic change to bring about an attiitude adjustment which will allow us to go on living in a new way, with new perception and a willingness to grow, change and become the kind of person; an individual, complete and whole within one's Self, who my God would have me be in today.

Hope that makes sense. I have the feeling, but sometimes the messages haven't been getting to my fingers lately. I was just sharing with my sponsor that my head seems to be sitting on my shoulders, but I am not sure it is connected.

Posted in 2004

MajestyJo
09-12-2014, 10:07 PM
Friday, September 12, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Carrying the Message

We do not keep our program unless we give it away. Our participation in meetings is a means of sharing with others what OA has given us. We are genuinely interested in newcomers, because they remind us of where we came from and because they give us an opportunity to strengthen our own program by sharing what we have received.

Sometimes we carry the message by providing transportation for someone who otherwise would not get to a meeting. Sometimes we give of ourselves by simply listening when a newcomer needs to talk. Practicing the OA principles in all areas of our life is carrying the message, even to those who are not compulsive overeaters.

Abstinence and the OA program now occupy the central place in our lives, the place which was once held by food. Following the will of our Higher Power means that we carry the message as He directs us. We are willing to be used in whatever way God moves us to give away our program.

May I serve You by carrying the message.

The first line is one of my favourite. As my friend and I shared tonight, what is good for one person, may not be good for another, each must come to their own understanding. Each person will get the same out of their understanding and the other person get's out of theirs.

Don't use, don't abuse, go to the God of your understanding, and He/She will direct your path.

MajestyJo
09-13-2014, 01:24 AM
Saturday, September 13, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Hungering

Deep within us is a hunger, which is not satisfied by food. We hunger for love and fellowship with each other and we hunger for communion with our Higher Power. We were not made to be alone and isolated. Withdrawing into compulsive overeating makes the deep hunger even worse.

As long as we are alive, we will never be fully satisfied. There will always be more love to give and receive and more steps to take on our spiritual journey. In this sense, we will always be hungry. Spiritual hunger is a good thing, as long as we recognize it for what it is and do not try to appease it with material substitutes.

Our Higher Power has created us with a hunger, which He alone can satisfy. As our progress through the Twelve Steps brings us closer to Him and closer to each other, we experience a fulfillment, which we had not known before. We are learning to hunger for spirituality.

Bless our hunger, we pray.

This pretty much speaks for itself. The only thing we need to remember is that the hunger can be mental, emotional, and spiritual, not just physical.

MajestyJo
09-14-2014, 04:19 AM
Sunday, September 14, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Emptiness

When we were overeating, we felt empty inside no matter how much we ate. Now that we are abstaining, we may still experience periods of feeling empty. This emptiness is especially likely to occur after an occasion to which we have looked forward with much anticipation.

Perhaps we expect too much from a person or an event and feel let down when reality falls short of our anticipation. Perhaps we find ourselves with a group of people whose conversation is superficial and relationships are phony. Putting on a mask and keeping it in place for any length of time leaves us feeling drained and empty.

Without honest, meaningful contact with other people, we are emotionally undernourished. In order to have the mutually nurturing relationships we need, our false fronts have to be abandoned. Through this program, we learn to seek out the kinds of people and activities that fill us and to avoid those that leave us empty

Fill my emptiness, Lord.

This is an affirmation of something that I have been a long time believer in. So much of our anger is emotional and spiritual, and we forget to give ourselves the things we need, and just keep filling our faces, instead of feeding our heart and soul.

Like the slogan H.A.L.T. HUNGRY, ANGRY, LONELY, AND TIRED, an alert that something is missing from our body, mind, and spirit.

MajestyJo
09-15-2014, 01:47 AM
Monday, September 15, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Peace

Our mental obsession with food gave us little peace. The refined sugars and carbohydrates, which we craved, left us jangled and over stimulated. Our guilt and self-hate kept us in a state of fear and turmoil. We raced about frantically in our minds trying to think of a way out of our misery.

Abstaining from refined sugar and carbohydrates gives us physical peace. Our body is no longer in an uproar; it is functioning calmly and efficiently. The Twelve Steps of recovery free us from the mental obsession with food and bring about emotional and spiritual peace. The more control we relinquish to our Higher Power, the more peace He gives us.

The peace, which comes through working our program, is not stagnant - it is rich and creative. It is the peace, which results from an ordered life and confidence in God. Instead of going in circles, both physically and mentally, we move in measured progress along the path, which our Higher Power shows us step by step each day.

Thank You for peace.

It is nice to find peace after living a life where you have been bouncing off the wall and searching for that emotional high, only to find that when you got there, you couldn't stop there, you had to have more. And that more, stopped being fun but we couldn't stop. There was no mental, emotional, spiritual or physical rest. There was always hope after the next bite, or we would eat and purge, only to start again in a big round vicious circle.

MajestyJo
09-16-2014, 05:32 AM
Tuesday, September 16, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought
Understanding

The understanding, which we gain through the OA program, is a source of constant amazement and gratitude. First, we begin to understand our illness. Then, we grow in understanding of others and ourselves. Finally, our eyes are opened more and more to the spiritual aspects of our existence.

Hearing someone else's story gives us insight into our own behavior. We act as mirrors, reflecting each other's problems and solutions. As we act, we are given greater understanding of why we do what we do and how we may function better. In order to gain more understanding, we must first act on the knowledge we have. Intellectual awareness alone will not enable us to control our disease.

The empathy and understanding, which we receive from fellow OA members, give us the strength and hope to recover. We begin to see where our attitudes were wrong and how to go about correcting them. As we acknowledge the Power greater than ourselves and give our lives over to Him, we open a new channel of spiritual insight and understanding.

May I understand.

Not only into my disease, but insight into myself and an understanding of my God and my relationship with Him.

MajestyJo
09-17-2014, 04:03 AM
Wednesday, September 17, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

God Is Here

The Power, which restores us to sanity, is not something remote and abstract, which we must search for by reading books and performing great feats. Our Higher Power is with us constantly and is involved in the minute details of every day. We do not have to wait and work to become acceptable to God. He accepts us now, just as we are.

What gets in the way of our awareness of God is self. If we are narrowly focused on the concerns of ego and self-will, we ignore the presence of a Higher Power. Then we become weak and confused in our aloneness.

To be aware of the presence of God in our lives every day, all we need is the willingness to be open to Him. We find that He is indeed "closer than breathing and nearer than hands and feet." What we may have spent years searching for or denying turns out to be the ground of our existence and the Power that sustains us every minute.

Increase my awareness of You, I pray.

Never fear God is here.

MajestyJo
09-18-2014, 06:30 AM
Thursday, September 18, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Bad Days

There are some days when we wake up in the morning knowing with a sixth sense that the day is going to be a hard one. These are the days when it is difficult to get out of bed, when we would prefer not to face whatever awaits us. There is no way around these days; we must get through them the best way we can.

Our most useful tool for coping with a bad day is abstinence. Nothing is impossible when we are abstaining from compulsive overeating. Often our problem lies not in the external events of the day but in recognizing a part of ourselves that has been hidden and repressed. We resist facing honestly what our Higher Power is revealing to us about our inner life.

When we are determined not to escape into food, we will come out of a bad day stronger than we were before. We reinforce our new way of living, which is to turn difficult situations over to our Higher Power and then act as He guides us, step by step.

May I be closer to You during the bad days.

Thanks to recovery, those are the days, I feel closer to my God. If I didn't get close to God, I would end up using. When I am close to my God I may nibble or taste, and I am empowered to quit and know that food isn't the answer, and that I need a spiritual solution.

Those bed days, are prayer days for motivation and even if I don't get out of the house, I make sure I get out of my bed.

MajestyJo
09-19-2014, 01:56 AM
Friday, September 19, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought
Know Yourself


The OA program fosters self-knowledge on a practical, physical level as well as on the more abstract emotional and intellectual levels. We come to know what foods we can handle comfortably, how we can arrange our day so that we do not get exhausted, and which people we need to avoid if we are to maintain our serenity.

We had so little self-confidence when we were overeating that we were inclined to accept other people's ideas of who we were and what we should do. By trying to be and do what others expected, we may have lost sight of our inner selves. The emptiness caused by not knowing and respecting ourselves led in turn to more overeating as we tried to fill the inner void with food.

Self-knowledge requires courage and honesty. It involves admitting our weaknesses and mistakes, rather than pretending to be perfect. As we come to know ourselves - our preferences, needs, and goals - we gain strength and integrity. The Power greater than ourselves gives us the insight to know who we are physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Thank You for self-knowledge.

We can gather all the knowledge we can, and yet if we don't follow thought with action, it doesn't get us very far, except an overload of information that overwhelms us.

Believe in yourself, a day at a time. Discover the new you, each day is a new beginning. All we have is today, and all we are asked to do is try. The failure is in the not trying. Get to know yourself. What does your body, mind, and spirit need?

MajestyJo
09-20-2014, 03:50 AM
Saturday, September 20, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

A New Self-Image

As we lose weight, our self-image needs to change along with our body. We may have had a mental image of our self as a thin person, but this image probably did not go beyond the physical. If we continue to think of our self as the same confused, compulsive, childish person we once were, we are not facilitating our emotional and spiritual growth.

The OA program gives us the power to become a new person. If we see ourselves as daily growing saner, more serene, more confident, reality will reflect our inner vision.

Perhaps the most important change in our self-image involves our relationship to our Higher Power. Before, we probably saw ourselves as the center of our world and devoted our energies to protecting and building up our fragile ego. We were all alone in an unfriendly world. Now, we see ourselves as God's creation, subject to His purpose and plan. As we yield to His authority and accept His love, we find strength, security, and peace. By losing ourselves, we find ourselves.

Create in me a new self-image.

Like this, we so often see ourselves as only fat or thin. We have to remember that our body is comprised of much more than that. We also remember that we have a disease of perception, and so often how we perceive ourselves, is often not a true one and certainly not a healthy one. My son would say, "Mother! You are not fat." When I look at skinny people, I was fat." If I looked at obese people, I was skinny." I had to stop abusing myself, and accept me for who I was in today, know it was subject to change.

MajestyJo
09-21-2014, 01:11 AM
Sunday, September 21, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Trusting Gut Reactions

Since we could not trust ourselves where food was concerned, we had trouble trusting ourselves in all aspects of life. We became divided internally and unsure of what we thought or how we felt or how we should act. We may have depended on other people to tell us what we liked, what to do, and how to do it.

It is with a great sense of joy that we become aware of our own individuality and preferences. If we experience a negative gut reaction to a certain person or activity, then we need to examine our reasons for continuing the relationship or activity. We do not have to like everyone, nor do we have to do everything. The sooner we become selective, the more we develop as individuals and the more integrity we possess. If we continually force ourselves to do things, which violate our inner integrity, then we are frustrated and growth is slow.

Gut reactions need to be examined calmly and intelligently. They are there to tell us something about ourselves.

Give me a healthy respect for my gut reactions.

Like the title, as I have said many times, my co-sponsor a Native American woman said, "If you are doubting yourself, you are doubting your God."

I missed out on so much by not trusting that inner self, that word that guided me to do and I pooh hooed it. Sometimes little things like, "Take meat out for supper" and I didn't act on it, and when dinner time came, no meat taken out for dinner. Felt like I wanted to go to the library, didn't need books but insisted that I go and ended up missing a very important phone call.

Then there are the time, we get all the green lights to where we are going and God and I are on the same time table.

MajestyJo
09-22-2014, 05:26 AM
Monday, September 22, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Scales

During our dieting days, we probably spent much time getting on and off the scales. In OA, we are advised not to weigh more than once a month. Though we want to get rid of excess weight, we do not want to be obsessed with pounds and ounces. This program involves much more than weight control, and to make the scales our ultimate judge is to miss the mark.

If we are honestly abstaining from compulsive overeating and working our program, we will lose weight. The rate of loss will vary from person to person and from week to week. Even, and especially, when the scale registers what we want it to register, we continue to honestly abstain and work the OA program.

In OA, we are more concerned with the progress we make in controlling our disease than we are with our specific weight on any particular day. If our illness is under control, weight control will follow. Scales are useful for measuring physical progress, but they are not a god.

May I use the scales wisely?

We can be as obsessive compulsive about scales as we do about food. We don't want to step on one or eat food, or we always want to eat and we always want to check our weight.

It all comes down to the thinking and turning it over to our God.

MajestyJo
09-23-2014, 02:13 AM
Tuesday, September 23, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Positive Leads

As our serenity grows, the clamour and confusion inside our heads die down. Instead of being pulled in many different directions and uncertain of which way to turn, we gradually discern the positive voice that leads us forward. Rather than trying to analyze all possible alternatives intellectually, we gain the confidence to choose the positive way without agonizing indecision.

To worry and speculate about the roads not taken is counter productive and wasteful of our energies. We pray that we may know the will of our Higher Power for us, and then we act according to the best of our knowledge. The more we practice listening to the still, small voice within, the more positive direction we will receive.

The mental calmness which we experience as we abstain from compulsive overeating clears away our former confusion. We may make mistakes, but as long as we can admit them and stay in contact with our Higher Power, we will continue to follow His positive leads.

Keep me on Your positive path.

As my spiritual adviser says, "If you don't know, then it isn't the right time. If you pray and ask, you will know."

I like the word clamour, haven't heard it for a long time, maybe because I am old. I get a picture that includes symbols, and all the noise that goes on inside my head at times, that I have trouble hearing the good orderly good direction when it comes, because I don't make time to to find a quiet time to listen. There is even more chaos with our own voices saying, "Should I, shouldn't I? or the infamous, what if? etc. that keeps our minds so busy that if the voice came our way, we wouldn't hear it. Everything and everyone is clamouring for attention, and we shut down and shut off, and we hear, see, and all our senses are shut off. That is when we say, "Did you ring?" Like my father use to to me, "When you have your head in a book, the house could burn down around us and you would not be aware. You completely shut down and you hear nothing."

MajestyJo
09-24-2014, 02:35 AM
Wednesday, September 24, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Accepting Where We Are

Wherever we are when we come to this program is where we begin. Some of us have further to go along the road to self-actualization than others. No one of us ever arrives in this life. There is always more work to be done.

Believing that our Higher Power has a plan for each of us, we accept the place where He has put us right now. We do not expect to stay in this place, but it is a necessary part of our growth and development. We cannot move on until we understand where we are now and how we got here.

Our Fourth Step inventory gives us an opportunity to examine past actions, which have led to our current situation. We may not like what we discover, but an honest appraisal of our weaknesses and faults as well as our strengths is preparation for constructive change. Accepting where we are frees us from morbid obsession with the past and enables us to move on into the future.

May I accept where I am as the best place for me to be today.

The key to recovery for me. I don't have to like it. I just have to accept it. I am where I am suppose to be in the moment, knowing everything is subject to change. Having said that, "I have to be willing and give my permission for the change to take place."

MajestyJo
09-25-2014, 02:09 PM
Thursday, September 25, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Don't Hang On

As long as we are alive, we will experience times of joy and times of sadness. Trying to hang on to the periods of elation and avoid the inevitable depression which each of us feels from time to time causes us to seek artificial stimulation. Using food to try to stay on cloud nine did not work, and neither does anything else.

By turning over our lives, we become willing to let go and move through the periods of joy and sadness as we come to them. Trying to hang on arrests our progress. Nothing is certain in this life except change, and when we stop overeating we are better able to deal with the variations in our feelings and circumstances.

Whatever our current mood or situation, we can remain abstinent. Abstinence gives our lives stability and order, in spite of changes. Being centered in the Power greater than ourselves keeps us from being overly affected by either elation or depression.

By focusing on You, may I move calmly through the times of joy and the times of sadness.

A good message, that artificial memory, those times it seemed good and we thought they were good, forgetting that we had stimulated our thought process and clouded and shut down our reality. Rose coloured glasses made everything look good.

Don't hang onto the past, make new memories and live in the now, which is the true reality.

MajestyJo
09-26-2014, 08:26 AM
Friday, September 26, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Character Defects

Beginning the OA program, we are inclined to feel that our problems and difficulties are largely due to circumstances and other people. The enemy seems to be outside. The more we work the Steps, the more we realize that our troubles are within, rather than without. Furthermore, we learn that the only person we can change is our self.

We see that the root of our difficulty lies in being centered on self instead of centered in our Higher Power. Our egos can take us only so far before we reach a point where continued growth demands that we begin to abandon them. What a relief to get rid of the anxiety, frustration, and fear that goes with an ego-centered life!

Our Higher Power removes our character defects as we become willing to let go of them. Honest awareness is our first task, and this is facilitated by maintaining abstinence from compulsive overeating. Abstinence gives us the honesty and the energy to change. As we change, circumstances and relationships improve.

I ask that You remove my character defects according to Your will.

Had the thought, "Just think of how many of our defects of character came out on Friday night when we were using." In today, we have a choice. We can continue to act out in our disease, or make changes in our life. Thy Will, not mine!

MajestyJo
09-27-2014, 01:09 AM
Saturday, September 27, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

We Admit

Three of the Twelve Steps have to do with admitting. We admit that we are powerless over food and cannot manage our own lives; we admit our wrongs to God, ourselves, and another person; we continue to take inventory and admit when we are wrong.

Out of honest admission of our weakness comes strength. We are able to see ourselves realistically and with clarity. When we are humble enough to admit our wrongs, we get rid of the false front we had tried to maintain. This frees us to be who we are, without pretense.

When we admit our faults, we are cleansed. We no longer have to try to hide and cover up our weaknesses and mistakes. Instead of pretending to be perfect, we can be human and satisfied with progress.

We admit that we have a progressive disease, and we learn how to control it. We do not pretend to ourselves or others that we can eat like everyone else, because we are compulsive overeaters. We cannot manage our own lives, but there is One who can.

I admit that I am powerless, and I am grateful for Your Power in my life.

Love the last line. We surrender to win. When I say I can't, with God, I can. I am empowered to do, each day what I need to do, not just with food, but with any life situation.

MajestyJo
09-28-2014, 04:59 AM
Sunday, September 28, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

My Own Body

My body is where I live. Its size and shape is a matter between my Higher Power and me. No one else is responsible for my body. In the past, I may have permitted other people to influence what I ate and how much I weighed, but I now take full responsibility.

Other people may think that I am too fat or too thin, but that is their problem, not mine. I am learning what my body needs in order to operate at peak efficiency. I am learning to avoid the foods, which I do not handle well. What and how much I eat depends on my own preference and the requirements of my metabolism.

My body is a gift to me from my Higher Power. Maintaining it in the best possible condition is my response to God's gift. No one else can tell me how best to maintain my body, since no one else is living in it or receives its inner signals. If I honestly interpret the signals, which come from my body, I will stay abstinent and healthy.

Thank You for my body.

This reminds me of yesterday when I was fooling around with a guy who I knew years ago when he came into recovery. No one believed in him, I did and he did too and he has 16 years of sobriety. I told him. "This is what 72 years is suppose to look like." "This is what 23 years of sobriety is suppose to look like." My spiritual adviser in early recovery said, "If you have recovery, "Show it."

When I started eating responsibly, trying to keep a routine and have balance in my life (that is hard for me because of fibromyalgia), the excess weight just came off, with a little help with some exercise) Being a couch potato made me look like one.

MajestyJo
09-29-2014, 04:37 AM
Monday, September 29, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

The Satisfaction of Work

Using our God-given talents and abilities to do the work He assigns us brings deep satisfaction. Many of us used to eat a lot of "idle bread" which we did not need. Now that we are eating less, we find that we derive satisfaction from working more.

Work is an opportunity to give away the gifts we are given. It is sharing which requires effort and discipline. If we do not work up to our maximum level of ability, our satisfaction is reduced. As we give away our gifts, we are given more.

Maintaining abstinence improves the quality of our work and increases our output. Instead of doing just enough to get by, we are challenged to give the best that we have. Abstaining from compulsive overeating can give us the courage and confidence to change jobs when necessary.

When we are emotionally upset, turning to a task, which absorbs us physically or mentally, or both can have a healing effect. Rather than a curse, work can be a blessing, especially when we realize that ultimately we are working with and for our Higher Power.

We give thanks for the satisfaction of work.


Posted on this and lost it.

This is so true, much better to do than using my arm to shovel food into my mouth. Better I use my finger to tap on the keys and use them to carry the message of recovery, and share my experience, strength and hope and how the program worked for me. My primary purpose is to carry the message of recovery. It give me a purpose and a reason for being. When I am feeling down, coming to the site, it lifts me up.

MajestyJo
09-30-2014, 01:55 AM
Tuesday, September 30, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Perspective

When our vision was clouded by self-will, our perspective was narrow and subjective. We saw people and events only as they fostered or frustrated our egotistical concerns. The world was a frightening place, since we thought that our welfare was entirely dependent on our own efforts.

Coming to believe in a Higher Power gives us a new, broader perspective. We learn the security of trusting eternal values and moral principles. When we pray only for knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry that out, we begin to see ourselves as serving rather than surviving. Particular acts may or may not be successful from our point of view, but we can move on in confidence, knowing that our past, present, and future is in His hands.

The new perspective, which comes to us as we work the OA program, enables us to accept defeats as well as successes and irritations as well as satisfactions. All experience is for our growth and development.

Create in us a new perspective.

Always like this topic. I always try to remember and ask for new perspective each morning, especially when I feel like have been the last few weeks. How do I feel? Numb and dumb!