Sample Issue - Overeaters Anonymous

Lifeline 

A Meeting on the Go 

C ompulsions 

March/April 2012

® 

OA Lifeline 

The international magazine of Overeaters Anonymous ® , Inc. 

Lifeline presents experiences and opinions 

of OA members. Opinions expressed 

herein are not to be attributed to Overeaters 

Anonymous as a whole, nor does 

publication of any article imply endorsement, 

either by Overeaters Anonymous or 

Lifeline. 

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Anonymous, Inc., and are, therefore, 

unconditionally assigned to Overeaters 

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Back issues are $3. 

Overeaters Anonymous Preamble 

Overeaters Anonymous is a Fellowship of individuals who, 

through shared experience, strength and hope, are recovering 

from compulsive overeating. We welcome everyone 

who wants to stop eating compulsively. There are no 

dues or fees for members; we are self-supporting through 

our own contributions, neither soliciting nor accepting 

outside donations. OA is not affiliated with any public 

or private organization, political movement, ideology or 

religious doctrine; we take no position on outside issues. 

Our primary purpose is to abstain from compulsive overeating 

and to carry this message of recovery to those who 

still suffer. 

STAFF 

Terry Stuart 

Publications Manager 

Kathleen Bougère 

Periodicals Editor/ 

Designer/Photographer 

Christine Fredriksen 

Associate Editor/Illustrator 

Mary Young 

Publications Assistant 

Please direct submissions to 

Lifeline, 

PO Box 44020, 

Rio Rancho, New Mexico 

87174-4020 USA, 

or email info@oa.org 

Lifeline, ISSN No. 1051-9467, is published monthly except April and October by Overeaters Anonymous, Inc., 

6075 Zenith Court NE, Rio Rancho, NM 87144-6424 USA. Subscription rates US, US Possessions: one year $23. 

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send address changes to Lifeline, PO Box 44020, Rio Rancho, NM 87174-4020 USA. 

© 2012 OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS®, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 

Registered OA service bodies may reprint 

individual articles from Lifeline 

for limited personal and group use, 

crediting Lifeline and Overeaters Anonymous. 

Material from Lifeline may 

not be revised, recombined into other 

publications or resold. All other uses 

require written permission from OA, 

Inc. Misuse of this material constitutes 

copyright infringement. Contact the 

WSO editorial office: 1-505-891-2664. 

March/April 2012 Vol. 31, No 3 

pg. 2 

pg. 8 

pg. 14 

FEATURES 

Living Traditions 17, 19 

Stepping Out 18, 20 

Side Dishes 18 

Service With a Smile 21 

The Spiritual Path 22 

Newcomers Corner 23 

Web Links 25 

Larry & Leona 27 

DEPARTMENTS 

Article Alert 17 

For Discussion 

and Journaling 22 

Ask-It Basket 24 

Share It 25 

New Pathways 2 

Learn how you can change the defaults. 

Compulsive Overeating 4 

What triggered compulsive overeating for 

these members? 

Finding the Strength 4 

Relieved 5 

Moment of Clarity 5 

Taking the Plunge 6 

Breaking the Cycle 7 

Humility and Desperation 8 

I Can Do This 9 

Try these reminders when tempted to binge. 

Bulimia 10 

Purging takes different forms for different 

reasons. 

Ongoing Miracle 10 

Feeling Understood 11 

Anorexia 12 

Let go of control and kick it out of your head. 

Young Again 12 

Head Games 13 

The Tools Work! 14 

Keep compulsions in line with OA’s nine. 

Hidden Part 14 

Working It Out 15 

Courageous and Vulnerable 16 

No matter what form your compulsive eating 

may take, OA is here for you. 

Lifeline 1 x 1 Campaign: Make Lifeline Self-Supporting 26 

Moving? Let us know! Contact OA: telephone 

505-891-2664, fax 505-891-4320, email info@oa.org 

Overeaters Anonymous, PO Box 44020, Rio Rancho, NM 

87174-4020 USA

NewPathways 

I am not a 

scientist, but it 

seems my brain 

seeks to satisfy a 

certain level of 

compulsion. If 

I’m not satisfying 

it through 

one compulsion, 

another intensifies 

to meet 

the level. This is 

not a hopeless 

situation, though. 

From what little 

I know about the 

brain’s workings, 

habitual 

ways of thinking 

become so deeply 

entrenched they 

result in “default” 

thought patterns. 

If that’s true, maybe compulsions are a matter of deeply entrenched default patterns 

that compel me toward certain ways of thinking and behaving. I can reroute these 

powerful pathways, but it takes plenty of work by making a conscious effort to reinforce 

new ways of thinking. Perhaps that’s why OA works for those who work it. Through the 

Steps and tools, we learn new ways of thinking that we reinforce over and over. Going to 

meetings and sharing experiences with others who are also trying new ways of thinking 

and acting outside of compulsion serve to redirect us from old, nonworking patterns. 

Perhaps the reason we can recover from but never be cured of compulsion is that 

our default pathways are like a set point. If our compulsive thinking and acting is our 

default and we are not constantly reinforcing the new pathways, then these pathways 

“reset” to default mode. 

I’ve been trying to understand my compulsions for a long time. I have come across 

some stuff that has led me to this theory about how compulsion works. I might be 

wrong. But if there’s anything to it, I hope scientists studying the brain are reading this 

and getting together with the medical community so they can help the myriad people 

suffering from compulsions. (When I imagine a world where people live free of compulsion, 

I see a happier, saner, freer world for everyone.) 

I was watching a movie yesterday about a brilliant mathematician studying for his 

doctorate. He said through mathematics he sees amazing things others don’t. When 

he looks at numbers and formulas, he sees things my brain doesn’t seem to have the 

capacity to detect or to communicate to me. That made me think of how amazing it is 

that our brains work in unique ways; some can see things in a mathematic formula and 

others in a lump of clay. 

I wouldn’t criticize a tree for not being a flower or a man for not being a woman. 

(Okay, maybe I have criticized my husband for not thinking like a woman, but that 

underscores my point.) Expecting a tree to be a flower leads to pointless frustration. A 

more apt analogy would be criticizing a word-processing application for not working 

like a spreadsheet application. Expecting software that’s programmed to work one way 

to work another way will lead to frustration. The good news is I can “reprogram” my 

thoughts and actions by always working to reinforce new patterns of thought and behavior. 

I must remember who I am. Compulsion is my default. If I want to live another 

way, I must keep working the new ways so my brain does not reset to the default. 

I have learned I am not strong enough to overcome my default patterns alone. I am 

powerless over food, and being active in compulsion makes my life unmanageable. I 

need a Higher Power and the help that power makes available through OA to live free of 

compulsion and the chaos that comes with it. 

— Anonymous, New Jersey USA 

2 Lifeline A Meeting on the Go March/April 2012 www.oa.org 3

Compulsive Overeating 

inding the Strength 

F I’m a compulsive 

overeater seeking recovery, 

one second at a time. 

When I arrived at OA 12 years ago, I was in bad emotional shape. I was only a few 

pounds overweight, but I had read an article with OA’s 15 questions and immediately 

identified myself as a compulsive overeater. I’d never thought I had a problem with 

food, but I did think I was strange because of my thoughts and feelings. Although I 

ate out of plastic containers because my food didn’t fit onto a large plate, I didn’t have 

any idea my eating was sick. I used to eat until I got sick and had to go to the hospital, 

but I didn’t know that compulsive overeating was an illness. I only knew I felt inadequate 

when I was with other people. A lonely sufferer, I felt ashamed and fearful 

of everything. 

I entered my first OA meeting timidly. I didn’t know anyone there; but I stayed, 

listened and identified with what I heard. I began buying the literature and learning 

about the program. Even though I was scared, I kept coming back. 

Each week that I attended a meeting, I became more convinced OA was the place 

I’d been looking for. During the meetings I found a Higher Power who was completely 

different from the one I was so afraid of. This new Higher Power is a loving God who always 

talks to me through other OA members, a God who gives me strength and courage 

to overcome life’s challenges. My faith and trust in him are growing every day. 

During these past 12 years, I have faced many difficult situations, like losses and illness 

in my family. But my sponsor, my group and other OA members are always there 

to love, accept and support me. I want to thank everyone who was a part of my recovery 

and ask for the blessing of Higher Power. May he give us strength to always come back. 

— Maria, Brazil 

R elieved 

I didn’t think I needed OA when 

I went to a meeting with a friend many 

years ago. While I knew I was overweight, 

I thought, “I’m not one of them. I can 

handle it.” 

A few years ago, I went to support 

another friend at an OA meeting. I went 

for several weeks with the same attitude 

I had before. However, things were getting 

worse for me. I was heavier. Even in 

the midst of my active disease, I knew 

something was wrong. Most people don’t 

have two lunches or dinners. Most people 

don’t race to the store to stock up for the 

overnight binge in front of the TV. Maybe 

something better exists here. 

It took awhile before I admitted to being 

a compulsive overeater. When I did, it 

was a relief. I remember feeling so alone 

while I binged, and not enough food 

existed to make that go away. 

Now I have friends in OA, have lost 50 

pounds (23 kg) and am happier. While 

I’m still getting used to being “weight appropriate,” 

I know I never have to go back 

to that hell. 

— L.W., Rhode Island USA 

oment of Clarity 

M I am one of many. I am an abstinent, 

compulsive overeater and bulimic. I 

am a clean, sober and cross-addicted 

member of two other Twelve-Step programs. 

During my early years in the other 

programs, I was led to OA. I came, obtained 

some “white knuckle” abstinence 

and then returned to overeating. During 

that initial OA experience, serious “diet 

mentality” plagued me. My abstinence 

was just another round of controlled eating 

followed by more binges. Although I 

was abstaining and involved in the other 

Twelve-Step programs, I simply could not 

give up the food. I had settled with the 

fact that I would be yet another crossaddicted 

person who found recovery for 

two out of three addictions, but I would 

forever remain a slave to food. Only a 

miracle could save me. 

Fast-forward to June 21, 2011, and 

my moment of clarity. For six months 

I had been on a nonstop binge. I had 

outgrown my clothes, gained 40 pounds 

(18 kg) and become truly baffled. I’d 

never had a binge last that long. Years of 

controlled eating had finally failed me. 

I knew for sure that my yo-yo days were 

over; my on-off switch was broken. For 

the first time in my overeating career, I 

could envision myself several hundred 

pounds heavier and giving myself over to 

the food. The “wreckage of my present,” 

in the form of empty food containers, 

boxes and bags, surrounded me as I sat 

in my living room. A chilling fear silenced 

me, and I began to pray: “Dear God, 

please help me. I know I am a hopeless, 

compulsive overeater in desperate need 

of your help. I don’t care if I ever lose one 

inch or ounce. I am willing to live out the 

rest of my life in this body exactly as it 

is right now if you will just help me stop 

the bingeing and give me peace. Please, 

help me.” 

The result was powerful and immediate. 

Within a few hours, I had cleaned 

up the empty food wrappers, showered, 

dressed, called a long-time OAer who’d 

been my sponsor the first time around, 

and committed myself to a food plan 

and 90 meetings in 90 days starting that 

night. By the grace of my creator and the 

OA Fellowship, I have remained abstinent 

since. The miracle I was hoping for had 

arrived: the gift of desperation. 


Since returning to OA, I’ve come up 

with a few simple slogans. The first one 

reminds me that surrender, not control, 

will set me free: “It’s white flag, not white 

knuckle.” The second one reminds me 

that one day at a time is great, but one 

minute at a time is even better: “Keep 

coming back . . . to the Now.” Please, God, 

help me remember to surrender the past, 

future and everything but the “Now.” 

When I focus on what is right in front of 

me, I am free, present and, without reservation, 

yours. 

— Anonymous, St. Louis, Missouri USA 

aking the Plunge 

T Long before my days of Overeaters 

Anonymous and abstinence, compulsive 

eating was my life. Food was my 

life. It occupied my every thought—how 

much I could have and how I could get 

it. Compulsive eating was so ingrained, I 

acted on food thoughts the second they 

came up. I gave not a moment’s thought 

to whether I wanted to eat. Well, I must be 

honest and say God was working on me 

even then. I would hear an intuitive voice 

say, “You shouldn’t eat that,” but I would 

eat anyway! 

I could not have stopped eating compulsively 

in those moments, even if you’d 

put a gun to my head. I was “self-will run 

riot” (Alcoholics Anonymous, 4 th ed., p. 

62). Somewhere along the line, my best 

friend, food, had become my worst 

enemy. It ruled and then ruined my life. 

I was desperate and fat. I hated myself. 

The more I thought about dieting, the 

more I ate. It was a vicious cycle and my 

lowest point. 

A friend told me about Overeaters 

Anonymous, and we decided to try it. 

That day changed my life. As I walked 

through the doors of a Twelve-Step 

recovery program, I “came home.” What 

a blessing to know I wasn’t alone. Other 

people thought like me, and food talked 

to them too. Others had this strange 

compulsion they could not stop, but they 

also talked of a solution. Work the Twelve 

Steps, find your Higher Power, use a 

sponsor, get abstinent, go to meetings and 

use the telephone. It was new, exciting 

and scary! They talked about giving up 

the foods that gave me trouble. Living life 

without junk food! I didn’t think that was 

possible, but plenty of evidence suggested 

what they said was true. 

It took me eight months in program 

and much more compulsive eating and 

pain to realize these people were right. 

“It is much less work to abstain and stay 

out of the food than it is to try to regulate 

and control it.” ‘‘Nothing tastes as good as 

abstinence feels.” “God could do for me 

what I could not do for myself.” “You can 

do this!” 

I saw and believed. My 15 th year of 

abstinence has just passed—just God and 

I fighting this compulsion one day at a 

time. But I had to become abstinent first. 

I had to make that commitment to God 

and myself and take the plunge. God has 

helped me through many food problems 

and situations. It isn’t always easy, but 

it is possible to remain abstinent with 

God’s help, one day, moment, second at 

a time. It becomes a way of life. Instead 

of turning to food in a crisis, I turn to 

God. Instead of eating to numb the pain, 

I work the Twelve Steps with my sponsor 

and learn to work through tough times 

and tougher emotions. Instead of stuffing 

myself through the holidays and gaining 

tons of weight, I eat sensible, planned 

meals and enjoy the holiday itself. Instead 

of being fat and hating myself, I enjoy a 

normal body size and do many activities I 

could not do when I was fat. 

The biggest miracle of this Twelve-Step 

program is my first waking thoughts are 

with God, not food. I wake up and say, 

“Good morning, God. It’s me again.” I 

don’t even think about food until breakfast 

time. 

How far I’ve come because 15 years ago 

I decided to take the plunge, trust God 

and become abstinent. It is the softer, 

easier way. I’m so grateful today! 

— Denise H., Ottumwa, Iowa USA 

B 

reaking the Cycle 

When I came to OA in 1986, I didn’t 

identify with all the details people shared 

about life in the disease, but somehow I 

knew I was in the right place. I came in 

at a normal weight, but I had been about 

20 pounds (9 kg) heavier or thinner at 

certain points in my disease. No matter 

what my weight, I was always obsessed 

with food and believed the number on 

the scale reflected my value as a person. 

I was lucky to hear that “thin is not well,” 

and I felt enough kinship to keep coming 

back. I realized I was a compulsive overeater 

or food addict, but that did not tell 

the whole story. 

After plenty of time, meetings and 

program work, it became clear my 

compulsive overeating was just one part 

of an obsessive-compulsive cycle that 

had begun with compulsive undereating. 

Along the way I adopted many bulimic 

and anorexic behaviors that fueled my 

disease. A period of compulsive overeating 

followed every stretch of undereating. 

I had to see the pattern of obsession with 

food, weight, exercise and body image 

if I was to comprehend who I was and 

develop abstinent eating and living that 

could work every day. 

Hardest to understand was how 

undereating hurt me. Society and I— 

and sometimes even people in the 

rooms—considered undereating and 

thinness as almost being virtues. And I 

enjoyed the false sense of control undereating 

gave me over my food, body and 

life. All this made undereating a seductive 

aspect of the disease, which often caught 

me unaware. 

The OA “Twelve and Twelve” says we 

need to look at how a defect both helps 

and hurts us if we are to become willing 

to let it go (The Twelve Steps and Twelve 

Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous, 

pp. 56–57). I learned to look at how my 

undereating, supported by excessive exercise, 

my obsession with numbers on the 

scale and poor body image, always set me 

up to overeat compulsively. I began to see 

that undereating allowed me to overlook 

the real issues in my life, the common 

themes of all my addictive behaviors. 

I became willing to eat healthy, moderate 

meals and snacks throughout my day, 

whether I felt like it or not. This is my 

medicine. To stop the cycle, I must avoid 

specific foods that lead to more food. I eat 

this way, one day at a time, regardless of 

what is happening in my life. This, along 

with using the tools and living in the 

Steps, gives me the ability to live life on 

life’s terms. 

— Anonymous 


umility and Desperation 

H Before OA my life seemed hopeless. 

At 25 years old, I was financially, spiritually 

and emotionally bankrupt. I was a 

single mom and 250 pounds (113 kg), 

not my all-time highest weight but close. 

It seemed to keep getting worse. My life 

was not on the path I had envisioned as a 

little girl. 

I now understand that was how my 

disease of compulsive overeating needed 

to progress to get me through OA’s doors. 

Although I made much progress and had 

plenty of physical recovery, it took me 

over three years in program to ask another 

member to be my sponsor. My program 

was slipping, and I wasn’t convinced I 

wanted a sponsor, but I asked anyway. 

She died a month later, still abstinent and 

in recovery. 

She was an inspiration to me from 

the moment I met her. I have such fond 

memories, but one particular thing she 

told me has stayed with me. She said, 

“You’ll need two things to get and stay 

abstinent: the gift of humility and the gift 

of desperation.” She was right. 

I was on a slippery slope at that time. I 

slid right down that slope into the hellish 

gates of relapse. Relapse is hell on Earth. 

It wasn’t until I was desperate that I became 

humble and things got better. How 

desperate was I? Desperate enough to 

do whatever was necessary, to go to any 

lengths to get recovery. Humility is going 

to an OA meeting and telling the absolute 

truth (rigorous honesty) about how I feel 

and what I am doing with food. It means 

admitting defeat and crying my eyes out 

if I need to. 

I must have heard the tools read a 

thousand times over the last four and a 

half years at meetings, but when I became 

desperate and humble, I was willing to 

really hear them and (most important) 

use them. When I use the OA tools in my 

life, work the Steps (imperfectly), and 

take suggestions from other members 

who have what I want, it becomes easy to 

stay abstinent. 

I now take at least 10 minutes a day 

(often more) to read, write and meditate—to 

center and remind myself of who 

and what I am so I don’t forget. I usually 

attend two meetings per week, commit 

my food in the morning and write it out 

at night. I also have a new sponsor with 

whom I am excited to be working. What 

a miracle! For today I am gratefully abstinent 

and progressing, which is what the 

OA program is all about! Thank God for 

the gift I received: the gift of desperation. 

— Tobi H., Halifax, Nova Scotia, 

Canada 

I wrote this letter to myself 

sometime in the past to help 

me stop bingeing. I would like 

to share it with Lifeline. 

• Choose life, not food. 

• Bingeing— Stop! 

• You’re worth more. 

• It doesn’t fix me—it makes me 

unhappy. 

• It makes my life unmanageable. 

• It messes up my life. 

• It takes away my happiness. 

• Don’t do it! 

• Bingeing takes away from me. 

• It steals from me. 

• It produces sadness, fatigue and confused thinking. 

• If you put rubbish in, you get rubbish out! 

• Concentrate on your relationship with manageability, with your feelings. 

• If you indulge, it will take away your shine. 

• Concentrate on what you’re building; every time you say “no,” you grow stronger 

and shinier. 

• Bingeing and overeating steal from you. 

• They take away recovery and replace it with dis-ease. 

• Work through the feelings you have now, do your food plan, call your sponsor, 

read some OA literature, do your morning readings, call a newcomer and pray . . . 

• Work through the sadness and unmanageability, stay focused, get back on track by 

reaching out, use the OA Fellowship and be honest. 

• You are a compulsive overeater. 

• Go through the darkness. 

• It’s not about weight. 

• Realize freedom exists at the end of this difficult time. 

• Go to any lengths to not binge or overeat. 

• When the madness comes, read this: It gets worse. 

• The manageable life God has given you will slip away if you choose food. Choose 

life!! The cravings will pass. 

I can do this, one day at a time. Today I can abstain from compulsive overeating. 

— Emma S., England 


Bulimia 

ngoing Miracle 

O I am a grateful 

compulsive overeater 

and recovered bulimic. I 

have been a member of 

OA since November 2009 

and received the gift of 

abstinence nine months 

ago. Thank God! 

Before that I often visited 

therapy centers and did a lot 

of psychotherapy. I wanted 

to understand why I binged 

and purged so I could stop. 

It never worked! I couldn’t 

put together more than a 

few weeks of abstinence, if 

I was lucky! 

In program I have learned 

that “why” is not a spiritual 

question. I have found that 

helpful and still believe it is true. Self-knowledge didn’t help me become abstinent, 

but I am grateful for the therapy because I have more patience with myself and a better 

understanding of my reactions. 

Food has saved my life for some years, and that’s why I say I am a grateful compulsive 

overeater. For years it was my solution for dealing with reality; it numbed me 

and got me through painful situations. I had no other coping mechanism. I started to 

eat so much it was impossible to keep it in my body, so I learned to purge. I became 

addicted to this method of sedation, eating so much I was in pain and then getting 

rid of everything. It was the only way I thought I could get rid of the bad feelings. 

Sometimes it even felt briefly cleansing. Today I don’t have to binge and purge. Thank 

you, God and OA! 

After I joined the program, my life changed. Abstinence didn’t happen right away, 

but I kept coming back, and things started to change. I attended meetings more often, 

began to pray (beginning and ending my days on my knees) and found the right 

sponsor after trying one who wasn’t right 

for me. 

Still, I now know I relapsed because 

I wasn’t willing to be honest. My spon– 

sor told me right away that sugar, flour 

and wheat were not working for her and 

it might be the same for me. I was willing 

to live without sugar, but without bread? 

No way! I kept eating flour and drinking 

alcohol, relapsing again and again. 

My situation worsened. I became 

depressed again. 

Last November in an open AA meeting 

I had a realization after hearing someone 

say, “You need to get [expletive] 

rigorously honest with yourself!” (Daily 

OA meetings don’t exist here, so I go to 

open AA meetings too, and they work!). I 

needed to hear that, and in that language! 

I was about to lose the next most 

important thing after the food: my job. 

Finally I became willing to give up sugar 

in any form (flour, alcohol, wheat) and 

to weigh and measure my food. I threw 

myself into the OA program and into 

working the Steps as if my life depended 

on it, and that is the case! 

My life has changed so much in the 

last months. Today my coworkers know 

me as the employee who laughs often, 

and my boss has good things to say 

about me. I have a sponsor guiding me 

through my Ninth-Step work who is 

content with my efforts. So much more 

sanity exists in my life. Amazing moments 

occurred when I released old 

resentments because I realized the other 

person, just another wounded, had been 

sick too. 

God has saved my life because he has 

showed me the way to OA. I am willing 

to go to any length for this program and 

my recovery. I ask God every day to show 

me his way for me and to relieve me of 

my selfishness and self-pity. This is an 

ongoing miracle, and I thank everybody 

who is part of it! Yay, God! Yay, OA! 

— S., Heidelberg, Germany 

eeling Understood 

F When I first came into the program, 

I considered myself a compulsive 

overeater. When I started reading the OA 

“Twelve and Twelve” and it mentioned 

laxatives in Step Two (The Twelve Steps 

and Twelve Traditions of Overeaters 

Anonymous, p. 10), I was surprised. I 

thought I was the only one who did 

that. I never could make myself throw 

up, although I had tried. I just didn’t 

get any relief from it. I did, however, 

get much relief from taking four or five 

strong laxatives. 

I never talked to anyone about this, 

because taking laxatives wasn’t quite as 

“glamorous” as throwing up; and after 

all, I had already digested the food so the 

(caloric/fat) damage was done. 

Still, I felt understood when I read Step 

Two and did the work in The Twelve-Step 

Workbook of Overeaters Anonymous. I 

shared the information with my sponsor, 

and she suggested I start identifying 

myself in meetings as a compulsive 

overeater and bulimic. 

I felt funny about that. Somehow I felt 

unworthy of being called a bulimic because 

I was fat. Gradually I’ve accepted 

it. When I truly accept the fact that I’m 

also bulimic, I get a sense of relief. I’m 

also looking at other forms of bulimia 

differently now. Maybe throwing up isn’t 

so glamorous after all. 

— Edited and reprinted from the Heart 

of Texas Intergroup newsletter, August 

2002 


ANOREXIA 

oung Again 

Y Don’t think, feel or tell. Growing up in a house with these unspoken rules, 

a person grows crooked and stifled. As a toddler, I learned codependent behaviors 

and people pleasing to maintain an uneasy alliance with my mother. I 

joined Al-Anon, either because of father’s drinking or family’s thinking. 

Still, I had much to be grateful for. My 

family was close and loving, but the missing 

piece was a sense of safety in expressing 

feelings and doubts. The display of too 

much enthusiasm would upset my mother. 

My father would get angry and lash out 

at her with verbal or physical abuse. The 

vibrations of negative emotions and tension 

would result in people retreating to 

separate rooms. I retreated into my head 

and took long walks or bicycle rides. 

It was the 1950s, and the media emphasized 

perfectionism. I didn’t adjust 

from childhood to adolescence well. I felt 

awkward and ugly. I had a bright mind 

and a good memory, but I was a klutz in 

gym class. No boys ever asked me out. So 

as a teenager, I began an insidious journey 

into the hell of compulsive eating. 

I compared myself to classmates and 

wanted their attention and approval. My 

self-consciousness isolated me. When 

a certain boy didn’t talk to me, I pouted 

in my room and contemplated suicide. I 

began to eat less and hid food in the trash. 

I felt superior if I thought I’d fooled my 

mother. She cooked good food in healthy 

quantities, but I got an evil rush when my 

thin, wasted look made her miserable. 

My father suffered as well. While I 

weighed myself obsessively and wondered 

how I could drop another pound, he was 

recording my weight, hoping to stop my 

weight loss by taking away something 

important. He threatened to keep me from 

choir practice if I didn’t stop this diet non- 

sense. My singing voice was a ticket to the 

notoriety I craved; I hoped to get a boy’s 

attention in choir practice. I thought if 

Daddy wouldn’t let me go, I might as well 

kill myself. It was a question of control. 

Was my temper tantrum controlling my 

family or me? Years later I read about this 

behavior in a magazine. 

A boy finally noticed me and asked me 

to a dance. I gave up the starvation game 

the day I shopped for a dress. In the threeway 

mirror I saw every vertebra sticking 

out of my back. It wasn’t pretty. I was 18 

years old and alive by the grace of God. 

This boy saved me. He asked me to 

eat with him. I didn’t refuse because he 

had taken an interest in me—a boyfriend 

at last! Once I began to feed my starved 

body, it jumped to life like a weed. I 

couldn’t eat enough. A gnawing feeling remained 

in my belly. I gained weight until I 

had to buy new clothes. 

On birth-control pills, my body ballooned. 

My fingers and ankles swelled. 

My joints ached, and I could hardly walk. 

I knew something was wrong but didn’t 

know who to talk to about this strange 

and baffling illness. I didn’t trust authority 

figures and didn’t want a doctor to put 

me on medication or a diet. I lived in fear, 

distrust and self-loathing. 

Off birth-control pills, the swelling 

went down. My cravings disappeared, but 

now I wanted a baby. I had married the 

boyfriend. If I let him go, where would I 

find another one? Who would want me? 

Breastfeeding was my most joyous experience. 

My weight stabilized. For years it 

remained at about 120 pounds (54 kg). 

I found OA when a friend told me how 

eating disorders sometimes mask the 

feelings of having suffered incest. She 

recommended a meeting to deal with the 

mid-life insecurities that had brought my 

unresolved adolescent issues to the surface. 

The feelings of loneliness and wanting 

to fade away and die were returning. 

“You get to do adolescence all over again 

in mid-life,” I’ve said at meetings. 

Today food isn’t the issue, although I’ve 

never met a food I didn’t like. Stinking 

thinking is the issue, which is why I need 

meetings. My recovery from food obsession, 

my relationship with my Higher 

Power and the ability to fathom truth from 

illusion are my first priorities. Whenever 

I look elsewhere for comfort, I falter. I 

become depressed, ashamed, confused 

and suicidal. I want to weep and gnash my 

teeth. Food is a temporary fix. 

Working the OA program is the answer. 

It’s not easy. Admitting the true nature 

of my wrongs and feeling the shame and 

remorse for what I’ve done to hurt others 

is hard. But I no longer have to hold a pity 

party for myself. The group’s unconditional 

love and acceptance have helped me 

grow from an angry, hurt child to a young 

woman of 59! Thank you! 

— C.B., Cincinnati, Ohio USA 

ead Games 

H I came to program because I had finally 

lost my excess weight, well below my 

“goal weight.” Yet I still felt awful. The everperceived 

solution to my problems had 

failed. For most of my life, I had fantasized 

about a day when my body would morph 

into something straight from the cover of 

a magazine. But once I reached the “right” 

number, I began focusing on the defects 

left behind. That was when I began to look 

for another solution. 

I wrangled with Step One for many 

months. I felt powerful over food; after all, 

I had succeeded at limiting my calories to 

1,500 per day for a few years (astonishing 

since I also exercised two or more hours 

per day). I was in control, or so I thought. 

The “aha” moment came when I realized 

that inside my head, food called 

the shots. Okay, so I didn’t indulge all 

those crazy urges. But the more I whiteknuckled 

past them, the more they 

tortured me. I would spend 20 minutes 

window shopping in the supermarket’s 

bakery department, proud for not putting 

anything in my cart. Food was all I thought 

about. I wasted so much time and energy 

counting, adding, subtracting, multiplying 

or dividing. The voices in my head berated 

me for not having, doing or being enough. 

Guilt was my constant companion. 

Program has taught me to love and 

accept myself and the world around me. 

I am grateful that today when I look in a 

mirror, I can smile instead of flinching 

with hatred, looking away. This is a small 

miracle. Now most days the hamster 

on the wheel running calculations in 

my head is quiet thanks to abstinence, 

working the Steps and using the tools. 

Even though I’m not perfect today, I am 

definitely good enough. 

I have to thank my Higher Power, sponsor, 

loving OA family and OA for being 

gentle with me as I continue to have “aha” 

moments that enrich my life and bring me 

closer to the person I want to be. Today I 

barely recognize the person I used to be. 

What a blessing! 

— Tara L., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA 


idden Part 

H I want to eat. I reach for the food, but what am I really reaching 

for? I am not hungry—not for food. I’m hungry for comfort, warmth 

and inner calm. I’m hungry to be loved and have fun. I search for what 

to do, how to handle my issues and situation—and I reach for the food. 

But I stop myself. I write this instead. 

Writing—what a helpful tool! I keep my 

hands busy and my mind focused on the 

task before me. I forget the food while my 

Higher Power provides answers through 

my writing. Is that the hidden part of the 

tools I’d never seen? They can rescue me 

right now. 

I knew the tools were central to the program 

and my recovery in a “big picture” 

kind of way, but now I see how they can 

also rescue my sanity and recovery in a 

moment of need. I call someone, and I 

don’t eat while dialing or talking. I focus 

on the conversation and get out of my 

head. I write my thoughts and release 

the feelings, focusing on my writing and 

occupying my hands. I do service in any 

form, which reminds me about the program. 

Sometimes when I’m with another 

OA person and doing a good deed, I feel 

good about myself. So, how could I eat! 

I go to a meeting—no food allowed! 

I talk to my sponsor, who tells me what 

The Tools Work! 

I need to hear, and the food goes away 

without me even realizing it. 

I read the literature, occupying my 

hands and mind, focusing on the words of 

hope and courage. How could I break my 

abstinence while reading the Big Book, 

the OA “Twelve and Twelve” or Lifeline? 

I follow my written food plan; it frees 

me from thinking about what I’ll eat. 

Doing so allows me to focus on more productive 

things, like my recovery and life. 

I remember what it was like before my 

abstinence, and I do whatever it takes to 

keep this beautiful gift my Higher Power 

has provided. I cherish my abstinence. 

So, use the tools, whichever you wish 

and whichever works best for you at that 

moment. The tools are key to our recovery 

over time, but they also help keep us 

abstinent in the moment. The tools are 

always available. So reach for the tools 

instead of the food. They are always ready 

to come to the rescue. 

— J.M.H., Miami, Florida USA 

orking It Out 

W When I entered OA over 20 years 

ago, my life was out of control. I weighed 

just under 200 pounds (91 kg) at 5 feet 4 

inches (163 cm), my blood pressure was 

around 170/110, and I was depressed. I 

had never owned more than two pairs 

of slacks in any one size because I never 

knew what size would fit me. I had low 

self-esteem. Every problem seemed major, 

even insurmountable. I was unemployed 

and wondered when I would work 

again and feel purpose and direction in 

my life. 

I learned early in OA I ate to deny my 

feelings and anything could trigger my 

eating (anger, fear, boredom, excitement, 

you name it). 

Yesterday a woman from my OA home 

meeting called. She shared about a longstanding, 

seemingly insurmountable 

problem similar to one I had encountered 

many years ago in OA: waking in the 

middle of the night and being unable to 

go back to sleep without eating a meal. I 

suggested an approach that has worked 

for me in handling many issues. I explained 

that usually the problem/ 

obsession involves either anger or fear. 

What I do first is to write a detailed 

description of the problem. Next I list 

program tools to counter the obsession. I 

suggested the following for this woman’s 

situation (but different tools can be used 

depending on the circumstances): 

• I am powerless over the situation 

(Step One). 

• The insanity is the belief I cannot fall 

asleep without eating an entire meal. 

In this dangerous situation, I need 

to do the opposite of the insanity 

(Step Two). 

• I need to take the actions I can and 

put the rest in God’s hands 

(Step Three). 

• Like it or not, I am exactly where I 

am supposed to be (acceptance). 

• I need to ask myself, “How important 

is it?” 

• I need to put first things first, to 

realize I am blaming and doubting 

myself, perhaps feeling self-pity, or 

wondering, “Why is this happening 

to me?” “Why am I the only one this 

happens to?” “Am I a hopeless case?” 

I have to forgive myself and drop 

any self-judgment. (When I do “first 

things first,” I often try to write down 

what I need to do and take action.) 

• Next I must take action using any 

program tools that can counter the 

obsession and then turn the rest 

over. This tends to solve the problem 

and/or avoid eating over it. 

• If the problem persists, I can read 

what I wrote to my sponsor or other 

trusted persons in my support system. 

This is doing a mini Fifth Step, 

the opposite of isolating. Keeping the 

problem a secret will only add to my 

burden and frustration. 

• I keep a journal or notebook of 

situations in which the above tools 

and techniques have worked for 

me so I can use them as a reference 

for similar future situations. (This 

writing tool has been wonderful 

for me, working in many different 

situations.) 

I feel grateful to OA, and to a former 

sponsor who taught me this tool, for this 

wonderful way of life. Above all, I am 

grateful to my Higher Power, whom I 

choose to call God. 

— Marc L., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

USA 


Courageous and Vulnerable 

After a binge one night, I felt I was 

in hell. Then I thought of OA, found 

the phone number and called to find a 

meeting. I went to my first meeting a few 

days later. I’ve been abstinent since then, 

staying within two pounds (1 kg) of my 

goal weight. 

I’m starting to eat more slowly and to 

enjoy it more. I am making new friends. 

Talking with others is becoming easier, 

and I’m less shy and more apt to initiate 

contacts. I’m finding people fun and 

comforting. I’m less critical of others and 

of myself, accepting an imperfect me. I’ve 

found a warm, caring and enthusiastic 

sponsor. I feel this will be an important 

relationship. She will be a mentor and 

buddy in this adventure of recovery, of 

learning to function without compulsive 

eating. She has taught me that unrealistic 

expectations may engender resentments. 

In OA my emotions are valued and 

fostered, even if they scare me. I learn 

it’s necessary to feel them, rather than 

drugging myself with food, stuffing the 

pain out of consciousness. A goal may be 

to be “courageous and vulnerable.” I feel 

I’m a valuable person, I’m worth saving, 

and I have something to offer. I can be 

a support to others, an example and a 

good listener, useful even because of my 

troubled past and transgressions. I’m 

able to better appreciate small things and 

big things, like a vacation. 

Courageous 

and Vulnerable 

I found OA after my therapy group 

ended, shortly after I had had a nervous 

breakdown, lost my cat of 19 

years and mourned the first anniversary 

of my mother’s death. 

I’m getting rid of an old illusion of selfsufficiency, 

replacing it with nourishment 

and the strength of OA’s welcoming 

Fellowship. I enjoy the increased 

phoning and email, which enrich other 

friendships as well. Living alone makes 

it easy to isolate. Paradoxically, daring 

to experience loneliness carries with it 

the seed of the remedy; feeling the hurt 

permits healing. 

My concept of my Higher Power is 

harder to put into words. It is an experience 

rather than a being. It brings into 

my life balance, health, wholeness, 

conscience, emotional growth and 

recovery, and self-nurturing rather than 

self-punishment. My grace is “Thank you 

for nourishing food.” 

I value my meditation for the calm and 

insights it brings, even to my violin playing. 

I’m trying more prayer, starting with 

spontaneous thanks to God during the 

day. I had abandoned prayer for years, 

not trusting God because of painful 

family and health experiences. Fourththrough-Seventh 

Step work has given me 

a new lease on life, and I avoid incurring 

future amends through missteps. 

I’ve decided that while others may 

self-destruct, I won’t. No matter what 

happens, no matter what the anxiety, 

I will not overeat. No matter what the 

heartache, I will not undereat. 

— D.D., Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA 

LIVING TRADITIONS 

Tradition 

3 

The only requirement for OA 

membership is a desire to 

stop eating compulsively. 

Was Surprised 

I In January 2006, I walked into 

the OA rooms for the first time. I was at 

my top weight of nearly 200 pounds (91 

kg). I preferred to spend time alone eating, 

rather than being with people. When 

I did break from the food, shame of being overweight kept me from 

going out with friends and enjoying life. I was desperate. 

I don’t know what I expected at my first meeting, but I was surprised at what I found. 

These people were thin and happy! I felt like I was in the wrong place, since I was 

overweight and depressed. When the meeting began, they read the Twelve Steps and 

Twelve Traditions. I listened more closely to those words than I have since. Tradition 

Three sounded too good to be true: the only requirement for OA membership is a desire 

to stop eating compulsively. I had met the requirement! 

Because I was a newcomer, the group chose to read the First Step out of the “Twelve 

and Twelve.” Since then, I’ve heard many OA members share their stories and say they 

felt at home at their first meeting. I am no different. That day gave me such hope. It was 

the first time I felt comfortable in my own skin. I rejoiced at hearing the promises and 

had to hold back tears at the phrase “Welcome to Overeaters Anonymous. Welcome 

home.” For as long as I had been compulsively eating, I have had the desire to stop. 

Now I have a place that accepts me and welcomes me just as I am. 

— Lisa K. 

Article Alert 

• Generally Speaking: Write about anything relating to your experience, strength 

and hope in OA. Deadline: 3/15/12 

• Which Twelve-Step principle has most influenced your recovery? The principles 

are honesty, hope, faith, courage, integrity, willingness, humility, self-discipline, 

love, perseverance, spiritual awareness and service. 

• Or, what principle was the hardest to practice? 

• Or, what principle made the most difference in helping you overcome 

character defects? 

• Or, what principle helped most in your physical recovery, spiritual recovery or 

emotional recovery? 

• Or, how do one or more of the principles govern your life, and have your thoughts 

about the principles changed over time? Deadline: 4/15/12 


Stepping Out 

Step 

3 

G uaranteed 

What if I had a guarantee that everything 

I have been worrying about would be worked out 

in the most perfect way and in the best possible 

time? And in the future, I would be grateful for the 

problem and the solution? And what if I knew that 

all those I love are experiencing exactly what they need to become who 

they’re meant to be? Then I would be exactly where God wanted me to 

be, and I would be free to let go and enjoy my life. 

That is what it is like when I turn everything over to God! 

— Susan L., West Berlin, New Jersey USA 

Side Dishes 

Made a decision to turn our will and 

our lives over to the care of God as 

we understood Him. 

I have three children ages 20, 17 and 12. My 

youngest was born after I joined OA. Since my early 

20’s, I have been a vegetarian. 

The other day my two youngest children and I 

were talking, and my 12 year old shared a cute story 

from when he was in first grade. It happened at a 

school event that parents had been invited to attend. 

His teacher told him to offer me some animal crackers. 

He told her he couldn’t because I was a vegetarian and wouldn’t eat them. She assured 

him that the crackers weren’t really made from animals and it would be all right. 

I imagine she got a little chuckle from this interaction. 

He explained to us that as a child he had thought that being a vegetarian meant you 

didn’t eat cookies because I never ate any! His reluctance to offer me those cookies was 

not what his teacher thought. We had a good laugh over that one. 

— Kristi, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA 

LIVING TRADITIONS 

Tradition 

4 

Each group should be autonomous 

except in matters affecting 

other groups or OA as a whole. 

esponsible Autonomy 

R Autonomous—from the 

Greek “one who gives oneself 

his own law.” 

It would be difficult to point to a Tradition 

that is more responsible for the cohesiveness 

of OA and other Twelve-Step 

groups than Tradition Four. In the same 

way that each OA fellow must find his or 

her own plan of eating and must work 

the Steps for him or herself, OA groups 

are responsible for running their own 

meetings. If any two people are meeting 

to study and practice the OA Twelve Steps 

and Twelve Traditions and if any fellow 

compulsive overeaters are welcome to 

attend, they constitute a meeting. (The 

OA Handbook for Members, Groups and 

Service Bodies is a helpful reference on 

how to run an OA meeting.) 

Within those broad parameters, OA 

groups can conduct their meetings however 

they like. Of course, the other Traditions 

and principles inform this 

autonomy. An OA group might 

wish to include a particular 

religious prayer in its meeting. 

The group could do so, 

but by taking a position on 

an outside issue, it would 

not be adhering to Tradition 

Ten. Any member 

who realized this conflict 

would have to summon 

the courage to bring this 

to the group’s attention and 

ask for a group conscience to 

honor the Traditions and principles. 

Imagine if groups were not autonomous. 

Imagine OA required meetings to 

serve refreshments or recite a specific 

chant. If something a meeting does affects 

no other groups, why should anyone worry 

about it or have the authority to dictate 

such a thing? Obviously, they shouldn’t— 

that would be a heap of trouble! 

Tradition Four is about having the right 

to decide how to run a meeting, but it’s 

also about responsibility. It’s up to us to 

run our groups; that means our groups 

are only as strong as we make them. Like 

working our program, no one else can do 

this for us. 

— Edited and reprinted from Focus on 

Recovery newsletter, Triad Intergroup, 

April 2011 

— Howard S., Brooklyn, New York USA 


Stepping Out 

Step 

4 

You get in an accident, and no one is 

hurt, but you have a “flawed” car. You 

take it to the insurance adjuster, who 

walks around the car with a clipboard. 

Together you search for every nick, 

scratch and dent in the car. Not missing 

any defects is critical, but the car is not 

“bad” because of more nicks found. You 

don’t blame the car. No “fault” exists. 

Another car may have even caused some 

of the dents; it doesn’t matter. The car is 

not “evil.” It’s just been in an accident 

and needs bodywork. The dents and 

scratches do not need to be hidden. No 

shame, denial or out-of-control emotions 

need soothing as a result of finding 

the defects. It is an objective and fearless 

search and a complete inventory of the 

car’s external defects. You can’t fix the 

dents you don’t find, record and take 

responsibility for fixing. 

Armed with this comprehensive list, 

you take the car to a body shop. They 

don’t look down upon the car with more 

dents; there is no judgment. They simply 

fix the dents, but only the ones you show 

them. Now the car is like new. 

Of course some dents may go undetected. 

They might even rust over time. 

It’s a good idea to keep looking for those 

Made a searching and fearless 

moral inventory of ourselves. 

ixing the Dents 

F I finished Step Four for the first 

time, and the following thoughts helped 

me complete it with the proper attitude. 

It’s like dealing with the insurance company 

and body shop (ironically) after a 

car accident. Here’s how it works. 

dents and fixing them before they 

get worse. 

This approach to completing my 

searching and fearless moral inventory 

helped me to stay positive and look forward 

to doing it. 

— Vic, Raleigh, North Carolina USA 

Lifeline Reps Make 

All the Difference 

Lifeline began 2011 with 

212 Lifeline reps worldwide. 

By the end of December 

2011, that number had 

jumped to 312 reps. These 

reps generated an additional 

399 Lifeline subscriptions 

above those garnered 

in 2010, for a total of 2,186 

subscriptions in 2011. 

We need more 

Lifeline reps! 

For information on how 

to become a Lifeline rep, 

see the next page. 

Service With a Smile 

omething Extra 

S When 1 came into program in 2003, 

I was mad. I was only 23 years old and 

wanted to be out with my peers, not 

stuck in meetings every night! But today 

I know I needed to be in the rooms early 

so God could save me from more painful 

years. (This is also why I am concerned 

with reaching out to young people!) 

I was given the gift of abstinence January 1, 2005, and am maintaining a 50-pound 

(23-kg) weight loss by the grace of God. I have worked the OA Twelve Steps and used 

the tools. But when I moved to DC in March 2009, I knew I had to do something extra to 

keep my recovery. Service seemed like the best way. 

I committed to a home group and spoke a few times. Eventually I became the intergroup 

rep for my home meeting. In all honesty, I didn’t want to serve, but I knew I had 

to do something new to maintain my abstinence amidst so much change. Most months 

I don’t feel like going to the intergroup meeting; but when I arrive, I am so glad I’m 

there. Intergroup is exciting and full of people with long-term abstinence. I feel like I 

grow just being in the room! 

I want to stay abstinent and happy, so when I heard we needed a newsletter editor, 

I volunteered. Serving the Fellowship gives me great pleasure. I ask for your support 

and patience as I practice “progress, not perfection” and “easy does it” in this position. 

(This is of particular importance now because I am getting married soon and must seek 

balance, one day at a time.) 

— Edited and reprinted from Washington DC Area Intergroup newsletter, May/June 

2010 

Lifeline magazine IS a lifeline! 

Become a Lifeline Rep 

A Lifeline rep shares the value of Lifeline with group members, 

takes subscription orders, collects the funds, and sends 

orders and funds to the World Service Office. It is easy and 

rewarding service. Reps receive bonuses for their groups for the number of subscriptions 

they generate. Some bonuses are a free copy of For Today, a Lifeline subscription 

or a $25 gift certificate. Each rep receives a packet of materials and guidelines. 

Lifeline reps support the recovery of Lifeline readers and support OA as a whole by 

helping Lifeline become self-supporting. When it is self-supporting, it strengthens 

other OA services because it does not draw on other funds to cover its deficits. 

To become a rep, contact info@oa.org and put “Lifeline Rep” in the subject line, or 

call 505-891-2664, or write to Lifeline, PO Box 44020, Rio Rancho, NM 87174 USA 


Taking the Spiritual Path 

nswered Prayers 

A I came into OA in the winter of 2002 after 

a God-inspired realization: if the Twelve Steps 

work for alcohol then they should also work for 

food. I found OA online and have been in the 

program for nine years. Initially I used a Goddirected 

food plan, literature and writing to work 

the program. Later I located a meeting about an hour away, where I 

found great support and a sponsor. Three years ago I was led to help 

start a meeting in our small, rural community. I am also the meeting’s 

contact person, which brings me to God’s latest answered prayer. 

Even though I have been in OA for nine years and have lost 30 pounds (14 kg), I 

seemed to be losing my focus. I had regained some of that weight and felt I wasn’t 

walking my talk. One morning I was reading the Recovery Checklist. Question Four 

on the list asks, “Do you feel ‘burned out,’ or are you rebelling against the program? 

What action can you take to revitalize your commitment?” (p. 1). In my journal I wrote, 

“Yes, God, I am feeling burned out and need a revitalized commitment to the program. 

Please guide me to this. Help me know how to work the program.” 

Later a woman wanting to know about OA called me. Nothing brings back that early 

spark and excitement better than explaining the program to a stranger! As I hung up, 

I thanked God for his quick answer. God also answered her prayers because she has 

been coming to OA ever since. 

But God didn’t leave it there. About a week and a half later, I got another call, this 

time from a cousin who had heard I was in OA. She was calling to say she was also in 

OA. What a wonderful connection and reinspiration for both of us. As it says so many 

different ways in the Big Book, we just have to ask for help. God continues to answer my 

prayers and lead me to people and new readings. I have a newfound commitment and 

abstinence. Thank you, God! 

— Sara V., Bedford, Pennsylvania USA 

For Discussion . . . AND JOURNALING- 

Welcome to OA. Those words can change a person’s life. Consider how your life has 

changed from one of compulsions to one of serenity. If you are not there yet, ask yourself 

what is missing on your road to recovery. Write down those things and ask for help 

in finding solutions. 

Newcomers Corner Speaking From the Trenches 

For the first two months as an OA 

newcomer, I was “going to any lengths.” 

OA made me aware of my all-or-nothing 

thinking. I worked the program and became 

abstinent the day of my first meeting. 

My definition of abstinence is 3-1-0-1 

(three healthy meals, one healthy snack, 

zero skipping meals, one day at a time). 

Working the program became a fulltime 

effort: attending meetings, sharing 

online, meeting with my sponsor, reading 

OA literature, using the Twelve-Step 

Workbook of Overeaters Anonymous, 

giving service, phoning and emailing 

OA members, seeking Higher Power’s 

guidance and keeping a written plan of 

eating. I lost 30 pounds (14 kg) after 12 

weeks. I jumpstarted my daily exercise 

by walking and swimming. 

Then life sidetracked me. I was caring 

for my nieces for eight weeks. House– 

guests and caregiving have their challenges, 

and I became unhappy. I wasn’t 

eating with purposefulness and gained 

six pounds (3 kg). I noticed we were 

eating for the wrong reasons: for fun, to 

avoid boredom or after a TV commercial. 

“The irony of compulsive overeating 

is that it eliminates hunger and intensi- 

Newcomers: Send your 

experiences and concerns 

to Newcomers Corner. See 

the table-of-contents page for 

contact information 

eep Playing 

K My first day in the OA program 

was April 23, 2010. I arrived at 329 

pounds (150 kg), miserable with 

myself. I had ankle and knee pain; 

lacked physical or sexual activity; 

and had high blood pressure, 

depression and digestive disorders 

from compulsive overeating. 

fies craving” (For Today, July 17, p. 199). 

My husband and I discussed with our 

nieces the troublesome eating issues. We 

needed this as much as the girls. Moderate 

hunger three or four times a day is 

a body asking for nutrition, not a sign 

of overeating. Craving is an unhealthy 

symptom of an ongoing addiction. Setting 

ground rules for healthy eating was a 

new start. We’ve had two wonderful days 

of abstinence, enjoyed each meal (no 

junk food) and have better attitudes. 

We shopped for only healthy, planned 

food. They asked for items, but brief 

reminders helped. They got on the 

wagon with me! My 8-year-old niece, a 

self-proclaimed picky eater, tried new 

fruits for the first time and learned you 

can’t decide you don’t like something if 

you’ve never tried it. My 5-year-old niece 

said, “Auntie, you have to focus, fo-cus! 

You have to get back on your ‘healthyist-ness-ish’ 

so you can ‘keep play’ with 

us when you get old!” Yes, I need to keep 

working our OA program each and every 

today. 

May we all live long and healthy to 

keep playing together when we get old! 

— Ginny E., Canfield, Ohio USA 

22 Lifeline A Meeting on the Go 

March/April 2012 www.oa.org 23

Is it a “suggestion” or a “must” that 

we not substitute the words “food” 

for “alcohol” and “compulsive overeater” 

for “alcoholic” when our OA 

meeting has a Big Book study? 

SHARE IT 

The deadline for letters is five months 

after publication of the original story. 

Letters must have a complete name 

and address. Please specify if your 

name, city, state, province and/or 

country should remain “anonymous” 

if published. 

OA’s group conscience has decided we should read 

aloud only OA-approved literature at OA meetings. This 

includes OA Conference- and board-approved literature 

and AA conference-approved literature. Although OA has 

Ask-It Basket not reviewed and approved AA literature, we deem their 

group conscience approved its contents. When we read AA 

literature and change the words, neither OA nor AA has approved that literature. 

At OA’s founding, members asked permission from AA to modify its Twelve Steps 

and Twelve Traditions for use in OA. AA graciously granted that permission. Those are 

the only things we have the authority to change. At OA’s inception, no OA literature 

existed, so the Fellowship used AA’s Big Book, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. To 

better understand how the AA concepts could apply to compulsive eating, members 

would often change the words when reading aloud from AA literature during meetings. 

Today AA World Service asks that we respect their literature and group conscience by 

reading their literature, such as the Big Book, as written, without changing the words. 

AA also asks that we read excerpts from their literature in context, which means to read 

it from the actual literature as printed, not from a typed sheet of paper. Of course, when 

we share in meetings about the passages we read, we are free to share our experience, 

strength and hope in our own terms related to compulsive eating. If we want to read 

only literature that uses terms related to food and compulsive eating, we have a wealth 

of OA literature from which to choose that doesn’t require changing the words. 

It is also a common practice in OA meetings to change the words of OA’s Twelve 

Steps when reading them aloud. People replace “God” with “Higher Power” and “him” 

with gender-neutral terms, and they add “we” at the beginning of all the Steps. When 

we make those changes, we are amending the Steps. Our OA, Inc. Bylaws, Subpart B, 

Article XIV, Section 1 clearly spell out the amendment process. Amendments to the 

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions must be adopted by two-thirds of the delegates at 

the World Service Business Conference, and that vote must be ratified by three-fourths 

of the registered Overeaters Anonymous groups responding within six months of notification, 

provided at least 55 percent of the registered groups have responded. Clearly, 

no individual member, group or OA service body can amend the Twelve Steps or 

Twelve Traditions by themselves because the Steps and Traditions “belong” to all of us. 

One could argue Tradition Four allows each group to do what it wants, as long as 

it doesn’t affect other groups or OA as a whole. True, but we also have Tradition One: 

“Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon OA unity.” 

We have Tradition Two: “For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority— 

Continued on page 26 

doption Connection 

A The submission 

“Searching” (Lifeline, 

November 2011, pp. 8–9) 

touched me. Her share 

reminded me of how 

OA miracles spread 

through all aspects of 

our lives. I attribute OA 

to helping me maintain a 

healthy, loving relationship 

with my 11-year-old 

birth daughter. 

When I was 26, I gave 

birth to a beautiful baby 

girl and placed her with a 

kind, warm, adoptive family. 

After that placement, 

I became suicidal. I had 

no idea what to do with 

my grief. Stuffing it down 

with food, over-exercising 

and obsessing about diets 

didn’t help. 

I walked into my 

first Overeaters Anonymous 

meeting when 

my birth daughter was 

about 11 months old. If 

I hadn’t found OA, I’m 

not sure I’d be alive today. 

My daughter wouldn’t 

have a relationship with 

her birth mom. Her questions 

would have gone 

unanswered. 

OA not only saved my 

life, it enhanced the lives 

of those around me. 

Through open sharing 

about my choice for open 

adoption, I’ve met two 

other OA fellows who are 

birth moms and many 

other OA pals who have 

Web Links 

adoption in their lives. 

It’s comforting to know 

I don’t have to walk life’s 

path alone and misunderstood. 

Working the 

program around my 

grief has been a tremendous 

help. 

As for the OA fellow 

who is searching for her 

birthparents, I’m so grateful 

that you are sharing 

about it and getting support 

from your family of 

origin and your OA family. 

I have no doubt your 

birthparents think of you 

daily, just as my daughter 

is in my heart each moment 

of every day. 

— Anonymous, Orange 

County, California USA 

Discover interesting and helpful OA Web-site links. 

OA Guidelines—Information on everything from how to handle disruptive 

behavior in a meeting to how intergroup treasurers can manage finances. 

www.oa.org/membersgroups/oa-guidelines 

Program Inspiration—A recovery-boosting page that features the OA Promise, 

program-related prayers and an audio file of OA members’ stories. 

www.oa.org/membersgroups/program-inspiration 



Ask-It Basket 

Continued from page 24 

a loving God as He may express Himself 

in our group conscience. Our leaders are 

but trusted servants; they do not govern.” 

Concept Two states, in part, “World 

Service Business Conference is the voice, 

authority and effective conscience of OA 

as a whole.” 

If I insist upon changing the wording 

of OA or AA literature to suit myself, I 

am displaying the same selfishness and 

self-will that landed me in OA in the 

first place! As one trustee wrote, “From 

my vantage point and experience, there 

is a tendency to mold the OA program 

of recovery to the molds of individual 

members and their ways of doing things. 

I am reminded if my way worked, I would 

not be in OA or need to be. Obviously, my 

way did not work. So I am quite willing to 

work on changing me, which is a challenge, 

and not try to revamp OA or AA 

to suit me. When a physician gives me a 

prescription for treatment of an illness, I 

am well advised not to make any attempts 

to rewrite it.” 

If I believe OA’s literature needs to be 

amended, I am encouraged to participate 

in our collective group conscience by 

serving as a delegate to the World Service 

Business Conference. Failing that, I am 

committed to respecting the group conscience 

of both OA and AA by reading the 

literature as it is written, from the original 

source, without any creative editing on 

my part. 

Yours in service, 

— Teresa K., Region Four trustee and 

chair of the Board of Trustees 

Lifeline 1 X 1 Campaign: Make Lifeline Self-Supporting 

Lifeline magazine cannot survive on praise alone. 

Today we ask all groups around the world to unite behind Lifeline, 

OA’s meeting-on-the-go. Lifeline’s survival depends on you. 

During the current economic crisis, Lifeline’s circulation has plummeted. 

Lifeline is loved . . . and shared. Lifeline cannot become selfsupporting 

when so many members share the magazine. 

A way exists to continue sharing and still make Lifeline selfsupporting. 

Every group worldwide purchases one Lifeline group 

subscription and renews it annually for the life of the group. 

Splitting the subscription expense eases the financial burden, and 

each group can carry the recovery message and make Lifeline self-supporting. 

There may be no Lifeline if it isn’t self-supporting. 

Lifeline does not have outside advertising to bolster its income. A group subscription 

makes it feasible for members to provide the financial support Lifeline needs. How 

would your share of that cost compare to what you might have spent on food had you 

not found OA? Please subscribe with the form on page 28 or online at www.oa.org. 

OAers 

ARRY 

eona 

and 

Your report card is 

disappointing. 

Don’t worry, 

Dad. This, too, 

shall pass! 

At Larry’s house . . . 

Your math teacher 

says you’re inattentive 

and undisciplined. 

Well, what 

others think of 

me is none of 

my business, 

right? 

This is serious! 

I know, Dad. 

I’ll work harder 

and take it one 

day at a time. 

Something New for You! 

Expect a miracle! It’s 

progress, not perfection! 

The best is yet to 

come, Dad! 

I’ve created 

a monster! 

Revised Suggested Meeting Format 

At the November 2011 Board of Trustees meeting, board members approved 

updates and revisions for the Suggested Meeting Format. The 

revisions include more inclusive language, an emphasis on abstinent 

sponsors, added focus on Lifeline 

magazine and updated guidelines 

for collecting Seventh-Tradition 

contributions. www.oa.org/pdfs/ 

suggested_meeting_format.pdf 

Abridged Tools of Recovery 

As part of the revised Suggested Meeting 

Format, the Board of Trustees 

has approved an abridged version 

of OA’s Tools of Recovery pamphlet. 

The abridgement includes two or three-sentence descriptions of each tool, 

taken directly from the pamphlet. OA groups can use this abridgement to 

save time during meetings. Pages 4 and 5 of the Suggested Meeting Format 

now include the Abridged Tools of Recovery. The document is also available 

for free download from the OA Web site. www.oa.org/pdfs/Abridged_ 

Tools_2011_final.pdf 

© 2012 Overeaters Anonymous, Inc. 



Support Lifeline 

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Cut 

The Twelve Steps 

1. We admitted we were powerless 

over food—that our lives had 

become unmanageable. 

2. Came to believe that a Power greater 

than ourselves could restore us 

to sanity. 

3. Made a decision to turn our will 

and our lives over to the care of 

God as we understood Him. 

4. Made a searching and fearless 

moral inventory of ourselves. 

5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and 

to another human being the exact 

nature of our wrongs. 

6. Were entirely ready to have God remove 

all these defects of character. 

7. Humbly asked Him to remove our 

shortcomings. 

8. Made a list of all persons we had 

harmed and became willing to 

make amends to them all. 

9. Made direct amends to such 

people wherever possible, except 

when to do so would injure them 

or others. 

10. Continued to take personal inventory 

and when we were wrong, 

promptly admitted it. 

11. 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 compulsive 

overeaters and to practice 

these principles in all our affairs. 

The Twelve Traditions 

1. Our common welfare should come first; personal 

recovery depends upon OA unity. 

2. For our group purpose there is but one 

ultimate authority—a loving God as He may 

express Himself in our group conscience. 

Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do 

not govern. 

3. The only requirement for OA membership is 

a desire to stop eating compulsively. 

4. Each group should be autonomous except 

in matters affecting other groups or OA as a 

whole. 

5. Each group has but one primary purpose— 

to carry its message to the compulsive 

overeater who still suffers. 

6. An OA group ought never endorse, finance 

or lend the OA name to any related facility 

or outside enterprise, lest problems of 

money, property and prestige divert us from 

our primary purpose. 

7. Every OA group ought to be fully self-supporting, 

declining outside contributions. 

8. Overeaters Anonymous should remain 

forever nonprofessional, but our service 

centers may employ special workers. 

9. OA, as such, ought never be organized; but 

we may create service boards or committees 

directly responsible to those they serve. 

10. Overeaters Anonymous has no opinion on 

outside issues; hence the OA name ought 

never be drawn into public controversy. 

11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction 

rather than promotion; we need 

always maintain personal anonymity at the 

level of press, radio, films, television and 

other public media of communication. 

12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all 

these Traditions, ever reminding us to place 

principles before personalities. 

Permission to use the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions 

of Alcoholics Anonymous for adaptation granted by AA World Services, Inc.

God grant me the serenity 

to accept the things I cannot change, 

courage to change the things I can, 

and wisdom to know the difference. 

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