Mill Creek OA 100 Pounder Speaker Meeting

Raised in a Catholic church, Annette shares with us how she did not believe in a god for the better part of her life because if there was one, he would have made her thin like she prayed for time & again. She emphasizes that she is brought up by a “pack of wolves”. During the course of her eating career, she goes to Winchell’s and orders from a staff that does not even speak English, but still is able to get across to them that she needs enough doughnuts for a work party, when it is really just for her consumption and she would have it devoured within two days. She comes to OA in 1985, mainly because it is free and her mother always had to pay lots of money for weight loss programs. She takes on service commitments early on in her recovery. She discusses her unmanageability with smoking cigarettes and how her doc diagnoses her with emphysema and chronic bronchitis at thirty years old. Annette talks about what she has to go through to become abstinent from them, and how it leads her back to consuming sugary snacks, and furthermore, to a new acting out behavior of binging & purging. She almost dies from this newfound hobby. Ultimately, she comes to believe in a God of her understanding, and that this Power is truly in control. If this Power could help her to stop smoking, then it can help her become abstinent from compulsive overeating. Having seventeen years of abstinence currently, she has maintained a ninety-five pound weight loss coming from a top weight of 250 pounds. Join us on the journey that is the experience, strength, and hope of Annette L…

Nancy B’s story is that of a woman who has gone to the bitter ends with her compulsive overeating habits. She is captivating as she shares her experiences of what it was like for her within the depths of this cunning & baffling disease. She tells of how she wouldn’t shower for weeks at a time as a consequence of it, and paints a clear picture of the demoralizing nature of the disease for us. She reveals how she is physically & sexually abused as a kid, and exposes some of the pain & suffering that would lead up to her ultimate acting out behavior involving food. Nothing seems to work for her—not food, not romantic relationships, not drugs. In the end, the one thing that has proven to do good in her life is the fellowship of OA, and she powerfully conveys the ways in which it does…

You will be inspired by Michael N.’s story of how he lost 400 pounds over 12 years in OA. He tells how he first was exposed to OA in high school, but didn’t get serious about dealing with his compulsive eating until he reached a point of desperation and the feeling of being isolated from everyone else, at which time he was reintroduced to OA when he called in to live radio program! The producer told him that he never had to suffer alone again when he was a member of the OA family. This turned out to be very true, because Michael was warmly welcomed in the OA. His sponsor, who had also lost 400 pounds, helped him reach a spiritual solution to deal with his eating obsession. Michael talks about how he learned that pain is an opportunity for spiritual growth. Today, Michael is now able to help OA people with spiritual issues. An important message he has is to keep coming back.

Iola was so uncomfortable in her skin that she couldn’t even say her name when she first arrived to the rooms of OA. She shares with us that it stems from her childhood growing up with an alcoholic father and going on diets as a young girl. Her eating is so out of control that even working in a hospital around a bunch of medical professionals, she maintains her obesity problem. Even working at Winchell’s doughnuts doesn’t satiate her. She speaks of her scores and scores of attempts at controlling her eating, but would always find herself back in the rooms of OA as it is the only place that gives her hope. Listen in on Iola’s inspirational story of what it was like and how it is for her today…

Spencer shares with us some of his experiences with the food, such as when he eats a whole ex-lax bar as a young boy because he thought it was a regular chocolate bar, and he ends up hospitalized. He first comes to OA in 1978 at 318 pounds. He tries weight watchers and other weight loss programs. After exhausting himself with all of his self-willed solutions, he commits to the OA way of life, and as an added bonus, sheds 140 pounds. Though he has gained a few pounds back due to medical circumstances, he has maintained the overall weight loss to this day. Take advantage of the experience, strength, and hope that this kind and loving individual has to share with us…

At seven years old, Tom joins weight watchers, loses seven pounds, and leaves after a week. His mother is into dieting and weight loss. He always feels separated because of his weight in school. While in his thirties, he bounces back and forth from 230 pounds to 300 pounds. He reaches 450 pounds and then goes down to 300 when he comes back to Orange County to live with his mom. He joins OA, and he relapses in 2005, leaves OA, gains 200 pounds, loses everything good in his life, and moves back in with his mom. One day, he finds himself laughing while in the shower, and realizes that he surrenders. He comes back to OA, and today has a life beyond anything he could have ever imagined.

Steve O has maintained 173 pound weight loss over the last two years, a day at a time, and a miracle for someone who was convinced that what was suggested would not work and was all nonsense. Today he realizes that, through the steps, the pain and guilt he experienced in active addiction has been experienced by countless others. He shares helpful tools with us.

Leslie shares her experience, strength, and hope with us, including the tools that help her stay abstinent a day at a time.

Nancy D comes into OA weighing in at 324 pounds and has gone down as far as 154 pounds in her recovery. She opens up with us about some of her insane behaviors while in active addiction, like how late one night a baking tray of cookies, a whole lemon meringue pie, and a batch of fudge was not even enough to help her “feel better”. She eats out of her trash can on different occasions. Even though she was diagnosed as morbidly obese by a medical professional, she could not stop. She shares with us that she had some “serious” binge foods, and did not “mess around” as she was not a “Twinkie girl”. Ultimately, only the fellowship of OA is what helps her abstain from compulsive overeating. Today she explains how she is able to apply the principles of the program to her recovery from a massive brain aneurism. This amazingly strong woman who has been in the program twenty-six years shares many of her helpful tools with us.

Zeta shares her experience, strength, and hope with us.....

Having had over two years of abstinence at one point and then going into a severe relapse, Stephanie shares her story with us fifty-nine days after her last day of compulsive eating. Today she can safely say she is totally free of her obsession from the food. She brings up some of her insane behaviors with us, and how she got married to her sweetheart, got her dream job, and how recovery became obsolete in her life, causing her relapse. She has many struggles in her current recovery, and opens up to us about her experience with the twelve steps.

As a kid diagnosed with clinical anxiety, Robin steals food from convenient stores. He uses amphetamines around 17 years old. He finds that it works so well at getting thin. Over time, however, he realizes that there seems to never be enough weight loss to satisfy him. He comes to OA in 1983 and leaves in 1990, gaining 100 lbs and developing a nasty case of acid reflux. He is around 300 lbs when he gets back to OA in 2000. Today he holds a much more normal weight. He is a firm believer in reading the literature and working the steps. For him, making amends has been central in his recovery, and he holds the belief that God works through the wisdom of the group in meetings. Service is extremely important, whether it’s at home or in a meeting.

Milly grows up in a fearful home where mom teaches the kids to never trust anyone. Dad is in the military for thirty years, and home life is very dysfunctional. She is sexually and physically abused by one of her brothers. At sixteen, she gets into a bad accident reaching for a candy bar that she dropped and had to have. At seventeen, she gets into abusing heavy drugs, and gets arrested twice. She is hospitalized for a bad LSD trip. She becomes an IV drug user too. At twenty-six, she joins weight watchers and loses 100 pounds. She gets pregnant, and has an abortion. At thirty, she comes to an OA meeting. She loses weight and then leaves. At thirty-five, she has a baby. Things change. She vows to never use drugs or alcohol again; however this does not apply to her compulsive overeating. At forty-six, she loses ninety pounds. At fifty-two, she finds out that she has uterine cancer. In January 2002, she goes back to OA, and sticks with the program. She finds it was a piece of cake to put down the drugs and alcohol, in comparison to abstaining from the food. She has to end her consumption of sugar completely after being in OA for six weeks, and then finds she has to start working a program if she is to stay abstinent. Today she works a very service oriented program of recovery. She has a solid food plan. She has a social life she never thought possible, knows great people, and has lots of fun in recovery. Although she was never religious, her main focus today is her relationship with her higher power, whom she believes has a great plan for her life. She has had some major life events happen while in recovery, and OA has been of immense help during these times, providing her the opportunity to stay abstinent time and again. Furthermore, she is able to set a great example for her son because of the program. She shares some very useful tools and a lot of great experience, strength, and hope with the group. Her abstinence date is February 21st, 2002 with a maintained weight loss of 100 pounds.

Adam, at a weight of over 300 pounds prior to recovery, spends a lot of time & effort making sure people’s attention isn’t on his weight, through making them laugh or sounding good. He has a “master of the universe” mentality, and tries other methods of recovery. He becomes beaten down, sick, tired, and desperate for help as he wants to stop with the out of control eating, but can’t. Two years later, he comes to an OA meeting. He fights aspects of the OA program for years, and questions everything about it. His abstinence date is 11/30/1998, and he has a weight loss of 135 pounds in recovery. Today he calls himself an asset in the workplace, a decent father, and a good husband in a working marriage.

Evelyn, from the San Fernando Valley, has maintained a weight loss of 115 pounds for 24 years, and has been abstinent from compulsive overeating for 26 years. She shares how she had lost 100 pounds just for spite towards others in recovery that claimed time and again that she would never make it. Evelyn gives us insight into the tools she has used over the years to help keep her abstinence, such as waiting 26 minutes after each meal (the time it takes for the brain to process that the body has been fed) through keeping herself busy walking, calling others, reading, or writing. Evelyn risks losing so much without working her program, including her 22 year marriage to her husband, her repaired relationship with her daughter, opportunities from her returning back to college, and all of the integrity, self-esteem, and well-being that has come along with working a solid program of recovery. She also risks continued opportunities to be a strong example of how the program works for her daughter, who is 200 pounds overweight and does not believe the program is for her.

Carrie N is raised with nutritious meals, yet she always feels overweight. She tries weight watchers and goes from a top weight of 305 lbs to 250 lbs. In 2010, a doctor highly suggests she get on medication for her high cholesterol of 230. Instead, she decides she will simply change her eating habits and foods, no meds though, and has a successful weight loss down to 170 lbs. Victorious with the drop in weight but still sick, she remembers the OA meetings she had attended twenty years ago, when she had gone for about a year & a half, and then just stopped. She decides to go to another meeting, and it is the same speaker that was speaking at the very last meeting she had attended twenty years ago! Willing to work a program, she gets a sponsor, sets up her food plan, and reads a few pages out of the Big Book daily. She goes to three or four meetings a week. She is astonished that after a week in recovery, thoughts of compulsive overeating dissipate. She loses weight and works an honest program. At a party one day, she is serving the cake and is later surprised to find that she had avoided licking the frosting off of her fingers this time. All of these things bring her to believe in a higher power. Overall, she feels good about her life today, and this keeps her coming back.

Victor says that he began his overeating career within seconds after being born. He eats, sleeps, and breathes food growing up. His relationship with food takes him to the point of eating out of trash cans, some not even his own. He comes to OA in 1969 for the first time, and in two years, goes from 350 lbs to 189 lbs, decides he has the problem licked, and does not make it back to the program for another 14 years, when he weighs 450 lbs this time. Beaten down from the disease and desperate for a new way of life, he gets abstinent. This is a recovering compulsive overeater that learns to really work a rigorous program. He has some interesting tools, including a unique formula for one to develop an idea of what one’s higher power is to them. He shares a lot of his experience, strength, and hope with us.

Justin grows up with a mother that is firm in her practice of good eating behaviors and having healthy foods in the home. However, this does not prevent compulsive overeating habits and binge eating from entering his life, and in fact it becomes established in his life at a young age. His top weight in his eating career is over 500 lbs. Justin first comes to OA in 2006, however he has not had enough yet and continues in the sickness with a relapse. He ends up in the hospital with a blood sugar level of 989 and a case of diabetic ketoacidosis. Surprisingly, he gets out alive and without having gone into a diabetic coma, as his higher power sees fit. He feels that he has hit his rock bottom, and claims that the sick lifestyle must cease. However, the insanity still continues for another 2 ½ years as he goes on to live a life consuming 10,000-14,000 calories a day regularly…….until July 2nd 2010, his current abstinence date. He has maintained 170 lb weight loss over the last 18 months.

Rich H shares his story of what it was like, and how it is for him today in recovery.

In a very animated way, Helen discusses the origins of the insanity of her disease, and what lengths she went to trying to conrol the problem herself. She talks about the profound positive changes that have happened in her life due to the program.

Roz shares her passion for OA and her program which is stronger than ever after almost 26 years. As life has thrown her curve balls she has used the program to hit home runs with ther family, those she has helped and those who have helped her. She is inspiring in her loving resiliance.

Just celebrating 3 years and 190 lb weight loss, Jon reveals the challenges he faced in his disease and the promises coming true in his rcovery.

Randi Z shares how she has achieved 36 years of abstinence in OA, overcoming the compulsive eating she had since four years old, triggered by family drama, sibling rivalry, and other dysfunctionality that led her to use food as a way to deal with feelings of inadequacy. She describes the trifecta her mom abused her with, how she used her brain to try to build self-esteem and why of that idea failed in college. She describes what triggered 40 pounds of weight gain college, how food became her “lover”, and how she was introduced to OA 1976. She tells how she was led to believe that nothing is more important than abstinence, how to deal with feelings, how she dealt with being an angry person, how she broke the cycle of food addiction with her children, and what important relationship skills she has learned. Finally, she shares the miracle that occurred when she was looking for a job that helped her never doubt her higher power afterward. We know you will find Randi’s pitch an encouragement in hard times. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:105%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin;}

Jeaninie shares her story of hope

Domingo R shares his story of hope.

Join Hank N. as he describes his 24 years of abstinence, dropping from a high of 404 pounds to his current weight of 245. He takes you on his life’s journey, starting with his painful childhood, where his father was a gambler and alcoholic, and his mother said he was ugly, leading to 60 years of trying to prove he was worthy of love. He describes how he felt when he was sent to live with a grandmother who stole from him. He described the amazing story of what happened when he tried to steal a car as a boy, a humorous story of what happened when he tried to rent a tuxedo as an obese man, and why meeting a guy who used to be 800 pounds changed his life. He describes his experiences with Weight Watchers, why it didn’t work for him, what happened at his first to OA meetings. Hank shares gems of wisdom, such as why the acronym NUTS helps him keep his abstinence, the difference between “bleeding deacon” and an “elder statesman”, and what gift he asks God for every day.

Melodie shares her story of hope.

Annie G. has 5 years of success in OA. She shares her story of her long path to normal weight, beginning compulsive behavior at 5 years when her girlfriends said she was going to hell, causing her to feel unloved and not good enough. She tells who she stole money from to buy junk food, how her weight in college yo-yoed from being a restrictor and trying a modified Atkins diet, and why the lack of spiritual connections caused her to break her diet because of a piece of fruit. Her story of hope begins when a friend invited her to OA, where she felt the presence of love. She tells you the real reason she came to OA (not to lose weight), what she did to be successful in OA that includes the list of things she does every day, how she met her future husband in OA, how she was able to heal relationships, and what she realized she can turn to God for. You will be inspired by Annie's message.

Nancy B. will carry you through an emotional journey--from tears of pain to tears of joy-- that allowed her to lose 113 pounds, earn a year of abstinence, eliminate all her diabetic medication through OA, and recently walk 35 miles for a cancer charity. She tells about the amazing amount of alcohol her raging alcoholic mother and stepfather drank, how her obese grandmother made her feel loved for the first time and cooked greasy redneck food for her. Her heartbreaking tale continues with the trauma of being molested by her stepsister and mom’s boyfriends, how she used food, promiscuity, and pulling out her hair to deal with it. Food met every single need she had and would help or appease any emotion she had, She tells how--when her husband was out of town--she consumed meals so massive that she would pass out, spending up to $300 per day on food, draining their savings, topping out at 325 pounds. She tells how constantly eating helped her deal with the emotions of being diagnosed with cancer. She shares how she joined at 18, dropped out after a few months, and rejoined a year ago, finding kindness and a happiness she never felt before. She shares the wisdom she has gained: how all that is required to attend OA is a desire to stop compulsive eating, how abstinence came by the power of God, how she believed that this could be something that happened for her, how all she had to do what was before her and leave the rest to God’s hands, how she deals with a codependent relationship with her husband, how God took all the strengths and weaknesses and mashed it together into something that is priceless, and how she hopes that she always will have the heart of a newcomer which is the sweetest and recovery and lets us work the steps of this program. Don’t miss Nancy’s wonderful share.

Matt S. speaks candidly and straight from the heart about his devastating experience growing up in a family of alcoholics, drug users, mental illness, and sexual abuse, leading him to compulsive eating. He grew up thinking the world is against him, how he hated everyone, including God, and how he ballooned in weight, especially in college. He tells how his life was transformed when he joined AA at the young age of 22 years old to help with compulsive eating, and eventually joined OA and earned six years of abstinence, dropping 160 pounds from a height of 340 pounds. He tells how he learned to love his family and communicate with them. He shares wisdom beyond his years, such as how he can go through difficult times without being corrupted by what’s happening to him, how he can abstain through craziness happening around them, how you don’t have to believe your thoughts because they’re not all real, how he works the steps to survive, and how he still does all the things he did before OA but now he doesn’t act upon thinking. Matt shares what his biggest fear is, the most difficult thing in life he is going through, why he flew to Los Angeles with no future money and what happened as a result, why his sponsor was very special, what he does that makes him feel normal eating in a group, his favorite pages in the Big Book, what he thinks “being relieved of the bondage of self” really means, how making an inventory makes him feel significant, and how OA offers to make you better. You’ll want to take notes on his ideas, especially in the second half. Matt shares each of the 12 steps from his viewpoint.. He shares a touching story of healing between him and his brother. He finishes by sharing some of the most powerful things he discovered in OA that keep him abstinent. Matt’s story is great for anyone to hear, and especially for a young person struggling with compulsive eating.

Join Laurie S. for her memorable story of a nearly-100 pound weight loss, starting with her family of compulsive eaters and drinkers in New Orleans, what it was like to be part of three generations of dieters (with her mother and grandmother), and what it was like to go to fat camps. She describes what happened when her therapist recommended OA, what a “gray sheet” is, what happened to her in an abandoned church that made her question OA, why Hurricane Katrina affected her strongly, what disgusting thing she did to chocolate that made her return to OA, what she decided to do that made her stick with OA for 6 ½ years of abstinence, what she means by “cosmic oneness” and “GUS” and how it helps her spiritually, why she thought she was worse than Hitler, why cleaning up a room kept her coming back to OA, who her “best boyfriends” were that were getting her fat, and the three words she uses to create her food plan. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:105%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin;}

You’ll be encouraged as Sharon P (five years of abstinence) and her sponsor Alice C (seven years abstinence) tell their stories. First, Alice tells you her story, beginning with what it was like when she changed from being an active, thin child to being an overweight woman of 240 pounds. She tells you how she lost 90 pounds within eight months of being invited by a bulimic friend to OA, and kept it off despite cancer and family tragedy. Sharon then tells of her childhood as an overweight girl who never liked herself. She tells why her first 10 years in OA were in an out of abstinence, and then explains how she managed to maintain abstinence for the past five years. She shares how she went from not wanting to know about God to knowing that God has a plan for her. This is a team story of friendship and hope you won’t want to miss. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:105%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin;}

Mickey B. tells in his humorous, friendly way how OA has given him 11 years of normal weight, down 85 pounds. You’ll enjoy his fascinating story, starting with blurred memories as a boy in war-torn Ireland, where he was amazingly less focused on the violence going on around him than on scavenging Mars Bars from bombed grocery stores! Many years after immigrating to California, failing at diets and other “logical plans”, he tells how the guilt he felt when he binged led him to OA, and how astonished he was that it actually worked, allowing him to focus more on people than food once he was abstinent gained empathy for others. If you’ve ever dropped out of OA, you may relate to how he reached step 4 and then stopped all tools and steps, which led to guilt, depression, drugs, binge eating on airline food (!), then dropping out of OA. He tells what he ate in public that embarrassed him so much that he rejoined OA, and the strange thing he does when running. You will like his thoughts on how he deals with negative and depressing thoughts and stays positive and abstinent, and what he considers the key ingredient for success in OA. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:105%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin;}

Nancy J. has 39 years in OA (14,090 days, she says!), and is a grateful compulsive overeater because OA gave her a chance at permanent abstinence. Her fascinating story starts as a child suffering under a raging alcoholic father who beat her, where she learned to use food to cover the pain, reaching 175 pounds at 12 years old. She describes how the diet pills her doctor prescribed resulted in her being a speed addict, and cycling through 20 years of diet plans. A friend brought her to OA and became her sponsor, and Nancy relates the humorous kind of "can you top this" competition they had that degenerated into bragging. She will tell you how she achieved abstinence, including what her "gray sheet" and other food plan experience was, how she successfully used "act as if" and "do it anyway", what it took for her to treat her disease seriously, how to deal with food that calls to her, how she used AA to help her OA program, how she deals with her "fat days", and what God will do if she stays abstinent.

Rick F. has a special success story that will touch you, especially if you have ever dropped out of OA or have multiple addictions. He tells you how he was a normal weight until third grade, but he rose to a top weight of 490-- despite the many diets and he and his mother went on--as he learned to obsess on food as his compulsively-eating parents praised him for cleaning his plate and “packing away food”. They showed him that food was used to show love. He helped them hide their alcoholic foods from each other. After college he binged as he committed other compulsive behaviors including smoking, drugs, and alcohol. A friend recommended OA in the 80s, by which time he just took the food plan and left, not taking action. He returned to OA four years later but became a perfectionist and lacked spiritual tools, so when his father died he binged and left OA again. His weight continued to rise, and he returned OA again at 480 pounds because he was lonely. By the time he hit 490, he started to act on the spiritual side of OA, and took a sponsor. The last two years he has surrendered 230 pounds to reach a normal weight. He shares how he has become comfortable in his own skin, what gifts he gains each 24 hours, why he needed a sponsor, the best thing about addition that learned from OA, and how he gets through the discomfort of doing certain steps.

Bob’s good natured, humorous, and plain speaking story will give you hope if you think you are hopeless. He tells of his childhood having to deal with family dysfunctionality in West Virginia, who had poor food habits such as following an “ate to celebrate” lifestyle. This made him feel like The Beverly Hillbillies when they moved to Southern California. His success in high school football provided him with a lot of free food to “bulk up”, as his coach taught, leading to his top weight of 340 pounds. He tells how he started to lose everything and finally got the “gift of desperation” when he hit new lows as he was constantly arrested and didn’t care about anything. A member of OA guided him into the program where he stumbled around for a couple of years but learned much wisdom that is necessary for him to maintain a normal weight. He shares with you his definition of a character defect and how to deal with it, what is necessary to gain and maintain abstinence, how to deal with multiple compulsive behaviors, and much more.

Doug tells how he was a compulsive overeater and using food for comfort from a very young age, when at two years old he drank large milkshakes. His compulsion led him to steal money to buy food, dig in the trash for food, and follow many failed diets. He shares memories of his mother looking at him disgusted when he was in second grade because he was overweight, bringing him to OA at 16. When he moved away from home he didn’t work the program so he shot up from 190 to 325 pounds, damaging his health and relationships. When he rejoined OA, he followed the program and today has achieved many benefits: he was able to redefine his higher power into being approachable, overcome his fear of social interaction, overcome his anger, maintain friends and relationships, and has dropped 175 pounds and been able to maintain it. He is working toward having his higher power be all that he needs. He says that to be successful, you should get a sponsor, start calling people, and attend meetings--your success will happen eventually.

Roy shares his success in dealing with compulsive eating.

Carl K. tells his humorous and powerful story that led him to 21 years of abstinence, being able to maintain a normal weight and “wear the same pant size for 20 years". He tells how before OA, he was always eating, including a daily 3-pound binge of chocolate food each day. He tells how being non-athletic and gay resulted in being an outcast with few friends, so he used food as a friend, eventually stealing money for food binges. He describes the endless diets he tried, eventually meeting a woman who became his binge buddy but joined OA and began developing her spiritual side. Carl shares how this was the beginning of his spirituality--since he was brought up religious without the spiritual side—because he wanted the calmness she developed, even being willing to give up being “general manager of the universe”. Carl shares the wisdom he has learned, including how to shut up to avoid having to make amends, how to stay in his own business, how to be calm in high stress situations (he has a humorous traffic example), how to confront people in a constructive way, and how he realized that there is no off switch for food insanity so he uses the big book as a volume control.

Normal 0 false false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:105%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin;} Erika S. will inspire you as she tells you how she reached six years of abstinence and maintains a 120 pound weight loss. She shares her story of being raised by parents who abused drugs and alcohol, where her mom was a functional cocaine addict and a food binge buddy who eventually introduced her to OA. Erika tells of the many diets and diet pills she tried unsuccessfully, leading to congestive heart failure. She tells how she tried to eat normally during the day and then binged at night. After rejoining OA, she honestly shares how she reached a normal weight, but since she didn’t follow the steps, she relapsed, but eventually reached the point where the pain in eating was greater than the pain necessary for her early abstinence. She shares how abstinence is a precious gift they could go at any time, how she begins her absence each morning such as praying “let not my will but thine be done”, how she learned to deal with an inferiority complex, how she deals with her tendency to isolate, and how she stopped food from “calling to her” 99% of the time. Her story is one of hope and success.

Daniel S. opens his heart and tells you in a folksy, open way how he reached success in OA, droping from 400 pounds to normal weight and maintaining it for many years through today. He tells about his childhood upbringing by an alcoholic grandfather, and a food-pushing grandmother. He describes how he was teased for being an obese kid starting in third grade, found drugs and alcohol at age 13, and soon returned to food because he could legally medicate his feelings with endorphins by compulsively eating. He explains how compulsive eating has the same end result that drugs and alcohol do--killing ourselves--but just a little slower. Daniel explains the "more-ism" he went through with fad diets, why food is a symptom and not the cause, how his head is the root of all his problems, and what he did to stop hating and killing himself. An example of one of his great tips is "be willing to do the possible so God can do the impossible". We know you will enjoy Daniel.

Eric has a powerful story that led to his 352 pound weight loss and abstinence since 2005; He tells how he used food to cope with his parent’s divorce, even stealing from his parents and grocery stores to get food; he tells what it was like to be teased by his cool brother and friends for being overweight and having to wear his father’s clothes; he tells about the trendy diets he unsuccessfully tried and the depression he fell into when his mother died; his OA story began well with weight loss, but he tells what bad attitudes he had that caused him to fail, resulting in regaining weight; his story has a happy ending, where he tells you what it took to get his attitude right and surrender to his sponsor, resulting in a spectacular transformation of his life; Eric’s story gives hope to even the most compulsive eaters!

Domingo R. shares his OA remarkable success story, starting as an overweight child growing up while being scared of the world, using food to numb his mind and "stay sane" in a family of alcoholics, and eventually using drugs and people. He shares what it was like to compulsively exercise to compensate for overeating, finding that was unsustainable as he got older-- becoming 300 pounds by age 40, his emotions becoming a toxic mix of relentlessness, judging, anxiousness, and stress. He openly tells how his extreme food costs forced into become homeless. He explains what the most important things were that he learned when he first came to OA, including the phrase he learned to be aware of when he started scheming. He gives tips for dealing with stress, how to keep a healthy mind, how he dealt with his state of being perpetually burned out, what he means by the disease of "I know stuff", and many other bits of wisdom that have kept him at normal weight for such a long time.

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:105%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin;} Sit back, relax and listen to how Ron H. has achieved 10 years of abstinence and maintained over 100 pounds of weight loss. He tells details of his journey of compulsive behavior, starting with compulsive drug addiction at age 14 by using marijuana and then speed, continuing with compulsive eating when he quit speed and gained 85 pounds, followed by compulsively exercising hours per day while fruitlessly trying to lose weight. He tells how diet plans only led to wild swings in his weight. He shares how his journey of hope from compulsive eating began when he joined OA and got serious about following the 12 steps. With good humor, Ron shares insights he learned as he went through the 12 steps, including the catchy phrase his sponsor used to get him back on track, how he dealt with being a sponsor after only a month of abstinence, what his successful food plan is, what he means by “that’s a God shot”, how he changed from having a bad temper to “spreading cheer everywhere”, and much more.

You’ll want to keep your notepad handy when you listen to Jim share a wealth of wisdom on how to be successful in OA. He tells you how he avoided an early death due to eating normally during the day but compulsively eating all evening. You’ll enjoy how he shares things such as his definition of abstinence, how he communicates with his higher power and deals with spirituality (which he didn’t originally want to believe in!), why he believes compulsive eaters are not addicted to food nor have an eating disorder nor a psychological problem, what vital thing you are missing without a food plan, why a gaining weight doesn’t cause the medical problem anymore than losing weight removes it, and you will laugh when you learn what word he uses as a substitute for “exercise”. You’ll likely relate to his denial about being a compulsive eater, which was so deep he would eat things like a huge bag of M&Ms with a Diet Coke thinking that they would cancel. He explains how he didn’t know he had a disease, so he tried endless diets and exercise, leading into the demoralizing realization that he had no power of choice. He’ll tell you details of how his sponsor in another 12 step group, who was an M.D., became alarmed as he watched Jim in endure heart operations and onset diabetes, eventually referring Jim to OA. Jim will tell you the things that his sponsor said he needed to do to be successful in OA, one of which Jim was sure would not work but was absolutely amazed to find out was a key to successfully being absent and normal weight for the past 14 years. Don’t miss Jim’s share!

Kelly shares a treasure trove of wisdom that she has learned from OA, which she says has given her life real meaning and purpose. She shares with you her long path from being an overweight child compulsively eating sweets to the sane woman of normal weight she is today. Kelly tells how her mother tried and failed to control Kelly's weight, even as Kelly stole money to buy donuts and sweets. Kelly relates how she went through years of diets as her weight swung up and down. She explains why her perfectionism caused her to fail as a "brat" in her first attempt to join AA and OA in 1990. She explains why the belief in God she received from her family did not allow her to rely on God for eating sanely, what it took for her to overcome her pain, what decisions she makes at the beginning of each day, and how she knows when she is "playing God". Kelly's story will encourage you as you hear what it took for her to break with her insane patterns of thinking, and how it changed her from being a woman headed for death into a being tool for God.

Chris D. shares her heart and her story about being born a compulsive overeater, becoming very overweight by the time she was 11 years old--so much so that her parents bought her less clothing because it was much more expensive than her siblings. She describes how she stuffed her feelings by compulsively eating potato chips and soda at her parent's grocery store, eventually reaching 308 pounds. She shares how she discovered OA about that time but didn't work the program, despite her fear of dying of diabetes like her mom. She shares her joy as she describes rediscovering OA in 2010, which allowed her to lose 101 pounds by really following the OA program, giving her a reason to get out of bed-to help others-and to live a life she never thought she could live, such as being able to dance with her three-year-old grandson at her son's wedding. [note--the noise in the background is a fan]

Elle tells you in her honest, humorous style of her path from 260 pounds as a compulsive eater to eventually find peace in abstinence and a healthy weight. Her inspiring story begins growing up a restless, discontent kid in a spiritual family. She discovered alcohol and drugs at a young age, preferring "speed" to lose her appetite, and at age 15 committing arson and joining AA. You'll be entertained by her stories of entering beauty pageants thinking that it would keep her from over eating (which of course ended up badly), trying various crazy diets, letting go of a job she loved as personal trainer because she gained weight, and eventually scheduling a gastric bypass but having to join OA instead because she ran out of money. She finally realized our job is to stop trying to paddle upstream, and not to postpone enjoying life just because we aren't perfect.

Carrie shares her inspiring OA success story with you--how she tried OA 20 years ago and dropped out, then came back in 2010 and lost over half her weight, dropping from 305 pounds to a normal body weight of 149 pounds. She describes how she did it, a key point being that she just followed her sponsor's guidance no matter what. She shares how she achieved success in mental attitude adjustment--how she changed from focusing on the negative, which cause resentments, to now focusing on the positive. She shares how she succeeded in her spiritual life, starting with being a member of a religious organization at age 17 that resulted in being a depressed agnostic and a feeling of being in a tiny windowless room, but today reaching peace with her higher power. By the time you finish hearing Carrie's story, she hopes that no matter what struggles you've had you will realize that you can succeed in overcoming compulsive eating by doing the same things she has done. She shares how she doesn't understand the mystery, but she understands that there's a life outside the box that she wants to live in, and that has given her hope. A couple of key points she gives are "she learned the power is not her", and "decided to do what others succeed in".

Sue will have you in tears, both from laughing and from her bittersweet challenges on a long path to abstinance that led her from a top weight of 425 pounds to 145 pound weight loss. She has a number of humorous stories many of us can relate to, such as what happened when she was stuffing food in her mouth while a cop pulled her over, what she did when she dropped cookies while she was driving, and how she rationalized eating an entire pumpkin pie was the same as eating vegetables. You'll be inspired by hearing how OA, AA, and NA allowed her to overcome difficulties such as a life of being overweight in dealing with a verbally abusive family. You will share her sorrow as she tells the story of how she dealt with the death of her seven-year-old son. She will share some of the wisdom she has gained, such as how she overcame "planning and plotting to get food", how she learned to "put down the fork" to lose weight, how she realized that when food "calls to her" that there's something wrong spiritually, how no one says on their deathbed "I wish I had eaten more", and how to overcome temptation by using OA tools rather than fall back into using food for comfort. She shares how being married to another compulsive eater has affected her, and how OA has healed her relationship with him and positively affected them both. Her most heartfelt tip to overcoming compulsive eating is "if you're struggling, don't stop coming to OA"