Mill Creek OA 100 Pounder Speaker Meeting

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"

Come along with Broscilla (A.K.A. “Cooky”) as she takes you on her journey from being 342 pounds overweight before OA to maintaining a 130 pound weight loss today. She describes her first short visit to OA 21 years ago when she heard the word God mentioned and thought OA was a cult. Later she realized something had changed inside her and her higher power was in her heart watching over her, especially during the hardest time of her life when she got sick and had 19 surgeries. Cooky we’ll tell you how she changed from being a loner to being part of a happy family even though she is divorced. She describes how she broke a cycle of food binging--eating on her bed watching TV--causing “sugar comas”, and throwing expensive food out due to guilt. You may relate to her story of her family food dysfunction, including how her brother died young at 300 pounds, how she carried around a bag of candy which she refilled by stealing money, and her fear of a domineering family in which she could never be herself. She describes the cycle of gaining and losing weight at a facility that gave her amphetamines. She relates the message of hope, where she learned to let go of the past, and how to deal with family stress better. She says she doesn’t understand OA completely, but she knows it works because better things are happening now than she ever thought would.

Craig shares with us his story of recovery and how no weight was ever good enough for him. Even at his length of abstinence, he still has to work the program. He emphasizes the need to have someone to confide in that will not cosign the crazy thinking that we all go through. Enjoy!

Roz shared her 25th OA birthday with us tonight. Her story is amazing. She came in at around 390 pounds hating herself and has progressed to loving herself after working the program, working through the anger, and getting to know herself. She emphasizes the point of progress not perfection in this program and it has obviously worked for her!

Mixing humor with wisdom, Annette will have you laughing as you learn from her challenging story. You will learn about her secret to maintaining a 140 pound weight loss for the past 16 years, in which she said she broke all the rules except her number one rule which is to keep coming back to OA. She shares how she used food and drugs as coping mechanisms, how she “discovered” bulimia as her magic answer to eating compulsively, how she found herself in a $140 per day food hell that consumed her life--even smoking joints to get hungry when she was full! Her story about a gun and a low rider is both funny and thought-provoking. Don’t miss it.

Marci tells her story of hope, starting her journey as a young 250 pound woman who stole food, ate anything and in any quantity, swept her feelings and bad relationships "under the rug", had no boundaries, and had an attitude of "mind your own business". After her doctor said she had to lose weight, she eventually realized that she couldn't use force of will. She tells the story of a major binge at Las Vegas buffets where she met sober alcoholics who taught her the reward of the 12 steps, eventually leading to her to be a grateful hundred pounder. She describes how she changed from being unable to reach her goals to being able to achieve 10 years of abstinence by being a "Big Book Fundamentalist". She explains what she means by "you can't stay clean in yesterday's shower", and what she does as a daily ritual to stay sane, maintain her weight loss, and see physical miracles.

Gaddy's heartfelt story starts as a skinny kid with a distorted relationship with food, giving an example of his morbidly obese mom's emotional attachment: he discovered he could hurt and manipulate his mother by rejecting her food. He describes how dealt with being unpopular by using food, drugs, and alcohol to become involved with others. After becoming sober in 1983 he replaced alcohol with compulsive eating, and talks about his motto "Being full was just the beginning" since there was never enough to satisfy him because his emotional void was so great. He details the two parts of his compulsive overeating: voluntarily choosing to overeat, as compared to involuntarily overeating. He describes how a lifestyle change was required for his long-term success, so he learned how to start over by self-dieting. He relates how he stole food in many ways, such as eating in the grocers. He explains how people can be in denial when they enter OA: thinking that they're not so bad and thinking that they're helpless. He describes the difference between eating "appropriately" and "abstinently", giving him greater connection to his higher power.

Ali articulates beautifully a message of hope as she guides you on her path from pain to freedom, starting as 200 pound elementary student with no relationships who used stolen food to numb her feelings, who believed "if I can cover my body you won't see my body" and who made her own clothes so that they would fit her. She will tell you how she felt as a 400 pound teen when she almost died because of blood clots caused by self-medicating, and how the lap band she got in Mexico did not help. Discover her transformation from writing a letter to a God she didn't believe in to developing a relationship with a God that she can turn to by "letting go, letting God". She will disclose how she deals with stress, how she gained the ability to exercise, how she conquered false expectations, and how she learned to live among others.

Lessie will inspire you as she tells how OA helped her escape from her "personal version of hell", where at an early age of 3 her father died and she began to use food to capture a feeling of family and escape a feeling of being "fat, fearful, lonely, and never enough". In her atheistic viewpoint she tried to fill her life using food, then later drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes. When a psychologist introduced her to OA, she found a spiritual path and eventually succeeded in maintaining a 210 pound loss.

Howard shares with us his 25 year journey in recovery. He got to this program after venturing into other 12 step fellowships and has remained abstinent ever since. He came in close to 400 pounds and has maintained his weight loss. He felt like he never belonged anywhere his whole life, but this program has provided him the means to attain a recovery that enables him to laugh, have fun and enjoy abstinence.

Edith Rae came to the program at 51 and now has solid recovery. She loves life and herself now, which is a great change from the negativity she thought of herself when she first came in. Her story is inspiring for all of us.

Helen, who celebrated 13 years tonight, came into the program when she was young. She encountered some struggles in her recovery over the years, but her recovery is strong. She made it clear that we all have character defects and that we work on them the best we can. The program isn't just a diet for Helen, she lives and works the 12 steps.

Gail shares with us her story of recovery from compulsive overeating as well as anorexia. There have been ups and downs in her recovery, but she got the willingness this time around to work the program and has acheived great results.

Maricela shared with us her story of recovery from compulsive overeating. She explained how the physical isn't all that needed to change, she needed to change the spiritual and emotional components as well. She has a fire for life today as a result of working the program.

You'll be inspired by Don's story of how OA helped him overcome his compulsive eating, starting with his childhood as a country boy who got into trouble and dropped out of high school, how he joined the Marines and was the only survivor of 20 men sent to "Ground Recon" in Vietnam, his first encounter with a 12 step program when his daughter attempted suicide, the beginnings of his compulsive eating as a newly married man and a high school teacher, the reason his first attempt at joining OA failed and why his second attempt has succeeded for so many years.

Helen tell you her heartfelt story, starting with her childhood memories (which revolve about food), her progressively-worse obsession of eating sugar until she became ill, her attempt to analyze her pervasive fears, attempting to use food and alcohol to deal with the discomfort of "being in her own skin", being a young bride with a weight-obsessed husband trying to fix her, her struggle with many diets (including a very unusual one!), joining OA in 1994 but taking a few years to finally be willing to do what her sponsor told her, how her struggle to understand God lead to a spiritual awakening, her realization that everything that works in her life is a result of this program, why the problems she thinks she has are made up and don't matter, and how she deals with sugar temptations today.