Mill Creek OA 100 Pounder Speaker Meeting

Came in over 500 Lbs My portion was bag box and carton or more. My problem was my bondage of self. Food wasn't my problem, it was my solution. I was the result of what happened to me as a shild which I cannot change I can change how I react. Taking the next right action was/is My form of willingness. I didn't believe it could work for me but I did it anyway. At 419 I was in the hospital being told I HAD to loose weight or die think giving up my 'friend' was that same as death. The moment I was willing to ask for real help, that I could not do it alone was the beginning or the relief from the bondage of self. OA in not a program of learning. it is unlearning my way.

Diabetic, fatty liver disease and less than 30 years old. Finally got it in 2008 after my third son. In until 2012 and not back until 2021 Started sneak eating around 8 years old. It didn't stop. I reset my time over a year ago because I was eating abstinent food compulsively. I am honest about my food. It may nor be perfect but I tell the truth Now I have a service position at every one of my regular meetings. My marriage was in danger when I came into the program. Working MY programs helps my marriage. My friends in the program tell me the truth especially when I don't want to hear it.

Maintaining 70 LB weight loss for 17 years. I was a sugar addict as long as I can remember. My first diet at 11 years old and it never ended Thin, fat, thin, fat, thin, fat ........ every diet worked for a minute. After multiple diets my food plan became 'I'll eat whsaever I want' up to 185. My first OA meeting was a sugar addict abstinent fro 22 years. That got my attention. I just kept going understanding little. It was a service position that changed it for me. People got to know me, I fell a part of. I know from experience the first bite of sugar will take me out. Today I have a great life because my daily routine is based on this program from before I get out of bed until I fall asleep with another day of abstinence. My favorite prayer is 'God please help me.' Great for anytime.

I was 250 feeling different and alone. I thought all sorts of crazy things would be a good idea. all looking for the right diet. Today I no longer have to kill myself from the inside any more. While in my weight uncomfortable is a major understatement. I had been able to get thin . . . for a minute. I never forget the humiliation of needing a seat belt extender. I have yet to do a perfect say and it is reflected with my nightly 10th step. The steps were transformational. not easy or fast but I followed directions and it changed my world . for the better.

I was 'chubby' by 10. As I got older I got heavier and lonlier. I lost my first 100 pounds early in high school. But I was still discontent and drooped out in 10th grade. 20 - 30 yrs old - Loose weight, get job, gain weight, loose job and blamed the world. In 1999 I ended in CA, lost 150 on my own and I had arrived . for a minute. I ended in OA, was loosing weight and I was my God. I got a sponsor, followed Direction, did the steps, had appropriate results and ended up employed. My recovery is dependent upon by being honest and I have proved the difference. My relationship with my higher power is my lifeline which I hold dearly and daily,

Compulsive overeater shares experience.

I was not a fat kid but was still obsessed with food. Unhealthy childhood led to a plethora of issues arriving over the years. I used a complicated plan of compulsive eating, drugging, exersizing to maintain what I wanted. I came into OA relatively small and put on all my weight in programs. I put on 100 lbs with my first pregnancy and I was sober. Steps 1-3 getting right with god, 4-9 getting right with people, 10-12 rocketed into the 4th dimension. Things I have learned, Crisis thoughts pass. So I wait.

An abstinent member of OA shares her journey or recovey

Lynette AN Abstinent member shares her story.

In OA 18 Years, Up and down 100 multiple times in and out of OA. Currently 4 years. I used to think food was my problem. Life was my problem. Food was my solution. I was sure being overweight I would get Covid and die but it did not stop me.c In all `18 years I never left OA but i definitely hopped around meetings, sponsors, food plans. I knew I could not do it alone, but I kept trying and THAT failed. Behind a picture at an OA birthday I heard what I needed to jump back into the program for real. Staying in the chair is not enough. I needed a sponsor and to work the steps and to do service.

Missed 1st 30 Seconds - Dow Compulsive over eater also celebrating 38 years sober. I first got abstinent through HOW program. In abstinence I remembered things I had suppressed. I got sober at 31, quit smoking and ate to stuff all the feeling and it worked. I was not willing to give up the food. No wonder I couldn't connect with God, I was worshiping my refrigerator. Maintaining my abstinence is related to my being of service.

Feb 20, 2025 =8 years I grew up in dysfunctional family like so many others. Food felt like an escape. The voice of my disease told me I needed a smaller body. what ever it was. I knew the squeaky tiles in my house so I could sneak to the fridge. I became completely obsessed with food and my body. I cried a LOT in the beginning. Now, for me, it is OK to be vulnerable, I realize I am not the center of the universe. Living in the grey area is equivalent to being right sized. My criticism of me can be as damaging as the food. Today working my program includes sponsoring and being sponsored, being of service and living the principles in all my affairs

From Early childhood always full plates. Both parents were compulsive eaters. I learned how to sneak food without being heard or discovered. I was the only kids in the point system program with my mom. I did not get it and hated it. i went to college at about 300 lbs. I learned all about nutrition but it didn't help me. My parents encouraged me to try OA. Much of my life was working but not my food. I did my first meeting on Zoom and cried and still felt at home. In the beginning is was all about the weight and I did not embrace all the work The steps helped me to acknowledge I was perfectly imperfect. The concept of a higher power did not come easily but it has come to me. Even if I don't enjoy me feelings I allow them without turning to the food one day at a time.

Very active childhood. Family outdoor activities. I was driven to seek attention and approval. so I excelled. It was a slow weight gain spanning 30 years, 2 kids Occasional diets led to a short term dip but adding more eventually. I was led to the 15 questions and passed. I belonged. There 5 OA Actions that worked for me.

Compulsive Overeater shares her journey of recovery.

By the time i was 21 I needed to give up a plethora of inappropriate behaviors. Food was my drug of choice. My dad paid me for every pound I lost. I could present well but hated myself on the inside regardless of how I looked. I raised my hand for my 'First 30 days' for 4 months. Finally i have not had sugar since 1985 I was sober for 4 years but my world was grey because of my food. I thought OA abstinence would be a daily struggle to not eat. I no longer hate myself. There is more to improve but now it is because I love self enough to change. My higher power took away the self hate causing me to eat sugar.

I was filled with anger and resentment. I weighed in at 370 for cancer surgery. I don't remember how I found OA. At that time I was a wreck on many levels. I was in program briefly and quit for 28 years. I went on a brutal binge when my brother died. Today I will go to any lengths for my recovery. That insures I have received the gifts of the program. I am adjusting my character. I read with my sponsee. I embrace the prayers and the slogans to remind me of what is appropriate.

My mom, when she cooked it was for six kids even though there was just me. I was a people pleaser but I never felt it was real. My brother was a drug addict who got clean and introduced me to concepts of the 12 step programs. I went to AA because that is all I ever heard of. I got a sponsor who was also in OA and led me there. He was my higher power. He passed away. I left. Found me way back. My 3rd sponsor help me actually get a relationship with a higher power and got me writing in my big book. My Nuggets Our mind can complicate anything to avoid taking action. Only the first step can be done perfectly. Don't use the 4th step as a tool to beat yourself up.. When I would get upset I learned to pray for them immediately. It changed me. The process of finding the answer can be more important than the answer.

in program 15 years with intermittent abstinence until I found my current one. My first meeting in 78 but resisted the God talk. Married, one child maintaining weight. No so for second child. I realized I could start my abstinence mid day. After my First OA Retreat I left food on my plate and experience grief. Retreat in 98 asked what I was bringing rather to than what I was getting from the meeting and the program. Today I am a service junkie at all levels of OA. I often bookend my meals with a phone call as a reason to reach out and to stay on track.

First 10 minutes of recording failure. recording starts @ 9.40 into pitch. First few notes about it It all started with a new years resolution to loose weight. In November I joined OA. Richard Burton is my higher Power. My anger issue got much better. I did not want to make amends. A half gallon of ice cream did never got its lid put back. I began to consider what others a might be going through. Acting the same at work as in meetings. I do not eat white flour, white sugar, white potatoes, and cheese. My credit card debt got handled by my abstinence. I set up Thursday Live meeting and get to share with people every week. Great community.

Before; I was extremely shy, no social skills, compete introvert. My grandmother made three bowls of M&Ms for me and my sisters. I always compared who had the most until I found the 1 lb bag. I really discovered amazing food in college and there was no monitor. I studied and 'mastered' Bulimia. Food and alcohol were my paired vices. I joined the beverage program but still purged to handle my food- sort of. Finding OA I was asked if I was willing..... I thought "No', said "yes and did it. Today I have a program, Do service to insure I go to meetings. I have an appropriate amount of personal drama to keep my life interesting maintain my abstinence.

OA - Topped out at 285 I have tried to use exercise to outrun my compulsion. I tried fasting. diet pills, protein shakes, all failws quickly. In 2014 I came back for the third time and embraced OA Recovery adjacent. I finally embraced the concept of red light foods and held to it... for 4 years. A workshop called 'Sober Eating' really buttoned up my current recovery, I have a sponsor, I have service commitments, I have sponsees, I have a daily ritual focusing in my recovery.

Tech issue this week, No promo details. A great speaker and has spoken several times in the past year.

I am not a 100 pounder so I would compare (I'm not that bad) in the beginning. I used food to anesthetize myself and it worked in my youth. I was known in my family as a sneak eater. Somewhere I knew it wasn't all about the food but I still thought it was about the food. I was a sneak eater even when I didn't have to. Holidays were a time when I didn't have to sneak. But I still did. Relationships were a trigger for weight gain. I was clear that God could not help me with my food. But he did. I spent a long time just dipping my toe in the program confidant that I already had it because of my other program. Finally getting a sponsor, listening to him, working the steps through the the lens of OA. Eventually things were happening that I could not do. Thus a higher power became present for me. The box In which I placed my HP continues to get bigger,

Grew up in a small town. Married and unmarried at 19. Married once more in 2014 until present. I called OA and the conversation just calmed me. She is still my sponsor today. I cleaned my pantry of any foods I would be sad about loosing. I learned alternative ways of handling my emotions rather than binging. I lost 80 lbs.got pregnant and lost that weight. Maintenance has been a challenge. The traditions are important fore recovery. I personalize them and use them as the basis for my relationships. My relationship with my HP has helped my emotional stability and to make better choices.

Skinny until 15. My family was full of chaos. Food was my friend for home and school. I was always hustling to get money to buy what I wanted. I was a very unskilled thief. I was over 260- was prescribed diet pills and made it down to 190. Food was only one of the bad choices I made which cost me my marriage. In mid 30's I got almost to 300. First introduced to How and it worked for a while as a diet for the wrong reasons. got up to 350. OA has hooked my up with a higher power. Today I live OA, Use the tools.

When moving, I would clean the refrigerator with my mouth. They asked me to read at my first meting. What I read did not resonate with me. I was told to 30 in 30 and being an over achiever I complied but still didn't really get the program. and it didn't last long. I finally asked God for help to get home with eating and it worked. My eyes, ears and heart began to open. I did the steps in a week and a half. full time and thoroughly. however 9, 10 and 11 were hard for me to grasp. If something was defective a wanted to throw it a way. Eventually I embraced that I was the problem. Great recovery for 14 months, then relapsed in 1990. A spiritual experience brought me back for good.

I began my journey onto my food addiction at 18 years old I always felt different and like I didn't fit in. Food was my friend. My pattern was binge and purge I left home at 20. I married my 'project' to change my behavior. Each of my pregnent was a major weight gain followed by dramatic weight loss. Started OA in '88 but abstinence didn't start until I did treatment in '90 Multiple long term relapses became my story. driven by My Will. When I finally connected with my higher power my life really got better.

Free from binging and purging from Nov 1986 thanks to God I did all the nasty things overeaters do. No normal suggestions helped at all. When I am talking, I am not learning. I have fallen in love with my Higher Power. and I believe he returns the favor. My God was big enough to help me with the IRS. Not all my dramas have happy endings but I do get through them and stay abstinent.

i had to take the first step before I joined OA. I knew I had a problem. I have a daily reprieve. I wake up and the work starts. Te 12 steps are about Ego reduction. Self help books, workshops or pictures did not help. I went to my first meeting,saw God on the wall and walked out. I did not come back for a year. I had amazing weight loss in the first 9 months. and realized I was on my way out without the steps. Through grace I surrendered and became teachable. The ones who helped me the most in the beginning have passed on. I am their legacy and carry their message. I experienced a great deal of challenges in my 1st 37 years. I now believe I was born an addict, regardless of my traumas. Life has thrown me a bunch of more challenges. The steps help me survive and flourish in the face of new adversity that I face.

I was pretty normal as a child, athletic 6'4". Eating did not kick until my thirties going up to 360. I had a family and kids, seemingly normal, however on my way home for a family dinner I would stop at multiple drive-thrus to pre-binge before going home to eat another dinner with dessert. I could hide the nags but not the smell. A diagnosis of diabetes and a need to inject insulin sent me to a drive in. Another 4 years before getting to OA. When I left my job for a 'Sabbatical' to focus on my heath the reality was my overeating became my full time job. Jan 1999 admitted my addiction and my recovery in OA began at 400 LBS I eventually got a letter from my doctor indicating I was diabetes free. Today I have a sponsor and I am a sponsor.

I put bows in my hair to keep focus on my head and not my body. I did well with pay and weigh programs, therapies, diets, everyone worked once. I wanted to have my jaw wired shut. I got up over 300 lbs after grey sheet helped me loose 40 lbs. I did not understand the concept of alcoholic foods. I bounced in and out of multiple 12 steps programs searching for the perfect program, the perfect sponsor etc. I would not surrender to anything completely. I manipulated everybody and everything to do it my way. God is definitely doing for me what I will not do for myself. Ordering from a fast food the machine is broken. lots of times. Today I am willing to look in a mirror and say 'Judy- I love you" and mean it. Today I have daily rituals for my recovery which keep me emotionally and physically stable.

3 Factions OA. Strict, Loose and in between. They all can work. The trick is to find what works for you. I am a compulsive eater and compulsive dieter. I think I have lost over 2000 lbs I quickly realized OA was much more than a weight loss program. My current weight loss that I have maintained for 14 years is over 100 lbs and I am not looking for it. Even after attaining my target weight I was not satisfied with me. Who - Did I eat differently around someone. What - What food might be creeping in that did not serve me. Where- Were there slippery places where I tended to stretch the boundaries of my food plan. Always best at home. When - Was there a time of day that simply called me to eat. Why - What was I telling myself that was not true. Today I eat to live rather than live to eat.

Growing up we did not have a lot of food so we ate all we could when we could. Stayed thin through college and marriage until my first child. Then it was on. I was tricked to going to my first meeting unwilling to acknowledge my issue initially. Embraced the program slowly. Did not get a sponsor until after a year. I managed a food plan because of my health issues not because has surrendered. Today I honestly work my food and my life with my sponsor. Today I don't eat over the choices I make Good or bad. Providing service whenever I can keeps my locked in to the program. Those I sponsors keep me grounded in the basics which is what I need. I know the program works because it has worked for me and I have seen it work for others over and over again.

Even with multiple physical and mental issues it was in these rooms I finally felt safe. I couldn't deal with my diagnoses and it took it toll bringing me into 3 programs. I would rather be an addict than have a mental issues. I had to write a letter about why I hated OA. Pretty revealing. Eventually I stopped blaming everyone else and accepted responsibility for my action. thus started my real recovery. I use multiple outside experts instead of self diagnosing, self medicating and failing. I am embracing being a healthy woman, in a healthy body with healthy relationships. I do service which keeps me in the center of the herd. I work the steps and embrace the traditions to the best of my ability. My emotions may jump around but they are authentic.

In program almost 40 years. Both parents into their own addictions. I could manage my food, it wasn't that bad . . . until it was that bad. 7-11 Was my downfall as i promised to start over every day. I was leading a double life as psychotherapist and food addict. In the beginning (first 10 years) I made the group my Higher Power. so I left the program because I wanted to have a normal life. Back after 3 years. Came back and ended up weighing and measuring for the next 10 years. Knew it well enough that I left the program. Next time was a big book study. Finally got that my spiritual problem manifested with my food. Today I have food neutrality. I am still peeling the onion. It just never stops but today I appreciate it.

I started early 3 or less. There were no boundaries and no safety. I just wanted to be loved but food gave me that feeling. I was a 'chubby' kid and felt shamed even at the doctor's office. I was 6 with my first diet. It became a way of life proving my unworthyness. Food became the cause and the solution of my shame. My dad dies when I was 16. He was the only one who i felt loved me unconditionally. Now I was alone and leaned into the food like never before. 16 - 49 in my disease. Married kids and food. My last nine months was a sneaky brutal binge threatening every I thought was important. I finally acknowledged I had a God sized problem I could not handle alone I realized a food plan is an act of self love while a diet would be an act of self hate. The gift of desperation kicked my recovery into gear. Moving me into the steps for real. Staying in the present where it is always Now O'Clock is critical.

Started with sweetened and condensed milk and our family was a member of the 'clean plate club' When I left home at 17 it was Game on! I was not connected to my body and always shocked when I saw a reflection. When my husband left I stopped drinking but food took over. At 60 I went to my AA sponsor about my weight and they suggested OA in 2012 (287 lbs) I got a food plan from a nutritionist. I would get a little time. one bite - - then more again. Finally got solid abstinence Oct 2020. dealt with all the feelings I had suppressed mostly about me. Today i know the phrase 'Not My Food' and use it.

Feb 11, 2020 398 lbs I was still not ready to 'surrender' I fell and needed fire department to get me up. Then I was ready. I have maintained a 185 lb weight loss. Spirituality - Humbug. It was about the weight in the beginning. I worked the steps and learned about me. One step at a time. I ended with a very strict food plan but could do it for one day . . .at a time. I made it back to the top of the Bariatric surgery list but HP said "do Nothing". By the time came to sign on the dotted line they said I had already lost what they would anticipate from the surgery. Even when I couldn't show up for myself I showed up for service. My HP shows himself to me daily as I work with others.

Condensing 43 years into a 20 minute talk I was eating anything I could as long as I can remember. Rather than a defect my eating was a defense. I took massive amount of diets pills. and YoYoed on the heavy side of the Yo. I married and got pregnant. the doctor said my my weight could harm the child. I did not care. Gave birth at 300. In 1981, at 329, I planned to eat until died . 6 Months later I went to OA. 6 months later I got a sponsor. I was dilegant n my food plan, got down to 115 and still my life was not perfect. Relapsed, plus 65 lbs, and finally back- against my will into OA in 1997 Today My life is OA and OA is my life. I do service, outreach, sponsor, read literature and immerse myself in the lore of OA. Any appropriate social skills I have today I learned in OA.

OA Speakers,100 pounder, Hundred Pounder, Millcreek, KaraL

I was an obese baby. First diet at 5 years old. In my family compulsive overeating was our life. There was never any leftover candy in our house Fat was not a problem, it was who we were. I learned to diet and was successful, for a minute. As I was loosing weight I would think about what I was going to eat at the end of the diet. 1st time in OA I lost weight, broke abstinence and put all weight back on. 2nd time came back on really fast. God did not sprinkle pixie dust on me to relieve the compulsion. Eventually using tools, a sponsor, a higher power it is working one day at a time.

I came in to OA in 1975 at 25 years old, 340 Lbs. and have been in 50 years. I lost jobs because of my weight. They could do it and told me so. Started with grey sheet food program. You guys spoke honesty and I did not know that language. I had a huge issue with the spiritual components of the program. I was sure we didn't meditate in La Hambra, CA. Today I sponsor, do service, travel, and have a good life.

Originally in OA in '88. I had a problem with lookalikes. Sugar free type alternatives to red light foods. At events I would click the disposable cameras so I was always behind the camera, never in front, I experienced the progressive nature of the disease. 5 year first relapse, 3 years second, then 1 year Embracing Step one perfectly is required to eliminate the first compulsive bite I wore scrubs because the had all sizes and pockets. I did have Bariatric surgery but did not tell anyone due to expecting program judgement. It was me projecting my own judgment back at myself.

My mother was Manic/Depressive and a Compulsive Over-eater. When I was 9 , my older 19 Year old brother was hity by drunk driver and was in a coma for 3 months. I needed more allowance to buy more candy. I went to diet DR. at 16. Goal weight in a week. Game on! What ever I did. I didn't look good enough. In 1976 I wen to OA, They sent me to AA and my food took off. Much later (2013)I was working in chemical dependency and weighed 230.. They intervened and sent me to OA. Today abstain from some foods, write it down and eat consciously. Now down 110 lbs. The love, support and inspiration I get in OA keeps my heart open to so much. A home group and Service position keeps me in the middle of the herd.

I grew up in NY and a large Italian Family. Eating was a sacred ritual. I needed to learn to protect myself from my brother.I protected my self with food up to over 500 lbs. Everyone felt it was OK to give me advice. My wife passed in 2020 presenting my with major life choice. I had the bypass surgery but statistics told me I might need more help. OA was that help. I originally thought they were nice because they paid by the pounds loose. I learned my phone could be used for more than just ordering take-out, I became willing to change so I did with help I could not have imagined was available. Help is so much more than advice.

Both parents alcoholic so I grew up in a dysfunctional environment. My father killed himself rather than stop drinking. I treated my body like garbage can for drugs, alcohol. and food. Sober at 31. Even though I was around the 12 step community I was outside as I was still eating compulsively. I was in and out of OA for years. Couldn't do it my way. I didn't need meetings I 'Lived' the program. Not. I completely forgot what meetings did 'for' me After 2 seizures, multiple brain surgeries and a commitment I ended up surrendering to the OA Program. Today I am working to be more God centered than self centered. I am of service and have a quality of life I can rely on.

Bulimia and anorexic was an eating disorder, I was just overweight. Every day was the same,Great intentions, Break my intentions and then beat myself up. I am a poster child for step one. with an allergy of the body and obsession of my mind. Today i am living the definition of abstinence. for 12 years Resentments are the thought' The past didn't go my way'. My fears are the thought the 'The future will not go my way. There was a lot of time between my coming to OA in 1988 and the start of my current abstinence in 2011.

Pictures. Shame based eating even very young. No matter how poorly I was treated growing up no one treated me worse than I did. Joined the military to loose weight, it worked AND I was dismissed for failure to maintain below weight limit. Came into program 2008 and followed direction. I has worked ever since. Even at a good weight I am still working on the authentic Domingo Today I like others, I like me and value those relationships. I use the big book, steps and tools of this program for any problem that comes up. I wear my program like a loose garment. there is room for me to be me inside this program.

Even though we have unique stories there s a common thread that joins us. I Have one picture form 2004. I have not been there for a long time but i could be me tomorrow. I thought I could control EVERYTHING. I wrote a new plan for my food and my life every Sunday. Worked perfectly until Monday noon. All my self hate was projected on to other people. What brought me into OA was an event where I dramatically picked my food over my kids. I got a sponsor who remains with me today. I have a morning ritual based on the direction I would like to face today. Every day My relationship with my food reflects my relationship with my world. My higher power holds my n a tight string .