Mill Creek OA 100 Pounder Speaker Meeting

My home groups a 100 Pounder Meeting. I resonate with those at the bottom who continue to eat. I I thought my clothes would trick you when my face didn't I never knew what a "Normal" body size was. I lied to myself everyday about what I would eat. I have been in the program for about 20 years. however 3 years ago I was deep into a relapse, waking up in the middle of the night sick. The day I got abstinent the change was so dramatic it affected me negatively physically and emotionally for weeks. One day of abstinence is a miracle. Abstinence is scary, joyful, amazing and everything in between. I continue to grow and change, make mistakes, work the steps and still looking for a way around it.

A Leap of Faith Topped out at more than 285 LBs Kept asking myself questions about how to fix my body paired with ongoing self deprecation. I got exhausted from malnutrition. I gained weight on the injection program. I little voice reminded me I had heard of something like Overeaters Anonymous. So found it online and went to a meeting. At first I was drawn to the pain of others because i felt I was not alone. I had analyzed the problem and finally heard about ' the solution' in the Big Book - The Steps. and got a sponsor. My disease fought for its survival but I followed the direction I was given. My leaps of faith were when I trusted what I heard could happen IF I followed the program of OA. My body is a miracle.

My family was in the food business. I had access to all foods anytime. I was bullied in Jr and Sr High school. 4 months before I came into OA I had a dream about my death and my daughter's pain. I did ultra sports at 385 lbs. It allowed me to load up with food. Focus on recovery - loose weight. Focus on weight - loose recovery. Bariatric rules were similar to OA food plan. OA was cheaper. Got a sponsor followed direction, lost 190 lbs in 15 months. I can play with my grandkids on the floor. . and get up on my own. My heart function improved over 40%

I was never regular size. Over 500 lbs when I got out of high school. Could never get under 300 before program. OK at 350. 2019 over 500 and smoking crack. Not a happy camper.. Sober the to OA. . Lost a bunch of weight. and then took my will back. I was given direction to pray which was not he kind of direction I thought I needed but I did it anyway. My life was changing but really kicked into gear when I really did the steps with a sponsor. I have a list of alcoholic foods I do not touch however I also have no craving. Today I do daily program work and I get nuts if I don't. I still get resentful I have to work a spiritual program around food.

In program for 47.5 years. Currently 4.5 years continuous abstinence. Talking today about Emotional sobriety. Recovery is not just abstinence. For 43 years I would turn it over and take it back but never left. The steps as written in the Big Book of AA have brought me emotional sobriety. Today I can go down any aisle in the grocery store. Previously I would avoid aisle based on who was shopping. I now experience personal neutrality.

My mother was gorgeous but had mental issues. My dad was hugely racist. My role models was badly skewed. I had major feeling with no appropriate way to handle them. I was a mean nasty kid. I tried everything but fit nowhere. Drugs alcohol, spiritual practices and 2 steps programs. I had been sober over 30 years when I was 12 stepped back into OA. Call or text my sponsor with my food almost every day. Today I go to 3 OA meetings a weeks ,Sponsor and stick close to my food plan.

Came in @ 280 I have generations before and current with compulsive behaviors. I had original escape mechanisms of reading and fantasizing. In 7th grade I learned to tools of compulsive eating. I felt I never got got Life's Rule Book until I came into program. I began my journey of recovery- wanting a change. I did not get to OA until My way yielded a 3rd plateau. I learned of OA but I needed AA which had stronger recovery to help me to work my OA program. I had to completely rewire my brain, A psychic change. I have a food plan that works for me. It has changed overtime but not by me alone.

Top weight over 400 (when I came into program) @400 I was always hot and did not realize it had anything to do with my weight. I used to send fake pictures of my food. No clue about rigorous honesty. Not a fat kid but always obsessed with food. I always thought could stop, I just changed my mind. . daily I same in from another program but couldn't accept food was that bad. I had to try every diet, every food plan thinking I could handle it, I was unique. Eventually I accepted I really needed help. Half in sucks. Never as much as I wanted or as little as I should. Something happened, A called my sponsor and came all in, did what he said and got a day of solid abstinence, Repeat. I was a taker on OA. when it shifted to a giver my recovery got more solid, I actually like people in OA, I have friends all over the US as a result of being ALL IN and sharing it, daily.

Introduced to OA in 83 - worked well as a diet- a couple of times in 1999 I was over 300LBS. I In high school I started gaining weight and had no idea why. It went from a choice to an obsession. I got a sponsor who introduced e to all the tools to use for one day . I made calls, went to meetings, did as my sponsor suggested. Anonymity remains in the forefront of my relationships I still have a sponsor who has a sponsor. I sponsor as well and love to do service. Today I have a clear food plan that works for me. My life is wonderful. i am married, with grand kids and full of abstinent days. As a sponsor I can share how I live abstenentley

Just so you know - This program works! Picture 1 - 420 Lbs and lots of heath issues. Picture 2 -3.5 years later in healthy body. Today I have freedom from the bondage of self. Freedom to live a quality life and way more. I was always 'Husky' and had an addiction to sugar and flour but didn't know it at the time. I have found that when I fully work the program, follow suggestions. and avoid opinions about an experience I have NOT had, I am no longer obsessed with food and my life goes well. I binged with food and alcohol and both worked . .for a while. at 49 I needed triple bypass from damage from alcohol, then proceeded to put on 160 lbs. I was 12 stepped for OA at an AA Convention. I had a one day slip in 2020 when I got bad health news. Hmmmm. Since then total every day abstinence.

***( The audio quality is not up to par. But it did make me pay closer attention for a powerful message - Recorder )*** Stats - I joined in 2011. 32 years old and 0ver 300 lbs and lost and maintained 150 lb weight loss. I dabbled with a diets which yielded intermittent results in time and pounds. as is is said, When I got to OA I heard my story but they were older, As before my self will got me marginal results. I took 3.5years to do the 12 step. Phone meetings became my community. We read from the big book of AA but I did not get the relationship between us. until really completed the steps from the Big Book.

I have lost 100 lbs twice before I came to OA. I was an only child and in my family and my friends houses everything was about the food. I was the biggest my entire school experience. Never thought of myself as dainty. I had no clue what an appropriate amount of food was. My husband and I became eating buddies until I did the protein shake diet. At the the end I went back to my old ways. Hypnosis worked . . . for a minute. I came into program at 61 years old. At my first OA meeting everyone looked normal. But was as they shared I realized they were like me. In a short time the voices in my head, telling me what to eat, went away. I continue to learn about my disease and myself. I LOVE THIS PROGRAM!

I always want to be profound but I have to remember it is not about me. I came in in 2003 after weight loss surgery. Since I was already loosing weight I did not embrace OA right away. Half measures at best. After 7 months I started gaining. Then I became desperate and honestly worked the steps. I got into service bit if you called me at home I wouldn't answer. It did not hold and I eventually went into relapse until 2021. I heard the BAA Big book should be read like a text book. My recovery really started when I embraced that. My mother was a huge part of my recovery, 4th, 8th, 9th steps were transformational. Going from I cannot stop,

I was an exercise bulimic before I knew what it was and still gained weight. Found OA went to a few meetings and decided to do it myself which failed miserably. I have been abstinent for 22 years and still call y sponsor every day (I am on my third sponsor). I sponsored early and it worked great. I stayed abstinent and so did some of them .

Started with pictures. Young pictures don't indicate major problem yet. Got dismissed from Marine Corp because I could not maintain the weight standard. By 2007 many areas of my life were out of control Came into OA over 300 lbs Today I stay under 200 with my doctor acknowledging my program and results. I can have a 'gutter ball day' but a 10th step puts me back on track.

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.