Overeaters Anonymous (OA) Meetings – An Inside Look
Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Jenny Clark. She primarily blogs about teaching and education related issues. She teaches 2nd grade in an urban Midwest school. You can see her blog at http://doinitjensway.blogspot.com.
First I’d like to say that I’m no expert on this. Please see the Overeaters Anonymous (OA) website www.OA.org for official information. Okay, now that that’s out of the way, I’d like to share my story. I’ve struggled with my weight, and had body issues for as long as I can remember. I remember thinking that I was fat as early as 1st grade. I went on the grapefruit diet when I was in third grade. I’ve since tried: the egg-banana-hotdog diet, anything a magazine told me to do, bulimia, Atkins, South Beach, medical research programs, poopy pills (they blocked the fat, but gave you the poops), and almost any other diet program you can think of. Regardless, my weight just kept increasing. I’ve had a few short lived periods of success, but in general, I’ve always failed. It didn’t make sense. I’m an over-achiever. I’m successful, why is it I couldn’t manage this?
Several years ago, I heard about Overeaters Anonymous meetings. I attended a couple of meetings… cried, listened, read, and decided that it wasn’t for me. I wasn’t ready yet. Finally, this summer, I’d had enough. My doctor had started mentioning my weight at every visit. I was constantly worrying that I would have a heart attack, and felt terrible. I decided that things had to change. I decided to approach this from all my angles. I went to my doctor and got some blood work done. I started seeing a therapist, I’ve met a couple of times with a nutritionist, I started reading, exercising, and I began attending OA
meetings.
It started out rather uncomfortable. Overeaters Anonymous was definitely the hardest. It was hard just to get to the meeting. At the meeting it was hard to speak. It was hard to believe that I was in the right spot. I spent a lot of my time at those initial meetings judging the other people. I sort of knew I was in the right place, but I didn’t want to admit that I was the same as the people I was judging. Then, at about my 5th meeting, a person made a comment about stealing food from the families they were babysitting for. I flashed back to my babysitting years. I totally did that. I would eat little bits of lots of their food and try to put it back in just the same spot so it wouldn’t be noticed. Other people in the room also admitted to doing the same thing. It was then that it clicked. I was among people who, for whatever reason, shared my story. We don’t, and probably never have responded to food like most people. Many of them have overcome their weight problems by working the OA program (not just short term- these folks have been successful for years, and they keep coming back to sustain their success, and to help us newcomers).
After that I got “abstinent.” In Overeaters Anonymous (OA), abstinent, means that you pick a food/life plan, and stick to it. They don’t tell you what to pick, you know your trigger foods better than anyone else. Just like in AA, you keep track of your abstinence. I’ve now been abstinent for 26 days. I thought it would be terrible. I thought I’d constantly be feeling sorry for myself. Honestly, there have been hard parts, but overall, it’s been the most freeing thing of my life. I’m not constantly thinking about food. I’m finally free to be me. I’ve spent my whole life eating to deal with a painful experiences, now, I’m finally dealing with life without eating. I’m finally finding my spiritual path. I’m finally finding my voice, and letting it shine. After a year of abstinence, a person celebrates their “birthday,” now I understand why.
The things I hear in OA, the people I meet, the literature I’ve read, has all been amazing (once I got over the initial discomfort). I feel like a new person. I know that I’ll always have people right there to support me when things are tough. There are no fees, there’s nothing commercial, just people in all different stages of recovery to support each other.
*Image Courtesy OA.org
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It takes a lot of courage to open up, publicly! And you’ve now done it not once, but twice.
Congratulations on your first steps and I you continue on your path of success!
Good luck and thanks for sharing.
I agree. I plan on visiting a nearby OA meeting. Thanks for shedding light on the topic.
Thanks! I really enjoyed sharing with you and your readers! What a validating experience!
Regarding the OA meeting, be sure you call or e-mail ahead (just in case the website list isn’t current) and try a couple of meetings. Each meeting has a bit of a different format.
I’d love to hear how it goes. Take care.
Will do.
I have a small town problem that really gets in the way of my recovery. There is one person, a pillar in my local OA community who is, well, not very nice. I am very intimidated by her. I know it is a program of principles above personalities because i have 23 years AA sober. But, I really have a problem with this person. I just got out of Rader for the third time in 22 years. My primary food issue has always been overeating. Bingeing, no purging. However, in the last two months, I lost about 20 pounds subconsciously restricting. It was as if I was wasting away and it was going all on its own, without my control. I have never been this thin as an adult of 48. Treatment helped and it got my attention. If you had told me in my last treatment 5 years ago that I would be anorexic today, i would have said you’re crazy. But I stopped going to meetings. I went for w few weeks, something hapopened with the person I have trouble with and I threw myself out with the bathwater. I know I need OA or I could die. Pray for me that the group I am going to Monday is a fit.
Lucinda R,
Go to your meetings! Your recovery and health are far more important than whatever issue(s)you have with this person who is not so nice. Unfortunately, in life there will always be someone like that you will have to deal with at work, or church, etc. Whoever and wherever that is, you have to be bigger and better and do what you need to do for yourself to live your own life. Look beyond and don’t let anyone get in your way, is my wish for you.
I never knew that this orgainzation existed until I read your post. I was a big overeater and often found myself not being able to move after a meal.
I have referred a couple of friends that are overeaters to this post.
Neither did I. I thought it was a joke at first. With this guest post and some research, I found some useful info.
Great post. Overeaters Anonymous, I’ve heard about them in the past, but never really considered them seriously. From this article, I can see, they are worth taking a second look at. Anything that helps those wanting to lose weight succeed should be considered as long as it’s legal and safe.
Sharing your experiences helps. OA proves that to an extent.
Thanks for the great post. I too have found a new life in Overeaters Anonymous. I hope your article helps someone in need of what OA has to offer. I just started a website about my own experience.
Good luck TonyV.
I’ve been thinking about writing a follow up to this, but so much of my recovery is just too personal. I don’t think I have a whole post worth of info, but I did want to follow up and say that I’ve now been abstinent for 6 months. I’ve lost 52 pounds! I’m stunned by the changes in my life on a daily basis. Thanks again Israel for letting me share!
do you know of an online meeting?
Kieran
Go to their official website linked in the article above. There are people you can call to find out.
Its very interesting how you came to the epiphany that you, and the other members at OA, just “reacted to food differently”,in the whole baby sitting situation. I don’t know whether its Genetics, childhood upbringing, or something else; but it seems to me that when one is overweight, he/she just treats food differently… It starts with letting food control you, instead of just treating food as a source of nutrition.
Anyways, good luck with the program. But just one more thing, the title “Overeaters Anonymous” put another thought in my head. From talking to people, and responses on my weight loss blog, its seems that fast eating often leads people to overeating. I’ve just recently discovered that when I chew my food (especially carbs), as much as I possibly can, I get full much faster. I definately used to beat an “overeater anonymous”; I would eat so quickly that I wouldn’t know when to stop, and I’d consume way too many calories, which really contributed to my weight. I’ve really been making a lot of progress with weight loss by just thoroughly chewing my food and not changing anything else. Strangly, I’ve been able to eat less, and have stayed full longer. I havn’t eaten desert this past week, haha, hopefully my little epiphany is of some help!