Overeaters anonymous

150poundsofme

I have been going now for about 2 months. Absolutely no diet plan you need to follow. If you do go, try to get a sponsor. I have had sponsors before and it wasn't helpful. They would want me to follow their plan to a tee. I have a sponsor now. She is having me read a page in the twelve steps and also do the corresponding workbook. If I want I can call her one time a day for about 10 minutes. Today I forgot to call. No biggie. Right now I have not binged in 13 days. Call the contact and see where they are meeting. Check on line for other locations where you live. There are different types of meetings too and also weekly they can change. Some times they read from the big book and then anyone can share their thoughts. Sometimes a member might share their experience. Good luck.

DietPrada

melissa6771 wrote: »

moyer566 wrote: »

melissa6771 wrote: »

I have never been, but I know the concept, assuming it's the same. No foods with flour or sugar listed in the first 5 ingredients in one of their things. That I wouldn't want to do. I do like to eat sandwiches. The minute I told myself I couldn't have those things, I would crave them.

yeah no. it's about redeveloping a healthy relationship with food. they don't tell you specifically what to eat.

i've been to other 12 step programs and i find the mutual support to be beneficial.
i've also found every meeting is different so if you don't like one try others in your area.

Ummm, yes, they do have different food plans for you to follow that are fairly specific. Although it looks like it's more tailored to each individual now. Back in the day, that was their Schtick, no flour or sugar in the first five ingredients in any food. I was very close friends with someone who went, and that's how it was. I said, assuming it's the same. Just give your opinion without having to be a smart *kitten* with your "yeah, no" BS. People on here just crack me up.

And yet yours is the only aggressive comment on this post.

Anyway, speaking from personal experience, the only way I have been able to conquer overeating, after a 25 year battle is to do exactly what you are dismissing. Cut out flour and sugar and other carbs. For 4 years now I have had control over my eating and am finally free from the stress of it all. Carbs causes insulin to be produced which makes you crave more carbs. No carbs means you burn fat for fuel, no insulin spike, no insatiable hunger. Contrary to belief, if you've never seriously tried it you wouldn't know - cutting out those things does not make you crave them more, it frees you from the cravings. I'm no different to anyone else, I like cake and bread and potatoes, but I don't need them anymore, and they don't control me.

CattOfTheGarage

EbonyDahlia wrote: »

Contrary to belief, if you've never seriously tried it you wouldn't know - cutting out those things does not make you crave them more, it frees you from the cravings.

The only thing you can possibly know is it didn't cause you to crave them and it freed you from cravings. There is no possible way for you to know what effect it would have on anyone else.

I am glad it worked for you but I take a bit of exception to your assumption that what works for you translates into an injunction that everyone else needs to follow, when in fact the advice would be completely counterproductive for some people (such as myself, who behaves like a thwarted toddler in the face of any and all food rules).

What I'm getting from this thread is that OA can be revolutionary for some but doesn't suit others at all. That seems reasonable. As many other threads on these boards show, compulsive eating is a tremendously individual problem with very individual solutions. OP, if after reading up on it, you suspect it might suit you, maybe you should give it a go. It's really the only way to know.

descene

I went once and I never went back. If I had done more research on it, I probably wouldn't have gone at all but I was really miserable and desperate during that time in my life. I had expressed my concerns to some group members about various aspects of the steps and they said they took a few creative liberties with how they interpreted it but it still really rubbed me the wrong way. If you're cool with that, it might work with you, but it just conflicted too strongly with my morality. Mostly about stuff that's already been mentioned in this thread.

cheryldumais

I tried it once but it wasn't for me. I think it depends on the group and the person attending. I found the group I attended depressed me. It was like a support group of people talking about their problems. If you like that kind of thing it might be helpful. Or alternatively you might find a very positive group and find them very helpful. I think its free so why not give it a try and if you don't like it no harm done. I should note also it was a very long time ago that I went.

insideoutgirl

I've been in OA for the last 6 months. The way I see the "powerless" thing is that when I start eating some food I cannot stop, and I could not stop from starting up again. It isn't about the food, it's about my behaviors with the food. That's just how I make sense of it. Beyond that, it really is a spiritual program - ways of dealing with the build up of basic human emotion instead going to food with those things. I've lost 31 pounds so far and it has been not so hard since giving up my trigger foods. I went to a nutritionist to get started on a food plan and then took out my trigger foods (chips, popcorn, white flour, sugar). I tweak it based on my body reactions and the obsessiveness in my mind about food.

earlnabby

I did and did not find it helpful. I realize each group will be different but the one I went to spent too much time on parliamentary procedure as set forth in the "Big Book" and not enough on discussion.

Again, each group will be different. YMMV

descene

Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »

I had a doctor one time refer me to trying group therapy such as this.. i don't know if it was actual OA but it could of been.. I am very skeptic about group therapy, at least with me.. I have a hard time wrapping my head around being in a group of people who are all going through the same thing as i am.. his response was that at least i wouldn't feel like i was alone.. and i suppose for some people from that aspect, it would help a bit to be included in a group struggle.. but for me, it wouldn't of changed how alone i felt, i only feel like im getting somewhere when the person helping me is a trained professional and isn't going through it themselves but knows how to show me how to help me, or at least medicate me (as that is what ended up happening, i am on vyvanse)
I tried one on one cognitive behavioral therapy, that also did not work, i guess i just needed something deeper, my brain and its thoughts were always able to over power logic and reasoning.

Initially I wasn't too keen on group therapy, but I was required to do it if I wanted to be taken on at this outpatient ED clinic when I was a teen and I actually found it helpful. I took art therapy, mindfulness, and intuitive eating groups there and learned a lot. Never did CBT in group, but the things I learned in CBT I use every day too.

jnducharme

A really close friend of mine recovered from a severe binge eating disorder by going to overeaters anonymous. She said she couldn't quite get into every single aspect of it but that overall it was super super helpful and she would recommend it to anyone serious about recovery from food addictions.

lorrpb

There is an "overeaters united" group on MFP that someone started last week. I think there's a thread about it in the Motivation Forum. It might be a page or two back now.

sijaeabc

12 step programs can really work for some people. All the groups are going to be different. If a particular group is advocating a particular way of eating this is not related to OA as a 12 step program, it's particular to the group. I went to OA meetings for a while in CO and then for a short time in OR, very very different. For me the program was helpful for a while but then I found that I was obsessing too much about food and about my relationship with it and that was actually making things worse. You know, sometimes the more you focus on resisting something the bigger a hold it gets on you. Anyway, I do think it can be helpful for some people and if you are feeling hopeless there's no harm in trying it and seeing how it goes.

ActionAnnieJXN

I was a regular member of OA for a couple years until health issues from chronic leukemia prevented me from attending as regularly as I'd like, as the meetings are an hour away. While I never really made much progress with my weight reduction or in controlling my binge eating, I did benefit from the spiritual aspect of the 12 step program and I continue to use their literature and listen to their podcasts, etc. I also made some lasting friends with whom I am in regular contact. The only thing that has ever really helped my binge eating disorder is prescription medication - I am astonished at how well it works, in fact. I think maybe if I were able to go back now, I could pull from all these resources and really make some significant growth. Something to consider, anyway. Btw - my chapter goes by the "freedom of choice" pamphlet. No one is told what they should or should not eat. They work out an individual plan with their sponsor and make changes as needed.

fostertlu

This is a very helpful site: http://oabigbook.info and there are great phone meetings with recordings here: http://www.avision4you.info/