I've lost 13+ lbs in 3 days since joining FAA
LarStar
Posts: 102 Member
Hey You!
I've got to put this out there because its a program that works and for the first time in my life I feel totally supported in my plan to not only lose weight, but get healthy. This isn't about will power or cutting out foods for the sake of cutting them out. This program is about recognizing the disease of addiction and realizing that there isn't anything wrong with you for not being able to stop eating certain foods after you start. This program has changed my life and I've only been in the program for a few days; can only imagine what I'll be saying a month from now!
The first night I was at the meeting, I heard stories about people losing 70 lbs in 8 months, 100 lbs in 11 months, over 200 lbs in about a year and a half. Who gets results like that?? I couldn't believe it, but now, 3 days into the program, I have lost 13+ lbs. The weight is still melting away, ts melting off of me and off of everyone else who is working the program.
I've struggled my entire life with an eating disorder, shifting from binge eating to starving myself, only to inevitably binge again when I couldn't go without food for longer. I've always been a big girl and then over years of trying fad diets and just about everything that I could, unable to sustain anything, I turned into a huge girl.
I haven't been in the program for long, but I hope to God I stay in it. There was a time in my life when I read about the food restrictions in FA and said, "no way, that's not for me. I couldn't possibly cut out sugar and flour, its just so hard and that takes away all the food I LOVE to eat." The other part of me said, "a support group for over eating? I don't need that, I can do this by myself" and so I tried diet after diet, "lifestyle" after "lifestyle" by myself, losing 10, 20, 30, 50 lbs, and then gaining it back with interest (a saying I learned yesterday from a mentor int he program and love because it is so true.) Even when I was losing weight, every day was a struggle of obsessive thinking, where i was constantly coaching myself " don't eat that, you don't really want it" "no, no, you cant have that until your designated binge day." On weigh in days, I would be so excited because it meant that I could go to the grocery store right after and buy as many delicious sugary, fatty, salty, yummy foods that I could and eat them as fast as I could, starting from the moment I would get in the car and I would continue eating until all the food was gone or until I was too physically sick too sick to eat more.
When I was on a diet, I always found away to cheat. if I was food logging, I could fit 1000 calories of absolute crap into my day and still feel like I had accomplished something, and later wonder why I wasn't losing weight. If I was in a program with weigh-ins, I would eat well until my planned "binge day" and then I would go crazy, consuming all of the food I had denied myself that week. My one binge day would turn into two or three or four and then I would eventually drop out of a program after the shame of gaining or not losing, only to give up on my diet and put all of the weight back on time and time again. I'm not doing that now and God Willing, I hope I never do again.
When I decided I would go to my first FAA meeting, I binged every day leading up to it, buying "my last meals." Throughout those days, I found that every food I had loved, that I had given so much power over me, and was so excited to eat was unfulfilled once I had gobbled it down. Eating it would get my obsessive thinking out of the way until I focused on another food and repeated the cycle. And so, I would continue eating, chasing that high, searching for a better feeling or the pure satisfaction of that binge food in my mouth and a taste bud explosion, an experience which disappeared long ago.
I joined the program because I felt lost. There was nothing left for me to try that would possibly work that I could sustain on my own. I've tried detoxes, cleanses, logging, diets, drs, and more and every one of them worked for a while, but the element that was missing was a family of people who had experienced the same addiction and the same suffering about feeling so powerless over food. I needed more than a food guide, I need a support group of people to lead me by example, inspire me with stories of their success, and check in with me every day to find out how I was doing or just send some love and support, which I still in some ways deny that I need.
Some of the things I was experiencing before joining:
-I was sore in the morning.
-I had terrible allergies and the list of allergies was growing (gluten, dogs, cats, anything with fur, hay, grass, dairy.)
- I started recognizing insulin resistance in my body. I would fall asleep after eating anything with sugar or carbs.
-My toes would tingle and I could tell that they weren't as sensitive as before, as I was losing feeling in them.
-My thinking was cloudy and I felt "dull."
-My vision was fading slightly and I felt like I needed a new prescription much earlier than I would normally need it.
-I was always chasing the high from food without ever receiving the satisfaction
-food that was once delicious and enjoyable was more of a let down. Every time I ate something I would hope it tasted better than it really was, and so it never met my expectations.
I've taken a leap and put my trust and faith in the program. I've handed my beliefs about food, my choices about food, and my desire to eat over to the program, to my sponsor, and to the beautiful people who are there to lead by example. The program and its members is so much bigger than me, each person with so much more wisdom and experience on this topic than I ever imagined one person could have. I am moved by the generosity of time, the honesty, and the desire to uplift and support me that so many people at the meetings have shown.
So if you aren't yet convinced, here is my pitch for the program with as much honesty as I can muster. When I first heard about the program years ago, I wasn't ready to join it. The restrictions were more than was ready to commit to. I thought the members were crazy people who were totally cheating themselves out of the experience of enjoying life through food, so they weren't people I wanted to be around. I told myself the program was too time consuming and restrictive (calling a sponsor every morning and then 3 outreach phone calls a day? yeah right, I have a job, a life, and bills to pay. I don't have time for that and even if I did, its not something I would want to do." I feel differently about that now.
If you struggle with food, this program is for you. It's tedious, its time consuming with , its an absolute overhaul of your life, and it is the healthy & encouraging support that you've never experienced; joining and working the program will be one of the best decisions of your life. You might not yet be ready, and that's OK, but even if you're not, its worth going to a meeting to see what happens there, to meet someone and hear their success story or to get inspired so that one day when you are ready, when you've had enough of this life driven by food, that you know where to turn.
I've been on the program for 3 days and I've lost 13+ lbs. FA didn't suggest that I check the scale, I was curious because I felt so different physically that I wanted to know if I was making it up or if I was really losing weight. I have not yet talked to my sponsor about if / how often to check my weight.
I've handed over my food choices to my sponsor and that plan consists of measurements of food, ex, lunch: 4 oz of protein at 6 oz of salad, 6 oz of cooked vegetable - everyone's plan is a little different, but the idea is to weigh and measure everything within your eating plan.
Since starting, my vision is sharper, I'm thinking more clearly, I've lost those 13+ lbs, I'm much less obsessive about my thinking around food (i'm still obsessive, but its not a constant droning in my mind). I've been headachey and tired, but that is part of getting the inflammation caused by sugar and flour out of my body. My allergies are about 75% mroe clear than usual and I can smelI more clearly than I have been able to in more than 15 years. I feel more confident and emotionally centered. At times I can be an emotional basketcase and I'm realizing that a big part of that was because my body was in such a state of chaos that I couldnt get my emotions together.
There are a lot of wonderful, tasty, and healthy foods that you can eat and I promise you that if you do this, if you stick to the program and get a sponsor and make the calls and go to the meetings, your results are going to blow you away. There is nothing wrong with you and there never has been. This is an addiction to sugar and flour that makes you crazy and keeps your body in constant chaos. Once you can clear that out of your system, the obsessive thinking begins to subside slowly and the physical craving for sugar and starches disappears as soon as you clear it all out of your system.
I cant say enough good things about this program. I'm so happy and thankful I decided to go. This will change your life!
I've got to put this out there because its a program that works and for the first time in my life I feel totally supported in my plan to not only lose weight, but get healthy. This isn't about will power or cutting out foods for the sake of cutting them out. This program is about recognizing the disease of addiction and realizing that there isn't anything wrong with you for not being able to stop eating certain foods after you start. This program has changed my life and I've only been in the program for a few days; can only imagine what I'll be saying a month from now!
The first night I was at the meeting, I heard stories about people losing 70 lbs in 8 months, 100 lbs in 11 months, over 200 lbs in about a year and a half. Who gets results like that?? I couldn't believe it, but now, 3 days into the program, I have lost 13+ lbs. The weight is still melting away, ts melting off of me and off of everyone else who is working the program.
I've struggled my entire life with an eating disorder, shifting from binge eating to starving myself, only to inevitably binge again when I couldn't go without food for longer. I've always been a big girl and then over years of trying fad diets and just about everything that I could, unable to sustain anything, I turned into a huge girl.
I haven't been in the program for long, but I hope to God I stay in it. There was a time in my life when I read about the food restrictions in FA and said, "no way, that's not for me. I couldn't possibly cut out sugar and flour, its just so hard and that takes away all the food I LOVE to eat." The other part of me said, "a support group for over eating? I don't need that, I can do this by myself" and so I tried diet after diet, "lifestyle" after "lifestyle" by myself, losing 10, 20, 30, 50 lbs, and then gaining it back with interest (a saying I learned yesterday from a mentor int he program and love because it is so true.) Even when I was losing weight, every day was a struggle of obsessive thinking, where i was constantly coaching myself " don't eat that, you don't really want it" "no, no, you cant have that until your designated binge day." On weigh in days, I would be so excited because it meant that I could go to the grocery store right after and buy as many delicious sugary, fatty, salty, yummy foods that I could and eat them as fast as I could, starting from the moment I would get in the car and I would continue eating until all the food was gone or until I was too physically sick too sick to eat more.
When I was on a diet, I always found away to cheat. if I was food logging, I could fit 1000 calories of absolute crap into my day and still feel like I had accomplished something, and later wonder why I wasn't losing weight. If I was in a program with weigh-ins, I would eat well until my planned "binge day" and then I would go crazy, consuming all of the food I had denied myself that week. My one binge day would turn into two or three or four and then I would eventually drop out of a program after the shame of gaining or not losing, only to give up on my diet and put all of the weight back on time and time again. I'm not doing that now and God Willing, I hope I never do again.
When I decided I would go to my first FAA meeting, I binged every day leading up to it, buying "my last meals." Throughout those days, I found that every food I had loved, that I had given so much power over me, and was so excited to eat was unfulfilled once I had gobbled it down. Eating it would get my obsessive thinking out of the way until I focused on another food and repeated the cycle. And so, I would continue eating, chasing that high, searching for a better feeling or the pure satisfaction of that binge food in my mouth and a taste bud explosion, an experience which disappeared long ago.
I joined the program because I felt lost. There was nothing left for me to try that would possibly work that I could sustain on my own. I've tried detoxes, cleanses, logging, diets, drs, and more and every one of them worked for a while, but the element that was missing was a family of people who had experienced the same addiction and the same suffering about feeling so powerless over food. I needed more than a food guide, I need a support group of people to lead me by example, inspire me with stories of their success, and check in with me every day to find out how I was doing or just send some love and support, which I still in some ways deny that I need.
Some of the things I was experiencing before joining:
-I was sore in the morning.
-I had terrible allergies and the list of allergies was growing (gluten, dogs, cats, anything with fur, hay, grass, dairy.)
- I started recognizing insulin resistance in my body. I would fall asleep after eating anything with sugar or carbs.
-My toes would tingle and I could tell that they weren't as sensitive as before, as I was losing feeling in them.
-My thinking was cloudy and I felt "dull."
-My vision was fading slightly and I felt like I needed a new prescription much earlier than I would normally need it.
-I was always chasing the high from food without ever receiving the satisfaction
-food that was once delicious and enjoyable was more of a let down. Every time I ate something I would hope it tasted better than it really was, and so it never met my expectations.
I've taken a leap and put my trust and faith in the program. I've handed my beliefs about food, my choices about food, and my desire to eat over to the program, to my sponsor, and to the beautiful people who are there to lead by example. The program and its members is so much bigger than me, each person with so much more wisdom and experience on this topic than I ever imagined one person could have. I am moved by the generosity of time, the honesty, and the desire to uplift and support me that so many people at the meetings have shown.
So if you aren't yet convinced, here is my pitch for the program with as much honesty as I can muster. When I first heard about the program years ago, I wasn't ready to join it. The restrictions were more than was ready to commit to. I thought the members were crazy people who were totally cheating themselves out of the experience of enjoying life through food, so they weren't people I wanted to be around. I told myself the program was too time consuming and restrictive (calling a sponsor every morning and then 3 outreach phone calls a day? yeah right, I have a job, a life, and bills to pay. I don't have time for that and even if I did, its not something I would want to do." I feel differently about that now.
If you struggle with food, this program is for you. It's tedious, its time consuming with , its an absolute overhaul of your life, and it is the healthy & encouraging support that you've never experienced; joining and working the program will be one of the best decisions of your life. You might not yet be ready, and that's OK, but even if you're not, its worth going to a meeting to see what happens there, to meet someone and hear their success story or to get inspired so that one day when you are ready, when you've had enough of this life driven by food, that you know where to turn.
I've been on the program for 3 days and I've lost 13+ lbs. FA didn't suggest that I check the scale, I was curious because I felt so different physically that I wanted to know if I was making it up or if I was really losing weight. I have not yet talked to my sponsor about if / how often to check my weight.
I've handed over my food choices to my sponsor and that plan consists of measurements of food, ex, lunch: 4 oz of protein at 6 oz of salad, 6 oz of cooked vegetable - everyone's plan is a little different, but the idea is to weigh and measure everything within your eating plan.
Since starting, my vision is sharper, I'm thinking more clearly, I've lost those 13+ lbs, I'm much less obsessive about my thinking around food (i'm still obsessive, but its not a constant droning in my mind). I've been headachey and tired, but that is part of getting the inflammation caused by sugar and flour out of my body. My allergies are about 75% mroe clear than usual and I can smelI more clearly than I have been able to in more than 15 years. I feel more confident and emotionally centered. At times I can be an emotional basketcase and I'm realizing that a big part of that was because my body was in such a state of chaos that I couldnt get my emotions together.
There are a lot of wonderful, tasty, and healthy foods that you can eat and I promise you that if you do this, if you stick to the program and get a sponsor and make the calls and go to the meetings, your results are going to blow you away. There is nothing wrong with you and there never has been. This is an addiction to sugar and flour that makes you crazy and keeps your body in constant chaos. Once you can clear that out of your system, the obsessive thinking begins to subside slowly and the physical craving for sugar and starches disappears as soon as you clear it all out of your system.
I cant say enough good things about this program. I'm so happy and thankful I decided to go. This will change your life!
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Replies
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I'd just like to add that now that I know more about the program, I've learned that we aren't suppose to weigh ourselves other than once a month, so I stopped keeping track, but my clothes are getting bigger on me!0
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What is this ?? Email me xx0
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Sounds legit0
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I think it's Food Addicts Anonymous. It's similar to AA, but it helps people with eating disorders. Here is their website: http://www.foodaddictsanonymous.org/are-you-food-addict
Typically, there are meetings, a sponsor, and lots of emotional support, like with AA. I think this would work for someone with an ED that presents itself with bingeing, purging, etc. I don't know if it would be the program for those of us who are just aiming to lose some vanity pounds and get fitter.0 -
FAA essentially sounds like an absolutely dreadful VLCD. I found some interesting reads regarding it. Personally I would avoid something where the word "cult" is often used as a description.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/food-addicts-in-recovery-anonymous-san-jose
http://www.morerevealed.com/aadep/reclaim/fa.html
http://weight-loss.fitness.com/threads/34602-Has-anybody-heard-joined-of-Food-Addicts-Anonymous
Just some "food" for thought.0 -
It's not a "cult." It's based on the same principles as other 12-step programs, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Al Anon, and Overeaters Anonymous. The diet that is proposed is no sugar or wheat flour products (yeah, we see a lot of people on MFP giving up those things, too). The food plan actually looks pretty sensible, based on portion control, as opposed to calorie counting:
http://www.foodaddictsanonymous.org/faa-food-plan
It is not a VLCD diet, but looks sort of like the old Weight Watchers program (so much protein, so many starches, dairy, etc. at every meal, snack).
For those who don't like 12 step programs, I suppose it wouldn't work. However, I have many friends and acquaintances who have benefitted from the other 12 step programs, such as AA, AlAnon, and even OA, so I wouldn't put down such a program.0
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