Grateful to Find OA on MFP!!!

ThriftyChica12

Hi, my name is VeganChica12, and I am a compulsive overeater!

I am SOOOOOOO glad to find that there is this OA group, and fellow OA member on MFP.
My story in a nutshell:

I have been a COE since early childhood, teen years filled with diets/bingeing/drugs/codependence/etc.
Came to OA out of desperation in 2005. Got a sponsor, worked Steps 1-9, lost 65 pounds, maintained that for a couple years.

Thought I was "cured" and no longer needed OA. Relapsed.

Back in the rooms for a couple years now, "abstinent" for quite some time but still not losing (losing very slowly).
Family member turned me on to MFP. I realized this is not only a great way for me to track my food, but also a great way to SHARE my food my making my diary public.

However, I have a healthy amount of caution with MFP--and this is why i sought an OA group on here--my disease wants me to get OBSESSED with restricting, reading other people's diaries (and mentally taking their inventories!), participating in very non-porgram message board discussions.

MFP is a great tool, but no substitute for my Higher Power. I want to see MFP as what it is: one small facet of my three level recovery. want to work more on the spiritual too

thanks for letting me share!

madmarilyn

I am also thrilled to find OA on MFP!

I will have one year of abstinence on the 18th of this month, but I know my food plan has to change. My weight loss has pretty much stopped. In fact my pants indicate that I may have gained a few pounds. Not bingeing or eating any of my 'red list' foods, but portions are too large.

I know calorie counting will help. And recording what I eat. I'm far enough away from restricting to try this way...I think. I am not allowing myself to look at other people's diaries. And I am going to give my sponsor my username and password.

I have had enough recovery to know that I can be honest when using these tools.

ThriftyChica12

Hi madmarilyn---

i relate to so much in your post: being abstinent (no trigger foods, not binging), yet still above ideal weight--it's a hard place to be in, b/c u start doubting yourself and your recovery (at least, i did).

so far, MFP does jive with my recovery principles. but THANK YOU for sharing about not looking at other's diaries. i am going to admit, I have been stalking other's diaries: reading them, making judgements, comparisons (all in my mind, of course, but that's where the disease lives).

do i have the courage and the willingness to abstain from looking at other's diaries?
i will commit to that for today, and maybe i can keep committing to that one day at a time

CoCoMa

I am also thrilled to find OA on MFP!

I will have one year of abstinence on the 18th of this month, but I know my food plan has to change. My weight loss has pretty much stopped. In fact my pants indicate that I may have gained a few pounds. Not bingeing or eating any of my 'red list' foods, but portions are too large.

I know calorie counting will help. And recording what I eat. I'm far enough away from restricting to try this way...I think. I am not allowing myself to look at other people's diaries. And I am going to give my sponsor my username and password.

I have had enough recovery to know that I can be honest when using these tools.

Marilyn,
A year of abstinence is awesome congrats!! I too am glad to find OA here!!

Felicia

casi_ann

Marilyn, I wanted to congratulate you on your one year of abstinence. I can't wait until i get there as you can read by my profile picture. I was very happy that there is an OA site and keep hoping that it will start to get busier. I am a member of recovery group and have been working the program for a little over one month. I have had one month of abstinence and am hoping I never let it go again. This is a great place to go with others who know and understand what this disease means and importance of not getting obsessed with losing like we were obsessed with food which got many of us into the situation of even needing these boards. Thanks to all of you for being here.

GuruRas

Thank you so much for sharing your experience, strength & hope.

I share your concerns about "obsessing" over the details on food out here in MFP. For me using MFP let's me *not* focus on the food, but more on nutrition and the steps. I've been using MFP for almost a year and use it as part of my tools for abstinence.

Wishing you peace and joy in freedom from compulsive overeating,
Gurras

PS
I'm looking for OA MFP buddies!

ThriftyChica12

hey guru--

glad to hear that MFP has been a part of your foodplan/abstinence tool for so long--rock on!
i am going to a meeting tonight. HP has used MFP to bring me to a new place of willingness in my abstinence

GuruRas

A big Congratulations to you madmarilyn on your year!!!

As we say, Keep coming back...
Gurras

Themuseinme

So glad to see an OA group here!!
Hi everyone, my name is themuseinme and I am a compulsive eater!

Ive been to a few meetings several ys ago.At that time the nearest group was an hour away.Read the books, did first step but never got a sponser. Been thinking about finding a group now that I moved and live in a town with a few groups.But only got as far as finding the meetings and times!

Finally decided to do something about both my weight and compulsive eating about two months ago.
Joined MFP begining of June.Its been awesome to find a likeminded community and to track my food etc, and get so many tips and cheerleaders etc.

Feel I need OA as i am still obsessing about food. not binging and yoyo dieting since joining MFP but need help to learn how to diet and exercise but not be obsessed. The first few weeks of MFP i was reading a book by geneen roth and remembered to start my day turning things over etc. But stopped two weeks into it.

Sure pray i can lose my weight then maintain it and do so without obsessing.
Nice to meet everyone and will find group soon.

Are there any workbooks anyone would reccomend- OE based or just compulsive eating based?I learn from books well especially workbooks with affirmations etc.

themuse

gillleeman

Bump. Will read later and come back

iPaw17

I am so glad to find it here, as well.

Thank you for your post.

Mike

pinksparklevapor1965

writing out my binge food list ..my sponser and dr agree this is where I am to start.. this is a horrible thing to deal with..l:glasses:

julesoa

Hi I am Julesoa and a compulsive overeater. I have been in OA and at face to face meetings since October 2011 and abstinent. From my starting weight of 22 st 10 I am now at 15 st 8. My abstinence is 3 meals a day with nothing in between (3-0-1) and I avoide my trigger and binge foods sugar, whites and high fat foods. Up to recently though I havent really weighed and measured food portions just stuck with what seem to be 'moderate' meals and that has worked ok. But I've been aware that to reach a healthy body weight eventually my food plan might need to change and that that would probably mean some weighing and measuring. I am having to ask my HP for willingness here! Another OA member who I know has been sharing about calorie counting and every time she said it felt that it might be something I should look at, although I was pretty reluctant!! I really dont want to get into obsessive diet head and I know I have to focus on my recovery not my food.
But I have signed up to MFP and am going to use this for now and see how it works for me. I hope that this can just be a way to manage my abstinence and weight loss. I am sticking to 3 meals a day and the other parts of my plan but this way I reckon I have the facts as to my protions sizes.
I am very pleased to find other OA people here because I know that I can never do this alone and I hope we can all support each other in our recovery. I am happy to have friends

Maddalen101

My name is Maddy, and I am a compulsive overeater and sweets addict.
And I am THRILLED (and grateful) to have discovered OA on MFP!!!

About me: I came to OA for the first time in 1990 (wasn't ready), returned in 1993, got recovery, lost more than 30 lbs ..
and then ...
life intervened ...
in too many ways, both good and challenging ...
and I come to where I am today.
Living in a completely different region of the country from where I was when I got recovery.
100 lbs heavier than I was when I first came into OA.

I will always be grateful for the emotional and spiritual recovery I experienced.
However, I really have to recommit to the tools and steps that enabled me to gain control over my compulsive overeating.

So: today is the third day of my initial abstinence commitment, which is simple:
Eat fewer calories than my MFP food plan permits.

I'm a big believer in three things I learned from OA:
1. Do what I CAN do, not what I think I SHOULD do.
2. Not a good idea to SHOULD all over myself.
3. Baby steps.

I haven't weighed myself yet since starting this ... when I have the courage, I shall.

Cheers, everyone!

iPaw17

Happy Anniversary - a day early!

Maddalen101

Checking in ... I finally figured out how to configure MFP so that it has the totals I need in order to lose weight successfully. I am definitely seeing my tough points ... the places where I have to really work the Program to make the abstinence work. but every day, my food plan is getting cleaner and cleaner. I am maintaining my no-goodies abstinence (no cookies, cakes, pies, ice cream - occasional candy [ONE piece] and small sorbets OK) - on my 10th day. I have not lost any appreciable weight, but I am experiencing the clean feeling of peace I get knowing I am abstinent. It's been a long time, friends ... and it's nice to have it back.

pinksparklevapor1965

did a phone meeting last night listing to a collective group of people with th esames struggles. is wonderful to hear.. talk and saok in the info really helps me. to stay focused:drinker: thanks for your support OA

julesoa

Glad you are here, welcome home!

Maddalen101

Erk. Lost my abstinence over the weekend. My predilection for toy food did me in. It's not important! Argh ... and I gained back the 2 lbs I lost and then some. OK, today is another day. Onward.

julesoa

Erk. Lost my abstinence over the weekend. My predilection for toy food did me in. It's not important! Argh ... and I gained back the 2 lbs I lost and then some. OK, today is another day. Onward.

Coming back is the key! And someone said to me that on an OA watch the only time would be "Now"! :flowerforyou:

Maddalen101

Thank you ... yesterday I still had blowback from my abstinence loss ... overate. I'm still figuring out how I can eat and be satisfied (or learn to live with NOT being satisfied!). It is work, for sure. But Program does not work unless you work it ... so I'm working it!

gillleeman

Hello my names Gillian and I'm a compulsive eater. I come from the UK also and found OA in 2000 after struggling with anorexia, bulimia, overeating and co-dependency since I was 12. I attended regularly for 10 years and then my group folded. I tried to organise a group in my local city but unfortunately that folded also. Today, I continue to read literature regularly, journal and keep in touch with OA in any way that I can i.e. meeting up for coffee and chat.

I came to MFP in 2010 and managed to get an idea of portion sizes thanks to calorie counting. At first I didn't eat enough, and found my weight stabilized, I then found the courage to up my calories and I slowly began to lose 14 lbs that had been sticking. I decided to accept this as my weight, although the battle in my head wants me to lose more.

I've recently been struggling with MFP and found that I'm not listening to my HP anymore but taking back control. There have been a few binges creeping back in, and with that comes the depression and black hole I struggle to climb out of. Just for Today, I'm not calorie counting and listening to my HP and my bodys response.

I envy people who don't have a problem with food. I look at my husband and youngest son who definately eat to live, where as I'm the other way round. They eat their food slow, chew every mouthful and stop when full. I do all the opposite.

This is a programme of progress and not perfection and I realised a few days back that I don't panic anymore about what time I will get to eat my meal if I'm unexpectedly invited out, or a client books in over my usual meal time. I'm learning that I can have a light snack to carry me through to the next time I feel that hunger feeling arising. Sometimes my lunch is made up of 2 light snacks with a 1.5 hour gap between if a client has booked in.

Its great to see more people on this Message Board, and I feel so at home knowing I'm not alone in this struggle.

Keep safe. Keep abstinent, you ARE worth it.

karinamcox

Hi All, So glad to find an OA group on MFP! I have been in OA for 5 years, had several relapses, but am back in and abstinant. I am in London where there are daily meetings available, for which I am so grateful. I also felt slightlyuneasy about the using MFP once I went back to OA, but as I have always approached it from a point of view of just being aco****able, rather than counting calories and such, I am comfortable with it as a tool as a food journal.

Congrats to all of you for finding each other here, and sharing your progress. It is an amazing program and one which has meant a great deal to me on so many levels. To 'themuseinme' who was asking about workbooks etc, the 12 step OA workbook which accompanies the 12 step OA book is a super tool. I just keep adding to it and scribble in the margins at this point!

Nice to find you all.

Karina

julesoa

Hi Karina, I'm glad you found us too
I am also in the UK and very grateful for my meeting. Now I have sttled in to the MFP thing I do find it helpful to use as a food journal like you say, I just plan my food on here and hand it over to my HP. It has helped me learn about portion sizes and keeps me on track that way.

Maddalen101

Good Monday Morning (and afternoon for the UK folks)!

After reading some of the most recent posts, I wanted to share something:
Through my many years with OA, no matter how hard I was working the Program, I never weighed and measured. I didn't NEED to steenkin' weigh and measure. That was for food nuts and zealots. Not me. Nooooo.

Yeah, hello inner brat.

Fast forward: I'm laughing at myself as I eat my words.
Committing to MFP means I weigh and I measure. Yep. And it's working. Slowly, but it's working.
The Three A's (Awareness, Acceptance, Action) are very much at work here.
And you don't get Awareness unless you weigh and measure.

So ... one more baby step in my OA recovery.
OnwArd!

jensweighingin

My name is Maddy, and I am a compulsive overeater and sweets addict.
And I am THRILLED (and grateful) to have discovered OA on MFP!!!

About me: I came to OA for the first time in 1990 (wasn't ready), returned in 1993, got recovery, lost more than 30 lbs ..
and then ...
life intervened ...
in too many ways, both good and challenging ...
and I come to where I am today.
Living in a completely different region of the country from where I was when I got recovery.
100 lbs heavier than I was when I first came into OA.

I will always be grateful for the emotional and spiritual recovery I experienced.
However, I really have to recommit to the tools and steps that enabled me to gain control over my compulsive overeating.

So: today is the third day of my initial abstinence commitment, which is simple:
Eat fewer calories than my MFP food plan permits.

I'm a big believer in three things I learned from OA:
1. Do what I CAN do, not what I think I SHOULD do.
2. Not a good idea to SHOULD all over myself.
3. Baby steps.

I haven't weighed myself yet since starting this ... when I have the courage, I shall.

Cheers, everyone!

I love this Maddy!

Maddalen101

Thank you Jen!
I am struggling still - was on a business trip and completely lost any sort of discipline - but managed to get it back over the past few days. I am giving it up to G-d the best I can, and taking baby steps to keep myself sane and stable.
ODAAT, baby!

MichelleOnWheels

I just joined MFP yesterday and one of the first things I did was look for an OA group. I'm SO glad you guys are here! Calling in my food has not helped me in program (I did give it an honest try) but I am hoping that sharing that info on MFP will be a good tool for my program. I am a COE/B, had a relapse last year, after 6 years of abstinence, and now have 5 months. I'm ready to do something different!

MsSueBee

Hi,

My name is Sue, and I am a compulsive overeater. I just celebrated 3 years of abstinence a few weeks ago.

It is great to see this group ... I have to run this evening but plan to get back to reading everyone's posts.

Welcome home!

Terri_Wickwire

I must say ladies and gent -- this is AWESOME! I think I've sent a friend request to each of you and it read something like this; "I'm an OA retread, just returning after a 15+ year absence. Looking forward to connecting with other OA members on MFP!! Terri in Petaluma, CA"

I was extremely active in OA from 1990-1996 and then I allowed life to take me down a different road. Although I am blessed to be 30+ lbs under my highest weight, that is not my doing -- that is all due to HP being able to get through my thick skull upon occasion.

I've been writing today, defining my food plan, and feeling a bit frustrated that I can't "manipulate" the say that MFP breaks up our foods -- breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks. But, I can work with it, since resistance is only a way to keep me in the insanity.

I am REALLY really glad God returned me to Overeaters Anonymous, and that there is a group her on MFP. This is very way cool. Blessings on your day

Lynn_is_happy

Hi Everyone! I am Lynn and I am a compulsive over-eater. I rely on MFP and my dietician to keep me on track and not compulsively overeat. I have to measure and I plan my food in the mornings. Dinners are sometimes hard to commit to because I need a flex schedule for and my kids crazy schedules, and I am in my last year of college. I don't really look at others meal plan but I do look at their daily logs and the exercise. I am trying to find motivation daily to get up and move. I love my face2face meeting that I go to on Wed. I love the fellowship and everyone in this forum. Some of course are not in OA but I get what they are saying. It is so nice that there is a thread for us so when I share something, you will get what I am saying. Yep, I can relate that my Higher Power lead me to the rooms and people that can help me. Have a great day everyone!

Lynn