Overeaters Anonymous (OA)

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what does abstinence mean to you?

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  • ThriftyChica12
    ThriftyChica12 Posts: 373 Member
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    i have the guidelines of my abstinence posted on my profile page under:
    "my food plan / what works for me"
  • Springfield_Rocks
    Springfield_Rocks Posts: 289
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    i believe OA is a growth process and abstinence/food plans can be figured out by having a discussion with your doctor or sponsor.

    abstinence is very personal and some things i have learned are: being too restrictive will make you feel deprived and depressed. that being said three meals is not a free pass to eat all kinds of junk.

    honesty plays a huge role. besides to begin we must admit there is a problem right? so stuffing our faces and calling that abstinence is a bad move.

    my abstinence is my MFP calorie goal and no binging. that is all i can handle right now. i did the program and had three years of abstinence and a HUGE weight loss only to give it up because I was becoming so resentful of the abstinence plan i set upon myself. I was way tooo restrictive and crashed and burned.

    it's been a few years but i know OA works and i am coming back to it with a fresh perspective. four days so far.... hopefully my days will turn into weeks, months, years.
  • dawnellis0613
    dawnellis0613 Posts: 8 Member
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    Abstinence is so very hard for me. So many things call my name. products containing salt, chocolate, donuts (flour and sugar). But I am making progress. I can now go shopping and bypass the bakery and not buy the donuts, and that Is huge for me. It seems that every time I stop eating a certain item, like chocolate, I find a new one that I didn't know I even had.

    Abstinence to me, letting go of what we love, or having it in very small amounts, once in a while. One thing I have been abstaining from is exercise lately. I do have a gym membership but haven't used it much. I do need to get back into the gym plus I have workout video's and yoga video's at home. I need to get back to yoga every morning.
  • pinkfanatic68
    pinkfanatic68 Posts: 25 Member
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    I agree that abstinence is different for everybody because we need food to live. It's like picking up a white chip everyday. We need to learn to eat in moderation. That's like telling an alcoholic that alcohol is a legitimate food group so they MUST drink in moderation to survive. Huh?! :noway: I honestly don't have a definition for "abstinence" at this time.
  • pinkfanatic68
    pinkfanatic68 Posts: 25 Member
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    That's right... progress, not perfection. The day I have perfect "abstinence" is the day I'm cured. Not going to happen.
  • MSWDiet
    MSWDiet Posts: 399 Member
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    I STRUGGLED WITH DEFINING ABSTINENCE FOR A VERY LONG TIME. EVENTUALLY I REALIZED THAT FOR ME IT IS A MOVING TARGET. AS MY NEEDS CHANGE I HAVE TO RE DEFINE THE SPECIFICS; HOWEVER, THE SHORT DEFINITION IS MEETING THE GOALS I NEED TO ACHIEVE AND MAINTAIN GOOD HEALTH.

    RIGHT NOW THIS MEANS:
    -AVOID FOODS THAT TRIGGER MY URGE TO BINGE AND/ OR MAKE ME ILL
    -NEVER EAT WHAT I DON'T LIKE JUST TO KEEP EATING
    -MEET MY GOALS FOR PROTEIN, FAT AND CARBOHYDRATE INTAKE
    -STOP EATING BEFORE I FEEL FULL; NO MORE EATING TILL IT HURTS
    -NEVER PLAN CALORIE CONTROLLED BINGES SO I MAY KEEP EATING WITHOUT WEIGHT GAIN
    -AVERAGE WITHIN MY CALORIE RANGE EACH WEEK

    IT TOOK YEARS FOR ME TO FIGURE THIS OUT. SOMEHOW I THOUGHT THERE WAS A ONE SIZE FITS ALL DEFINITION SIMILAR TO HOW COMPULSIVE OVEREATING IS DEFINED. THANKFULLY, FORUMS LIKE THIS ONE HAVE TAUGHT ME THAT GIVEN OUR REASONS FOR NEEDING OA VARY WIDELY, SO MUST OUR DEFINITIONS OF ABSTINENCE.



    THE HARD OF HEARING MAY SPEAK LOUD... I'M HARD OF SEEING SO I TYPE LOUD. ;-)

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