Over-eaters Anonymous

I am a lifelong overeater. It's not comical. Food addiction is tougher than most addictions as you can live without booze, drugs, gambling, etc. But not without food.

Moderation can be hard. I have to track my food daily forever to keep from relapsing.

However, I do not participate in overeaters anonymous as I disagree with certain aspects of 12 step programs.

My dad is a member and has lost 50-60 pounds with the help of OA and his sponsor! I went but I just didn't "get it". The whole "higher power" concept to me sounds like avoiding responsibility and using it as a scapegoat, especially since one of the traditions of OA is to admit that you "are powerless over the food addiction".

I don't believe ANYONE is truly powerless, that with the right mindset, you can overcome anything. To say that you are powerless to me is like giving yourself permission to compulsively eat (when not hungry) and binge BECAUSE you are powerless.


Also OA practices abstinence from trigger foods, which i think sets you up for failure. As I've learned from several books on the dieting mindset and Intuitive Eating, to completely refrain from trigger foods, "junk", and sweets makes you want them even more and you end up giving food such an intense focus that once you start restricting and depriving yourself, you find yourself constantly thinkning about your next meal (even when not hungry), what you will eat, how guilty you feel from the previous one, etc... and that's generally been my experience as well.

I don't take part init, works the same way as AA though. It has helped many though with binging and over eating issues!

This ^^ It is a useful tool for many who have an addiction to food.

Also OA practices abstinence from trigger foods, which i think sets you up for failure.

Had you said "me" instead of "you", this might be a correct statement.

I went once with the hubby! Maybe it was just the session I attended, but those people were weird! I still have my coin though, lol!

Also OA practices abstinence from trigger foods, which i think sets you up for failure.

Had you said "me" instead of "you", this might be a correct statement.

You're right, I shouldn't be generalizing. BUt in many studies, deprivation has been shown to increase wanting of the item deprived

Food addiction functions just like any other addiction, so why would a 12-step program seem funny? It's a well-respected program and supports millions of people around the world. It's certainly not for everyone, but it's a good method for food addictions.

I think ( my opinion obviously) that food addiction is real. Like another poster shared, it is the only addiction that you can have where you still have to have that which you are addicted to. :flowerforyou:

I've been a food addict for as long as I can remember. OA has been around for a very long time, though I have never attended, not because it doesn't work for those who avail themselves of the program, but because I don't like 12-step programs in general. If you have that mindset and it DOES work, more power to you. I've tried to explain food addiction to friends and family as being like a drug addiction, with the added twist of having to have some of the offending agent every day because it's necessary to sustain life. That makes it far tougher, in my opinion. I've known people who have kicked drugs and/or alcohol and/or cigarettes. You can live very nicely with all of those things completely out of your life. You can't live without food. It's like wanting to quit heroin but still having to have just a little bit of it every day, but no more than that little bit. I can absolutely see what a support group like OA would be extremely helpful for some. I can't get my mind around thinking the idea of such a group is comical. Maybe that isn't the word you should be using.