Food addicts 12 steps

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  • abtsdiet
    abtsdiet Posts: 39 Member
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    It seems like you are still relying on your personal strength and ability. And that you still want to be in control.

    That might work for you.

    Also...you don't have to believe in God in order for him to work in your life.

    Good luck.
  • UrbanLotus
    UrbanLotus Posts: 1,163 Member
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    Your version is great for those of us that aren't religious. I don't believe that prayer will make me stop eating. I realize that many people find strength through their religion, but not me. Best wishes to you!

    Agreed, this is great!
  • GymPoet
    GymPoet Posts: 107 Member
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    No need to officially re-write the steps, as I believe many nonbeliever folks who use them successfully and gratefully DO call the Food Plan their Higher Power. You might meet some of them at a 12-step meeting.
  • abtsdiet
    abtsdiet Posts: 39 Member
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    I just read some of the other posts. I am not surprised that some people are offended. Recovery and 12 steps can be a very sensitive issue.

    Whatever you do...I hope it works for you!
  • BillVL
    BillVL Posts: 1
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    Not sure if you are still a member or not, but I could not help responding to this.
    You should read "Beyond My Wildest Dreams" which is the story of the lady who founded Overeaters Anonymous. Her first translations of the Alcoholic Anonymous 12 Steps are very much like yours. She too was as a "rational thinker" who wanted nothing to do with God in the Steps. Her journey to what you see today is a very interesting one.

    More power to you (pun intended) if you do not need a connection to a Higher Power through a Spiritual Awaken that is promised in the 12th Step. For me my journey required that Power. Before than my life was one continuous search for that "Perfect" diet or exercise program that would let ME be perfect.
  • jellybeanhed313
    jellybeanhed313 Posts: 344 Member
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    bump for later reading. I like this.
  • nancy10272004
    nancy10272004 Posts: 277 Member
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    Food Addicts Anonymous Twelve Steps
    1. We admitted we were powerless over our food addiction - that our lives had become unmanageable.

    This is exactly why I left OA. I figured that if I couldn't even buy into Step 1, it wasn't the program for me. It just seems so weak to say you are powerless over your own actions. Of course you are!

    Where is the personal responsibility? Accountability?

    Obviously, this is a sore spot for me. I am not passive. I am not powerless.
  • tj1376
    tj1376 Posts: 1,402 Member
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    I like your version, its much more realistic. However, in both versions I don't see how 8 and 9 are applicable. We hurt ourselves with our addiction. Not others. Whoever made up the 12 step program figured it would work for all addictions, but it doesnt. There aren't 12 steps for everything.
  • Healthydiner65
    Healthydiner65 Posts: 1,579 Member
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    Not sure if you are still a member or not, but I could not help responding to this.
    You should read "Beyond My Wildest Dreams" which is the story of the lady who founded Overeaters Anonymous. Her first translations of the Alcoholic Anonymous 12 Steps are very much like yours. She too was as a "rational thinker" who wanted nothing to do with God in the Steps. Her journey to what you see today is a very interesting one.

    More power to you (pun intended) if you do not need a connection to a Higher Power through a Spiritual Awaken that is promised in the 12th Step. For me my journey required that Power. Before than my life was one continuous search for that "Perfect" diet or exercise program that would let ME be perfect.

    I want to read this book! Thank you! Anyone who has not worked the steps can't understand and anyone who has won't usually comment.
  • Last2bfirst
    Last2bfirst Posts: 49 Member
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    As a recovered addict and alcoholic (26 years now by Gods Grace) I must point out that in the very origins of the 12 steps, being AA, God specificly a faith in Christ Jesus was at the foundation. Latter it was determined to soften tha God aspect of the program to reach more and be more inclusive and appeal to the agnostic or athiest. Having said that, if you read the chapter We Agnostics in the book Alcoholics Anonymous, you will find that although your "God option" is yours to make, it does not exclude the option that you have one. In 26 years I have seen no one fail to stay sober who has relied on God for their sobriety, a few have stayed sober for periods with out God but their sobriety was not joy filled.

    Prayer, may or may not help with your addiction. But I have yet to hear anyone say I prayed so much that I got drunk or ate a wedding cake myself. So give it a try. I once heard a man say "I am not sure there is a God but I pray in case there is" .

    As for me I rely on and give all the glory for anything good in my life to Christ Jesus.
  • Last2bfirst
    Last2bfirst Posts: 49 Member
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    You don't know the steps unless you have done them and if you haven't worked the steps with someone who has worked the steps then you are merely giving your opinion on something you know nothing about.

    I am finding this thread quite entertaining.

    I'm an opinionated person too. Don't get me wrong. But it worries me when something as delicate as a recovery program which so many people need, is slandered by people who know nothing about it. Your inaccurate views may change the opinion of someone who's life depends on it.

    Just food for thought. No pun intended :wink:
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
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    I like your version, its much more realistic. However, in both versions I don't see how 8 and 9 are applicable. We hurt ourselves with our addiction. Not others. Whoever made up the 12 step program figured it would work for all addictions, but it doesnt. There aren't 12 steps for everything.

    Whenever something in our lives becomes an addiction, then it quite often takes the place of other important things and people in our lives. We don't realize just how our choices affect our loved ones.
    If a mother is 100 lbs overweight and doesn't have the energy to play with your children and interact with her family, then her family suffers.
    If a person's health is affected by their diet and life choices, then money will need to be spent on medical issues that could be used for college funds, or household expenses, or retirement, etc. Added food expense due to overeating, can also be a problem.
    If a person is considerably overweight, then they may become less desirable to their spouse. This can cause problems in the marriage, and can cause the spouse to carry guilt because of their lack of desire.

    My mother died in June 2012, just 3 weeks before my first grandchild was born. For 20 years, she was unwilling to change her eating and exercise habits to control her Diabetes. Her desire to eat as she willed, and be sedentary, was more important than seeing her grandchildren and great-grandchildren grow up. The day my granddaughter was born was very bittersweet. The joy of helping my daughter bring her daughter into this world, was saddened when I desperately wanted to call my mom with the news, then realized that I couldn't.

    So yes, altho drug and alcohol addictions may cause more obvious damage to others, food addictions can cause a lot of damage to family relationships, and affect more than the individual. Realizing this fact in my mom's case, was a great motivation for me to finally get my weight off as well, so I will be here to watch my grandchildren and future great-grandchildren grow up and participate more fully in the lives of my loved ones.
  • ChaplainHeavin
    ChaplainHeavin Posts: 426 Member
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    [/quote]

    I want to read this book! Thank you! Anyone who has not worked the steps can't understand and anyone who has won't usually comment.
    [/quote]

    I fully concur
  • LINIA
    LINIA Posts: 1,109 Member
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    Dear OP,

    REWRITING and "owning" the 12 steps you are taking may just be what will work for you.

    You're brilliant for using that approach---please let us know if this helps you--all the best!!!! ????????????
  • ChaplainHeavin
    ChaplainHeavin Posts: 426 Member
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    The first step bothers me

    "We admitted we were powerless over our food addiction"

    We aren't powerless at all. The point of it existing in the original 12 steps is because by admitting you are powerless you put everything in gods hands. I think the first non-christian step should be admitting that we have COMPLETE control over our food addiction. By taking responsibility we seize the right to make our own decisions :)

    Wait a minute! The first step bothers you because you have to admit you’re powerless, um, over the addiction that you can’t control?

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