Food for Thought for Over Eaters Anonymous

[MajestyJo]

From the book: Food for Thought
Dec. 31

No Exceptions

Abstinence is the most important thing in my life without exception. Since I am a compulsive overeater, any exception would mean that I might lose control. If I do not control my disease, it controls me. Therefore, there are no exceptions to the rule that abstinence is the most important thing in my life.

In order to follow this rule, I need to depend on a Power greater than myself. Alone, I am not strong enough to maintain abstinence at all times and in all places, but through the grace of God and the support of the OA fellowship, I can do it.

With abstinence, the rest of my life falls into place. I have an incurable illness, but one which can be controlled day by day through following the OA program, working the Twelve Steps, and staying in contact with my Higher Power. There are good days and bad days. but there is always abstinence. I am grateful to be an abstaining, recovering, compulsive overeater.

May I remember each day there are no exceptions to abstinence.

So true, but not there in today, I bought another honey bun.

[MajestyJo]

The Link to the original source at Hazelden. This link can be followed for the daily reading.

http://www.hazeldenbettyford.org/rec...od-for-thought

[MajestyJo]

From the book: Food for Thought
January 1

Good News

There is good news for those of us who overeat compulsively. We do not have to be trapped by our appetites. We do not have to carry a load of unnecessary fat. We can have a new life.

Others have become free and are standing by, ready to show us the way. The more OA meetings we attend, the more we learn. The more phone calls we make, the more encouragement and support we are given in our fight to break old, self destructive patterns of thinking and acting. The more we rely on the Power greater than ourselves, the stronger we become.

Learning to live a new life requires time and patience. The good news is that change is possible. Others have done it. So can you.

Lord, make me willing to change.

Nothing changes if nothing changes. Again, I need to pray for the willingness to be willing to change.

[MajestyJo]

From the book: Food for Thought
Jan. 5

Less Food, More Energy


When we have used excess food as a crutch for years, we think we need it to "keep up our energy." We have become especially dependent on the refined carbohydrates, sugar and flour, to give us a quick pickup when we are tired.

The truth of the matter is that the pickup, that sharp rise in blood sugar we got when we ate refined sugar and flour, was soon followed by an even sharper letdown. We ended up more tired than when we began! Excess food of any kind makes us groggy and lethargic.

When we eliminate the wrong kind of food and eat only the amount, which our bodies need for optimum functioning, we are amazed at the supply of energy we suddenly have. Jobs, which we have put off doing for years, begin to get done. We feel good. Instead of spending unnecessary time for extra eating and digesting, we have that time to use in productive, enjoyable activity.

Try it and see.

Lord, strengthen my body to serve You.

[MajestyJo]

From the book: Food for Thought
Jan. 11

No Amount Is Enough


For the compulsive overeater, one extra bite is too much and a thousand are not enough. No matter how much we eat, we are never "satisfied." We think we remember a time when a small extra treat made us feel completely satisfied and content, and we try desperately to recapture that sensation.

The more we eat, the worse we feel. Now, rather than satisfying us, the one extra, compulsive bite triggers an insatiable craving which drives us to consume enormous quantities of unnecessary food. Sometimes we stuff ourselves until we are exhausted, physically ill, or have run out of things to eat, but we are still not satisfied.

The more we eat, the more we want to eat. Each excess increases an already out of control appetite. Since no amount will ever be enough to produce the kind of satisfaction we seek, our only hope is to abstain from the first extra, compulsive bite. Honestly following a food plan and eliminating all excesses and binge foods will eventually bring our runaway appetites under control. Conscientiously working the steps of the OA program will day by day bring us the emotional and spiritual satisfactions, which we can never acquire from food.

Lord, show me how to work for true satisfaction.

Recently posted a picture that said, "When is enough, enough." This quote says there is never enough. I know that is true for me, some is good, more always seemed better. Not a good way of thinking. Something that I had to take to my Higher Power and ask for help to change.

[MajestyJo]

From the book: Food for Thought
Jan. 14

Willing to Go to Any Lengths

To achieve success in this program, we are willing to go to any lengths. We want to stop eating compulsively more than anything else. We are willing to take the steps, which led to success for hundreds of others who have gone before us.

When we put abstinence first in our lives, then we are willing to experience periods of hunger and craving as our appetites and our bodies adjust to the new food plan. We are willing to eat according to need, not greed.

In times of stress and difficulty, we are willing to go to any lengths to stay on our program. This may involve going to extra meetings, making more phone calls, spending more time reading the literature and meditating. Whatever it takes to keep us abstinent is what we are willing to do.

Most important, we are willing to turn our lives over to the care of God, as each of us understands Him. As we let ourselves be led hour-by-hour and day-by-day, our lives fall into place, and we are given inner joy and serenity.

I pray that I may always be willing.

[MajestyJo]

From the book: Food for Thought
next book
Be Not Anxious


If we are conscientiously working the OA program, we may leave the results to our Higher Power. To worry is to insult God. When we admit that we are powerless over food and that our lives have become unmanageable, we can then ask for and receive strength and power beyond ourselves. When we turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understand Him, we are free to live without anxiety.

At first, we are awkward. We turn over our problems and anxieties one minute and take them back the next. We forget that the Twelve Step program has worked for countless other compulsive people--alcoholics and drug addicts as well as overeaters. Doubting God's strength, we fall back on our own weakness, and the result is trouble.

Through our contacts with OA members, we can see lives changed and people made new in body, mind, and spirit. These examples are convincing testimony to the efficiency of our Higher Power. The more we trust His will for us, the more He is able to work miracles in our lives.

Take my anxieties, Lord. I pray that Thy will may be done.

[MajestyJo]

From the book: Food for Thought
Jan. 26

Planning


There is a saying in our group to the effect that if we fail to plan, we plan to fail. If we do not have a food plan each day, we leave ourselves vulnerable to the attack of impulse and old habit.

Most of us find that we need to write down our three measured meals. Many of us continue to call them in to a food sponsor, even after the initial twenty-one days of abstinence. We can then go about the activities of the day without worrying about what we will eat. We become free to live without being obsessed with food.

Our pride often balks at the thought of calling another person and asking for help. We do not like to be committed to an eating plan. Let's remember that we tried to go it alone our own way, and that old way did not work. Let's be willing to try a new way that has worked for hundreds of OA members who are now at normal weight.

By Thy Grace, Lord, may I follow my food plan today.

This is something I don't do well. I try not to look ahead, but I do like to make healthy choices when I go grocery shopping. The problem is that when I am hungry, I don't want what I have. A little gratitude may help with this and a little prayer for some guidance from my HP wouldn't hurt.

[MajestyJo]

February 1, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Learning

In this program, we never stop learning. It takes time to absorb the OA way of life. Some of us start with great enthusiasm, expecting perfection all at once. When we do not achieve it, we are sometimes tempted to give up and go back to the old, self-destructive way of eating the wrong kinds of food in the wrong amounts.

One of the most important things we learn in OA is patience with ourselves. We seek progress, not perfection. We work for it one step at a time, one day at a time. Our Higher Power accepts us and loves us as we are right now, today. By turning our lives over to Him and humbly asking for guidance, we become receptive to His teaching.

As we grow - slowly -we learn from our mistakes even more than from our successes. We are willing to be again as little children, and we are willing to accept suggestions and help from those who have had more experience and time in the program. We do not have to continue to make the same mistakes over and over again. We can learn the new way of life if we will walk into it patiently and slowly.

Open my body, mind, and heart to Your teaching, Lord.

[MajestyJo]

From the book: Food for Thought
February 2

Giving Thanks

I am a grateful compulsive overeater, abstaining just for today. I am thankful for my life, for the chance to grow and solve problems and love and enjoy what is beautiful. I give thanks for the insights, which have come out of struggle and despair.

I am thankful for OA. Without it, I would still be isolated in a hopeless attempt to control overeating my way, by myself. I give thanks for the serenity and joy which increase daily as I follow the OA program. I give thanks for the love and support, which come to me from fellow members.

Especially, I am thankful for abstinence. By choosing and accepting this gift, I enter a new world of freedom. No longer am I driven by compulsion. I give thanks for the work and play and love which abstinence makes possible.

Accept my thanks.

[MajestyJo]

From the book: Food for Thought

Monday, February 13

Being Honest


During our compulsive overeating careers, many of us have been dishonest with others about what we were eating. Some of us have been closet eaters and some of us have stolen food. Most of us have eaten more when we were alone than when we were with other people.

We have almost surely been dishonest with ourselves, too. How many times have we promised ourselves to stick to a diet, only to find ourselves cheating a short time later? We tell ourselves that one small bite won't make any difference, when deep down we know that we intend to eat many more bites than one.

When we take inventory, and as our insights are sharpened, we may discover other areas besides eating where we have not been honest with ourselves.

The OA program gives us a chance to practice rigorous honesty, especially with ourselves. The light from our Higher Power will gradually clear away our confusion and darkness.

May I not be afraid to know the truth.

Self honesty is one of the hardest things we are asked to do in recovery. I know I had a lot of rationalization and justification that got in the way of me being truly honest with me.

I love the slogan, "Let it begin with me." It helps to keep me honest.

[MajestyJo]

From the book: Food for Thought
February 23

Dependency


In the past, we used excess food as a crutch, and we developed a false dependency on it. We turned to unnecessary food to calm us down, to cheer us up, and to avoid facing our problems. As a cure-all, food let us down. Rather than solving our problems, overeating multiplied them.

As human beings, there are many times when we are weak and dependent. If we say we can go it alone, we are whistling in the dark and deluding ourselves. We need to rely on a Power greater than ourselves, but food is not that Power. What we need to find is the Power strong enough to sustain our dependency.

Accepting the fact that we are dependent, that we cannot manage our lives by ourselves--this is the beginning of recovery. We need to be humble, open, and willing to be led by those who have replaced their false dependency on food with a healthy dependency on God.

Lord, may I not be too proud to be dependent on You.

Like this. Dependent on my program. Depending on the tools of the program to see me through each day. Dependent on the God of my understanding to show me the way.

[MajestyJo]

From the book: Food for Thought
February 27

No Standing Still


Life is movement, and to be alive is to change. There is no standing still. Either we are making progress in the control of our disease, or we are getting worse.

Progress forward is an upward climb. To look back with longing at a time which in retrospect seems easier, or to think about the so-called pleasure we once got from food, is to invite disaster. We have long passed the point of being satisfied with a small amount of uncontrolled eating. Now, a small amount will inevitably become a large amount, and instead of pleasure we will eventually feel much physical and emotional pain.

If we are making progress, let's keep at it and not be deluded into going backwards. If we are losing control and slipping, let's recognize that we are on a downward course and that our disease is getting worse. Let's stop rationalizing and making excuses. Right now we can turn around and start climbing.

May I keep climbing.

This is different than my "It is okay to just be." We need to be ever working on ourselves and being the best me I can be in today. Today is just another day to practice my program, with the hope that I can do a better job than yesterday. We can slip without physically picking up. As it says, we can slide into old behaviors and patterns. I was a great rationalizer and justifier, but it doesn't cut it any more. I find myself out too often.

The butterfly says, "Transform your life into a better way of being."

[MajestyJo]

Thought for the Day
Wednesday, MARCH 1

From the book: Food for Thought

Other People's Problems

Sometimes we wear ourselves out trying to solve another person's problem. Is this not perhaps a form of egotism? We feel that somehow we should have all the answers and be able to find a solution to every problem, especially when someone close to us is in trouble.

We may be sympathetic and supportive and helpful, but we cannot play the role of God in another person's life. Even our children must learn from their mistakes, just as we continue to learn from our own. If I trust my Higher Power to lead and direct me, then surely He will also direct my family and friends.

The best thing I can do for anyone else is to maintain my own sanity and sobriety. If I eat over a problem--whether it is mine or yours or ours--then I am less able to deal with it.

There are times when no solution seems forthcoming, when an unfortunate or tragic circumstance must be accepted and lived with in the best manner possible. We may not be able to change the circumstance, but we can be sure that God will give us the strength to deal with it.

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.

As my friend says, "Don't forget to take your QTIP with you. Quit Taking It Personal, remember they are acting out in their disease, or you allow them to take your power and you are acting out in your disease.

[MajestyJo]

Thought for the Day
Sunday MAR 5

From the book: Food for Thought

Old Tapes

In the recesses of our minds, each of us has old tapes stored away which tend to be played over and over again. These tapes may have been recorded so long ago that they have little if anything to do with our present situation.

The tapes, which are recordings of positive thoughts and experiences, can be helpful when replayed. Unfortunately, we each possess many tapes which are negative and self-destructive. They include resentments, fears, and hates. When one of these negative tapes begins to play, we may find ourselves opening the refrigerator or going out to buy food which we should not have. Often the tapes continue to play while we are eating.

Taking an inventory each day makes us increasingly aware of our negative emotions: anger, envy, irrational anxiety. Admitting mistakes and making amends relieves us of the guilt associated with our character defects.

By giving our lives to God and staying in contact with Him, we are able to turn off the negative tapes. We receive new thoughts and positive feelings: hope, faith, love.

I pray that my thoughts and feelings may be purified.

We often think of street drugs when we hear about getting clean. We don't think about cleansing our body, mind, and spirit, and that it applies to food, which can be a mind altering substance.

Old Tapes are killers, no matter where they are rooted and where they come from. They often start with family, pastors/priests, and the sages of old who are suppose to be in the know. They don't understand about addiction and they don't see it in every day things like food, work, computers, etc.

I need to erase those old tapes and make new ones. I must remember that I am the one who pushes the play button. I have freedom of choice. I do have other options, like erase, reject, stop, instead of listening to same old messages that keep me sick and stops me from healing and moving forward with my life.

I have to remember it isn't always about what I am eating, it is about what is eating me. Relationships can be killers. I can eat myself into oblivion. Some say they are binge eaters! What does binge taste like?