Eating Disorders - OA June 2014

[MajestyJo]

Sunday, June 1, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Take an Idea Break

When we are bored or tired, it has been our habit to reach for something to eat or drink. Food has been our number one stimulant.

There are many sources besides the refrigerator to which we may turn for refreshment. We may stimulate our minds instead of our appetites by reading something worthwhile and thought provoking. We may listen to music or simply take a good look out the nearest window. In addition to intellectual stimulation, there are many sensory feasts besides food, which we may have been neglecting.

During our recovery from compulsive overeating, we grow less obsessed with food and more interested in the world around us. When our brains are no longer dulled with refined sugar, we take pleasure in new thoughts and ideas. The next time we find ourselves thinking about something to eat, let's try consuming something pleasant with our eyes, ears, or minds instead of our mouths.

May I enjoy fully all of the senses and abilities You have given me.

Like the concept. So many times I feel empty, I go to food, when in fact, it could be my spiritual and emotional needs that are in need of fulfillment.

[MajestyJo]

Monday, June 2, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Different Strokes

Though we are all very much alike as compulsive overeaters, we are also individuals with individual differences. We may work the OA program differently and we may define abstinence differently. The only requirement for OA membership is the desire to stop eating compulsively. Each of us takes a separate path to that goal.

Through the program, we grow more tolerant of the people who think and act differently from ourselves. We share what has worked for us, and someone else is free to take it or leave it. Our attention and concern is of value to those we would help, but we cannot prescribe for them.

Some of us follow a doctor's guidelines for our eating plan. Some of us are not always willing to weigh and measure. Some of us eat smaller, more frequent meals instead of three a day. What is a binge food for one person may be perfectly fine for someone else.

We are all learning how to be responsible for ourselves. No one forbids us this or gives us permission for that. Our differences are God given, and we accept each other in love.

I need to be more tolerant.

Of myself and others, I have always been my worst enemy. No one beat me up more than I beat myself. What good is it to call your self names?

[MajestyJo]

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

A Democratic Disease

There is nothing snobbish about our disease. It attacks individuals of every social and economic group. In OA, we meet the young and the old, male and female, rich and poor. One of the amazing things about an OA meeting is that it brings together in meaningful communication people from very disparate backgrounds. Even the generation gap closes when a common problem is the focus of genuine concern.

Thanks to OA, we experience warm fellowship. Perhaps for the first time, we come together with other people in a situation where game playing and ego building are at a minimum.

To be accepted for what we are and as we are is a healing experience. We may take off our masks and let down our defenses since we do not need to try to impress anyone in OA. As children of God, who happen to be compulsive overeaters, we are all equal.

We give thanks for OA.

My eating disorder was just one more part of my diseas of addiction that I had to address. As my sponsor said, "A grateful addict, need never pick up." That means any kind of substance, be it liquid, powdered, solid, boiled, baked, stewed, fried, braisedd, or the flesh and blood variety.

We are all equal. We are all addicts. What does an addict look like, "Someone who is using." Thanks to OA and other fellowships, we don't have to pick up and abuse ourself and others, just for today.

[MajestyJo]

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Avoiding Extremes

The Greek ideal of the golden mean is a concept, which we would do well to ponder. Most of us are extremists, as evidenced by our compulsiveness. We are all or nothing people, and our histories are full of times when we "couldn't believe we ate the whole thing."

Before coming to OA, many of us alternated between starving and bingeing. Either we attempted a diet so limited and stringent that it was impossible to follow for very long, or we indulged our appetites by eating everything that did not move.

OA endorses the practice of moderation. Learning it is difficult for most of us and something, which we have been unable to do by ourselves. The members who maintain their abstinence and have a strong program serve as guides and sponsors for those of us who are beginners. Old and new, all of us rely every day on our Higher Power to lead us in the way of moderation.

May I avoid extremes and learn moderation.

One of the hardest things to learn. I was all or nothing at all. There was no concept of just have one. It was hard to think just two won't hurt me.

So grateful for the healing this program has given me. So glad that my God and I can work on things one day at a time.

[MajestyJo]

Thursday, June 5, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Good Spirits

Many of us find that we need to avoid alcohol as well as refined sugars and starches if we are to maintain abstinence. The resemblance between compulsive overeating and alcoholism is striking. Frequently, alcoholics are compulsive overeaters and vice versa.

Both alcohol and sugar induce an artificial high which, in order to be maintained, requires increasing quantities of the addictive substance. Both food and drink may be used as escapes from the unpleasant realities of living, and the abuse of both involves similar character defects.

The spirits found in alcohol and sugar let us down. They are no substitute for faith in a Higher Power and the peace and joy, which that faith brings. Alcohol distorts our perception of reality and eventually acts as a depressant. God's Spirit in our hearts clarifies our understanding and gives us enthusiasm and deep joy.

I need Your Spirit, Lord.

I firmly believe that when we surrender to our God instead of to our disease, that Spirit is with us. It is up to me to build a relationship with it. When I am using, I am talking to myself not to my Higher Power, my drug of choice gets between me and my God, even if it is just for today. You block the negative, you also block the positive.

When I was on the AA Help Line it was suggested that I not talk to anyone who was under the influence. They won't remember talk to you or what you said. I did a few times because I got some lonely people and they just wanted to talk. I don't know if my words were heard, but it always helped me when I shared with another suffering alcoholic/addict.

[MajestyJo]

Friday, June 6, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

A New Boss

When we turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understand Him, we have a new employer. From now on, we are working first of all for our Higher Power.

Before, we were probably motivated by egotism, the desire for personal power, prestige, and superiority. Since we were number one, we used our appetites to serve ourselves with the inevitable result that no amount of food, sex, or material wealth was enough. God did not create us to satisfy ourselves; He created us to serve Him.

Recovering a sense of stewardship may take time for those of us who have spent many years trying to gratify our own desires. We need to pause often each day to ask for God's guidance, so that the work we do, the activities we enjoy, and the thoughts we think may all serve Him. Under His direction, our talents and abilities develop and our appetites serve His purpose.

May my thoughts, appetites, and activities serve You.

May my appetite be healthy and feed my mind and spirit as well as my body.

I have a new boss, and I am not it.

[MajestyJo]

Saturday, June 7, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Perfectionism

Part of the ego reduction necessary to our recovery is the acceptance of the fact that we are not and never will be perfect. Perfectionism gets in the way of recovery because it imposes impossible, unrealistic goals which guarantee failure. If we do not think we have to be perfect, then we can accept our mistakes as learning experiences and be willing to try again.
Deepening acquaintance with our Higher Power is good insurance against perfectionism. We come to believe that He accepts and loves us as we are, and this gives us the courage and humility to accept ourselves.

We are not perfect, but we are growing. In spite of our weaknesses, we can serve others according to God's plan for our lives. Accepting our own limitations makes us more tolerant of the faults and weaknesses of those around us. Together, we progress.

I am thankful that I don't need to be perfect.

Always a good reminder that perfectionism is part of my disease, it is not a recovery tool.

[MajestyJo]

Sunday, June 8, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Trick or Treat

Our devious minds have a way of enticing us with visions of sugar plum "goodies" which can trick us into forgetting that we are compulsive overeaters. What may once have been a treat is now, for us, poison. The so-called treat can trick us into taking the first compulsive bite, which we know is always our downfall.

We need to change our thinking so that we no longer consider refined sugars and starches and former binge foods to be treats. Eating them has caused us great unhappiness in the past, and we will not be deluded into thinking that another time will be different.

Through the OA program, we are gaining the self-knowledge which arms us against the assaults of temptation. Our enemy is clever. We need the protection of our Higher Power and the strength that comes from working the Twelve Steps.

Protect me, Lord.

I have a disease that tells me that I am just F.I.N.E. and this time it will be different. This won't hurt you. It is not your drug of choice, so it is okay to use food to fill the void left my your other addiction.

Lord protect me from myself. Give me the knowingness and clarity I need to know the difference between my God and the voice of addiction. Just because I love it doesn't mean it is good for me.

[MajestyJo]

Monday, June 9, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Greedy Thinking, Greedy Eating

Contentment comes from being satisfied with what we have. Since "bread" is a symbol for material things, it is easy to use food as a substitute for the money and possessions we may avidly desire. Overeating can be a form of compensation for the enticing worldly wealth, which seems so attractive, yet is out of our grasp.

When we desire abstinence more than we desire material things, we are able to maintain it. When we allow material cares and concerns to obscure our spiritual goals, then our abstinence is in danger! Each of us is confronted with the choice of striving to satisfy physical cravings or working toward spiritual ideals. We cannot serve two masters.

We may have thought that we could get rid of our greed for food and continue to indulge our greed for other material things. Our Higher Power does not work that way. He demands nothing less than complete allegiance.

May I serve You without reservations.

When I get needy, I get greedy. My drug of choice is more, no matter what the substance is. My God meets my needs. If I am needy, then that means that I need a little talk with my God.

[MajestyJo]

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Procrastination

This is a particularly dangerous habit for compulsive overeaters, since when we put off unpleasant or difficult tasks, we may revert back to our old escape route - eating. The result is that the unpleasant situation is still with us, and we are less able to deal with it. The longer we procrastinate, the larger the difficulty looms. Even small responsibilities left undone weaken our self-respect.

Often we procrastinate because of fear that we are inadequate for the job to be done. Sometimes we are simply rebelling against doing something we do not want to do. If we are taking a daily inventory, we will examine our motives and use the subsequent self-knowledge for constructive action.

Whatever it is that we are putting off, it will rarely become easier to do later. This is especially true if we are procrastinating about our abstinence! The time is now.

Since today is all I have, may I use it wisely.

Procrastination is part of our disease. When I say to myself or others, "I have lots of time," or "It's not going any where, it will be there tomorrow," I can wait until later, I want...," I am in my denial.

When I procrastinate, I miss out on today. When I put it off until tomorrow, it doesn't happen. Tomorrow never comes, it is always today.

[MajestyJo]

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Our Security Blanket

Turning to food when we are afraid is a tendency shared by many of us. Since being fed reassured us as infants and children, we compulsive overeaters reach for something to eat when we are anxious or apprehensive. When the anxiety does not disappear, we eat more.

The desire for security is basic to all of us. Unfortunately, we often look for it in the wrong places. A fortress of fat is not much protection against the hurts and dangers to which we are all vulnerable as human beings. Overeating does not keep us safe from real or imagined threats.

We need to accept the fact that there is no such thing as absolute security. All of us are mortal and subject to hazards and destruction. Paradoxically, our security consists in relinquishing our lives to the care of our Higher Power. When we feel safely centered in Him, we have the courage to take risks and give up our worn-out security blankets.

I trust You to care for me, Lord.

My security blanket in today, is knowing that my God is near and all I have to do is turn to Him/Her. My God reveals Himself to me each day. I can see Him doing for me, what I couldn't do for myself.

[MajestyJo]

Thursday, June 12, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

More Than Bread

Without a Higher Power, we grasp at material things for security and inspiration. Since they do not give us the ultimate satisfaction we seek, we are left in despair. We need more than bread, but we do not know how to go about getting it.

OA leads us back to the spiritual basis of our lives, which we may have lost. All we have to do is be willing to believe in a Power greater than ourselves. When we see what has happened to others who have suffered from the same hunger that plagues us and who have found meaning and fulfillment, we let go of some of our doubt and cynicism.

Lack of faith is perhaps our greatest impediment to spiritual progress. We have been thing-oriented for so long that it is difficult to change. We can agree, however, that the food we overate was not enough to satisfy us. That there is a spiritual source of nourishment, which will be adequate for our needs, is a conviction, which grows stronger the longer we work the OA program.

I pray for the spiritual food which satisfies.

The thought that came to mind was "Man can't live on bread alone."

Man does not live by bread alone

Meaning

Physical nourishment is not sufficient for a healthy life; man also has spiritual needs.

Origin

From the Bible, Deuteronomy 8: 2-3 (King James Version):

And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.

also in Matthew 4

But he answered and said, it is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

and Luke 4

And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

[MajestyJo]

Friday, June 13, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Research

In OA meetings, we sometimes hear reports of "research" done by a member who breaks abstinence in order to find out whether he or she is still a compulsive overeater. The experiment invariably proves that once a compulsive overeater, always a compulsive overeater. Among the results are remorse, regained weight, and weakened control.

It has been said that we are like someone who has lost a leg. We do not grow a new one. We can, nevertheless, learn to live with our disability if we are willing to abstain and follow the OA program. Most of us find that we cannot go back to eating binge foods moderately, but we can avoid them. We are like the alcoholic who can lead a normal, satisfying life as long as he or she stays away from alcohol.

Further research is not necessary. By accepting our need for a disciplined eating plan, we can benefit from the experience of those who have been in the program longer than we.

May I remember that further research is unnecessary.

[MajestyJo]

Saturday, June 14, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Positive Addiction

Since we seem to have addictive types of personalities, we can make this characteristic work for us, rather than against us. We can develop life-enhancing habits - positive addictions.

The OA program is an example of positive addiction. We become habituated to writing down a food plan, attending meetings, making phone calls, and working the program. We replace the negative addiction to compulsive overeating with a positive commitment to abstinence.

Other activities, which we perform regularly take on the character of positive habits. Exercise is a healthy routine. Hobbies and creative self-expression can be habitual parts of our daily schedule. Whenever we choose a life-enhancing activity and perform it regularly until it becomes an ingrained habit, we are using our addictive tendency to build ourselves up rather than tear ourselves down.

Thank You, Lord, for positive addictions.

They can be healthy, and yet they too can become an unhealthy addiction, if there isn't any balance. I had to turn my thinking about my computer and bridge over to my Higher Power. When the hobbies and interests take up all your thinking, and you become obsessive compulsive, you are acting out in your disease.

The same thing with food, when I find something that is healthy to eat, if it takes over my thinking and is followed by action, like instead of having once or twice a day, it becomes to be more. Whenever my mind starts thinking more, I know I am in my disease and I need to turn things over to my Higher Power.

[MajestyJo]

Sunday, June 15, 2014


You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Our Barometer

When we find ourselves preoccupied with thoughts of food, we know that something is wrong. Our obsession acts as a barometer, which measures emotional pressure. If we are out of tune with our Higher Power, if doubt, resentment, and egotism are taking over, then our disease symptoms begin to surface. It is time to stop and take inventory.

The experiences, which other compulsive overeaters share with us, give insight into our own behavior. We gain a sharper awareness of our own defects and are less prone to blame external circumstances for our hurts and difficulties.

If we are becoming obsessed with food again, or if we are rationalizing deviations from our eating plan, we need to carefully examine our emotional and spiritual life. Something is out of gear. Concentration on Steps Ten and Eleven is especially important when compulsive thoughts and behavior indicate that all is not well.

Make me sensitive to the state of my emotional and spiritual health, I pray.

When my systems says "Yeah!" instead of "Nay!" I know that I am acting out in my disease says `Yes`this won`t hurt you, my program say `Nay`to what is harmful to my health and well being.

I know I should say `Nay`to brownies, but when I eat them any way, I am acting out in my disease. My God and I are working on this, along with thoughts of an Aero chocolate bar.