At 45 years old chronologically, my body felt much older than that. I weighed 277 pounds and had every possible complication of obesity. I had been a Type 2 diabetic for eight years, had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, arthritis in all of my joints, fluid retention in my legs, and reflux. The arches in my feet were flattening out because of the weight on them, and I was on 14 different medications to keep me as healthy as a morbidly obese person could be. I knew that I would be dead by the time I was 60. How did I get into this situation? I exercised several days a week, and ate mostly whole grains, low-fat dairy products, and some fruits and vegetables, etc. I wasn’t overweight as a child and addiction is not rampant in my family. I believe that it all started in late high... Continue Reading
I’m a Native American, born in Detroit, MI. I got sober over 20 years ago, and I know that when I put down alcohol, I picked up sugar and flour. I believe I was born with allergies to sugar and flour, because I’ve always craved junk food. I never realized how much sugar and flour helped me to not feel my emotions. My weight finally went up to 223 pounds, and I developed type II diabetes. At the age of 47, I had high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I was also emotionally depressed and spiritually broken. When I was 56 years old, my doctor kept telling me I needed to lose weight and he sent me to classes to learn about managing my diabetes. I was in such denial; I kept telling myself that it wasn’t so bad. I didn’t know how I could live without the foods I craved. I felt like I had already... Continue Reading
I found FA in 2010 when I was 36 years old and was carrying 350 pounds on my 5’ 4” frame. I came into Program defeated and knowing that the common denominator in all my past failed “diet” attempts was me. I tweaked them, I modified them, I never even really followed them. This meant a new level of desperation to try this Program EXACTLY how it was being passed down. Also, following the program as best I could meant that when it failed, it would be the program’s fault, not mine. Needless to say, the Program works. I have been abstinent and maintaining a normal size body for almost eight years. We have one face-to-face FA meeting about 45 minutes from my small, rural, no-need-to-lock-your-front-door town. There are typically only five steady members that can make it to meetings. Less in the winter when roads are closed or too... Continue Reading
At my last annual physical, I told my doctor that he should try reverse psychology, suggesting that instead of telling me to lose 25 pounds, he should tell me to gain 10. He was not amused. Frankly, I had gotten to the point in my life where I could not seem to lose even 5 pounds. I was pre-diabetic with cholesterol over 300 and arthritis in my knee, shoulder, and fingers. I had been in another twelve-step program for food fourteen years earlier, and I had gotten down to 214 pounds (97 kilos), but eventually I decided I could do it on my own and left that fellowship. So there I was, 57 years young and 5 foot 11 inches tall, when I finally crossed that “line-in-the-sand” with my weight and reached 280 pounds (127 kilos). I was shocked; I’d never been above 250 (113 kilos)! So, right away, I started eating more “sensibly” and getting in some light exercise. Ten days later, to my horror, the scale said 293 (133 kilos). At that point, I refused to get on the scale, so I have no idea how much bigger I got. Yet, this drove me back to the other food program where... Continue Reading
