My addiction to food began at a very young age. As a kid, I was home alone a lot, and I was not allowed to go outside or be on the phone. I loved sports and playing outside, so TV and movies became boring at some point. The only thing I could think to do was eat. I was back and forth to the refrigerator all day, every day, for some time. When I was ten years old, I left my home to be closer to school and be in a better environment. I desperately wanted to be near my mother. I had a tremendous amount of fear, and the only thing that calmed me was food. Around this time, my mother and guardians started to try to control the way I ate. I was always being watched while in the kitchen and being told what I could and could... Continue Reading
I was not at all sure that I would ever reach 90 days again after breaking my abstinence earlier this year. Yesterday, thank you God, was my ninetieth day, although it took me five months to get there. Why should I be surprised at that? When I came into FA, it took me several years to get the very first 90 days. My path has been very crooked. Dishonesty was my middle name. I was full of fear, and I didn’t trust God. I lied to my sponsor and myself because I didn’t want to be dropped. Little did I realize that the lying was the reason I might be dropped, not the extra food or non-abstinent behavior. I never gave a sponsor a real chance to help me. Until January of this year, I had not had any sugar or flour in five or six years. On January 30... Continue Reading
After a friend told me about FA, I decided to go to a meeting, feeling unsure of what I was going to get from it. I had never heard anything about food addiction before, but when I heard people share about how they had lost so much weight and kept it off, I was so excited that I got a sponsor that day. I wanted the weight off because my knees were hurting and I needed surgery. Despite my desire to lose weight, I found all kinds of excuses to tell my sponsor what I could and couldn’t do. Finally, I shared with my sponsor that she was too hard of a person and I walked away from FA. I wanted to have knee surgery, but the doctor required that I lose some weight before surgery. I got a sponsor and lost 25 pounds, which was just enough to allow... Continue Reading
I came into FA at the age of 26, weighing 289 pounds (131 kg). I found out about the program one day when I picked up a pamphlet to fan myself while sitting in my chiropractor’s waiting room. Less than a week later, I was at my first meeting and got a sponsor, and within 14 months, I lost 140 pounds. I wish I could say, “…and the rest is history,” but that’s not how my journey played out. FA had always been very good to me, helping me to shed the weight, showering me with love and support from some amazing fellows, and giving me a sense of purpose in reaching those still suffering with food addiction. I had been in FA for nine and a half years when I decided to step out of the rooms. For some reason, I truly thought maybe I didn’t need it anymore.... Continue Reading
When I came into FA, I heard that this program was not a diet and in the beginning I really did not understand that phrase. Besides, isn’t dieting how most people lose weight? But as my years in recovery mounted up, I not only have learned exactly what that means, but am able to be grateful that as long as I am in recovery, I never have to diet again! Believe me, I spent a great deal of my life “dieting”. The first diet I ever did was Weight Watchers and that was when I was seventeen. At that point I was approximately 160 pounds. My Weight Watchers experience didn’t last long and I never really achieved any weight loss. As I got older, my meager attempts to lose weight included amphetamines, which I got from the health center at the university I was attending. By then I weighed around... Continue Reading
