My sister called me and said that a “diet class” was being held at my childhood parish. I have deep respect for my sister, so I decided to go. Turns out that I was an hour late, so I attended only the last half of the meeting, but it was a meeting that changed my life. The speakers filled me with hope. I had been a thin young man, but when I was hit with the triple whammy of getting out of the Air Force, getting married, and starting college, I shot up to over 200 pounds and never weighed less than 200 again, until FA. I hated living as a fat man, but I had given up hope. I had tried many diets, with some successes, only to rebound higher every time. I was drinking multiple fatty, sugary drinks every day, and I could not stop my intense cravings.... Continue Reading
In 11th grade I weighed 367 pounds and didn’t go to the doctor or get on a scale for years after that. For more than 30 years after high school, I tipped the scale most of the time at 335-370 pounds. Like many people, I used to start out every year making a resolution to lose weight. After a few tries, I just stopped making one. I felt that a resolution was just another thing I would fail at. I made fun of people who made New Year’s resolutions. I knew they were setting themselves up for failure as I had always done. In the past, my resolutions were downright crazy. One year I was so determined to be successful that I asked my family not to put any flour or sugar items into my Christmas stocking. Mind you, our stockings were literally five feet long and two-thirds of it... Continue Reading
I have been in FA for more than 19 years. I came in at age 22 weighing 280 pounds. My life was completely unmanageable. I was not only obese, but I had trouble showing up for the basics of life: work, friends, and family. I also was in a really bad live-in relationship and spent hours sitting on the couch in our dark basement apartment, smoking about a pack of cigarettes a day. I had panic attacks, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and bad credit. In my first decade in FA, many miracles happened in my life. I lost 150 pounds and got a body I never could have imagined. After about a year, I got the strength and courage from the Twelve Steps and the fellowship to leave the relationship I was in, which I never thought I could do. I quit smoking almost immediately, something I also never... Continue Reading
I just had a very interesting birthday. My husband and I had plans for a “double dip” celebration for my birthday and our second wedding anniversary. We made reservations two months in advance at our wedding hotel. The anticipation of a wonderful, intimate weekend sustained us through the end-of-semester stresses both of us faced with our jobs. I was going to see my family on Friday night to get the weekend rolling. We had planned an anniversary dinner with special friends on Saturday, then a romantic private lunch for my birthday on Sunday. The weekend would be topped off with a visit to my dear favorite aunt, who is 90-years old. In the past, I would have just eaten over the stress. I would have been busy planning all the favorite binge foods I was going to reward myself with on my special day. Birthdays were always an excuse to... Continue Reading
I am of Italian descent and was born in America. I turned 50 years old in September. I have had the pleasure and the opportunity to visit my family in Italy quite often. The first time I traveled there, I was 4-years old and I celebrated my fifth birthday in the home in which my father grew up. I also celebrated my 25th birthday there. As a young adult, I visited often, even spending a year studying there and a summer having fun with my favorite cousin. After I married and had a child, we went there and took our 11-month-old daughter. I had not been back since. How I longed to see them and wander the streets of my beloved Firenze (Florence) again. So I began to pray. I said, “God, if it is your will for me to return to la terra maternal (the motherland), then show me... Continue Reading
