Since I came into Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous, in September 2011, I have had an abundance of firsts: My first meeting was my first experience with the 12 steps; although, it was not a match made in heaven. However, it was also the first time a fellow helped me see the truth: At the break, a gentleman who was sitting next to me showed me his picture. Here was this skinny guy showing me a picture of an overweight man which could very well have been me. That night my Higher Power helped me experience the first time I made an FA commitment. I made a commitment to call another FA fellow, who “cornered” me at the literature table during the break (more later). That night was also the first time I complained about FA. After the meeting ended, I got into my car and immediately called my sister... Continue Reading
I was heading to an FA meeting one morning on a call to a fellow member telling her how I had come into FA. When I finished, I realized I had a story to tell. It was May 2014; I had just had surgery that left me unable to put my foot on the floor for 4 weeks. I was housebound; all I did was eat and sit, day in, day out. I could not cook or clean for my family, which at first I did not have a problem with, but as the weeks went on I started to feel pretty useless. I ate with a vengeance and ended up gaining 10 pounds. Every issue that could possibly plague my mind came to me as I progressed in my sedentary lifestyle. One of them was the wedding of a dear friend coming up in August. To say I was... Continue Reading
When I first found FA two months after moving from Italy to London, life became easier for me. With FA I found structure, support, and a family. I discovered a group of people who understood exactly my disease and the way my brain worked, especially around food. Before I found FA, I had spent the first two months in London in a miserable state, slowly realizing that my “geographical cure” was not working. I had been drowning in fear, loneliness, isolation and, of course, food. I still remember the first time I heard someone qualify in that little church room in central London. I wanted to cry. I finally understood my behavior of so many years: I had a disease. Now I realized that I had a solution, and I wasn’t alone anymore. One of the biggest, fastest, miracles I experienced in the program was being able to sleep through... Continue Reading
I was living in Australia, abstinent in FA for six months and had started attending my first live AWOL (A Way of Life, a closed study of the Twelve Steps) when I travelled to Brazil with my husband to visit family. I had taken my sponsor’s suggestion and planned the trip for just ten days so that I would not miss two sessions in a row and as the AWOL was going to close the day after I was due back from the trip. Arriving at the airport in Brazil on the day of my return, I realized I had the departure time wrong. My flight was taking off in 20 minutes! The gate had already closed and there was nothing they could do: I had missed my flight. It was bad enough that I would have to buy another ticket, but worse than that, there was no flight available... Continue Reading
My partner had an operation; it was routine. The last time he had surgery was over 30 years ago, before I came to program. It was for cancer and the chance of him living 5 years was 20%. My reaction to that time was to use food to numb myself. I gained over 25 pounds in the ten weeks he was recovering. Fast forward to today and the surgery was successful, however, the recovery was not. Fours days post-surgery he was rushed by ambulance back to the Emergency Department. He spent 13 hours in the ED before being admitted back into the hospital. Fear, doubt, and insecurity entered my thinking and the urge to eat was whispering, but I was focused on helping my partner. At 10:30 p.m. he was finally settling into a hospital bed and I left for home, alone. I was tired, emotionally drained, and stressed; the... Continue Reading
