Years ago, I lived in a small country in Northern Europe with my family for 11 months. I studied the local language and gained the ability to speak some simple phrases. So when I got to the checkout line in the local grocery store, I knew what the cashiers were saying when they would ask me time and again: “Klienti kaart ei ole?” which meant, “Don’t you have our store card?” My reply was always a quick, “ei” which mean “no.” After months of being asked this question, I finally decided to investigate. I learned that the store membership card cost almost nothing and gave, in return, a sizeable discount on all of my purchases. It was definitely a bargain; no down sides. All that time, the cashiers were trying to help me, but my negative assumptions blinded me to their gift. I knew what their words meant, but I... Continue Reading
I joined FA July 15. The summer increased my desire to be thin. I was ashamed of my body so my insecurity was at its worst during this season. In addition to the shame about my external appearance, there were internal motivators that made my weight unbearable. I felt I was made up of all the greasy, fatty foods I consumed. The summer made me feel like a product created in a deep fryer. I started every year with a great resolve to lose weight and commit to a healthy lifestyle. By the summer I would be searching for a way to lose a hundred pounds in 3 months. I am 5’2” and weighed 240 pounds when I started FA. I felt defeated in every area of my life. I wanted to escape the burden of carrying my oversized body. The physical and emotional pain I had to endure because... Continue Reading
I started the program 32 months ago. I was 57 years old, weighed 235 lbs. (106 Kilos), diabetic and taking 120 units of insulin a day (that’s a huge amount), barely able to walk a block, uncomfortable all the time, distressed, and suicidal. My doctor suggested I try FA. I was in for an annual physical and, sobbing, I begged her to institutionalize me because I could not stop eating. (Boy was my husband shocked – he was in the exam room for a physical too.) I told her I thought I was addicted to food. I was stuck in a cycle of misery and despair: eating uncontrollably, berating and hating myself, and promising the next day would be better. I admitted that I couldn’t take it anymore and I was trying to figure out how to do myself in. After calming me down, she wheeled around on her chair,... Continue Reading
My food addiction hit an all-time high during my pregnancies and subsequent parenting of my two boys. It was very clear to me that I had a problem with diets and my weight. I knew that I couldn’t stick to any diet, but if I had competing forces in my life that required energy, well then, I had no chance at all. For example, I regularly used to take a two week “holiday” from my job or university to lose weight or, at the very least, to get kickstarted in a weight loss program. The plan, once I had devoted all my willpower to the new program, would be to integrate it into my life. I knew that I needed a lot of space and intervention for it to ever have a chance to work. Much to my surprise, time and time again this did not work, especially during my... Continue Reading
My FA journey started when I was living in a small fly-in Inuit community in Nunavut called Arctic Bay, which is located on the most northerly tip of Baffin Island. I had just returned back from my home in Edmonton, Alberta, where I had met with my family doctor. I told her I thought that I had arthritis in my knees, because I could not raise myself from the floor to a chair without pushing myself up on a chair. She told me, “You don’t have arthritis. You are too fat.” At 5’6” tall, I weighed 221 pounds (about 100 kilos). She also told me, “You can either lose weight or go on insulin for the rest of your life. What do you want to do?” Then she told me about FA saying, “It’s hard, but it works.” I went to my first meeting that night and found a temporary... Continue Reading
