A Story of Recovery:

Miracles Happen

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. I was 295 pounds and gaining. I didn’t know I was a food addict.

I went home after the FA meeting and got rid of all of my flour and sugar products.

The next day I went to the store to buy food that didn’t contain flour or sugar. I could not find much. For the first time in my life, I was pushed to the outside aisles of the market. I had some doubts about buying all of the fresh produce, because it had always rotted in my fridge in the past. Over the next few days, I learned to my amazement, that when I am not eating any sugar or flour products, my produce does not die in the fridge.

I was ready for a sponsor, but no one was available at the next meeting. I was going to only one meeting a week, because I had not been told otherwise yet. The following week a willing lady raised her hand and said she could get someone started. After that, I worked with a couple of temporary sponsors, who began to help me figure out a lot of the details of how to work the FA program. After a month of attending meetings, I found a permanent sponsor. I did what I was told to do, started losing weight, and have not stopped following directions since then.

By the end of one month, my legs were swimming in my trousers and my fellows said they could see my face thinning. Another month later, I was able to genuflect at church and did not have to hold the pew to stand up. My sponsor told me that food addiction is a mental obsession and a physical allergy. Food addiction, he said, is a symptom of fear, doubt, and insecurity. He told me that food addiction has a spiritual solution that I seemed to need, since I was unable to lose weight by myself.

After three months, I knew I was becoming a modern miracle of FA. This was about the time I realized I needed recovery more than I needed weight loss. After four months I was wearing XL shirts for the first time in years, and by six months I weighed less than 200 pounds for the first time since leaving the Air Force.

I lost 122 pounds in a single year. I am grateful to God for what He has done for me. I know I need God’s help and I need Him in my life. I am looking for miracles now because I know they can happen to me.