Stories of Recovery
These stories were originally published in the Connection, FA's monthly magazine written by food addicts, for food addicts. Each post shares a different author's perspective. Visit this page often to read more experience, strength, and hope about recovery in FA. To get the newest issue of Connection Magazine sent directly to your mailbox or inbox, click here to subscribe to the Connection.
I am 36 and have been bingeing and purging for 18 years. My life was a confusing mess, and I occasionally landed in jails and in mental hospitals. I would not leave my house unless I was eating or was on meds or drugs, which is why I had originally asked a sponsor for help. I had a lot of breaks at first, but I just kept making my calls, going to meetings, and doing all that was suggested. One day, my sponsor suggested that I try a new supermarket. I started to experience fear and worry. I was worried it would be too expensive, although my sponsor thought that it actually might be less expensive than the store I had been going to, with nicer quality food. I was also scared because there are stylish, trendy people at that store, and I was concerned that I would feel “less than.”... Continue Reading
I’m a Native American, born in Detroit, MI. I got sober over 20 years ago, and I know that when I put down alcohol, I picked up sugar and flour. I believe I was born with allergies to sugar and flour, because I’ve always craved junk food. I never realized how much sugar and flour helped me to not feel my emotions. My weight finally went up to 223 pounds, and I developed type II diabetes. At the age of 47, I had high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I was also emotionally depressed and spiritually broken. When I was 56 years old, my doctor kept telling me I needed to lose weight and he sent me to classes to learn about managing my diabetes. I was in such denial; I kept telling myself that it wasn’t so bad. I didn’t know how I could live without the foods I craved. I felt like I had already... Continue Reading
When I first started losing weight in FA, which happened quickly and visibly, friends and colleagues began congratulating me on my enormous willpower, my fine self-discipline, my hard work. And as I kept the weight off and continued to eat abstinently in all kinds of situations, through all kinds of events and occasions, the backslapping continued, although increasingly from those who don’t know me very well. “You’re so good!” (said not always in the friendliest of tones, by a friend who was wanting to share a rich dessert.) Or, “That’s just amazing!” by an onlooker who simply could not grasp how to survive without flour or sugar. My mother’s comment was most heart-warming, as she had watched me balloon up and down over the years, and knew the pain my weight caused us both. “I’m so proud of you!” I had heard enough at meetings to understand that without FA,... Continue Reading
I have been away from the UK and have lived in Costa Rica now for four months. This has been my longest time away from home, and I have been able to do this because of this wonderfully supportive program that has enabled me to follow a dream. The last two big trips I had were to Costa Rica eight years ago, when my addiction crossed that all familiar line of no-return, and the second was when I spent a few months in the U.S., working as a summer camp counselor. Both trips had me use my creative skills to get more food, sneak into communal food supplies, and acquire the general package of misery, remorse, shame, and terror. I have been abstinent in FA for almost five years, and I have lost 40-50 pounds. Life feels a million miles away from those days of bingeing, living off of the state, attending mental health hospitals,... Continue Reading
“Call people I don’t know on the telephone? What will I ever talk about?” These questions rumbled through my mind when my first sponsor in 1988 told me to make three phone calls a day. At 210 pounds, I desperately wanted to be free of the discomfort and emotional pain. I was carrying over eighty pounds too much on my 5’4,” forty-three year-old frame. I felt miserable! I willingly did whatever that wonderful lady told me to do. I checked off each tool every day as I accomplished it to make sure I covered all my bases. The tool of telephone, however, stymied me. Sure, I talked to family and friends all the time on the phone, but I honestly had no idea how to talk to a perfect stranger! My sponsor gave me two suggestions, which I continue to follow today in FA. First, she said, “When you’re at... Continue Reading
