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.

A Work in Progress

When I came into FA I was utterly desperate.  Just a few months prior to that date,  I had ended up in the hospital for three days after a major binge.  My diagnosis was a swollen colon.  I had eaten a food combination that was thick and pasty. I had eaten so much of it that my side started to hurt.  It was late at night, so I went off to bed.  When I woke up the next morning, I was fine.  One week later I had another binge on that same food combination and my side started to hurt again, so just like last time, I went to bed. The next morning when I woke up I wasn’t fine.  My side pain progressed for the next few days and ended up in the hospital. I was so embarrassed.  The medical staff asked me all kinds of questions.  I knew... Continue Reading

 


 

Living the Solution

Turning to food was definitely my natural reaction to life. Hadn’t it always been there for me?  Surely I couldn’t survive without it. I’d always turned to food when I felt happy, sad, mad, scared, rejected, worried, or abandoned. Food got me through, but now what I had once called “my friend” seemed to have betrayed me and become my greatest enemy. I couldn’t seem to get enough food in me anymore, and it wasn’t bringing the relief it once had. The food wasn’t working anymore!  What else was there? When I decided to come into FA, it felt like it was my last option. I was exhausted and hopeless, and I weighed more than I ever had. I had said I’d never hit 200 pounds, but my weight was headed to the mid-200s and not stopping. Surprisingly, it really wasn’t the weight that brought me in. What drove me... Continue Reading

 


 

My Higher Power Saved Me From A Near Collision With Fast Food

It was the last day on vacation with my sister and I was asleep in the car, as my sister navigated three highways to get us to her apartment. Merely ten minutes from our beds, the unthinkable happened. My sister’s old, blue Toyota had been hit by a black Honda that ran a red light and was turning into our intersection. Upon impact, my sister lost control and we were pushed off the road and headed towards a fast-food restaurant. I jolted awake. I woke up to the most disorienting feeling and a loud, hard noise, followed by a feeling of weightlessness. My head whipped forward and the passenger-side seat belt bit into my hip. I could feel the shock of not knowing if we were hurt. I started praying out loud and, as I did, the car came to a stop. I opened my door and my sister and... Continue Reading

 


 

Addictive Eating Is Like Shopping With a Credit Card

For me, addictive eating is like shopping with a credit card. Initially it is gratifying and easy to purchase that unplanned, unnecessary yet attractive thing—that new pair of Manolo shoes, or maybe the Oprah magazine while checking out at the grocery store. At the moment it seems like a good idea to make the purchase, crafted by an impulse that tells me I will feel or be better if I have that thing. The impulse morphs into an uncontrollable urge, and I think that now I need that thing, regardless of the consequences. Food thoughts enter my head in a very similar fashion. They tell me that if I eat that unplanned, unnecessary, yet attractive thing, I will feel or be better. With all those extra credit card purchases, the anticipation of my monthly card statement can become a dreadful thing, similar to the dread of the bathroom scale after... Continue Reading

 


 

Thanksgiving – Then and Now

I recently attended one of the 12 Thank-a-Thons in California. I was so grateful to have a place to go to listen to all of the wonderful stories of recovering food addicts. I have lost 40 pounds from my top weight of 155. I used to want to be grateful on Thanksgiving and other days, but I could never get there until FA came into my life. For me, Thanksgiving was just another binge that wasn’t eaten behind closed doors (as most of my other binges were). I started the meal by eating bowls of food that were meant to be appetizers. Once I put the bite in my mouth, I couldn’t stop. I was always powerless and hopeless throughout the holiday. There was a war going on in my mind. I would hear, “Oh that looks so good. Mmm, tasty. I better save room for that one! Why did... Continue Reading