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April 14, 2004
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addiction2food
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V olume 1 Issue 9
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| Please
pass along a copy of this newsletter to your friends! |
Offering helpful information,
insights,
articles, tips,
recipes, humor and motivational tools to assist you in finding recovery
from your addiction to food.
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By subscription only! Welcome to your next issue of
""addiction2food"".
You are receiving this newsletter because you requested
a subscription. Unsubscribe instructions are at the end of this
newsletter.
To see past issues of this newsletter check out the newsletter archive
on my web site: www.addiction2food.com
Send your comments or
questions to: bj@addiction2food.com
We
Welcome Guest Columnists!
Please submit articles in plain text form to: bj@addiction2food.com
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| IN THIS ISSUE |
Overeaters Anonymous Special Edition
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- Recommended
Sponsor
- From
the Editor
- OA
Wisdom
- Guidelines
- Humor
- OA Stuff
- Recovery
Tools: Acceptance
- Experience,
Strength and Hope
- Thoughts
on Willingness
- Classified
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- Subscribe/Unsubscribe
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From the Editor
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Trust the Process
Diets do work if your only goal is to lose weight. Pick out
almost any diet you can think of and follow it as directed and you will
lose weight. Please don't be surprised that I believe this but I
have done much research on this and I happen to know that it's true.
So if the above is true then what am I doing with all of this stuff
that I'm doing, specifically my book "Compulsive Overeating: Find
Recovery Now!" and my newsletter "addiction2food". Well food
addicts need to have other goals in mind other than just weight
loss. Now
losing weight may be the incentive that brings you to my site or
prompts you to read my newsletter or buy my book but as you learn more
about food addiction you will find that popular fad diets are something
you "go on" to lose the weight and when you've accomplished that you
then
"go off" the diet and go on about your life.
Goals for a food addict might include: 1) eliminate our obsession
with food and body image and to decrease and eliminate our food
cravings. 2)
Improve our self-esteem. 3)Take back and improve our life. 4)
Eliminate the extreme highs and lows in our blood sugar.
This program that I talk about is not for everyone. It's not for
you if you just need to lose a little weight. If you are a food
addict this program will help you. It will help you to
eat in a healthy way with plenty of food so that you will not be hungry
after your body stabilizes. Early in the program you will
probably become aware of some symptoms of withdrawal and experience
some discomfort. This should confirm to you that there is a
physical addiction present.
This is a life long program and involves life style changes. You
will not be "going off" of this
program. It is designed to deal with a life long problem.
Addiction is a chronic, progressive disease. That means it
doesn't go away. But the program I offer you will allow you to
experience remission or recovery and the obsession with food will
disappear. This will happen if you work the program I give you
and don't tweak it to meet your
needs. Then it becomes your
program and most of us have found that our programs for ourselves have
not worked to this point in time. There is an expression in
recovery programs that goes like this: "your own best thinking got you
here". That simply means that because of where you are in your
disease process you have sought help to find recovery at this time
after trying
your way.
That sounds rigid I know and it is. The reason for that rigidity
is so there is no gray area where the addict will look for
loopholes. If there is a loophole the addict will find it and
that will lead to a return to bingeing or grazing and a loss of
recovery. But it looks less and less rigid as you progress in
recovery and find out just how easy the program is to follow when you
are free of your obsession with food.
After you get my book the first thing most of you will seek out is the
food plan. We are used to diets and so this is
understandable. But the food plan I offer you is simply one tool
for you to use. I supply other tools which are equally as
important in finding recovery. Using the food plan as a diet
makes it into a diet and diets don't work for the food addict.
Tweaking the food plan to suit your needs is like playing with
fire. Remember "your own best thinking...".
Trust the process. It works if you work it.
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About the
Author
BJ is a recovering food addict and a
registered nurse.
In 1989 BJ found recovery as an inpatient at Glenbeigh Hospital of
Tampa. After returning home she discovered that her recovery
resources
were limited. But she knew that if one wanted recovery badly enough one
could find it anywhere. So BJ set about finding and/or founding
services
which would primarily help her to grow in recovery but consequently
helped many other food addicts..
BJ worked as a registered nurse for
almost twenty years.
Most of that time was spent working in intensive care, adult and child
psychiatry, adolescent addiction and home health care. This experience
was useful in establishing the "Eating Disorder Information and
Referral
Service" which was housed at a local Women's Center in Upper Michigan.
It was there that she helped her clients find recovery!
She has found that working in the field of
food addiction has been an extremely
gratifying experience. Through this work BJ has learned that an addict
can never stop working at recovery. BJ wants to shareher experience,
strength and hope with you throughher new E- book "
Compulsive Overeating: Find Recovery Now!" |
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OA
Wisdom
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Sanity Exchange
Whenever I'm tempted to overeat, I take out a
checklist I drew
up to see how willing I am to trade what I have for
what I'd
probably get. Here it is.
In exchange for taking that first compulsive bite, I
agree to
take a chance I will:
- Chase food endlessly right up to bedtime.
- Feel ugly, act ugly, look ugly.
- Gain weight that will
be twice as hard to remove later.
- Feel
heavy, old, sluggish and short of breath all day and night.
- Be unable and unwilling to exercise.
- Carry the monkey on my back every
single minute of this day.
- Feel silently
defensive, or even hostile, toward every person I meet.
- Realize,
too late, that no food, no amount of food, ever solved a single problem
for me.
- Think with self-loathing of my friends' in OA who are
working hard to make it through this day; who really care about me and
the decision I made here today.
- Waste this precious day: trash my
miracle, my gift of abstinence.
- Wrap myself in a
guilt quilt and have self-pity party.
- Quit
working the program, avoid phone calls, skip meetings.
- Risk a full-blown relapse and the loss of all that I've
been given in this program.
I call this my Free to Choose list. It works like nothing else ever
has.
G.H. Loomis, California
*****
excerpted from:"Promises
a monthly newsletter
published and distributed by the New Hampshire Intergroup
_________________
Always remember you're
unique, just like everyone else. Quack,
Quack!
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Guidelines
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God On A Harley
Recently, I read a book called ???God
on a Harley.??? It really was an easy read and so enlightening for me for
where I am today with my program. The six so called ???commandments??™ or
???guides for life??™ of this book are as follows:
?· Do not build walls, for they are dangerous. Learn to
transcend them.
?· Live in the moment, for each one is precious and not
to be squandered.
?· Take care of yourself, first and foremost.
?· Drop the ego. Be real. And watch what happens.
?· All things are possible all of the time.
?· Maintain Universal Flow. When someone gives, it is
an act of generosity to receive. For in the giving, there is something
gained.
I know that we all hear
the same slogans and program jargon in the rooms at many different
times and on different days. For me, hearing the same words but in a
little different way seems to hit me and helps me to wake up and follow
the program for one more day. This book has helped me to realize that
my Higher Power loves me and He is Love and He is in me and with me
always. He wants me to be abstinent because He knows what is best for
me, which is abstinence from compulsive overeating. If I keep coming to
the meetings, surrender and do what you who have a program have done
before me and tell me what to do, then I can have the serenity that
this program promises too. All I have to do is ask for help and with
God and Good Orderly Direction I will have my abstinence for one more
day which is today.
Elaine J |
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Humor
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Life....Explained
On the first day God created the cow. God said, "You must go to the
field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have
calves
and give milk to support the farmer. I will give you a life span of
sixty years."
The cow said, "That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for
sixty
years. Let me have twenty years and I'll give back the other forty."
And God agreed.
On the second day, God created the dog. God said, "Sit all day by the
door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. I
will give you a life span of twenty years."
The dog said, "That's too long to be barking. Give me ten years and
I'll give back the other ten."
So God agreed (sigh).
On the third day God created the monkey. God said, "Entertain people,
do monkey tricks, make them laugh. I'll give you a twenty year life
span."
Monkey said, "How boring, monkey tricks for twenty years? I don't
think so. Dog gave you back ten, so that's what I'll do too, okay?"
And God agreed again.
On the fourth day God created man.
God said, "Eat, sleep, play, enjoy.
Do nothing, just enjoy, enjoy. I'll give you twenty years."
Man said, "What? Only twenty years? No way man. Tell you what,
I'll take my twenty, and the forty the cow gave back, and the ten dog
gave back, and the ten monkey gave back. That makes eighty, okay?"
Said God, "You've got a deal."
So that is why for the first twenty years we eat, sleep, play, enjoy,
and do nothing. For the next forty years we slave in the sun to
support our family. For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to
entertain our grandchildren. And for the last ten years we sit in
front of the house and bark at everybody.
Life has now been explained.
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OA
Stuff
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Top
Ten Ways
to
Live Life without Compulsively Overeating
10. Work with a sponsor. Don??™t just HAVE
a
sponsor--use her, take
her advice, and try out what she says.
9.
Work the
program. That means following ALL 12 steps in ALL areas of
life.
8.
Go to meetings.
That??™s and easy one. There are only two times you need to go:
when
you want
to and when you don??™t want to!
7.
Read literature.
There??™s so much to choose from: The Big Book, both the OA and AA 12 and
12,
One
Day At a
Time, Lifeline, and all that other great stuff (that is conference
approved,
off course!.)
6.
Talk about
it. As a friend always says, "Talk about it until you don??™t
have
to talk about it anymore."
5.
Have a plan
of eating. We don??™t live any other area of our lives without
some sort of plan:
we
plan vacations,
we plan out our education, we plan our careers, why not plan our food?
4.
Get out
of your own way. Don??™t let that "stinkin??™ thinkin??™" continue
to rule your life.
If
you do what
you??™ve always done, you get what you always got!
3.
Erase the
old tapes. No matter what others have told you in the past,
know
that you
ARE good enough, worthy enough, lovable, and GREAT!
2.
Make amends
as the need arises. Don??™t let it build up. It just gives you
a reason/excuse to overeat.
1.
Trust.
Trust God, or your Higher Power, with your life. Know that He loves
you,
no matter what,
and
He wants
your happiness. Trust the program. Here, you are safe. We love you.
After
all, we ARE you!
--Sherri
H.
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Recovery Tools
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Acceptance
is the Key
(exerpted and adapted from AA's Big Book pp.448-449)
At
last, acceptance proved to be the key to my eating problem. After I
had been around O.A. for seven months, tapering off sugar and flour,
not finding the program working very well, I was finally able to say,
"Okay, God. Is it true that I--of all people, strange as it may seem,
and even though I didn't give my permission--really, really am a food
addict of sorts. And it's all right with me. Now, what am I going to
do about it?" When I stopped living in the problem and began living in
the answer, the problem went away. From that moment on, I have no had a
single compulsion to compulsively overeat. And acceptance is the answer
to all my
problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person,
place, thing, or situation--some fact of my life--unacceptable to me,
and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or
situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God's world by mistake. Until I
could accept my addiction to food, I could not stay abstinent; unless I
accept
life completely on life's terms, I cannot be happy. I need to
concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on
what needs to be changed in me and in my attitudes.
Shakespeare
said, "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely
players." He forgot to mention that I was the chief critic. I was
always able to see the flaw in every person, every situation. And I was
always glad to point it out, because I knew you wanted perfection, just
as I did. O.A. and acceptance have taught me that there is a bit of
good in the worst of us and a bit of bad in the best of us; that we are
all children of God and we each have a right to be here. When I
complain about me or about you, I am complaining about God's handiwork.
I am saying that I know better then God. For years I was sure the worst
thing that could happen to a nice guy like me would be that I would
turn out to be a food addict. Today I find it's the best thing that has
ever happened to me. This proves I don't know what's good for me. And
if I don't know what's good for me, then I don't know what's good or
bad for you or for anyone. So I'm better off if I don't give advice,
don't figure I know what's best, and just accept life on life's terms,
as it is today--especially my own life, as it actually is.Before O.A. I
judged myself by my intentions, while the world was judging me by my
actions.
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Experience, Strength and Hope
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Getting
Willing
I know for me to it gets difficult when
life goes well to put as much energy into my program as when I am
miserable and desperate. Somehow I have trouble mustering the
willingness to work this program. Heck, I had to be near 300
pounds, just existing through each day with no reason to go on living
before I was ready to work this program the first time. Sometimes that
seems so far away though. That is when I
pray to HP for the willingness to work the program. When I'm willing to
give up and turn it all over to him suddenly things start going much
better. Duuuhhh! I wonder why I don't just stay with it all the time
since it is so much more pleasant then fighting the food and failing.
All I know is that it takes what it takes. I think one of the lessons I
will be learning for the rest of my life is that the only way to work
this program
(and live my life) is one day at a time, each and every day. Doing the
same things that worked over and over each day. Why can't I be done
yet? Isn't there a sexier way? A faster/easier way?
That is where the voice of program sanity speaks up. "How well did you
do managing your own life before OA? How did that work for you?"
Obviously it didn't work at all or I would never have come to OA. My
best managing got me on the doorstep of suicide. So why do I think I
can do any better now, by myself?
Again the voice of program sanity speaks up. "Little strokes fell giant
oaks. The program doesn't ask that much but it does ask for a little
action each and everyday and trust in HP." I used to think that was
ridiculous! But then I started recovering. Things I had tried to change
unsuccessfully over and over again before OA began to slowly fall, like
a chain of dominoes in slow motion. I know I sure as hell wasn't doing
it but wonderful changes happened. The life I live today isn't
"perfect" but it is better than my wildest dreams before coming to OA.
The only thing I can give responsibility for that is working this
program, one little step at a time, one little act at a time, one day
at a time, each and every day.
Some day I'll learn those lessons. Think small. Act small. Give up. And
do them each and every day.
- K.G., Goshen, IN
(exerpted from "MONARCH MONTHLY", Three Rivers Intergroup, Fort Wayne,
Indiana) |
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Thoughts
on Willingness
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Willingness in Physical
Recovery
To accept that the disease is stronger than my
willpower.
To put Structure into my eating.
To plan my meals and be willing to commit them.
To let go of problem foods.
To put abstinence before everything.
To say no to food activities and people not good for me.
To ignore the cravings.
To give up my obsession with weight.
To begin again when I make a mistake.
Willingness in Emotional
Recovery
To give up what compulsive eating is doing to me.
To face life as it is, without mood ?altering substances or
behavior.
To let go of trying to control, change, improve, or
regulate anyone other than myself.
To give up ideas from my childhood that don't work
anymore.
To change my opinions on what is right and wrong, how
things should or should not be.
To admit that my unaided brain doesn't always know
what is best for me.
To ask for directions.
To let go of shortcomings.
To put away the past.
To admit wrongs and mistakes.
To make amends to others.
To live in the NOW.
To prepare myself for the future but not to worry about it.
To accept my best as good enough today.
To be honest with myself and others.
To listen.
To sever unhealthy relationships.
to start living instead of preparing to live.
Willingness in Spiritual
Recovery
To seek a power greater than myself.
To form a personal relationship with that power.
To ask that power for guidance and help in my thinking
and behavior.
To pause and listen for intuition.
To believe that my HP wants only good for me.
To believe that whatever happens is, in some way, part of
my HP's plan.
To believe that life's problems are meant to be learning
and growing experiences.
Adapted from Easy Does
It, July/August 2003
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