Eating Disorders - OA April 2014

[MajestyJo]

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Helping Others

Twelfth Step work is essential in OA, since in order to keep the program ourselves we have to give it away. Each of us finds opportunities to share what we have received.

It is discouraging when someone we wish to help turns down the program. It is hard to know what to say or do when a friend who needs OA responds to our efforts with indifference or hostility. Sometimes, those we are trying to help take advantage of our time and patience. Often, we feel inadequate when we encounter a person with seemingly overwhelming and insoluble problems.

As we go about our Twelfth Step work, let's remember that the best way we can help someone else is by maintaining our own abstinence. Let's also remember to turn over our perplexities to our Higher Power. We do the best we can, according to the insight we are given at the time, and we leave the results to God.

Show me what to do for those I would help.

It says over eating, but I believe the disease is over eating or not eating, and the mind set behind using food.

I think we all have different reasons, but most of all it is our thinking that activates our disease. When my body is swollen, I think fat. I either act on, "What the heck, I am fat already, so eat with no thought of content;" or it is I am fat and I don't eat and shut down and tell myself I am not hungry, then I often pick up other things to take away the hungry feeling, like cigarettes, alcohol or drugs, relationships, gambling, etc.

We can share with the hope that others will identify with us and not compare their thinking to ours, but get honest about their own thoughts and feelings.

[MajestyJo]

Thursday, April 17, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Easy Does It

Strain and struggle abound when we try to do everything ourselves, our way. We want positive change to occur immediately and expect miracles to happen according to our personal timetable. We sometimes feel that if our Higher Power is guiding us, we should be able to accomplish great and marvelous things constantly.

To remember "easy does it" is to humbly realize that we are not all powerful and that God does not expect us to be all things to all people. Growth is slow, time belongs to God, and change will occur according to His plan. If we do the jobs we have been given for this 24-hour period, our Higher Power will take care of tomorrow.

How much more agreeable life is when we do not overextend ourselves but admit our weakness and trust God to take care of us. We do not shirk our share, but we do not try to carry the whole load. Only our Higher Power is strong enough to do that.

Take from our lives the strain and stress.

I was told, "Easy Does It...but do it!"

We didn't get this way over night, so how can I expect myself to heal and get better over night. Recovery is a process. As our healing is takes place, more is revealed, and the processing continues. It is a one day at a time program.

[MajestyJo]

Friday, April 18, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Caring

"Teach us to care and not to care. Teach us to sit still."

We know that God cares for us and we try to give to those we love the care that He would have us give. But sometimes we become so caught up in our cares and concerns, whether they be for ourselves or for others that we forget to listen to our Higher Power.

In order to work the spiritual part of the program, we need to spend time quietly by ourselves listening to the inner voice. Each day we need a period of time alone when we can get in touch with the center of our being.

When we are tuned in to our Higher Power, we are able to give to those we care for. Our concerns fall into proper perspective, and we are freed from selfish preoccupation. Our actions become more effective and our hearts are more open to the needs of those we love.

Teach us to care.

Love the line, "sit still." That was one of the hard parts of the program. Being still, with myself, with God and not picking up the phone, the mouse, the book, etc. Self reflection and new awareness as to who I was, what needed changing, and instead of using food to try to fill the empty feeling inside, I had to find a spiritual outlook on life.

[MajestyJo]

Saturday, April 19, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Perseverance

We all go through periods when we seem to be standing still or slipping backwards. It is often difficult to stay with our food plan when weight loss slows or stops. We may become bored with the program if our understanding of it is superficial. There are many times when things do not go the way we would like, and we may be tempted to give up.

Let's remember where we began and how miserable we were before we found OA. If there are times when abstinence does not seem so great, let's remember how much worse the alternative is. We have been down in the depths of despair before, and we do not choose to go back there.

One day at a time, we can keep moving forward. Even when we see no signs of progress, we can know that our Higher Power is now in charge of our recovery and that His purposes never fail.

Lord, give us strength to persevere.

[MajestyJo]

Sunday, April 20, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Social Situations

Many of us find it especially difficult to follow our food plan when we go to parties and eat with friends. We may feel deprived if we do not eat and drink what everyone else is eating and drinking. Sometimes we maintain our abstinence at the party and then go home and break it for some strange kind of emotional compensation.

The longer we live the OA program, the easier it becomes to deal with social situations. We begin to realize that the company is more important than the food and drink, and we discover that we can enjoy being with our friends regardless of what we are or are not consuming. We also become convinced that only by abstaining do we maintain our health and sanity, and we value these more than whatever refreshments are being served.

Because we are stronger now than we were before, we are less affected by the social pressure to do what everyone else is doing. We know who we are and how we can best live our own lives.

May I enjoy my friends more than food.

Many times I walked into a friend's house and said, "What you got to eat?" My disease wasn't always in the closet, it often took me outside of myself. That is why I have to take my recovery program out of my meeting, and apply it to my life, at home, at work, in the community, and in the home of friends and family.

[MajestyJo]

Monday, April 21, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

New Skills

When we stop eating compulsively, we get out of ruts that we may have been in for years. Our schedules change, since we spend less time eating. The confidence we gain encourages us to try new activities, and we discover skills we never knew we had.

Because we are no longer disgusted with ourselves, we get along better with those around us. As we learn to give up fear and self-centeredness, we find ourselves turning out better work and performing well in areas where before we had been weak.

Spiritual growth is the key to the new developments in all parts of our lives. We have become more closely connected to the source of creativity, so we are more alive. Others respond positively to our new sincerity and enthusiasm.

That we may continue to grow and learn gives us quiet satisfaction. For this, we are grateful to OA and our Higher Power.

Thank You, Lord, for newness of life.

Lamenting not going to my niece's yesterday, stopped and thought of all the food and goodies she was making. With my sister being there, didn't want to take anything to hurt that would hurt her. I was and still am running a low grade fever, bad cough, chest pains, and nauseated. Every fibre of my Fibromyalgia was screaming, so ended up with left overs, and even had to go to my bed, cover up, and if I didn't sleep, I watched tennis and curling, and had a few resentments because I missed a lot of the matches, so I spent the day in prayer. Not sure how much of it was in my head, but tried to listen to my stomach and my heart.

[MajestyJo]

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Happiness

Happiness is rarely achieved by pursuing it. We compulsive overeaters used to think that food could make us happy, but we found that it could not. Many of us tried other substances, too, such as alcohol, drugs, or money. When these also failed us, we may have decided that only a perfect partner could make us happy. Alas, we soon discovered that there are no perfect individuals, only ordinary people with faults like our own.

So where does happiness fit in? At some point along the line, we abandon the frantic pursuit of an external object of happiness and begin to work on ourselves. As we go through the Twelve Steps, we become less self-centered and more focused on a Higher Power. As we are able to concentrate more on His will and less on our own, we find that periods of happiness come as a by product. Paradoxically, when happiness is no longer our goal, we have more of it.

In You, there is joy.

I kept coming back, because of the first promise of AA, that said you will find a new freedom and a new happiness. The rest of the promises were good, but all I wanted was that first one.

http://www.bluidkiti.com/forums/show...1220#post21220

[MajestyJo]

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Wisdom

The longer we live this Twelve Step program, the more we realize that we do not have all the answers. Our finite knowledge is very limited, and we need all the help we can get.

Acknowledging our limitations and our powerlessness is the beginning of wisdom. Conceding that we cannot manage our own lives puts us in a position whereby we may humbly ask for the wisdom that comes from our Higher Power.

If we are to grow in wisdom and learn which things to accept and which to change, we need to conscientiously devote time each day to the OA program. We need to read and re-read the literature. We need to examine our motives and our deeds. We need to act according to the promptings of our Higher Power.

Wisdom is not acquired overnight. The more patient we are and the more humble, the better able we are to learn from the mistakes we make.

May I stay close to You, the source of wisdom.

The old saying says, "As wise and an owl." Don't know if I will ever get there, it was hard for me to have the wisdom to know the difference. The Serenity Prayer, said in earnest, with the right intent and motive, got me through a lot of thing, stuff that I could never have done before I came back into the fellowship. It is kind of hard to have wisdom, when we cut ourselves off from our Higher Power. You don't get a clear message and a whole lot of wisdom if you are using, be it the solid, liquid, powdered, braised, roasted, boiled, baked, broiled, stewed, or the flesh and blood variety.

[MajestyJo]

Thursday, April 24, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Hungry or Bored?

When we ate compulsively, we often interpreted boredom to be hunger. When there seemed to be nothing else to do, we could always eat! Unstructured time may have made us anxious; we thought we could fill up with food and allay our anxieties.

To be egotistical and self-centered is to be bored. If we are always the center of our awareness, we will soon tire of ourselves, since none of us is all that fascinating. In order to escape boredom, we need to turn our attention outward and focus on something besides self.

When we give our lives to our Higher Power, we are making a commitment of service. We are asking that His will be done and that He use us as He sees fit. By relieving us of our obsession, God frees us from slavery to our appetites. If we are to remain free, we need to serve Him instead of ourselves. Day by day, He shows us our tasks and as we become absorbed in them, we lose our boredom along with our false hunger.

May I know the true nourishment of doing Your will.

Realized tonight, or I should say I got honest with myself, that my eating patterns have been the cause of my feet problems. I thought it was okay because my blood sugars have been normal any time I took it, problem was, I didn't keep track on a regular basis.

[MajestyJo]

E is for Eat. Eat healthy. Learn health habits, not just what you eat, but how you eat. Remember that you need food for the body, mind, and spirit.

Instead of eating to stuff your emotions, let go and let God, feel them and let them go.

With addiction, sometimes the friend becomes an enemy.

[MajestyJo]

Friday, April 25, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Forgetting Food

Abstinence enables us to stop being preoccupied with food. We decide that we will have three meals a day with nothing in between, and we have a definite plan for those meals. Whenever cravings or thoughts of food begin to distract us, we put them out of our mind. We remember that food has proved to be a false friend, and we no longer permit it to control our life.

Through OA, we have found new interests and activities. We have friends to call when we are lonely or upset. When we are feeling shaky, we can go to a meeting. Perhaps our new energies have led to involvement in community activities, new jobs, hobbies and projects.

Each of us faces a certain amount of sluggishness and inertia when we decide to get involved in something new. It is easier to stay in the same old rut, since we often fear what is untried and unknown. Let us not permit apathy or anxiety to weaken our resolution. Escape into food and overeating is no longer an option.

Keep my thoughts on the new possibilities, which You have opened for me.

For some people, they find it difficult to put food in the same as alcohol and other drugs. Yet it is the thinking behind the substance, the drug is but a symptom of my disease.

To remove the obsession, I had to pray and ask my God for it to be removed. With food, it is necessary to have in order to survive. The other drugs are best left on the shelf, but with food, it was making healthy choices, having a new outlook on food and what I needed in order to recover.

[ScaryCarrrie]

I would love to hear what others are using as their planned meals. I know I am told to start with three meals and life in between. Meanwhile I am trying to identify food triggers as well as mood triggers. I know I am not a sweetie, instead I'm afraid I'm a fattie. Gravy, sour cream, sausages....sexy right? Anyhow, I'm learning what flips the switch for me as I go along on my 3-0-1 (three meals, 0 in between, 1 day at a time) plan. Anyone else???

[MajestyJo]

For me, I just try to make healthy choices. When I went to a clinic, they said 5 small meals a day. Without using my program, the 12 Steps, they became more and they didn't end up very small.

I had to cut down on the portions, used a smaller plate. I can't eat a whole chicken breast, unless they are small. I was told that food portions, should be the size of your palm, and your veggies fill up the rest of the plate.

One day at a time, is how I do it and apply the 12 Steps to my life. H.O.W. works for all areas of my life that I need to change.

[MajestyJo]

Saturday, April 26, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Overcoming Sloth

Another of the seven deadly sins, which we do not talk much about anymore, is sloth. Webster defines it as laziness or indolence. It is our experience that the more we eat, the lazier we become. We procrastinate, we do not feel like undertaking anything difficult, and we avoid movement as much as possible.

Abstinence puts our bodies into high gear. With proper nourishment and without an excess amount of food to digest, we feel alert and alive. We find ourselves requiring less sleep and fewer naps. Lifetime habits of laziness do not change immediately, but if we are willing to become more energetic, our Higher Power will provide the motivation.

Sometimes the thought of a large task looming ahead of us is overwhelming, and we feel that we will never be able to manage it. Here is where the willingness to take one step at a time can make the difference. If we will begin, God will keep us going when the task is part of His plan.

Deliver us from slothfulness.

Heard someone say that procrastination was included in slothfulness. I forgot it until just now as I started to post. I was horrified, I was a great procrastinator. My motto was, why worry, it isn't going any where, it will still be there when I feel like doing it. Often put off until I had no other choice and I continued to run away from home so I didn't have to confront it. Because I would run away from home, no self care and no housework. As a result, I got addicted to service. I didn't have the right attitude or motive toward it, and my recovery got slothful.

I would have this don't care attitude, which spread into my eating habits and because of the guilt, I would stuff.

[MajestyJo]

Sunday, April 27, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Food Is No Cure all

In spite of what we compulsive overeaters may have believed, food does not solve our emotional or spiritual problems. Food cannot fill our hearts with love, no matter how much we eat. Rather than erasing our difficulties with family, friends, and self, overeating multiplies them.

If our problem were that of not having enough to eat, food would be the solution. It is possible for us to be overweight and undernourished at the same time, if we are eating the wrong foods. For most of us, though, the difficulty is simply that we like to eat too much. The only cure all for that problem is eating less!

The good news for compulsive overeaters is that a life of abstinence and control is possible. We do not have to be destroyed by our disease. When we recognize that we have been using food to do what only our Higher Power can do, we are on the way to recovery. Instead of turning to food to ease our aches and satisfy our cravings, we turn to God.

Thank You for being there for me.

Had to go for outside help for several issues. The 12 Steps are applicable to all areas of my dis-ease. When I did the 12 Steps, I uncovered a lot of things that were best spoken privately.