I just got back from a week-long vacation with my husband, three small kids, my brother and sister-in-law, their two kids, and my husband’s parents. There were 12 of us; seven of us stayed in a two-bedroom condo with a small kitchen. Lots of personalities for such small quarters. Thank God for FA. I missed out on so much before FA. If I had been plopped into this situation before program, I would have holed myself up in the cabin with the drapes closed, watching TV non-stop, and eating my brains out. I would have missed the splashing of the children in the pool and lake, sunning and schmoozing, watching little animals scurry by, strolling around in a bikini, and hearing the countless giggles and laughs from all of my family members. I was so insecure about my body, and I wouldn’t participate in the activities that required me to be out in the... Continue Reading
I have been abstinent for ten-and-and-a-half months and have lost 45 pounds. One evening as I was getting ready to go on a date with my husband, I glanced in the mirror and remarked to him that I thought I looked yellow. My husband, who is color blind, took a quick glance at me and said I looked fine to him, so I let it go. The next day in church I had a friend come up to me, and say, “Did you take up smoking? Your fingers are all stained.” I was appalled and insulted that she would even think to ask this, but when I looked down at my hands I could see why she asked. My fingers looked like they belonged to a 20-year chain smoker! We had a discussion, and someone suggested that it could be from what I was eating. Her baby had turned yellow... Continue Reading
I have been underweight for most of my adult life, but became overweight during the past four years. As a food addict, I do nothing in moderation, so I went from underweight to morbid obesity in about a year and a half. I came into program seven months ago at 211 pounds and now am at my goal weight, 72 pounds lighter than when I started. Last weekend I had the opportunity to travel to Boston for a “Reachout” weekend in Cape Cod, where FA members from the Boston area went to Cape Cod to lend strength and support to small meetings there. This trip brought back memories of the last time I visited Boston about eight years ago, when I weighed 30 pounds less than I do now. I can recall the pain of being at the food court in the Prudential Center and in Pioneer Square, trying to... Continue Reading
My sponsee lives in a quaint northern California town that I adore, but visit infrequently. After leaving her house, I drove down the road and through the tiny downtown. A longing began to build within me as I started feeling sadness, coupled with that old familiar sense of wanting something to “hit the spot.” At thirteen-and-a-half months of back-to-back abstinence, I am thankful to say that I rarely have a desire to hit the spot with food. That day, I felt the desire to hit the spot in a different way. My first thought was: I wish there were someone with me right now. But how could I be lonely? I had just had the pleasure of having lunch with a sponsee at her home, where she is recovering from a surgery she had only three days ago. We talked about life, addiction, and the profound and simple pleasures that... Continue Reading
Desperate and willing When I arrived in FA in 2007, it was suggested I go to three meetings a week. At the time, I was a small-business owner, working over 50 hours a week helping to run the company my husband and I owned. I was single-handedly managing the art department. There were no FA meetings in my area at the time, so getting to an FA meeting meant traveling over two hours one way on a Sunday afternoon—my only day off. Therefore, a good chunk of my “down time” from working so hard was going to be spent fulfilling only one of my weekly meeting commitments. How would I ever get the rest I needed to continue to work at the pace I had set for myself if I went to an FA meeting each Sunday and to two area AA meetings each week? The answer was, I wouldn’t.... Continue Reading
