A Story of Recovery:

Getting Clear

After a friend told me about FA, I decided to go to a meeting, feeling unsure of what I was going to get from it. I had never heard anything about food addiction before, but when I heard people share about how they had lost so much weight and kept it off, I was so excited that I got a sponsor that day. I wanted the weight off because my knees were hurting and I needed surgery. Despite my desire to lose weight, I found all kinds of excuses to tell my sponsor what I could and couldn’t do. Finally, I shared with my sponsor that she was too hard of a person and I walked away from FA. 

 I wanted to have knee surgery, but the doctor required that I lose some weight before surgery. I got a sponsor and lost 25 pounds, which was just enough to allow the knee surgery to take place. After the surgery, I left FA again.

I had a second knee surgery and afterwards gained more weight. Four years later, my life was chaotic. My doctor told me I must lose weight because I was obese and pre-diabetic. She explained that she was going to prescribe a medicine for diabetes. I was already on eight medications and I was not in the mood for a ninth. I left the doctor feeling bad about what she had said to me, and my whole body was hurting, even the knee that was operated previously. At that point, I decided to try bariatric surgery. 

The first doctor said that he could do the surgery in a week. He seemed too enthusiastic, and that scared me away. When the second doctor examined me, he discovered a hernia, which meant that I would be a high-risk patient. Because of that, he refused to clear me for the bariatric surgery. 

I went home depressed again, and I talked to my Higher Power. I said that I did not want to go back to all those commercial weight loss places to try and lose weight, but I also did not want to go back to FA. But I weighed 233 pounds, which was even bigger than before, and my life was in trouble. I was taking many medications, and I was very angry. So I returned to FA and this time, when I got a sponsor, I committed to doing whatever the sponsor told me to do without excuses.  

This coming June marks my second consecutive year in FA. I have a clear mind. I see things differently than before. I weigh and measure my food, and I am much happier. I have lost 103 pounds, I am medication free, and I am not walking around angry at the world. Life is good. I am so glad that flour and sugar are not my monsters anymore.