Hi....my name is Sarah and I found this site a while ago. Reading the posts here has helped me make the decision to try OA. I attended my first meeting tonight.
I am a compulsive overeater and have been struggling w/ food for about 12 years. Fortunately God delivered me from bulimia, but as the bulimia was conquered the weight just started piling on. I have accepted the fact that I have become powerless over food yet in the same breath am terrified to say goodbye to my best friend. I know that I will need a sponsor to get through the transition.
I think that I need to remove sugar and flour from my diet. Any tips? Are there good cookbooks for this type of eating plan? Does the South Beach follow this general rule?
Any advice from those of you have worked the plan and are in recovery would be great. I am at a point that I need to hear that it is possible to beat this. I just want to love, and respect this body that I have been entrusted with.
I had the same starting weight as you. Yep, it is possible to beat this-- I'm living proof.
Removing sugar and flour from your diet is a huge change physically, emotionally, mentally, and practically. It means finding a whole new way to eat and relate to food and meals. Once you've gotten past the two weeks of withdrawls, you'll feel fantastic. I haven't eaten sugar in over a year. I do eat flour as it isn't a trigger for me.
I highly recommend getting a sponsor who can work with you on a personal food plan. There are likely folks at your local meeting who abstain from sugar and flour and can give you some ideas about what to eat/cook. Just ask! I don't have any experience with South Beach, so I can't speak to it. However, I do follow "The Zone" for my food plan, and sugar and flour are "unfavorable" choices. So, that may be something to look into.
It is scary to say goodbye to our food friend. But, I promise that with an abstinent life, you find better friends, more comfort, peace, and serenity than you ever knew before... or I wouldn't still be working my program.
It took a lot of courage for you to walk into that meeting-- great job! You've made a great choice for your well being.
Hi there: So - how many of us are a part of this? I don't really know how it works, but am very enthusiastic about getting going and supporting each other. I have a lot to loose!
How many of us are there? That's a hard question to answer. There are about a hundred people who read this forum regularly, but don't post. The folks who post tend to do so in spurts. Sometimes there is a lot going on in here, and sometimes not. The important thing is that the support is always here, OA is always here, and if you need help or want to share how program is going, this is a great supplement to your home meeting.
There are thousands of OA members around the world. There are many places to reach out to others in OA: Your local meeting or intergroup, the OA website: www.oa.org , and The Recovery Group has online OA meetings at www.therecoverygroup.org .
I got a call last night from one of the ladies from the OA group I attended. She was calling to check in on me and see how I was doing. I thought that was very sweet!!!
I do recommend the OA program although I have only been there for 1 meeting. What I learned last night is the amount of connection they have to each other. I am looking forward to learning WHY I eat, and moving past it!
Hey Sarah-
Thanks for letting us know how your meeting went. You got an outreach call! That is so cool.
Yep, there are lots of connections between us OAers. We love, support, and help each other. One of the reasons that I love my Monday night meeting is that afterwards, many of us go out for coffee. There, we can have cross talk, advice giving, girl talk, and general sillyness. I meet my OA friends for lunch, to walk, to knit, to bead, for church, to shop, but mostly to talk. We talk about everything, but our conversations usually come back to food and/or program.
I'm new, wanted to introduce myself
Marney - you have been so helpful! I really want to thank you for the links - I will make use of this information for sure! 
