New to OA-Where do I start?
 

My name is Amy, I am 29 and I am a binge eater.

I am 5'4, and i just had a baby in November. The horrible thing is i used the pregnancy as an excuse to eat more food. I gained 70lbs.

My life is consumed by food. I have a wonderful husband children and job, but my day is controlled by food. I think about what i'm going to eat the next day when i go to bed at night. I can't wait to leave the house so i can get what i want on my way to work. I hide my eating from my husband. I eat "good" in front of him but then sneak bad food when he runs errands. I throw fast food wrappers away before i get home because i'm so ashamed of my behavior. I eat what i want and then tear myself up with guilt afterwards.

I have accepted that i am a food addict and i need help. So any suggestions? I thought I'd start with the forums but i definitely need a sponsor to help me navigate the 12 steps.

Hi, Amy, and welcome to OA!

Congratulations on taking the first step! Whether you realize it or not, that's what you did when you wrote: I have accepted that i am a food addict and i need help. The OA approach can help you control your addiction.

I suggest that you start by going to the OA Website. That'll give you some very basic information. There, you'll find links to where you can find a local meeting. If there isn't a meeting nearby you, you can also find links to telephone meetings and on-line meetings.

I attend a weekly meeting that is in my town. I also consider myself part of an on-line fellowship that is part of OA called The Recovery Group. It is a great resource with lots of information for newcomers. They have on-line meetings every 3 hours, including 3 meetings a week just for newcomers. They have newcomer email discussion groups and they even have a Newcomer Orientation that begins every month.

If you post questions here, I'll be happy to help you. Best wishes as you begin your journey to recovery.

Dan

By the way, as far as finding a sponsor, The Recovery Group can help you with that; that's where I found my sponsor. Some people prefer to go with a sponsor who they meet at a face to face meeting.

Some people have 2 sponsors - a program sponsor that helps them with the 12 steps and a food sponsor who helps them develop a plan of eating.

You may want to start out first by figuring out a plan of eating. OA doesn't do that for you - it isn't a diet program. The approach that I took was to eliminate the foods that I knew caused me to binge-eat. I'm basically following the South Beach Diet, which is flexible. When I stick to reasonable meals of healthy foods in modest portions, and I limit myself to healthy snacks (eliminating the triggers), then I consider myself abstinent.

Amy, your post is an eye opener for me. I sometimes do the same thing. I mostly feel ashamed. Thanks dan for the info