I ate lots but stayed thin through basketball.

Eventually I got married and slowed down playing and slowly moved into obesity. I started the yoyo for years.

There are some gaps in the recording and lost the last minute.

I went to OA for a while. It worked so well I left.

In my 70s I ended up morbidly obese with heart problems. This got my attention.

My wife passed and I was alone and fat.

I am back for 3 years, over 100 lbs lighter and involved.

I am a literature junkie. Even some Non OA approved readings has been inspirational.

The 12 steps exist in many spiritual

At 41 I had a wake up call with way dangerous blood results.

I found I could mess up and if I told the truth you would still allow me at the meetings.

Consistency in my program includes meetings, a food plan, a sponsor, calls and the truth.

I carry food when I travel so I am in charge of what I eat.

Daily basics every day.

Continuous member since Jan 24 1994 Abstinent from Feb 16.

I have written for my sponsor every night over 4300 times.

Resentment, remorse, rebellion, resistance cause me problems

She offered a VERY clear analysis of how she uses the steps consistently.

In NYC following an acting career I was just surviving -

I had to call back to California to find a meeting in New York.

It took me more than a year to really accept the first step.

One moment at a time, one day at a time, one step at a time OA had brought me a life of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual recovery.

Today I have gratitude for all that has happens.

Step 1-12 explained as what they mean to ME.

No matter what happens, how I feel or what I resist I kept coming back

A marriage without ANY recovery was not working.

I heard a speaker I had nothing in common with and identified with everything she said.

Working the steps will GUARANTEE you will change.

I have had the same sponsor for 20 years. AND I work with other members on specific issues.

 **  Due to technical diffuculties there is 7 minutes of sharing  missing starting @ 8:29

Didn't know what eating regularly meant until I was in a foster home.

Ate my way up to 440 Lbs. 

Today I have a routine for my food and my life activities.

Miracles don't hapen without the footwork.

I was a compusve overeater in the fasion industry.

When I got to OA I did what I was told. and it worked as long as I did it.

I keep doing fourth steps (When told to) and they are always transformational.

It is too easy to forget what works. That's why I have a sponsor.

The program keeps me abstinent, the fellowship keeps the rest of me on track ...no matter what.

Abstinent from 10/86

I was 10 when I got on my first diet from my mother worked for 5 days.

Food took me out of where I was, unsafe, and put me in a safe place.

My bravest moment was to stand, Indentify a compulsive overeater and in that moment I became 'a part of'.

It was a shock when I realized the world did not revolve around me.

I continue to improve my conscious contact with 'God'.

1st meeting 1988. 

I knew what was the right way to eat but I could not refrain from binging/eating for any length of time.

Grew up in home with no structure.

Could not imagine talking about my food in front of men.

I  got  a sponsor,what she asked me to do made no sense but I did it anyway.

Discovering a higher power is an ongoing process for me. Recovery is in the seeking.

For me it has been a slow and consistent road of recovery. Like the tortoise.

Used Lunch money to buy candy on the way to school. 

Hit 250 in high school.

Found OA in college, followed the program and.... it worked.

My relapse happens slowly, loosing one peice at at time until I was completely out of the program.

Gastric Bypass seemed like a miracle....  for a while.

The food blocked me from the joy of the American Dream.

From all out to all in was the beginning of my recovery..this time.

In the beginning, feelings seemed like negative byproduts of doing the work.

Really wanting and choosing a salad was a miracle of the program.