Overeaters Anonymous

Has anyone been to their meetings? What is it like? Is it helpful? Is it worth the time?

How spiritual do they get? I went to one website and it sounded rather religious/Christian. I'm not sure I really want that kind of approach.

There is one meeting here on Tuesday nights. Trying to decide if I should go...

Thanks.

Hi Razz !!!

I belonged to O.A. for ~ 6 years & at 5' 11", I'm literally half the woman I used to be! no kidding!Thanks to O.A!!
I was ~300 lbs. and now I'm 142 lbs. & I feel great!! O.A. is not religious/Christian core bound. It does agree with a Higher Power, according to your beliefs/non-beliefs -it's up to you. There is no judging, which I liked alot - just Acceptance and support help. The ppl there all have/had the same overeateing prob. from which you suffer, they are extremely kind & compassionate & will help you to succeed. I strongly recommmend you try a few meetings. PM me if you like anytime. Best of Luck!! It's a good step Razz!!

mipHolmes, were there people at oa within a normal weight range??
I am thinking about going to my local oa tommorrow night (friday ah suits me fine as i have no social life anyway!!) but i have bulimia which includes vast amounts of overeating and overlaps into oa problems that general eating disorders groups dont discuss too much.

Razzleberry, if you go, will you let me know how it went? I dont think i will end up at my local oa tommorrow and would love to get some feedback from someone going for the first time.

good luck

I was too chicken to go last night...and I've been really busy with work lately.

I might be able to go next week, if I can talk myself into it!!

helloo yay i went to oa last night.
in some ways was really helpful. because it follows the aa's twelve steps, one guy was saying that in a similar way to recovering alcoholics, he will not go near a crumb of foods that he finds triggering. and i asked him what happens if he has to eat a chocolate or something.. how does it end at just one.. and he said that he stops himself, tells himself that he is a food addict, out of control around it and will call someone else in the oa group as everyone swaps numbers if they wish.
i found this part especially helpful is worth a try as people were really friendly there and open etc, unlike the eating disorder group that i usually go to where no numbers are swapped and people are so worried about triggering others that it becomes all so vague.
so razzleberry, do try and go if you can and let me know how it goes, you can do it and if the people there are as supportive and welcoming as the people at the one i went to, you will have nothing to worry about.
good luck if you do decide to go

i have to say though that despite the amazing encouragement and helpful tips that these people have to offer, i had a horrible incident with a cake that one of my family members made for me (a HUGE one thank you very much family.....) i was worrying about it all afternoon and evening and then what do i do half an hour ago i cut a huge chunk, eat most of it, throw the rest at the wall and speedily visit the toilet. SO SICK OF THIS! hopefullly i will recover from it that little bit quicker than i have done previously and there is the progress.

agh, is so hard.

Sounds great, Amy!

I am going to start going on Tuesdays, next week. I can't go this week because (I know this sound stupid...but..) it's the season finale of the Biggest Loser and I really want to see who wins!!

They also have a Friday night class, but starting this week I'm taking a prep class for the CPA exam on Fridays & Saturdays.

I think I'm also going to join the local YMCA and start going to the gym. I hate exercising...but I really need to. And maybe if I can exercise more, then even if I do mess up on the eating side, I can control my weight a little better. Plus I want to get my daughter into their swim classes this summer. And who knows...maybe one day I'll learn how to swim too! (yes, that's right, I'm almost 30 and never learned how to swim - and it's not a water phobia, just never learned how).

We went to the Olive Garden last night for my husband's birthday. And I'm proud of myself! I got a low-fat item with no pasta (Venetian Apricot Chicken). I ate all my veggies, all the salad, drank three huge glasses of water, and only ate one of the pieces of chicken (they give you two). Yeah...I did have a few breadsticks but other than that, I think I did pretty well. I didn't even make him a birthday cake...which I always do, just so I can eat the entire thing myself....not good...he specifically said he didn't want one this year, so I didn't do it. Good thing, probably.

One day at a time. Today so far all I've had is a non-fat latte and a banana. So far so good. It's the evenings when I mess up the most. Maybe if I start exercising at night, I won't have time to binge...right??!!! (one can hope...)

I just hope I don't turn myself into an exercise bulimic like I was in college. I'd work out for hours to burn off every bit of food I ate.

Hey Razzle,

Well done at your meal out thats really good to hear and a huge achievement, im very proud of you. and now youve done it, if you have to go out for another meal, you really can do it and be in control of what and how much you eat.

I'm still working on the meal out thing, i havent got it right so far (end up binging) but im slowly getting there, and your experience is inspiring

Gymming sounds good.. Im planning to start jogging soon as I have put into the race for life in the summer. Scared though that starting excercising will make me more hungry and i'l have to eat more and be out of control around food again.. again, a little at a time i guess!

Good luck with oa, Im sure it will go really well and be some good tips on what to do if things do go downhill. I find night times the hardest too, a struggle to be able to sit down and relax without particularly 'doing' much.

Take care

How can you find out if there is an OA group in your area?