Re: Is OA at odds with IE?

[Guest guest]

thanks suzanne for your experience-

I have recently taken a break from OA after being there for 2 1/2

years. I learned a lot from being in OA, but have still been

struggling. I recently read Intuitive Eating, and have been playing

with listening to my body. sometimes it's been great and sometimes

it's been confusing because when I end up eating when I am not hungry,

then I feel like I have fucked up and end up binging. There are foods

that I know don't feel good to me to eat from my own experience and

yet i feel like i am eating them anyway and feeling guilty about that.

i don't know how to get rid of the food police- how not to imagine all

the list of food i've eaten for the day and find fault...

do you talk about IE at OA?

>

> I agree that food addictions don't fit perfectly into the 12-step

paradigm,

> and I'm an avid OA member. But, you know what? I haven't found one

program

> that has easily removed my 36 year-old eating disorder.

>

>

>

> I come here for my physical recovery. I go to OA for the framework

of my

> emotional and spiritual recovery. I read all kinds of books, meditate,

> journal, pray, etc. to recover. But, it was OA that gave me the

discipline

> to examine my issues as they arise, take care of unfinished business

and to

> search for recovery in my Higher Power.

>

>

>

> In my OA meeting, I share my experience which is, " It's not about

the food. "

> The recovered members understand that. I'm sorry that there are so many

> meetings out there that focus on food plans, abstinence, relapse, making

> phone calls, etc. My hope is that, one day, the rooms will be

filled with

> people seeking serenity rather than weight loss. In my fourth year

in OA, I

> realized that I was obsessive in my recovery and it was only one

step better

> than being in the disease. The rooms are filled with desperate people

> trying to find a solution to their misery. We're all in different

spots in

> our recovery.

>

>

>

> Today, I seek serenity. I get one piece of it from OA and another

piece of

> it here. I seek pieces from various sources to fill in the puzzle of my

> life. I don't expect the solution to come from one paradigm. I

take what I

> like and I leave the rest.

>

>

>

> Suzanne

>