My name is…

queen_mary-jed_donahue-eating_contest

…and I am a compulsive overeater.

I decide that my diet is not the issue.  The core issue is that no matter what I eat (healthy or otherwise), I eat too much.  The reason I eat too much goes way beyond mere hunger.  Just restricting my intake may work for a while.  But if I do not get at the reason for the behavior, history will repeat itself.  I will be right back where I started.

So I started attending Overeaters Anonymous or just OA.  While it was a bit uncomfortable at first, attending a 12 step meeting.  I very quickly realized that this was the prescription I needed.  Every time someone opens their mouth to speak, I find myself saying, “Yep, that’s me.”

I have been attending meetings for a little over a month now.  I have the basic gist of the program.  Now I have to journey through the 12 steps*.

*I find the word step to be a bit of a misnomer.  From what I have observed, you never completely finish a step.  The minute you check off all 12 “steps” you are not done.  If you stop working the program, you are likely to slip up.  I prefer the work cycles.  One cycle leads to the next, but each cycle continues throughout recovery.

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