Welcome home. You don’t have to hurt yourself with food anymore!

No matter what your problem with food—compulsive overeating, undereating, food addiction, anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, or over-exercising—there is a solution.

We who are real compulsive eaters find that certain foods and/or food behaviors provide us an instant, if temporary, sense, of ease and comfort. We use food to comfort our feelings and quiet our emotions. Once we eat certain foods and/or engage in certain food behaviors, our bodies crave more. This “craving for more” is what we in 12-step programs call an allergic reaction. This allergy makes us compulsive eaters different from normal eaters. When we eat our addictive foods and/or engage in our addictive behaviors, we cannot stop. Unlike normal eaters, who become satiated, because of our cravings, we eat more (and/or engage in more of our unhealthy food behaviors).

The only relief for us compulsive eaters is abstinence from our triggers (addictive foods/behaviors). Foods full of fat, sugar, salt, flour, or a combination of these ingredients, cause problems for many compulsive eaters, though some of us can eat these foods without being triggered. Some examples of potentially problematic behaviors include eating in front of the TV, eating late at night, eating while driving, eating out of bags or containers, going back for multiple portions, skipping meals, inducing vomiting, over-exercising, and/or undereating, etc.

Abstinence for OA members may not be as clear as sobriety is for AA members, and unlike sobriety, abstinence may evolve over time. How it evolves often depends upon each OA member’s own self-discovery, willingness, and step work. Compulsive eaters are not powerless over all food; we are powerless over the specific foods and/or behaviors that cause the desire for more.

The activities below will help you and your sponsor clarify your triggers, define a food plan, and choose an abstinence that is right for you. Next, you and your sponsor will work through the 12 Steps of OA.

1. 1. Read A Study Guide for Overeaters: Step 1, Part 1.
   2. Watch The Pleasure Trap.
   3. Listen to Special Edition podcast from the website “A Vision 4 You”: Getting Food Sober with Entire Abstinence by Lesa B., Kelly S., Leslie W.
   4. Some of us find that categorizing foods can be helpful. One method identifies foods as “green-light,” “yellow-light,” and “red-light.” Make a list of your yellow- and red-light foods (also referred to as alcoholic foods):
      • Green-light foods are those you can eat in moderation.
      • Yellow-light foods are those you sometimes overeat.
        • Example 1: Raw nuts with no salt are fine, but dry roasted with salt are irresistible.
        • Example 2: Dried mango isn’t always a problem, but I have eaten the whole bag a couple of times.
        • Example 3: I used to overeat crackers and peanut butter when there was nothing else available, but haven’t in a long while.
      • Red-light foods are those you tend to overeat or that lead you to binge.
   5. In abstinence, we abstain from the foods and behaviors that trigger an allergic response, which is our craving for more. Our food plan is guided by our abstinence and considers the amount of food and the timing of our meals. You may want to work with a dietician/nutritionist, choose an existing plan that you know to be nutritionally sound, use A New Plan of Eating (a pamphlet available from the Overeaters Anonymous bookstore), or begin with 3 meals and 0-3 optional snacks.
   6. Discuss your trigger foods/behaviors and your food plan with your sponsor. Together, decide on a plan that seems right for you.
   7. Only after you have surrendered your trigger foods, and/or behaviors, will you have the clarity of mind necessary to work the steps.