Food Addicts In Recovery Anonymous Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous

I grew up in a very diet-centric household; we were always on some kind of diet. At an early age, I started rebelling against the rigid household rules, finding every way I could to get the food I wanted. When my parents divorced, I would ride my bike over to my dad’s house to steal change for treats at the corner store. By 8th grade, I was obese. Wherever I was, I wanted to fit in - or hide. My life was like wanting to be invited to a party, but never wanting to go. Then I met someone who brought me to a meeting of Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA). I walked into that room and felt a peace I had not known before. I wasn’t sure if I could ever change, and I was scared! But I stayed, and I listened. My journey has been nothing short of amazing. I’ve maintained a 140-pound (63-kilo) weight loss for 26 years, almost half of my life. To be someone who now eats with a fork and a knife is a miracle. I’ve learned to walk through this world feeling really good about who I am. I thought I’d never get married, but I’ve now been married for ten years to a partner who one-hundred percent supports my recovery. Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous is the community I never knew I wanted, and the FA people have become my chosen family, my true friends.

I was born and raised in Ireland. When I was 11, my family moved away from the big city to a rural area. Always in search of my identity, I thought that if I found out who I was, everything would feel better. But I had a spiritual hole inside of me, and I tried to fill it with food. I thought my big social life and ambitious jobs would help me feel complete. Instead, they only led me to perfectionism, self-criticism, and large quantities of food. After eight years in Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA), I have learned that no matter what happens, I’m going to be OK. FA taught me how to love myself first, then how to love others, and finally, how to receive love. Today, I practice the daily tools of the FA program, let go of being perfect, and feel blessed that the hole inside of me has been filled with a rich, spiritual life. I’m grateful to have a healthy relationship with food and to understand that life can be many things at once: authentic, messy, and very human.

In first grade, I weighed 120 pounds, and by fifth grade, I had high triglycerides, high cholesterol, and a fatty liver. Never feeling like I fit in physically or socially in my hometown of Brooklyn, NY, I was bullied over how “different” my family and I were. Four summers in a row I was sent to weight-loss camp, which put my parents into debt. By the holidays every year, I was back to bingeing. Then, at fourteen years old, my parents brought me to Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA), and finally, I was home. Recovery in FA has taken place at many levels for me. I was diagnosed with depression, ADHD, autism spectrum
disorder, and a chronic illness that impacts my daily experience, and I am now receiving help and treatment for all of these things. I also know that I am not defined by any one of these diagnoses. Now in my thirties, I have learned to face whatever comes my way, which allows me to have a ridiculously amazing life. I have found the partner of my dreams, a job that I love, a home that we own, and the perfect fur baby. Today, I feel blessed and lucky to have the life I have. Thank you, FA!

A sneak eater and a speed eater from the jump, I literally made friends with kids based on what they had in their fridge and pantry. When I was around food, I couldn’t rest until it was finished. My earliest memories are food-related, and they are painted with a lot of shame, fear, and low self-esteem. I thought if I got down to a magical weight, everything would start going my way. Instead, I ate my way to 300 pounds, while blaming everyone around me. When it came to a point where numbing myself with food stopped working, I found Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA). The physical recovery never gets old; I can hike, do yoga, and I’m in better shape in my late fifties than I was in my twenties. I fit into the same size clothes year in and year out, and no more sleep apnea or CPAP machines either! But the emotional and spiritual recovery are the true gifts of this program. FA is the answer for me. My life just keeps getting better, and I can’t imagine living any other way.

My whole life was about dieting, restricting, and waiting to be thin. When I’m thin, then I’ll be happy, I thought. I was sure Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA) was not for me – too time consuming, and there was that whole “higher power” thing. I’ll just go to the gym more often and I’ll keep doing this commercial weight-loss program, I told myself. In actuality, my "weight loss program" meant going to the bakery, buying a dozen items, eating half, and throwing the other half out the car window on the way home. Dieting got me up to 185 pounds, and I was constantly at war with myself. It was my grown daughters who first joined FA, and I watched as they both lost weight and became more sensible people, unrecognizable from when they started the program. It took me seven long years of thinking about FA before I was convinced. By then, I was so desperate that I followed every suggestion my sponsor offered. I lost 50 pounds, and my life got better. At 78, I am a healthier person both mentally and physically, living a happy, productive life. 

Standing at the refrigerator looking for something—anything—to change the way I felt, I heard myself admit, “I do not know how to eat,” and I started to cry. Ironically, I was the class clown, the jokester, and above all, I wanted you to like me. I lost weight after gaining the freshman 50 in college, and I thought that would solve my problems. It didn’t. Then, I thought getting married would make everything better. It didn’t. In another Twelve Step program, I listened to people talk about obsession, compulsion, and negative thinking. My truth was that I knew all of these things were very much alive in me. I also realized that I was sitting in those meetings high on sugar, wondering, am I really even sober? When I joined Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA), I was given the gift of open-mindedness. Having always been a rebel and a hippie, I liked to do things my way. In FA, a still, small voice said, “Take your sponsor’s suggestions.” It was then I decided not to joke around anymore, and no questioning, litigating, or fighting either. To my surprise, I’ve found amazing freedom in that. Today, I live in a healthy body, with a spirit that shines.