I had recently attended an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting for school and I was inspired by the philosophy and the methodology behind AA. As I left the meeting, I mentioned to Anneliese and Katie that I thought the meeting was brilliant and stated that they should definitely set one up for fatties like me. Annie told me that such a group existed and that it was called Overeaters Anonymous. I went home and did a little research and found that there indeed were meetings held for people who needed support with their eating habits. Under the "Is OA for you?" section I came across the following:
Are You a Compulsive Overeater?
Welcome to Overeaters Anonymous. This series of questions may help you determine if you are a compulsive eater.
- Do you eat when you’re not hungry? Totally.
- Do you go on eating binges for no apparent reason? Yup.
- Do you have feelings of guilt and remorse after overeating? Damn straight.
- Do you give too much time and thought to food? Probs.
- Do you look forward with pleasure and anticipation to the time when you can eat alone? Umm... Alone? No. I have no shame to my game.
- Do you plan these secret binges ahead of time? No, wierdo.
- Do you eat sensibly before others and make up for it alone? Nah. Like I said, I'm a loud and proud glutton through and through.
- Is your weight affecting the way you live your life? I'd say so! Dieting is making me miserable!!!
- Have you tried to diet for a week (or longer), only to fall short of your goal? Try all my life.
- Do you resent others telling you to “use a little willpower” to stop overeating? Yes... Ahem. MOTHER!
- Despite evidence to the contrary, have you continued to assert that you can diet “on your own” whenever you wish? Yes. I can do this! I just need to get my ass on the wagon!
- Do you crave to eat at a definite time, day or night, other than mealtime? Hello? Ice cream sandwiches taste the best at midnight.
- Do you eat to escape from worries or trouble? No. I eat to eat.
- Have you ever been treated for obesity or a food-related condition? Not yet. *Crosses fat fingers*
- Does your eating behavior make you or others unhappy? *Insert cathartic sobbing here* YES! You win! Sign me up! I'm ready to take the first step! I'm a compulsive eater!!!
So yeah. The website recommends that you attend a meeting if you say yes to THREE of these questions. I obviously should just run for OA President. I mentioned that I was planning to attend a meeting and Anneliese offered to go with me for support (She's such a great friend!). Conveniently, there was one within walking distance of Annie's and we decided to go the day after our NYC/Kleinfelds trip.
Of course I felt like death the day after NY just due to sheer exhaustion but I got my overeating ass up and headed to Annie's. And of course before we headed over to the meeting, I helped myself to a cupcake breakfast (leftovers from the birthday party the night before). Yum.
The meeting consisted of nine people, mostly older adults in their 50's and 60's. There was one other person in his 20's, four men and five women. Four of the attendees were regular members (who were not visibly overweight to any degree) and the rest of us were newcomers "thinking about taking the first step." The meeting itself was very similar to the AA format: readings done aloud and following the 12-step to recovery paradigm. I thought it was interesting that the anonymous meetings all incorporated "a higher power as you understand him" which really added a spiritual feel to the whole experience. They don't claim to be affiliated with any religious organizations and everyone just referred to this higher power as God. Aside from the liturgical aspects of the meeting, the remainder of the time was opened up for testimonials and personal stories. The regulars shared first and I got the sense that eating was more of an OCD issue for them (Not trying to judge/analyze/diagnose people here) due to the fact that they would perform bizarre rituals regarding the food they ate. One gentleman stated that he would go out late at night and buy boxes of Little Debbie cakes and only eat them in his car because he had to dispose of the evidence at a public trashcan far from his home. Another lady made herself walk 10 miles every time she ate something outside of her meal plan. She had to stop doing that when she started developing arthritic changes in her knees. An underlying theme to all the regular members' testimonies were that they lied about what they ate constantly and without reason. One gentleman stated that he KNEW that no one cared about what he ate but he still blatantly lied. I suppose I would lie as well if I was eating whole boxes of Debbie cakes in my car in the middle of the night all the time. I eventually said my own piece towards the end, introducing myself as Gina-a-compulsive-eater and told everyone that I would like to no longer be controlled by my eating habits and would like to be able to learn how to manage my disorder in an effective and healthy manner. They all welcomed me and thanked me for sharing. The genuine support that these people were willing to give was quite moving and it felt great to be understood. The mechanism that the OA organization encourages its members to adhere to is meal planning. There were others but this was the main one. Pretty much all it is is writing a daily meal plan as soon as you wake up in the morning. You start off with really doable plans and then slowly change it to what you want it to become. An additional tool OA recommends is having a sponsor, someone you check in to everyday to encourage you to continue your progress. Pretty simple, eh? I quite like the simplicity of it all and I have already agreed to attend another meeting once I'm back in Delaware with my trusty sidekick, Annie. They say that you should attend at least 6 meetings before you decide to join and I'm open to that suggestion. Who knows? Maybe this compulsive eater still has some hope left in her yet! :)
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