FOOD FOR THOUGHT- OA/AUGUST 2014

[MajestyJo]

Saturday, August 16, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Today Is the Day

Many of us have spent most of our lives dreaming of the day when we would be thin and attractive and able to do the things we want to do. We have put off living to some indefinite time in the future. As long as we were fat, we had a reason to avoid challenges and delay satisfactions. By not attempting to realize our dreams, we averted the risks of failure and the possibilities of success.

The OA program teaches us how to live today. One step at a time, we begin today to do the things we were putting off until tomorrow. We learn that we can live now, day by day, instead of waiting for the future.

Abstaining from compulsive overeating brings self-respect and determination to develop our unique potential. The time to get a job, take dancing lessons, be a friend - that time is now, today.

Thank You for the opportunities of today.

Each day is a new beginning. A day can start any time.

[MajestyJo]

Sunday, August 17, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Punishing Ourselves

Most of us have been carrying around a load of guilt. We felt guilty about overeating and periodically used dieting as a form of self-punishment. We felt guilty about not being perfect, and we felt guilty unless we said yes to everything that everyone expected of us.

In this program, we learn to accept the fact that we are human and not perfect. Through the Steps, we are able to get rid of unnecessary guilt and make a fresh start each day. We do not need to continue to punish ourselves for past mistakes, either by overeating or by denying our legitimate rights as individuals.

Abstinence gives us freedom from compulsive overeating and freedom from self-punishment. We give our bodies what they need, and we also nourish our minds, hearts, and spirits. In our fellowship and in our contact with God as we understand Him, we experience the Power of love which wipes out guilt.

I am glad to learn that self-punishment is no longer necessary.

It is so important to take ourselves off the flogging tree. No one beat me up more than I beat up myself, and in my case, that took some doing. It isn't just about physical and cutting, but mental and emotional abuse.

I not only had to learn to love myself, I had to learn to like me too.

[MajestyJo]

Monday, August 18, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Self-Respect

When we were overeating, we did not have much self-respect. Because we felt guilty about the quantity of food we were consuming and the way we looked, we had a very poor self-image. Since we did not respect ourselves, we did not act in a way which evoked respect from others. We put ourselves down and allowed other people to use us.

Abstinence and the OA program produce a change, which is often astonishing. Our self-respect grows in direct proportion to the control we acquire. When we stop overeating and begin to live in accordance with the will of our Higher Power, we can accept and respect ourselves. Those around us respond to us differently as our own attitude improves.

What we realize is that self-respect and inner acceptance are more important than any external approval or disapproval. Instead of living for the admiration of others, we seek each day to follow the will of our Higher Power.

I am grateful for the self-respect OA has given me.

How can I expect others to respect me, if I don't respect myself.

Respect is something that is earned. I needed to earn it back because I didn't have very many principles left. Every time I picked up, no matter what the substance was, I lost a piece of me. It didn't matter what kind of food it was, whether it was pill to calm me because I was too fat or thin, or a little vino to wash it all down with. It was all about escape and coping with life., which I couldn't do without using people, places, and things.

I had a big void inside that needed filled with spiritual things.

[MajestyJo]

Monday, August 18, 2014

You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go

Valuing this Moment

Detachment involves present moment living - living in the here and now. We allow life to happen instead of forcing and trying to control it. We relinquish regrets over the past and fears about the future. We make the most of each day.
—Codependent No More

This moment, we are right where we need to be, right where we are meant to be.

How often we waste our time and energy wishing we were someone else, were doing something else, or were someplace else. We may wish our present circumstances were different.

We needlessly confuse ourselves and divert our energy by thinking that our present moment is a mistake. But we are right where we need to be for now. Our feelings, thoughts, circumstances, challenges, and tasks - all of it is on schedule.

We spoil the beauty of the present moment by wishing for something else.

Come back home to yourself. Come back home to the present moment. We will not change things by escaping or leaving the moment. We will change things by surrendering to and accepting the moment.

Some moments are easier to accept than others.

As the slogan says, "This too shall pass." That means the good and not so good, so enjoy the moment when it is here, it may not pass again. If it does come back, it may be in a different format or another reality, and things just don't seem the same.

As it says, "We don't always find it easy to accept, but we don't have to like it, we just need to accept, it is the key to willingness and moving on with our life.

[MajestyJo]

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Highs and Lows

Abstaining from compulsive overeating does not guarantee that we will always be on an even keel emotionally. We continue to have ups and downs, and often we feel emotional distress even more keenly when we are no longer using food as a narcotic.

Part of our program involves the striving for balance and perspective. Experience teaches us not to get carried away by either elation or depression. These are moods, which will not last, and we prefer to base our actions on the rational decisions, which we make in times of quiet reflection.

Contact with OA friends during periods when we are either high or low helps to put our emotions in perspective. By expressing what we feel, we are better able to deal with it. Some of us tend to make calls when we are up and others of us reach for help when we are down. Ideally, we will make contact both times so that we may strengthen each other and learn not to be overwhelmed by mood swings.

May I remember that You can control my highs and my lows.

So many times I hear people say, "I have control of myself." That does not carry a very good message. I have no control, I am powerless, without the empowerment of my God.

Control is an illusion, It is all in our head.

May I remember that You can control my highs and my lows.

The key word is "You." this is a 'we' program, I can't, God can, and each day I have a choice.

[MajestyJo]

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Togetherness

In this program, we are able to do together what none of us could achieve alone. We may have tried many ways to control our disease before we came to OA, but they did not work or we would not be here.

We share a common illness and a common cure. Abstinence is possible as we share it with each other. The program works as we work it together. Each of us is an individual, but we function best with the support of the group. If we neglect to go to meetings and make phone calls, we cut ourselves off from the strength and inspiration we need.

Our Higher Power works through each of us as we share what we have been given. We do not achieve and maintain abstinence by ourselves. Most of us overate alone. Learning to live without overeating involves learning to live with other people. Our fellowship is our recovery, and together we grow.

Thank You for our togetherness.

A support group was so important, especially getting together with my sponsor.

I lost my first little black book, and I phoned my sponsor, full of fear, I thought I would relapse without it. I was fortunate, my room mate had put a lot of my number on speed dial on the phone. My God does work in my life and He puts wonderful people in my path.

[MajestyJo]

Thursday, August 21, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Fake Gods

Our Higher Power is that which we can turn to in times of stress. In the past, we turned to food, thus making it in fact our Higher Power, even though we may not have realized what we were doing. Food is not capable of being a Higher Power for anyone; food is a thing. By turning to food in stressful situations, we cheated ourselves with a false god.

Lurking in the back of our mind, there may still be some false gods. We may think that more money or an exciting love affair would give us permanent security and happiness. The desire for popularity may be deluding us into thinking that we can please everyone if we try hard enough.

The beauty of the OA program is that it shows us, day by day, the Higher Power who will not let us down. As we see our false gods for what they are, we grow in truth. Daily communion with God as each of us understands Him gives us an intimate relationship with the One to whom we can turn in times of stress.

Thank You for revealing my false gods.

I was told that anything that I put before my God and comes between us and is a priority in my life, becomes my false god.

Found this to be especially true when it came to my computer and eating disorder.

Sorry I didn't copy this from my other site or I put it in the wrong place somewhere. Looks like I had a senior moment.

[MajestyJo]

Friday, August 22, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Emotional Abstinence

When our eating was out of control, our emotions were also out of control. Even after we accept physical abstinence from compulsive overeating, we may still go on emotional binges. This indulgence leaves us depleted and hung over and wreaks havoc in our relationships with those we love.

The Twelve Steps are our guide to emotional abstinence. They are the means by which we can live without being destroyed by anger, envy, fear, and all of the other negative emotions. Working the Steps frees us from our slavery to self-centered, irrational reactions, which harm ourselves and others.

Realizing the damage, which comes from hanging on to anger and resentment, we gradually become able to turn these feelings over to our Higher Power before they get out of hand. Accepting ourselves means that we can accept others for what they are without trying to manipulate them or expect them to be perfect. Controlled by our Higher Power, we learn to avoid emotional binges.

May I remember the importance of emotional abstinence today.

A good one! So much of addiction is due to emotions and allowing them to direct us and my thinking always took me into more.

I never thought that I had an eating problem. I remember saying, "I am eating because I am upset, if that a$$hole didn't do...."

Never under stood how that more feeling was associated with me eating, whether I didn't because I was fat or because I was fat and who cares and ate what I wanted, 80% not healthy, especially when I add the butter. Everything is better with butter on it, has been my slogan for years. The same as a little bit of sugar will make things go down real smooth and make everything taste better, whether it was food or just life in general.

[MajestyJo]

Saturday, August 23, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Envy

When my inside looked at your outside, I overate. Envy of what others seemed to be and of the possessions they had was a prime trigger for overeating, turning to food to compensate for an apparent lack. No amount of food can satisfy envy.

Why is it that the other person seems so much more fortunate, or talented, or happier than we? We are painfully aware of our own inadequacies and quick to envy whoever appears to "have it together." Looking at the outside image or mask is deceptive, however, and prevents us from seeing that underneath is a fellow human being beset with problems and difficulties just as we are.

Who we are, where we are, and what we have is God's gift to us. What we do with ourselves is our gift to God. The more we seek to do His will, the less we envy our neighbor's abilities and possessions. The peace of mind we receive through this program fills us with such gratitude that there is increasingly less room for envy.

Take away my envy, I pray.

What a soul eating defect of character defect. So much of my life was looking at what others had, and as they say, "The grass is greener on the other side of the fence.

Had a lot of healing in this area. For one, it was okay to be me. Secondly, when I quit smoking, drinking, and partying I had money to spend on healthy things. When I started buying foods that were good for me and cooking them in a healthy way, cut back on my portions, and learned to exercise by pushing myself away from the table.

My doing the right do thing for me, I lost weight, about 30 lbs worth.

It seemed like I always wanted what I didn't have. I would get a thought about a certain dress or an article of clothing or house wares. Before you know it, I had bought it, only to learn it wasn't worth all the obsession and compulsive spending and always wanting that 'more' when in fact, I should have taken my feelings to my Lord.

[MajestyJo]

Sunday, August 24, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Exercise

We are made to be physically active. When we were loaded down with food and fat, we probably moved around as little as possible. Now that we eat for health, we have the necessary energy to exercise our bodies.

Taking the stairs rather than the elevator, walking instead of riding, a few simple calisthenics when we need a break from work, a jump rope - there are many ways to begin an exercise program in easy stages. We do not need to train to become Olympic athletes, but we do need to keep our bodies in good working order.

Each day we also need mental, emotional, and spiritual exercise. Reading something worthwhile, refraining from criticism, performing a service for someone anonymously, taking time for prayer and meditation --these are actions which develop our minds, hearts, and spirits. Our growth in the program depends on overcoming resistance and inertia each day and taking concrete steps to improvement.

By Your power, may I overcome laziness.

Had to look at my lack of energy and chronic fatigue as a natural things or just a laziness thing. My father use to tell me I was born lazy. When I look at past work, I often did the work of 2 or 3 people. Perhaps my thought of laziness was mental and emotional fatigue, even back then.

I know I am quite capable of being lazy. There is a difference between getting showered and dressed and unable to get out my door.

Sometimes I don't want and I don't, just because. In the past, I had to have a list of self-justifications and reasons for being as to why I didn't want to do. Today I don't have to justify my reason for being. If I don't feel like cooking or eating, it just is. Some days just making a sandwich seems like too much. If I cook, I often can't eat.

Not sure if it is part of my eating disorder or Fibromyalgia, it doesn't matter, it just is and I need to be accepting in the moment in order to change or to just be and allow my God to heal in the moment.

Many times if others cook it and put it in front of me, I still can't eat, although I make a valiant effort. It could be mental blocks too, it doesn't matter what label is put on me, it is about what I do with it. Most times it is just take it to my God and we will work on it together.

When it comes to exercise, I know it is not good to be a couch potato. Once I get down there, I don't want to get up.

Sometimes it is just going downstairs or a walk to the mall with my walker. Other days it is just getting up and doing my daily routine, but I have been given exercises to help my circulation by a physio therapist. Sometimes I forget to do them until I am hurting, but my memory does that to me. I often forget to eat too and don't eat until 8-9 p.m. and that is not good for my diabetes. There is so much in a day, that I am grateful that life is about one day at a time.

[MajestyJo]

Monday, August 25, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Being Available

In our search for security, we turned to food in times of stress. Now we are growing in reliance on our Higher Power instead of food. We do not, however, "use" the Higher Power the way we tried to use food. We do not use God; He uses us.

What we do is make ourselves available to the Higher Power, and open to light and guidance. We pray each day that we may do His will, not ours. Often this means a more flexible schedule than we may have had in the past. Since the Higher Power is ever creative and new, we cannot cling to our old routines and habits. To insist on our time, our way, our plan is to block out God's guidance.

Sometimes we may be called on to perform a service, which means giving up our plan for the day. When the prompting comes from deep within, following it will further our growth in the program.

Today I will be available for Your use.

This is why I say that I used and abused people, places, and things for years. In today, my God utilizes people, places, and things to show me a new way of living.

So grateful for the people my God has put in my path, even those who have taught me what not to do in order to recover.

[MajestyJo]

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

A Living Program

The Twelve Steps are a program for living and they are also a living program. Taking them is not something we do once and for all, but something we repeat over and over in greater depth. They are our guidelines for each day.

Our program develops as our understanding matures. When we first join OA, physical abstinence from compulsive overeating may be all we can handle. As we learn from fellow members and are increasingly exposed to the power of the group, our program comes to include more emotional and spiritual elements. The possibilities for development are limitless.

One thing leads to another. The creative force that guides OA directs our individual efforts. When we are open to the challenges and willing to give up self-will, we make progress, which gratifies and astounds us. This program not only works as we work it; it also grows as we grow.

We thank You for Your creative spirit.

Have a creative program sure make life more interesting and enriching. Even creative ways to look and prepare food, will help us what to eat healthy.

I used smaller plates, easier than putting less food on a big plate.

[MajestyJo]

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Accepting Reality

Failure, death, divorce, disease, and betrayal - these are all part of the world we live in. We agonizingly search our minds to figure out why, but are unable to come up with any satisfying answers. We pray for the serenity to accept the reality of life.

Previously, we tried to deny reality by overeating. What that did was make reality worse for us. Abstaining from compulsive overeating and working the steps of the OA program give us the strength to cope with reality and accept the things we cannot change. We often feel as though we are on a long uphill climb. Let's not forget that if it were not for abstinence and our Higher Power, we would be rapidly sliding downhill.

Whatever our situation, it is better to face it squarely than to delude ourselves with excess food. None of us escapes pain and suffering. By turning them over to our Higher Power, we are strengthened by our hardships, rather than destroyed.

May we have the courage and strength to accept life as it is.

Had to accept today, I was sick. I bought some instant cup of chicken soup. Upset stomach, chest pains and cramping made it easy to see, I was sick and had to give myself some TLC.

[MajestyJo]

Thursday, August 28, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Willingness

When we were overeating, we were negative and fearful. We alternated between avoiding work and feeling responsible for everybody and everything. An important part of our recovery is willingness: we become willing to change, willing to abstain, willing to learn. As we work the program, we become willing to allow our Higher Power to remove our character defects.

All of this does not happen overnight. When we get discouraged and make mistakes, we are willing to try again. We are willing to follow the lead of our Higher Power. As we see evidence of His care, we begin to trust that He will not require of us more than we are capable of doing.

To be willing is to hold ourselves ready and available for God's direction. We do not jump into situations prematurely, and we do not close our minds in refusal to change. We are willing to grow and serve and, especially, willing to believe.

Increase my willingness.

As I have found many times in recovery, I have had to pray for the willingness to be willing.

[MajestyJo]

Friday, August 29, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Love God and Work the Program

How clear everything becomes when we put abstaining and recovering from compulsive eating first in our lives! As we recover, we grow in love for the Higher Power, which makes possible our new life. Loving God and working the program becomes our main purpose every day. From this, all else follows.

When we are confused and harried by conflicting demands on our time and attention, we need to withdraw for a moment and get back in touch with the God within. As long as we are sincerely trying to do His will, we do not have to be upset by negative responses from other people, whether their disapproval is real or imagined.

As our Higher Power provides a focus for our love, working the program provides a focus for our energies and ambitions. Whatever our situation, we are each capable of growing along spiritual lines, and it is this growth and progress which gives us deep, lasting satisfaction.

Accept my love and work.

Sorry, when I posted this yesterday, didn't notice that it hadn't changed and ended up with a duplicate.