Path to health

Overeaters Anonymous helps woman shed weight, keep it off

By Scott Deininger
SPECIAL TO THE HERALD NEWS

In past years, Nancy would spend the holidays over-indulging in food, eating leftovers until there were none left over.

Four years and 100 lost-pounds later, Nancy, a Lockport resident, spent the holidays enjoying the people around her. And not just the food on the table.

Nancy, 57, is a member of Overeaters Anonymous, an international support group that uses the 12-Step Program to combat compulsive overeating. Currently there are nearly 7,000 Overeaters Anonymous support groups in more than 50 countries worldwide.

As with Alcoholics Anonymous, all members keep their identities secret, that is why while Nancy is a real person, we could not use her last name or a photo of her.

Do you eat when you're not hungry? Do you look forward to the time you can eat alone? Do you give too much time and thought to food? Do you have feelings of guilt or remorse after overeating? Do you resent it when someone tells you to "use a little willpower" to stop overeating? Do you eat to escape worries or troubles? Does your weight or eating habits make you or others unhappy or concerned?

If you answered yes to some of these questions, you may have a compulsive overeating disorder. But know that you are not alone. Overeaters Anonymous can help you deal with your addiction and help you regain control of your eating habits.

Overeaters Anonymous is not exclusive to overweight people. Anyone, from the clinically obese to those underweight, may have an overeating problem.

Founded 1960
 

On Jan. 19, 1960, three women — Jo, Bernice and Rozanne — founded Overeaters Anonymous in Hollywood, Calif., as an attempt to change their lives through mutual support and inner reflection. Forty-two years later, the organization has helped millions of people deal with their overeating and the side effects it causes.

"Food was always an easy way out of emotional situations," said Nancy, a mother of five. "I was close to my grandfather when I was young. He died when I was 10 and I turned to food to get through that difficult time. It was always available and served to comfort my pain and sorrow."

Based on the same principles of the Alcoholics Anonymous' 12-Step Program, Overeaters Anonymous members pride themselves on taking personal responsibility for their affliction. Since overeating is seen as a disease affecting, yet often unknown to millions of Americans, there are stages of recovery needed to combat the disease. To regain control of your eating habits, one must prepare for the physical, emotional, and spiritual levels of recovery.

"The spiritual level is not centered around God necessarily," Nancy pointed out. "It's more importantly about a higher power that we have turned to for help, realizing that we can't conquer our addiction alone."

Overeaters Anonymous requires no definitive religious beliefs as a condition of membership. The support group is comprised of many faiths, including atheists and agnostics. Individual values and beliefs shape the way a person will use the organization and differs with each person or situation.

"At the first meeting I attended, I heard people talking about my life," Nancy recalled. "However, it wasn't really my life they were talking about. I connected with those people because their life was so much like mine. They had the same thoughts, feelings and problems I had."

Strength in sharing
 

The organization focuses on the fellowship of individuals who, through shared experience, strength and hope, are recovering from compulsive overeating. They welcome everyone who wants to stop eating compulsively.

Overeaters Anonymous has no fees or dues for its members and is self-supported though their own contributions. It governs itself through principles vs. personalities, remaining an anonymous organization. Whatever is shared with a member or within a meeting will beheld with respect and confidence.

From numerous diet programs and drugs to hypnotism and exercise Nancy had tried it all before finding Overeaters Anonymous. Her heaviest weight saw her reach 313 pounds. Once, she added together all the weight she had lost and regained and it exceeded 600 pounds, up and down, back and forth for the better part of 40 years of her life.

"It's not about losing the weight," Nancy stressed. "It's about keeping the weight off. You must become seriously committed to a lifestyle change that will take place every day for the rest of your life. Even after you finish the 12 Steps, you're not through. You must continue to practice the OA principles on a daily basis. It becomes your way of life."

Even though the organization has been around for 42 years, the immediate gratification depicted in the media makes support groups like Overeaters Anonymous go seemingly unnoticed. On any given commercial break, be it television or radio, you may find something about losing weight in "just a few days" from a "simple" diet.

Nancy views this as part of the problem.

"We're inundated all the time with instant cures. But there is nothing really covered about maintaining a healthy body once the weight is lost," Nancy noted. "Finally some hospitals are treating obesity as an addictive problem and even have support groups on hospital grounds. Although strides have been made, everywhere I look I see more and more overweight people. They need to know that OA is here to help them."

Day at a time
 

As cliche as it may be, one day at a time is the way Nancy lives her life. That's something which is emphasized in Overeaters Anonymous.

"I used to live in the future," Nancy confessed. "I said, 'when I lose 50 pounds or get down to a size 12, that's when my life will begin,' instead of living in the present and starting my life today."

Food became her friend. It was there no matter what the circumstances were.

Nancy recalls binges where hunger meant nothing to her. She connected eating with comfort and would eat until physically unable to do so. She cooked an entire spaghetti dinner only to eat it all herself and made another one before her family came home.

Four years ago Nancy was diagnosed with hemochromatosis, a condition where the body's blood supply has an iron overload. Infections began forming within the walls of her stomach. She was also more than 300 pounds for the first time in her life and had to make a serious change.

Overeaters Anonymous was where she turned for support to make the necessary changes.

"OA helped me realize that I was responsible for making the choices to overeat," said Nancy, an elementary school teacher. "Through the 12 Steps, I was able to take control of those choices and experience life with the freedom from food."

Nancy goes on to say, "Some people are hesitant to even come to a meeting. To that I say 'Why not? What have you got to lose besides the weight?' At least give us six weeks. If you don't like what you see after that, you can have your misery back."

The 12 Steps, as well as the 12 Traditions and Eight Tools of Recovery can be found on the organization's Web site, [WEB SITE]. The site also has the cities and contact information of meetings as well as international locations. Other site features include inspirational and support stories, FAQs and information on Lifeline, the OA monthly magazine.

"The enjoyment I found on Christmas Day sitting down to a regular meal was great," said Nancy. "I took comfort in the people and the conversations rather than what I was going to eat. It was a welcomed change.

 "My husband has been very supportive through it all,"said Nancy, who's been married 35 years. "He did begin to worry when there became a medical condition. But now he's elated that I've lost the weight and have been able to keep it off through OA."

After her family and friends left on Christmas Day, Nancy took advantage of what she learned in the program.

The Eight Tools of Recovery encourage that members converse on a one-to-one basis to avoid isolation, providing an immediate outlet for those hard-to-handle highs and lows. Nancy experienced great pleasure in calling and talking with her fellow Overeaters Anonymous members to reflect on their day.

"I was grateful to experience Christmas without worrying about food. I was even more grateful to share my feelings with others who knew exactly how I felt."FYI

To contact Nancy about meetings in the Joliet area or about other information regarding Overeaters Anonymous, call 815 838-3059 or try Sandy at (815) 744-0447.

The suburban Chicago intergroup number is (708) 346-0000.

The World Service Office can be reached at (505) 891-2664 or visit www.OA.org for more information.

In the Joliet area, log on to www.region5oa.com.

01/03/03