ANYONE EVER DO ''OA'' ???
For me, i went to Overeaters Anonymous due to binging/purging. Clearly, that was insane behavior and required intervention. Not everyone who goes to OA is a binger, though. There are all levels of food compulsion. I think OA addresses the more spiritual side to why we gain, why we eat. It is actually NOT all about weight reduction, it is more into managing the addiction by removing character flaws that contribute to bad choices. What is hard with groups like OA is a person is dependant on the local group and its capabilities/leadership. If there is just not a good dedicated group, it can fall apart and not be of much help to anyone. It's also a lot of work, and not many of us are willing to walk the talk. OA helped me immensely. Many fellow OA-ers then had made the comment that it was better than one on one therapy, which can be very self-involved rather than allowing a "patient" to have perspective. Of course, being in a group, you know you are not as sick as "that one", but compared to "this one", you are doing awesome. You can be an inspiration to some who view you are the shizzy, and conversely you can aspire to where someone else is and get advice and guidance from someone who has been there.
Again, the principles can be difficult to digest. I had a jump on some folks cuz i had been attending Al-anon. OA uses the exact same principles that AA does. We had a discussion along the way about the one place (in my mind) that OA does not fit real well: abstinence. One cannot quit eating like ya do for drugs. It is hard to stay away from bad food/good food discussions. That is a very subjective area. For me, abstinence was about eating things like fast food in a normal way. I'll attempt to explain it this way: Previously, if I went to McD's, It was usually a sneak trip, which was a trigger for me to purge it. After OA, if I chose to go to McD's, it was a planned meal (such a nutritional nightmare as it was), and purging was not an option afterward. Nor was "kicking myself", shame about food choices became more managed with OA. I quickly learned about my trigger foods: pizza, fast food, pasta, rice, crackers. For a time I did not allow myslef to go where it was slippery and not eat those foods. Now i trust myself, though if my head is not right, it can be ugly. I need to have other things in place when I eat them: not be too hungry when i sit down, big salads, raw veggies, etc. okay...i did not mean for this post to be so huge. As simply stated as possible: OA can be useful if you really feel insane with your food issues. Even if you feel a little crazy, it can be an oasis.
Hey, you have a good toasty 4th up there, its supposed to be 106 here! 
I did OA for a while back in the 90's then insane thinking took over and I decided even though I was morbidly obese, I definitely wasn't a food addict (yeah right) so I quit. So anyway, I'm back around to the clear understanding that I am in fact "powerless over food and that my life has become unmanageable." I will be going down the surgical path but I also plan to use OA to address my addiction because I don't believe any method I try will be successful unless I achieve and maintain abstinence
i just ended up going down the surgical path, however i know i will still need support with the emotions of why i eat and am thinking about going back to OA for that support.
Surgery weight: 336.5 / Current weight: 290 / Goal weight: 175
