FOOD FOR THOUGHT - OA OCTOBER

[MajestyJo]

Thursday, October 16, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Admitting Wrongs

Step Ten reminds us to continue to take daily inventory and to promptly admit when we are wrong. By admitting our mistake out loud to the person we have harmed, we clear away bad feelings and guilt. The relationship is healed, and we are able to put the error behind us. Admitting that we are wrong helps us even more than the person we have injured.

Since it usually takes two people to disrupt a relationship, the entire blame may not be ours. Admitting our share of wrong, however, relieves us of guilt and opens the way to reconciliation.

Being able to apologize simply and sincerely means that we are not bound by pride and egotism. We do not always have to be right. By accepting our human fallibility, we are free to be ourselves, to make mistakes, to correct them, and to make amends.

Admitting wrongs keeps us honest with ourselves, with others, and with our Higher Power. We stay anchored in the real world and we practice healthy humility.

May I not be too proud to admit I am wrong.

Hopefully, some of that has come across in my previous postings. They may have been labelled as JoAnne's things.

[MajestyJo]

Friday, October 17, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Seeking the Best

We will never be satisfied with less than the best. When we were overeating, we may have settled for less than we were capable of being and achieving, but we were not happy about it. There is something in each of us that hungers for maximum growth and development.

When we stop drugging ourselves with food, we become aware of new possibilities and areas of growth. By controlling our disease, we release potential that had been buried under our obsession. As we come to know our Higher Power through this program, our appetite for the best is reawakened. Though we realize we will never achieve perfection, we are challenged to be and do the best that we can, just for today.

The best force there is directs lives that are committed to the care of God. Only by dedication to knowing and doing His will is our search satisfied.

We seek You, Lord.

Food became our god. The God of our understanding is all powerful and able to abstain us. The Bible says, "Thou shall not put any other 'gods' before me." Many times we places ourselves in that position, only to fail, and wonder why, not realizing that that it could all be put under the label of 'control' and the unwillingness to let go and let God. Seek God, and leave it with Him instead of taking it home with us.

[MajestyJo]

Saturday, October 18, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Relying on God

As compulsive overeaters, we relied on food to pick us up, calm us down, console us, excite us, help us, and sustain us. Since food was inadequate to do all of these things, we had to eat more and more until we became physically and emotionally addicted.

Recovery from our disease requires that dependency on food be replaced by dependency on a Higher Power. Only God, as each of us understands Him, is capable of supporting us at all times and in all situations. Food simply will not work. If we are not controlled by our Higher Power, we will be controlled by our addiction to compulsive overeating.

At first, we find it difficult to rely on a Power we cannot see. Our materialistic orientation makes us distrustful of the things that are of the spirit. Gradually, we come to believe as we witness the work of God through OA. We see evidence of His activity in our own lives, and we sense the peace and security that He gives. Reliance on God is our strength.

I depend on You for recovery.

Amen!

[MajestyJo]

Sunday, October 19, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

To Abstain Is to Live

If we do not abstain from compulsive overeating, we do not live - we merely survive. Without abstinence, joy and creativity fade and we are left with only the effort of getting from one day to the next. We remember the despair of living without the OA program, and we are grateful that we have been given a reprieve from our former misery.

Abstaining is what we do each day in order to live the life our Higher Power intends us to have. There are good days and bad days and mediocre days. As long as we abstain from compulsive overeating, we are able to accept our passing moods and the events of each day with inner serenity. We make progress in our activities and in our understanding. We are alive to the possibilities of each moment.

To abstain requires that we choose a long-term satisfaction rather than a short-lived indulgence. To abstain is to walk with our Higher Power in the way He shows us.

Thank You for the power to abstain.

When I use other things to obtain from eating, other than going to my God and asking for His Strength and Courage, I am often depending on other things like our favourite TV show, a new book, and old book that once gave us that feel good feeling, a new movie, our significant other, our children, our job, and the list can go on and on. There is nothing wrong with having these things in our life, but it our mental attitude toward them, and are we using them to escape our reality and is our disease and are we acting out in our disease.

[MajestyJo]

Monday, October 20, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Physical Restraint

Self-control is hard work. When the urge comes to do something, which we know is not in our best interest, we physically restrain ourselves from performing the destructive action. This often requires hard, physical effort.

We may want to eat when we should not be eating, we may want to lash out in anger, we may want to retreat from a difficult task, we may want to continue a harmful relationship. Whatever the urge, if we know deep down that it is contrary to God's will for us, we need to control it and not act on it.

Time spent with our Higher Power each day builds the strength and integrity, which can control our destructive urges. Alone, we are powerless, but with the OA program supporting us we find strength we never had before. With abstinence comes the clarity of mind necessary to evaluate our urges and desires.

May I have the moral strength to physically restrain myself when necessary.

This is what I have had to do. I tend to be gung ho about something, and I am off like a dirty shirt, often with out a plan, and fly by the seat of my pants, and figure, "God will lead, when in fact, my God is sitting back shaking His head and saying, "Tsk, tsk! there she goes again, didn't she learn her lesson the last time."

[MajestyJo]

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

New Memories

If certain times of the year and certain activities are associated in our minds with overeating, we need to create new memories to blot out the old ones. If we are hung up on past loves, hates, and hurts, we need to let go of them so that we can live in the present.

Old eating habits keep alive old wounds and frustrations. Even after we have maintained abstinence for a significant length of time, we may be troubled by unresolved conflicts from the past. The fact that we are abstaining from compulsive overeating gives us a chance to see the problems more clearly and to then walk away from them when we have done all that we can do to resolve them.

The past and the future are in the hands of our Higher Power. If we work our program now and live the best we can today, we are creating good memories, which will sustain us in the days to come.

Take charge of my memories. Lord.

Sometimes we forget we have body memories too!

[MajestyJo]

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Healing

God, as understood by each of us, has the Power to heal our bodies, minds, and hearts. Once we realize that we are sick, we can open ourselves to the Power, which will affect our recovery. As we delve more deeply into the OA program, we see that it is not only the body, which suffers from the disease of compulsive overeating. Mind and emotions are also muddled and in need of God's cleansing.

The healing process can be painful. Sometimes we have to get worse in order to get better. Sometimes we have to be more devastated by overeating, by pride, by fear and selfishness before we are willing to turn ourselves over to our Higher Power for healing. We do not make the effort to work the Twelve Steps until we see how desperately ill we are.

God heals, but He requires our cooperation and effort. The extent of our recovery is determined by the intensity of our desire to get well. When our desire is focused on the source of health and held there steadily, we can become whole.

We pray for healing.

I can't, God can!

[MajestyJo]

Thursday, October 23, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Tomorrow Is Another Day

As compulsive overeaters; we can be tormented by the urge to finish everything right now, today. That was the way we used to eat, and it may still be the way we try to operate in other areas of behavior. It is possible to exchange our addiction to food for an addiction to work or perfection.

Trying to do everything today is just another example of self will run riot. We are not super people and we cannot perform miracles. It is our Higher Power who makes possible our accomplishments, and His work is done slowly and gradually. God never expects more of us than we are able to deliver. It is our own pride that entices us to tackle the impossible.

As long as we are alive, our work will not be finished. Each day we are given new tasks to do and new experiences to enjoy. What we do not complete today can be continued tomorrow, according to the will of our Higher Power.

I leave tomorrow's tasks for tomorrow.

Use to use this phrase to procrastinate. I can also use the statement to help not beat myself up and overdue and remember to not over due and remember the slogan, "Easy does it, but do it!"

I will to will Thy Will, not mine be done! Trying to make things happen doesn't make it happen any faster, in fact it is often a sure way to have everything collapse all around you because you haven't built on a firm foundation.

[MajestyJo]

Friday, October 24, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Accepting God's Will

Disappointments and hurts can send us into an orgy of self-pity if we are not willing to accept them as part of our Higher Power's plan. We do not understand why we must suffer disappointments and frustrations, but trusting God means that we accept our share of this world's pain.

When we look back on former disappointments, we are often able to see that what we so desperately wanted at the time would not have been the best thing for us. Our vision and judgment are limited. Faith that God is managing our lives according to His purposes can relieve us of unnecessary hurt and frustration.

To accept God's will is not to passively absorb all that happens to us like an inert sponge. It is to actively seek knowledge of His plan for our lives and to purposefully work according to the knowledge we receive. Acceptance is positive and cooperative.

Your will is what I seek to accept.

Again, I need to pray for the willingness to be willing.

[MajestyJo]

Saturday, October 25, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Abstaining from Harmful Relationships

Habit sometimes locks us into relationships, which are not in our best interest. It is easy to mistake dependency for love. When we stop overeating compulsively, we can evaluate our attachments to other people with greater clarity and perception than was possible when we continually escaped into food.

Our OA friends act as sounding boards for us as we try to sort out the healthy from the unhealthy relationships in our lives. We may find that for our continued growth we need to move away from old emotional entanglements, which are hampering our progress with the program. Abstaining from a harmful relationship can be as difficult at first as abstaining from compulsive overeating! The same physical restraint is necessary to keep ourselves from following old habit patterns.

By taking Step Three, we make all of our relationships with other people subject to the will of our Higher Power. When God comes first, other loves fall into their proper places.

Show me how to love.

When I came into recovery, I realized I didn't know what love was. All I knew was what love was not. So much of my life had been comprised of old tapes and abuse. I was told, "Let us love you until you can learn to love yourself." The only relationship you should be in, especially in your first year is with your Higher Power, your sponsor and yourself.

[MajestyJo]

Sunday, October 26, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Food Is Not Fun

We have used eating as a form of recreation and have looked for excitement in food. For years, we have associated food with fun. What we need to remember constantly is that uncontrolled eating is no longer fun for us, but a trip into anguish.

All of us have unpleasant memories of painful binges, which began as attempts to experience pleasure through a small indulgence. We need to put these memories to work for us by associating them with the first compulsive bite. The idea that more and better food will bring us fun and pleasure is an illusion. We know this in our heads, but we need to feel it in our guts.

Food is nourishment for our bodies - nothing more. To experience pleasure with our minds and hearts and bodies, we open ourselves to richer interpersonal relationships, to aesthetic experiences, to sports and hobbies and work well done. Abstinence from compulsive overeating liberates us to enjoy the activities, which are fun.

Thank You for the fun and joy that abstinence brings.

This reminds me that recovery is about a change in attitude. I need to change how I look at things and my attitude toward them. Not what is in it for me, but look at it and say, "Is this good for me."

[MajestyJo]

Monday, October 27, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

A Good Meal

A good meal for us is an abstinent meal. Fancy frills and gourmet delights are not good if they threaten our abstinence. Because we have over emphasized food in the past, we tend to be too concerned about what we will have for dinner - and lunch - and breakfast.

It is a relief to come to the conclusion that whatever we have to eat is good if it fits our food plan. We do not have to spend a lot of time and energy deciding what we will eat today. If what we choose does not turn out to be especially pleasing, we are free to choose something else tomorrow.

Most of us are familiar with the basic principles of good nutrition. By abstaining from compulsive overeating, we are giving our bodies the best possible treatment. By avoiding refined sugars and starches, we eliminate empty calories and choose those foods with the protein, vitamins, and minerals necessary for good health. Whatever we eat, the abstinent meal is a good meal.

Thank You for good, abstinent meals.

When I see the words "abstinent meals" I get a picture of a fancy gourmet meal that you see on the cooking channel." It looks "Ladeeda" but always figured there wasn't much there, all fancy, and almost too pretty to eat and thought more before I even took a bite.

They say attraction rather than promotion, but it didn't work for me, I was a meat and potatoes kind of gal having been raised on a farm, and I wanted my meat, lots of potatoes swimming in gravy and/or butter. The veggies were there too because we grew them, but the farther I got from the farm, the more difficult it was for them to find their way to my plate.

I have trouble eating bread that is full of bird seed and veggies that look like grass that I use to feed the cows.

What I found it was the portion size and making healthy choices. Most things don't come out of a box or a can and if they do, reading labels as to the content. Eating fresh foods and as they say on the Food Network, support your local farmer. An ex-boyfriend gave me heck because I use to go to produce sections to see what was marked down at the back of the store.

Check those food that are white that turn to sugar like corn, that can raise your blood sugar. A treat is good, but don't spoil yourself rotten.

Remember that our disease is four-fold. What kind of food are we food are we feeding that part of our body?

[MajestyJo]

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Food Is Not Home

Breaking abstinence may be an attempt to go home emotionally. Since we associate food, and especially certain foods, with early experience, we may turn to food when we crave the emotional support of home.

Perhaps our early home life did not provide the emotional support and security we needed, causing us to attach a false significance to the food, which we were given. The habit of turning to food and eating as a substitute for love, acceptance, and security may be deeply ingrained in our psyche. We may have come to depend on food instead of people to satisfy our emotional needs.

The problem is, of course, that food is not a satisfactory substitute for love and acceptance. However much we eat, the emotional satisfaction will be only temporary and soon disintegrate into despair and self-hatred. The home we crave can best be built here and now by working the OA program and loving the people our Higher Power gives us to love today.

May I realize that food is not home.

Like that last line. How often we came home to the refrigerator. It wasn't about home and our loved ones, it was the refrigerator and the cupboards and what was in it that occupied our minds. What was there, what wasn't there, and and left very little space for anything else.

Food no longer has to rent space in our heads.

[MajestyJo]

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Truth

Overeating covered up the truth. We fed our illusions with food, which harmed our bodies. The illusions grew bigger and stronger until our minds were fog bound by the illusions instead of illuminated by truth.

Giving up our illusions is frightening and painful, but in the long run it is less difficult than trying to live with them and by them. It is impossible to get rid of our illusions by ourselves. The Higher Power leads us to truth by means of the Twelve Steps and the OA program. Abstinence from compulsive overeating is necessary in order to stop feeding our illusions and let the truth come through.

Knowing the truth sets us free. We no longer have to cling to old dependencies and self-defeating habits. Our Higher Power gives us as much truth as we are willing to work for and accept. We are not overwhelmed, but are gradually able to assimilate the reality of our situation. By accepting reality and refraining from using food as an escape, we are able to live with truth instead of illusions.

Lead me by the Power of truth.

As the saying goes, "The truth with set you free."

[MajestyJo]

Thursday, October 30, 2014

You are reading from the book Food for Thought

Accent on the Present

When we were obsessed with food, we were often obsessed with the past as well. We would rehash old hurts and resentments, old fears and desires. Our dreams, along with our waking hours, may have been filled with people from our past. Such preoccupation with the past prevented us from focusing on the present.

By realizing that compulsive overeating is a nonstop trip back to the hurts of the past, we become more determined to maintain abstinence. If we are to be alive in the present, we need to let go of the past. What is over is over and cannot be replayed except in our minds.

What we can do is turn our memories over to our Higher Power for healing. The creative Spirit, which is not bound by time, can take away old hurts and resentments. Then we are free to deal with the present and concentrate on doing God's will for us now, today. Living in the present keeps us in touch with the Power, which restores us to sanity.

May I remember that You are always now.

Like this, keep telling myself, you had dinner, you had a busy day, you should be tired, it doesn't matter you are in pain and you overworked your feet, you should be sleeping.

This is now. I can't sleep, so why not do the readings if I can't sleep. If I don't sleep until later, I will miss out on breakfast, so best I have a muffin. I had dinner at 4 p.m. so it is normal to be hungry now at almost 4 a.m. and quit trying to fit life in and force things to go where they should be and just put them where they are happening in today. Duh!