Are you getting fatter and fatter? Do you read diet books, follow nutritional resources, come to OA meetings and still continue to gain weight? Or, if you have lost the pounds, are you having trouble maintaining a healthy body weight?
This problem appears to be true for me. I walked into the OA program in November 2009. I’ve lost weight and I’ve gained weight, but I never seem to be successful at maintaining a healthy weight for very long. That very thought or attitude may be the source of my problem. Do I allow myself to feel the grace I have freely received? Do I accept the continuing process of growth, or am I focused solely on the numbers on the scale? What determines whether I am doing OA right or wrong?
Tradition Two states the only authority I have to answer to in the OA program “is a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscious.” This loving God does not tell me I’m fired because I did not attain perfect abstinence in a specific time period. He continues to keep the doors of OA open to me, ever reaching out His powerful, loving hands to me wherever I may be spiritually, mentally, emotionally or physically.
The grace does not stop if I’m still fighting the battle after coming to OA for six months, two years, five years, or even ten years. Unconditional love allows me to come back even though my head and heart may feel shame and guilt.
This is the purpose of Tradition Two for every member of Overeaters Anonymous. There is great grace and mercy in accepting the steps and traditions of OA. May we allow them to work in our lives exactly how they were written.
—Tony B.
source: https://www.oacfi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2025-02_newsletter.pdf (P.6)
Did you enjoy this article? We would encourage our members to use this post, and others like it, at their meetings, or for private reflection. We also encourage you to share this post to other fellows to help the compulsive eater who still suffers. Please let us know if you have an idea for an article or an upcoming theme, or have any questions or suggestions. Email our editorial staff at [email protected].
The experience, strength, and hope expressed in this article, reflect the individual OA members and does not represent OA as a whole. Other OA groups and service bodies are welcome to reprint articles from Experience, Strength & Hope Newsletter without permission. When reprinting from other OA newsletters, be sure to credit the source.
