FAQ

What is Compulsive Overeating?

OA believes that compulsive overeating is an illness-a progressive illness- which cannot be cured but which, like many other illnesses can be arrested.  Before coming to OA, many compulsive overeaters think of themselves as gluttons, social outcasts in appearance, or just plan “weak-willed.”  The OA concept is that this illness can be arrested if a person is willing to follow a simple program which has proven successful for countless numbers of compulsive overeaters.  Once compulsive overeating as an illness has taken hold, willpower is no longer involved because the suffering overeater has lost the power of choice over food.  It is important to face the facts of the illness and take advantage of available help.  There must also be a desire to recover.  Our experience has shown that the OA program works for all who sincerely desire to stop eating compulsively; it rarely works for those who are not absolutely sure that they want to stop.

What Do You Mean By a “Compulsive Overeater”?

By definition, “compulsion” means “an impulse or feeling of being irresistibly driven toward the performance of some irrational action.”  It isn’t only how much we eat that makes us what we are, but the ways in which we try to control our food.  Some overeaters eat in secret, while others publicly flaunt their overeating.  Some binge and purge, while others alternate between overeating and starving.  All compulsive overeaters have one thing in common, however; they are driven by forces they don’t understand to eat more or less than they need, and they eat this food in ways that are not rational.

Must I Be a Certain Amount Over My Normal Weight to Come to OA?

No.  Experience has shown that OA works for almost anyone who wants to stop eating compulsively, no matter what size the individual may be.  Some people who come into OA have already attained their normal weight; others may be underweight.  They turn to OA to find a way of life where they can live comfortably without returning to compulsive eating.

Will OA Help Me with a Diet?

For those who seek help with a diet, OA recommends consulting a qualified professional.  The OA program enables compulsive overeaters to abstain from excess food one day at a time.  Overeaters Anonymous, therefore, supports any member who wants to follow a professional’s nutritional advice.  OA is not a diet club. Members recover by practicing OA’s spiritual program.  They find, among other things, freedom from food obsession, power to act rationally in difficult situations, and a better way of life.

How Can OA Help Me If I am Bulimic or Anorexic?

All who decide they belong in OA are welcomed in love and fellowship.  Overeaters Anonymous supports each person’s efforts to recover and accepts any member who desires to stop eating compulsively.  When individuals ask about medical matters, OA always recommends they seek professional advice.

Can’t a Compulsive Overeater Just Use Willpower to Stop Excessive Eating?

Before turning to OA, may compulsive overeaters tried with all their might to reduce their food intake and change their eating habits.  Usually many methods were attempted: drastic diets, appetite-suppressant pills, diuretics, injections of one kind or another.  In other cases, dieting “gimmicks” were also attempted: eating only at mealtimes, cutting food portions in half, never eating desserts, eating everything but sweets, never eating in secret, splurging only on weekends, skipping breakfast, never eating standing up…the list could be increased indefinitely. Of course, each time a new attempt was begun or a new method attempted, the overeater made a solemn oath “to stick to the diet this time and never go off again.”  When these promises were never kept, feelings of guilt and remorse inevitably followed.  Through such experiences, many overeaters have admitting lacking willpower to change their eating habits.  When they came to OA, they admitted they were powerless over food.  If they had no willpower of their own, it follows that they needed a Power greater than themselves to help them recover.

What Is Meant By “A Power Greater Than Ourselves”?

Before coming to OA, most compulsive overeaters already realized they couldn’t control their eating.  Food had become a power greater than themselves.  OA experience has taught that to achieve abstinence from compulsive eating and to maintain recovery, overeaters need to accept and depend upon another Power which they acknowledge is greater than themselves.  Come overeaters choose different interpretations of this Power, such as initially considering the OA group itself as the Power greater than themselves.  But most OAs adopt the concept of God, as God may be understood by the individual.

What Are the Requirements of OA Membership?

There are no “requirements” in the usual sense of the term.  The Third Tradition states, “The only requirement for OA membership is a desire to stop eating compulsively.”  Nothing else is asked or demanded of anyone.  The acceptance and practice of the OA recovery program rests entirely with the individual.

How Much Does OA Membership Cost?

There are no financial obligations of any kind in connection with OA membership.  This recovery program is available to all who want to stop eating compulsively, no matter how much or how little money they may possess.

How Do I Know If I Am An Overeater?

Only you can decide that question…no one else can make the decision for you. Here are a few questions that you can answer for yourself.

From: “Questions & Answers,” Copyright 1979, 1988, 1999, 2001 Overeaters Anonymous, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Overeaters Anonymous, Inc.