Good stuff

People who are involved in personal development of any kind do exactly these things. When it first starts, they recognize that they are powerless over their limitations.

This does not mean that there is nothing that can be done about the thing that they want to change. It simply means that, as things stand right now, they don’t have the necessary knowledge or ability to make the change that they want to.

But there’s always hope.

Whatever limitation you are currently powerless over, it’s always possible to find the necessary power if you follow the directions of those that have done what you want to do.

SLD gave me power over my appetite. There was suddenly something that could be done that worked.

But that is the quote that made me provide a link to http://creatingabetterlife.net/

I feel so judged and so judged. At the same time, I can’t help that and whatever I think is only that, it’s what I think. It may or may not be true. One the most moving parts of this meeting, was hearing the story of a really strong Israeli woman who has been through so much.

From http://muslimahinprogress.wordpress.com/

There is no quick fix.

From http://recoveredbulimic.wordpress.com/2008/04/19/normal-eating/ "I am so grateful that I survived those days as a young woman struggling in New York City — a walking toothpick, bingeing and vomiting incessantly, sometimes even vomiting blood, depressed and alone, paranoid and afraid, having blackouts and hearing voices as I walked to work. I wanted to live, but I had lost hope and was waiting for death. Instead, I recovered."

My definition of humanity – of being a human being – of the human condition – is that we all have something. Behind our masks, underneath our strategically chosen clothing and in the shadows of our carefully selected words, we all struggle.

From http://serafina00.vox.com/

Good stuff.

OA Blog Links

I'll comment on these later, but wanted to put them up:

http://humantermination.blogspot.com/2008/05/over-eaters-anonymousno.html

http://blameful.wordpress.com/2008/04/27/one-more-day/

http://recoveredbulimic.wordpress.com/2008/04/25/the-blessings-of-bulimia/

http://www.balancedlifecenter.com/298-surrender-powerlessness-and-other-bad-words/

http://overeater.podbean.com/2008/04/27/friday-night-live-is-on-the-air/

http://cherishedmisery.blogspot.com/2008/04/snot-anyone.html

http://overactivefork.wordpress.com/2008/04/21/avoiding-food/

http://weightloss.homeofimprovement.com/where-to-get-obesity-help/

http://sandeek.wordpress.com/2008/04/21/abstinent-recipe-of-the-week-bacon-jicama-melt/

http://phcblog.com/haroldprince1700/2008/04/21/struggling-issues-for-your-teens/

http://serafina00.vox.com/library/post/our-invitation-to-you.html

http://recoveredbulimic.wordpress.com/2008/04/19/normal-eating/

http://muslimahinprogress.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/balance/

http://creatingabetterlife.net/2008/03/24/powerlessness-hacking-the-12-steps-of-alcoholics-anonymous/

Why doctors hate fat people

Perhaps I've put it wrong. It should be, why doctors really, really, really hate fat people.

It seems stupid. Any doctor with half a brain knows that diets don't work. The studies are clear. But, medical professionals can't help themselves from seeing that:

• half of all health problems are "voluntary" (caused by either fat or cigarettes).
• fat makes everything, everything, a doctor does more difficult in ways that they don't get to charge extra for.

Doctors think fat people are stealing from them (forget the monopoly of the AMA, the price fixing and the raw greed and harm to the public health that doctors have engaged in historically).

Nurses just know that fat people are career enders -- more nurses end up with career ending injuries from treating fat people than any other cause.

But next time you think your doctor is hostile to you because you are fat, you aren't reading anything into things. Doctors hate fat people, irrationally so, to the extent that all they do is prescribe diets that make the situation worse (crash diets and rebounding will make you gain weight), surgery that has a history of failing and exercise programs that will make you eat more as your body adjusts.

They do all these stupid things because they hate you so much they can't think straight and honestly do something about the issues.

Which is why the SLD was invented by a PhD and not an MD. And why doctors are pushing expensive programs that don't work for fat people instead of the SLD that does. They hate you and want money from you, rather than want to help your health.

Read Good Calories, Bad Calories (read here and here) and ask yourself if the doctors are really that dense or if they are intentionally pushing a diet they know makes the situation worse. Which one makes them more money?

How I do the Shangri La Diet

I started with one tablespoon of walnut oil, in two ounces of water. I'd put it on the bathroom counter and when I got up in the middle of the night, I'd drink it down. I did that for a week, did not notice much of a change.

Then I moved up to two tablespoons and checked to make sure I was using a real tablespoon (got a measuring spoon from my pharmacy). Did that for a week, and started to lose weight.

After a couple-three months the weight loss slowed, so I moved to three tablespoons.

Now, I use three tablespoons of oil every night. I get more than an hour before and after without any flavor and the walnut oil helps my Omega 3 balance, which is good for my heart and brain.

If three had not worked, I'd have moved to four.

I know, the rule is "one day at a time" but I adjust the amount of oil I take one week at a time.

So, SLD and OA? Yes!

The numbers are pretty good that SLD with a support group works better than without. OA is everywhere, on-line and in person. It is dirt cheap to belong (you can donate a dollar at a meeting if you want to, but you don't have to). Everyone there will understand what it is like to be compulsive about food and to have emotions and other issues if you don't eat -- and you will probably experience something like that if you go on SLD.

Almost everyone who has weight loss surgery has issues. There is little reason to suspect that SLD won't do that to you too.

Cheap, available, friendly, and if you actually listen to and apply the 12 steps you will be a better person for it.

Just be aware that OA isn't a monolith. Each group is different, some very, very different from each other. If you don't like a group, find another one or create your own.

Here is an introduction:

After years of struggling with your weight and obsessing about food, you have decided to give Overeaters Anonymous a try. You find an OA meeting in your area by checking OA's online meeting locator or by calling or e-mailing the World Service Office (WSO). You've called the contact person to confirm the day, time and location of the meeting to make sure the information hasn't changed.

When you arrive at the meeting, you will find men and women who share a common malady—compulsive eating—and have found a common solution: the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous. You will see anywhere from three to 30 people at the meeting. An average meeting has about 10. You will be warmly welcomed.

The meeting usually opens with the Serenity Prayer, and you may hear a reading called "Our Invitation to You," which describes the disease of compulsive overeating and the Twelve-Step solution. Meeting formats may vary, but all OA groups are the same in that they seek recovery on three levels—physical, emotional and spiritual—through the Twelve Steps, and the only requirement for membership is a desire to stop eating compulsively.

You may hear a speaker open the meeting and speak for 10 to 15 minutes about what life was like before OA, what happened, and what he or she is like now; or someone might read from OA or AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) literature. Other members will share their experience, strength and hope. You will have an opportunity to introduce yourself as a newcomer, if you like. You will find that you are not alone, that there is a way out of your desperation. Because anonymity is a critical principle of the OA program, you are assured that what you share will be held in confidence. This provides the safety you need to share your experiences honestly.

Find an OA Meeting

Difficulties

The difficulty with OA is that no other group has as many splinter groups or as many in leadership positions who seem like they just need to sit through a good al anon meeting.

Also, given the history of pink cloud OAers, no one will take SLD seriously if you haven't been in OA four or five years. Even when they do, they'll remember the carbohydrate wars, and won't be very interested in embracing SLD.

Finally, many in OA think that the chaos and turmoil that lies under compulsive overeating is the cause of compulsive overeating (which it is for some -- though I'd bet carbohydrate addiction and misplaced set points affect more people).

History again

Historically, OA began with three people using methamphetamines (doctor prescribed) to lose weight who got together to start their own twelve step program. True to their OCD streak, they abandoned sitting around a table for one person leading a controlled meeting (like a school room). It rewrote the 12 steps completely, dropping most of the core concepts and merged with Gluttons Anonymous a Texas group that was seeking serenity.
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]

OA has always been driven by images of physical recovery, a highly compulsive borderline anorexic is completely acceptable as a leader. Someone who has lost 200-300 pounds, but who is still overweight is not acceptable at all.

As a result the group has a heavy dose of highly OCD women in the mainline leadership, leavened with others.

Also, unlike other 12 step groups, OA has had strong exclusionary strains, mostly with groups that exclude men.

The saving grace of OA is sterling literature and a willingness to embrace its splinter groups. As a result, it is easy to create or find a support group for any type of person who wants to learn to live without being driven by, or drowned by, food.