A Plan of Eating
Defining a New Way of Eating Is Important
Obviously, there is something wrong with our current eating patterns, or we would not have come to OA. We are not like normal eaters. Generally, normal eaters eat appropriate amounts of food when they are hungry and stop eating when they are full. Normal eaters do not hide food or plan how they will secretly get it when no one is around. They do not use food (or restrict it) in an attempt to control their unmanageable lives. They do not consistently use food to comfort their insecurities and fears or provide a fleeting escape from their worries and troubles. Normal eaters usually do not feel guilt and/or shame about their eating.
In OA, we discover that our problem is not lack of willpower. We have a disease. Where food is concerned, we cannot trust our best intentions or willpower to guide us in making good eating decisions. We have made hundreds of resolutions to ourselves and others. We have tried many diets, therapies, hypnosis, and shots and pills. But we could not stop our compulsive eating behaviors.
A Plan of Eating
As a Tool, a plan of eating helps us abstain from compulsive eating, guides us in our dietary decisions, and defines what, when, how, where, and why we eat. (See the pamphlet A New Plan of Eating for more information.) This tool helps us deal with the physical aspects of our disease and achieve physical recovery. From this vantage point, we can more effectively follow OA’s Twelve-Step program of recovery and move beyond the food to a happier, healthier and more spiritual life.
