How OA Can Help You

IS FOOD A PROBLEM FOR YOU?
• Have you been worried about the way you eat?
• Do you resolve to go on a diet tomorrow, only to fail again and again?
• Is your weight affecting the way you live your life?

You are not alone.
Overeaters Anonymous
No dues, no fees, no weigh-ins!

What is OA?
Overeaters Anonymous (OA) is a Twelve-Step Fellowship of people recovering from compulsive eating. OA is not a diet club. We are dedicated to helping individuals recover from compulsive eating, anorexia, bulimia, food addiction and obesity. If you are struggling, you are not alone anymore.

Who joins OA?
OA members are men and women from around the world. Some have been obese, while others have been anorexic, bulimic or a normal weight. We have been unable to freely live our lives because we have been so obsessed with food or weight.

Does the program really work?
Typically, OA members have tried numerous solutions to their problems with food, including (for many of us) years of diets or exercise. In OA, we have finally found a long-term answer. Many OA members have maintained a normal weight and found freedom from compulsive eating for many years. Overeaters Anonymous is patterned after the Alcoholics Anonymous program. Physical, emotional and spiritual recovery are offered through attending meetings, practicing the Twelve-Step program and helping others.

Many Symptoms, One Solution

The membership of OA is varied, both in its makeup and in the eating behaviors and experiences that brought each individual to OA. In OA you’ll find members who are or were:

• Extremely overweight, even morbidly obese
• Only moderately overweight
• Average weight
• Underweight
• Still maintaining periodic control of their eating behavior
• Totally unable to control their compulsive eating

OA members have experienced many different patterns of eating. These symptoms are as varied as our membership. They include:

• Obsession with body weight, size and shape
• Eating binges
• Grazing
• Preoccupation with weight-reduction diets
• Starving
• Inducing vomiting after eating
• Laxative or diuretic abuse
• Constant preoccupation with food
• Inability to stop eating after taking the first bite
• Excessive-exercising
• Chewing and spitting out food
• Use of diet pills, shots and other medical interventions to control weight
• Fantasies about food
• Vulnerability to quick-weight-loss schemes
• Using food as a reward or comfort

Our symptoms may vary, but we share a common bond: we are Powerless over food and our lives are Unmanageable. If you feel you are one of us, WE WELCOME YOU WITH OPEN ARMS.

Next: 15 Questions