I just recently joined an online group, it's called The Recovery Group, for 12-stepper's, I really like the chat rooms. Their website is www.therecoverygroup.com.

Sorry, told you wrong about that website, it's .org, not .com.

I was originally "ordered" into OA by my psychiatrist..insisting that nothing he could do would help without it...I now know what he is talking about..It's one of the best things that has happened as a result of bottoming out...but it is for people who feel they have tried everything else and use food for other reasons other than nutrition...and whose lives have become unmanageable...As long as I thought "my will", self control, self discipline, will power, diets, the right diet, etc are what I needed, I was not ready for what OA has to offer...

I've been in OA for the last month and already I see a big change. The first week, I stopped bingeing just like that I think because I wanted the group to see me succeed. Then stress and life began to wear me down and I thought I could go back to eating foods from my abstinent list (foods I cannot eat because i can't stop at one serving). So i relapsed and was eating compulsively again for another 2 weeks. I kept going to meetings, kept doing the readings and steps and finally after one meeting, I decided to follow the 301 (3 meals a day, nothing in between, one day at time) and i had a good day. So i tried it the next day (it's just one day). So now i've had a really good 7 days of normal eating, lost about 4 lbs and feel clarity of mind. I love the program because most members are very supportive. You're with people who understand your struggle. They get it. You can connect with them and truly, if you work the steps and really work the program, it works. It is a life long commitment however. You can't go back to eating however you want and keep the weight off. It's not a diet program but a program for living and learning new coping skills so you are not abusing food. I highly recommend it.

I am thinking of joining myself. The closest place near me is not good for timing so I would have to join an online one. I will look into the recovery group. Thanks.

I didn't have a bad experience but it was not for me at the time. I did take away some good philosophies that I've since incorporated into a variety of areas in my life. My problem - the group in my area was all about linking it to God - maybe more than OA does elsewhere, I don't know. I know it's about linking healing to a "higher being" and related to spirituality. Being agnostic, this got really tiring for me. I am spiritual but not Christian and got tired of praying in what I personally considered a churchy way. Maybe it was my hypersensitivity at the time - it was my issue not theirs. But it was worth finding out that the principles were things that can help.

OA, well i believe in support groups and sharing and some of the 12 steps. i am a Christian, but still believe we make the choice to eat. OA actually destroyed me. I went from 130lbs to 87 lbs. i became anorexic and extremely restrictive in my diet because they made me afraid to eat. the mantra was that "the first bite" would set off a binge. so i avoided the first bite. i also desperately wanted to be successful for the group and be accepted, so i tried to hard and took it too far. I do like what they say about "take what you need and leave the rest"

OA sounds like a wonderful program but my only problem with it is... I am not sure what I believe in. I am struggling a lot with spirituality as it is. I want to get a handle on my binging but at the same time, I don't want spirituality being shoved into me either.

hi..i go to the recoverygroup.com...its pretty much the best out there...they have meetings every two hours...