I'M NEW @ THIS AND REALIZE I NEED TO GET A GRIP

[mia]

I AM NEW @ THIS AND I'M NOT SURE OF ALL THE IN'S AND OUT'S.
SO IF SOMEONE COULD INFORM ME ON SOME OF THE MEETINGS AND DIFFERENT THINGS I'D GREATLY APPRECIATE IT.
I NEED TO GET A GRIP, BECAUSE IT IS A PROBLEM.
I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A BLESSED NEW YEAR! ;)

[Jackie]

Thanks Mia and Welcome to FAA,

FAA is a twelve-step group and by that, I mean that we believe that the disease of food addiction happens on three levels - physical, mental/emotional & spiritual. The FAA food plan helps to heal us physically and begins the emotional healing also by allowing us to begin feeling those feelings instead of numbing them with food. Working the 12 steps of the program with a sponsor helps up to continue to heal emotionally and begin the healing process spiritually. It's a process and being in this Fellowship has been so important for support and a path to follow, for me....it's important to get to as many meetings as you can and there will be a Christmas day phone marathon this Saturday the 25th from 8am in the morning till midnight. Just dial the number and put in the pin when prompted - it's a standard conference call. The price of a long distance phone call or you can use those free minutes on your cell phone. Make a note of those who say things you can relate to and ask for their phone numbers at the end of the meeting - great way to find a sponsor.

Keep coming back - this way of life really does work.

Hugs,
Jackie

[mia]

THANK YOU JACKIE!
IS THERE ANY ONLINE MEETINGS THAT I CAN ATTEND? MY LIFE IS VERY BUSY RIGHT NOW, I TAKE CARE OF MY FATHER IN LAW WHO HAS THROAT CANCER AND MY MOTHER IN LAW WHO HAS DEMENTIA AND LOOK IN ON MY MOM, WHO ALSO HAS HEALTH CONCERNS....AND I AM TRYING TO WORK...SO FOR RIGHT NOW, ONLINE MEETINGS WOULD PROBABLY BE MORE APPROPRIATE FOR THIS TIME IN MY LIFE, AND THANK YOU GREATLY FOR THE INFORMATION YOU HAVE PROVIDED....

BE BLESSED

[Jackie]

Mia,

Many of us like the 24/7 FAALoop meeting. It's on the Yahoo/groups. Can just Google - FAALoop - and it should take you to the page where you register for it. It is a regular meeting with a new leader each Sunday and new topics are posted each day. We encourage newcomers to introduce themselves by their first names only and to tell a bit about themselves - like what brought them to FAA. Hope that you will give the Loop meeting a try.

Jackie

[step3]

Hi Mia, and welcome! :D

In addition to the FAA Loop (which is fabulous) there are also two Online Meetings per week. The one Saturday at 11am Eastern is a beginner's meeting and the one on Sunday at 1pm is a regular FAA Online Meeting. There's also Open Chat for Newcomers... that's every Friday night at 9pm (EST).

You get to all three of these through the FAA Chat Room. Follow this link and then click on the picture of the computer, it will take you to the Chat Room.

http://www.foodaddictsanonymous.org/online-meetings

See you around!

[mia]

THANK YOU SO MUCH, I WILL TRY TO SIT IN ON AS MANY MEETINGS AS I CAN..LOL IF I CAN FIGURE IT OUT.
I STRUGGLE ALOT WITH EMOTIONAL EATING, I EAT WHEN I AM HAPPY, WHEN I'M SAD, WHEN I'M MAD, AND ALL THE TIMES IN BETWEEN ;) AND SO THERE FORTH I KNOW I NEED TO GET A GRIP, THERE IS NO FAA GROUPS IN MY LOCAL AREA SO IT PROMPTED ME TO DO SOMETHING ONLINE.
I'D LIKE TO START A WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM OR EXCERCISE ROUTINE, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS, MY BIGGEST THING IS MY EATING HABITS, I HAVE ENOUGH SELF DISCIPLINE TO EXCERCISE, BUT THE EATING THING ALWAYS THROWS ME OFF KILTER, I'M ADDICTED TO THE JUNK ;) THIS LAST SUMMER I WAS GOING TO THE GYM, AND RUNNING ABOUT 3 MILES DAILY AND CUT OUT ALOT OF FOOD AND WENT ON AN ALL LIQUID DIET AND LOST 30 POUNDS BUT THE THING IS I DON'T THINK THATS THAT HEALTHY EITHER....
SO ANY HELP ON FOOD WOULD BE GREAT!
HOW CAN I START? HOW DO I KNOW WHEN IT'S JUST THE ADDICTION,OR WHEN I'M TRULY HUNGRY?
THANKS AGAIN
MIA

[step3]

Hello again Mia,

Welcome back to Online Support. These are all excellent questions you have.

With food addiction, we have a three-fold illness: physical, mental/emotional, and spiritual. What I mean when I say that part of this disease is physical is that when I put any form at all of sugar, flour, or wheat into my body, it processes those substances differently than the bodies of non-food addicts do. I have an addictive response that compels me to keep eating, even when I don't want to!

To help me with this problem, FAA has a suggested food plan. When I follow the food plan, I automatically don't have any s/f/w... this happens without me even having to think about it. Here's where to find the food plan and the list of all the different kinds of sugar, flour, and wheat to stay away from:

http://www.foodaddictsanonymous.org/faa-food-plan

Honestly, I don't think you'll be able to be successful if you don't go to meetings, Mia. The food plan without working the 12 Steps of Recovery, and working the rest of the program, is just another diet. I myself failed at diets over and over again, but miraculously I am successful in sticking with the food plan here in FAA. The reason is that I work on the other two parts of my illness: the mental/emotional part of the illness and the spiritual part. I go to meetings and work very closely with a sponsor because I learned I can't do this by myself.

I found my sponsor by going to a lot of meetings and I also called people. I myself went to phone meetings and if the online meetings will be tough for you for now, maybe you can go to the phone meetings. You can get the schedule and the phone number for them here:

http://www.foodaddictsanonymous.org/phone-meetings

Keep coming back, Mia. This program does work! :D

[mia]

THANK YOU!
I WILL MAKE SURE TO CHECK OUT AS MANY MEETINGS AS I CAN!
BE BLESSSED AND HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS ;)

[step3]

Thanks, Mia. You too!

:D step3