FOOD PLAN & ABSTINENCE

Becoming abstinent from sugar, flour, wheat and following the Food Addicts Anonymous Food plan is the path to recovery from the physical aspect of the disease of food addiction. Totally eliminating these substances from our bodies will enable us to live relatively free of cravings and will allow us to focus on the other areas of our recovery.

MEETINGS

Fellowship with other food addicts is a basic tool of the FAA program.  Meetings give us an opportunity to share our experience, strength and hope with others who are also trying to recover from the disease of food addiction.  Meetings allow us to identify with our shared similarities and confirm our common problems. (View a USA or International meetings schedule by following this link).

USE OF THE TELEPHONE

The telephone is a way to avoid the isolation that is so common among us.  It is a tool where we learn to reach out, ask for help and extend help. (You can also join us for a scheduled phone meeting: Click here for details).

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LITERATURE

We read and study 12-Step literature.  Literature helps us to better understand the biochemical basis of this disease called food addiction.  The information provided in FAA literature helps us to identify the characteristics and stages of food addiction.  By reading literature we gain knowledge about how to recover from this disease.  Please see our Literature page for more information on how to order FAA approved literature.

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SPONSORSHIP

Sponsors are FAA members who are practicing abstinence from sugar, flour and wheat and are living in accordance with the 12 Steps and 12 Traditions to the best of their ability.  Sponsors are committed to abstinence and are willing to share how their recovery program works with other members of the Fellowship.  We ask someone to become our sponsor to help us with our program of recovery.  By working with other FAA members and sharing her/his experiences, someone who offers to sponsor others gains the opportunity to continually renew and reaffirm her/his own recovery.  It is important to find a sponsor who has what you want and then ask that person what she/he has done to achieve it.

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WRITING

Many FAA members find that writing is a very useful tool in their recovery program.  Writing can be used at times when it is not possible to make a meeting or to call others in the program for support.  Writing can also be used regularly to journal our progress in recovery or to work out situations or issues that come up that we may not be able to share with others immediately.  Putting our thoughts and feelings down on paper helps us to better understand our actions and reactions in a way that is often not revealed otherwise, since we may see a situation more clearly when we take the time to write about it.

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SERVICE

We are encouraged to do whatever we can to be of service to FAA.  The first service we can do it to get abstinent and STAY ABSTINENT.  Other forms of service include going to meetings; helping to set up before or clean up after the meeting; putting out literature; talking to newcomers to help them feel welcome; becoming a secretary, treasurer or a leader for a meeting; volunteering to help with activities related to your intergroup or to the World Service Organization.

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ANONYMITY

Anonymity is a tool, which guarantees that we place principles above personalities.  Anonymity provides each of us freedom of expression and safeguards us from gossip.  Anonymity assures us that whatever we share with other FAA members will be held in respect and confidence.  That means that information about whom and what we see and hear in meetings should remain there when we leave.

CYBERSPACE: EMAIL, FAALOOP & ONLINE FAA MEETINGS

Many FAA members live in cities where there are no face-to-face FAA meetings.  Attending live Online FAA meetings enables an otherwise physically isolated FAA member the opportunity to connect with other FAA members and to do service.  The FAA Loop and personal email gives FAA members a chance to communicate and build relationships with recovering food addicts all over the world.  Many sponsoring relationships have been successful via email.  Our computers are available for communication 24 hours a day.  For information about the FAA loop and FAA online meetings please see our FAA Online page.

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STEPS

Food addiction is an illness that affects us on three levels - physical, emotional and spiritual.  If it were only physical, we would all just follow the food plan and be on our way to good health and happy useful lives.  Working the 12 Steps will help heal our emotions and give us spiritual principles for living.  The main purpose of working the 12 Steps is to help us develop a relationship with a power greater than ourselves that will relieve us of the obsession with food and teach us how to live.  For a description of the 12 Steps please see our 12 Steps page.

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PRAYER

Prayer is a powerful tool that is available to everyone, anytime, and anywhere.  Purposely making conscious contact with our Higher Power on a daily basis is an important part of our recovery.   The Serenity Prayer and the FAA 7th Step Prayer are good prayers if you need some help getting started.  Also, some members find that writing their prayers is helpful. It doesn’t matter how you do it...it just matters that you do it.

TAPES & VIDEOS

Listening to FAA members share their experience strength and hope on convention and seminar tapes is an excellent tool for recovery. Tapes are especially helpful to use if you live where there are no or few face-to-face FAA meetings.  Listening to tapes is sort of like giving yourself a meeting any time you want one.  FAA videos are very informative and are excellent for learning more about the disease of Food Addiction.  Please see our Literature page for more information on how to order tapes.

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CONVENTIONS & SEMINARS

Attending an FAA convention is a tool that will give you an opportunity to build relationships with other recovering food addicts from all over the world.  There is nothing quite like being in a room with over 100 abstinent food addicts.  Attending a convention or seminar can often give us that extra bit of encouragement we need to stay abstinent one more day.  Please see our FAA Events page for more information on the annual FAA World Convention and other events. 

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Food Addicts Anonymous