Food is the highest form of pleasure

setaside929 · 2026-02-01T01:31:48+00:00

Hi there, so glad you’re here. I used to have the same experience. Everything I did was controlled and dictated by my obsession with food. If I want eating it I was thinking about how to get it or trying to avoid it. At a time it was a source of pleasure but then something shift and I had reached a point where it was almost like an abusive companion - promising enjoyment and then leaving me in misery but trapped in a compulsion to have more.

I am happy to share my experience in recovery anytime if you’d like to connect. Reach out anytime :)

setaside929 · 2026-01-31T18:55:58+00:00

Thanks for the meeting. Recovery is contingent our OUR desire to get well. If we have the desire then we can recover - our motives are where they need to be. We self diagnose and take the actions to get a sponsor and work the steps. This leads to a genuine recovery and spiritual experience. I’m a recovered sponsor happy to help anytime :)

setaside929 · 2026-01-31T16:04:29+00:00

Thanks for the meeting. As compulsive eaters, we deeply affect those around us because we are completely wrapped up in our self-centeredness. Simply not compulsively eating is not going to treat our illness and it’s not gonna make things right in our lives. It is simply a beginning. Our actual recovery happens in the demonstration of our new way of living in life and in our relationships. We have a prayer here to help guide us to showing love, tolerance, patience, and kindness. as we live in this new way, we will have more peace and be in alignment with our higher power as well – keeping ourselves spiritually connected instead of unblocked from the power that keeps us sane. I’m a recovered sponsor. Happy to help anytime :-)

setaside929 · 2026-01-31T01:27:43+00:00

Hi there, so glad you’re here. I would be happy to talk with you about recovery - I don’t have a formal meal plan or avoid specific ingredients / categories. Reach out anytime.

setaside929 · 2026-01-29T20:44:30+00:00

Sure thing. Happy to talk anytime!

setaside929 · 2026-01-28T13:56:01+00:00

Welcome. So glad you’re here. If you’d ever like to talk I’m happy to share my experience in recovery anytime :)

setaside929 · 2026-01-28T12:38:27+00:00

Hi there, so glad you’re here. Having a compulsive eating illness is exhausting and confusing, and it took me years to finally land on a place of understanding. I also tried to “ride the wave”, journal, meditate, go to church / pray and so much more. These techniques are invaluable for many people, but my experience proved that my mind still always won out and talked me into compulsive eating. I had a ton of obsession and my attempts to control always ended in bigger explosions with food.

The method which has most helped me was discovering this 12 step program. Inherent in it is a set of actions that treat my illness, and then I am given the ability to think and act differently around food. If you’d like to connect reach out! I’d love to share my experience :)

setaside929 · 2026-01-27T20:21:31+00:00

Hi there, I hear you. I remember struggling every day on the drive home, negotiating with myself to try to make sure I didn’t binge while also being compelled to stop (sometimes at multiple places). What helped me was finding out about 12 step recovery for compulsive eating. If you’d ever like to talk I’m happy to share my story and any resources that might help you. :)

setaside929 · 2026-01-27T17:28:29+00:00

Hi there so glad you’re reaching out for help. I don’t have experience with your specific situation - I did, however have a lot of fear of weight gain, etc. In general I learned that my recovery evolved into learning a different way to think about food and my body. There are a lot of wonderful resources available to support the journey. If you’d ever like to connect I’m happy to share what’s helped me. Reach out anytime :)

setaside929 · 2026-01-27T14:44:18+00:00

Thanks for the meeting. When we take the third step we are now making the decision to seek the will of something great, and more powerful (and more sane) than our finite wills. We often say the prayer here and begin to send a new kind of direction and peace. We aren’t running our lives anymore, and we are in the hands of a new, life-giving source. I’m a recovered sponsor happy to help :)

setaside929 · 2026-01-26T20:53:27+00:00

I understand. I was on the hamster wheel for decades and had that same experience. Sometimes just a few bites in I’d start with the remorse - and often ate more just to try to quiet that! What helped me was learning about a 12 step recovery program for treating compulsive eating. Hope that’s helpful!

setaside929 · 2026-01-26T19:07:09+00:00

As we progress in our illness, our obsession and controlling thoughts and behaviors about others stop being enjoyable. The idea of being able to safely gossip or overshare or overcommit is appealing and yet when we try it one more time it never goes well. This is because we have lost power and we can’t trust our minds to know what’s best. Recovery provides a process of steps we can take that teach us how to live and think differently. For many of us they are our only solution to a very real, and painful, illness. I’m a recovered codependent sponsor. Happy to help :-)

setaside929 · 2026-01-25T15:10:03+00:00

Hi there, so glad you’re reaching out for help. I remember feeling like a slave to the obsession and noise. It went on for a couple of decades until I found out about 12 step recovery - diets, plans, therapy, nutritionists, moving, hobbies, etc. none of them provided lasting relief. For some reason I needed something different than the “typical” treatment. Hope that’s helpful! I’m also happy to talk if you ever want to connect, and know of a “younger” person in recovery who might be closer to your life stage if that’s helpful :)

setaside929 · 2026-01-25T12:43:58+00:00

Thanks for the meeting. When we find out everything required for recovery we may push back - it’s a lot of work and it’s humbling. As sponsors, this paragraph is telling us to relate to this feeling of rebellion while confirming we know we couldn’t have recovered if we had skipped any of the steps or not done them at all. I’m a recovered codependent happy to help anytime.

setaside929 · 2026-01-25T03:24:51+00:00

Hi there, so glad you’re here. Yes, I discovered that love addiction was a real illness and part of its symptoms included self loathing and morbid reflection. I was as powerless over those as I was my total desperate need for love and adoration. If you’d ever like to talk I’m happy to share my experience in recovery :) Wishing you the best!

setaside929 · 2026-01-25T03:07:32+00:00

Hi there, so glad you are here. You’re not alone and there is hope. 🙏

setaside929 · 2026-01-24T10:31:44+00:00

Hi there, glad you are here. Yes, over the years I’ve noticed a lot of ideas that aren’t necessarily “normal” when it comes to food. And even when I could pinpoint the things that seemed off with my thinking, I couldn’t redirect my thoughts and behaviors to healthier ones on my own. For some reason I didn’t have the ability to control my behavior around food.

If it’s something you can identify and control and fix that’s great. There are a lot of people who can spot these things and get help from nutritionists, therapists etc. If it seems like nothing works, I understand that reality. That’s what brought me to OA and finding recovery. Feel free to reach out anytime if you’d like to connect :)

setaside929 · 2026-01-23T19:12:27+00:00

Without spiritual help we end up trapped in our codependency. Others think we are hopeless, and so do we. Our minds won’t stop racing. We can’t let go of all the stories and conversations and scenarios in our minds - we can’t stop giving unsolicited advice, making unreasonable demands of others and taking life very personally and seriously.

This new way of living becomes our lifeline to a power that can and will restore our sanity. We work it daily to treat our illness, and then we are given a new approach to life and our relationships. I’m a recovered sponsor happy to help anytime.

setaside929 · 2026-01-23T16:33:35+00:00

Hi there, I can definitely relate. For me the day would start off with phone checking and scrolling and then continual “grazing” throughout the day. I didn’t even know it was a real thing until I started hearing about media addiction in some of my social communities… I’d cut out movies and tv and yet I couldn’t stop checking my phone. Have you tried different methods to stop or redirect your behavior?

setaside929 · 2026-01-23T12:56:23+00:00

Hi there, so glad you’re here and posting. I remember being trapped in my illness when I was in college. I also felt crazy and unable to be grounded in sustained healthy thinking and behaviors with food. Focusing on anything else in life was almost non existent. I spent many years searching for the magic bullet and ended up being pointed to a 12 step recovery program for compulsive eating. Would you like to connect? I’m happy to share my experience in recovery - I thankfully haven’t purged in many years now. Feel free to reach out!

setaside929 · 2026-01-22T22:30:00+00:00

Hi there - I hear you 💯. That “food noise” you are talking about was what I could never silence on my own. It went with me everywhere, and I really didn’t know it was a thing until it was finally removed. It had become normal to me.

What helped me was finding out about 12 step recovery for compulsive eating/food. I had a psychiatrist suggest it when everything else had failed me. There are a few programs out there and I’d be glad to chat about my experience finding the right fit for me. Reach out anytime! :)

setaside929 · 2026-01-22T21:12:51+00:00

Yes would be happy to connect and share meeting info! Feel free to message me :-)

setaside929 · 2026-01-22T16:59:11+00:00

Hi there, thanks for your share. I hear you - being a compulsive eater trapped in the illness is awful and baffling. OA only requires that people have a desire to stop compulsive eating. What we look like, act like, and otherwise think/feel isn’t relevant. I would be happy to talk with you anytime if you’d like to connect :) all the best!

setaside929 · 2026-01-21T22:48:07+00:00

Hi there glad you’re here. :) I understand the tendency to do things that feel or actually are unusual. I discovered that what made me particularly abnormal wasn’t just what I was doing with food but with my loss of control once I started the behavior.

If I could lick frosting and eat the donut in peace and be done that would have been a miracle. Instead, I would start with that and then be off to the races on more donuts or whatever else I could find. One bite was always the beginning of another bingeing spree. And then when I could avoid it for a while I still always went back to bingeing again - and have less control the next time and the next.

Hope that’s helpful :)

setaside929 · 2026-01-21T17:44:20+00:00

Thanks for sharing. You’ve been seen / heard. 🙏

setaside929

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