My Plan of Eating

I’ve gotten a lot of requests to post my plan of eating, so i thought I would share! This is the plan that works for me right now… OA neither endorses or supports any particular plan of eating, rather they encourage you to find one that works for you using the program, sponsorship and self-searching. For more information about what a plan of eating is and how to develop one that works for you, visit OA Basics: Plan of Eating.

Basics:

• three meals +one optional snack a day with nothing in between
• absolutely no fast food
• keep portions in check by following the Weight Watchers points system

The Plan Explained:

three meals a day with nothing in between:

this is part of my POE is pretty simple… I only eat at 3 planned meals per day with an optional anck between lunch and dinner, nothing more and nothing less. This has been so helpful because it minimizes the amount of time I have to think about food each day. Without this part of my plan, my eating disorder and willpower would be in constant battle… and my disorder would win every time. Now, when and if I eat is already mapped out and neither my willpower or my disease has any say.

absolutely no fast food:

it doesn’t matter if it is a salad or french fries, I know beyond a doubt that I cannot handle it. drive-thru’s and the anonymity they provide are toxic to my recovery. when i was still “in the food,” it was the way i fed my addiction without anyone knowing. because it played such a big part in the development of my disorder, I don’t think it has any place in my recovery.

keep portions in check by following the weight watchers point system:

this is the part of my plan that is a little unique. like many of you, I have been in and out of weight watchers with short lived success. however, i don’t think my struggle was the fault of weight watchers… i was simply treating the symptom (being overweight) instead of the real issue (my eating disorder). a normal diet will never work for me because I am not a normal eater.

that being said, weight watchers really works for me as a tool to keep my portions in check when used in conjunction with my other tools of recovery and the rest of my POE. I do have to be careful and keep myself in check to make sure my recovery doesn’t turn into a diet.. if that starts to happen, I will have to rethink this part.

so, that’s it :) i really encourage you all to attend a meeting and find a sponsor who will be able to help you develop your own plan of eating! it’s been SO helpful to me!