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!

the basics of a plan of eating.

What is a plan of eating?: (from anonymousone.com)

Using a plan of eating is the beginning of freedom from compulsive overeating, bingeing, or food cessation. Instead of depending on resolutions and willpower to help make good decisions in front of the refrigerator or in the restaurant, we develop a sensible plan of eating in advance. Initially, many of us use a daily plan of eating which includes what, when, where and how much. This daily plan serves to separate our eating from our emotions and relieves us of making the decisions we formerly had to make throughout the day. Reducing the time we think about food clears our heads of the ongoing conflict between our self-will and the disease. We also find that we are more likely to stick to our plan if we commit it daily to a sponsor. As in the rest of the program, we do this one-day at a time. We do not have to think about doing it forever.

How do you develop a plan of eating?

One of the first steps in developing our plan of eating is to take an honest and courageous look at our eating history. What is our past relationship with food, from childhood to the present? We took with rigorous honesty at our eating patterns. When did we begin eating compulsively? What was going on? What did we overeat? What do we overeat now? What foods do we think about most? What foods do we crave? When do we overeat? What is the relationship between our reactions to life events and our eating patterns? We find it necessary to examine our current and old eating patterns in order to begin building a new set of healthy eating habits. The questions in Step One of the Twelve-Step Workbook of Overeaters Anonymous are an excellent starting point for this inquiry.

Why avoid certain foods?

One of the first steps in developing our plan of eating is to take an honest and courageous look at our eating history. What is our past relationship with food, from childhood to the present? We took with rigorous honesty at our eating patterns. When did we begin eating compulsively? What was going on? What did we overeat? What do we overeat now? What foods do we think about most? What foods do we crave? When do we overeat? What is the relationship between our reactions to life events and our eating patterns? We find it necessary to examine our current and old eating patterns in order to begin building a new set of healthy eating habits. The questions in Step One of the Twelve-Step Workbook of Overeaters Anonymous are an excellent starting point for this inquiry.

Does Overeaters Anonymous Provide a Plan of Eating?

Overeaters Anonymous, does not promote, endorse, recommend or distribute any specific food plans. For nutritional guidance, we seek advice about healthy eating from a qualified health care professional, such as a doctor or nutritionist. In addition to professionals, 12 Step Sponsors understand your challenges. They are working and living the Compulsive Eating Twelve Step program to the best of their ability. Their purpose is to support us in our program and help us gain insight into our eating patterns, not to give specific medical or nutritional advice. Most importantly, they can share what does and does not work for them.

This article is based on the Booklet, "A Plan of Eating, A tool for living—one day at a time" prepared by Overeaters Anonymous.