LAS VEGAS OA INTERGROUP NEWSLETTER!
MAY 2014
WHAT’S ON OUR PLATES...
Step Five!
Admitted to God,, to ourselves, and to another human
being the exact nature of our wrongs.!
!
Tradition Five!
Each group has but one primary purpose — to carry its
message to the compulsive overeater who still suffers. !
!
Quote of the Month !
In Steps Four and Five, we learn courage and integrity as we face the truth about our
defects of character.!
~The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous, page 104!
Tool of the Month
Telephone
WWW.LVOA.ORG!
Member-to-member contact helps us share on
a one-to-one basis and avoid the isolation that
is so common among us. Many members call,
text or email their sponsors and other OA
members daily. As part of the surrender
process, these tools help us learn to reach
out, ask for help and extend help to others.
Telephone or electronic contact also provides
an immediate outlet for those hard-to-handle
highs and lows we may experience. Members
should respect anonymity when leaving any
type of voicemail or electronic message.~
www.oa.org
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LVOA INTERGROUP NEWSLETTER!
MAY 2014
Strong Abstinence
Checklist and Writing Exercise
!
Use this valuable tool every day to support you in keeping your abstinence strong and intact. You
may also use it as the focus for meetings and workshops.!
!
CHECKLIST
1) Have I been abstinent today?!
2) Did I pray and meditate today?!
3) Am I maintaining or working towards a healthy body weight?!
4) Did I rely on my Higher Power to get or stay abstinent today?!
5) Is what I am currently doing working for me to remain abstinent?!
6) If I am having problems have I asked someone else what they are doing?!
7) Have I made an OA call today?!
8) Did I have an attitude of gratitude today?!
9) Did I plan my food today?!
10) Have I helped someone else today?!
11) Did I have an action plan in place to stay abstinent today?!
12) Do I have a sponsor and am I working the Steps with that person?!
!
WRITING EXERCISE
1) What is compulsive eating for me?!
2) What are the foods and food behaviors that trigger me to eat compulsively?!
3) Am I afraid to get abstinent and if yes, why?!
4) Why do I think abstinence is important?!
5) What do I do to stop eating compulsively?!
6) What Steps do I take to remain abstinent in all circumstances?!
7) What is the difference between abstinence and a plan of eating?!
8) What actions do I take to maintain my abstinence and achieve or maintain a healthy body
weight?!
9) How do I begin my day in order to abstain from compulsive eating and compulsive food
behaviors?!
10) What tools do I regularly use?!
11) How does remaining abstinent improve the quality of my life?!
12) What place does
© 2014 Overeaters Anonymous, Inc. Board-approved.
WWW.LVOA.ORG!
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LVOA INTERGROUP NEWSLETTER!
MAY 2014
ONE LAST SECRET
control; and fear of abandonment. defects were not in the acts themselves
Would
my sponsor leave me? Would but the fear motivating them. I had
The first question for Step Five in
my
new
friends in OA abandon me?!
acted and behaved badly out of fear. !
The Twelve-Step Workbook of Overeaters
Anonymous asks, “Now that I have
As I completed that first Step Five,
Today, I take a Seventh Step every
finished my fourth-step inventory, how my sponsor asked , “Is that all?” as if all d a y a n d a s k H P t o r e m o v e d m y
do I feel about shorting the details of I had just admitted were of no great unwarranted fears. I ask him to help
m y p a s t w i t h a n o t h e r h u m a n consequence. When she said that, I me examine my motivations in light of
being?” (p. 31) As I look back on that realized I had held back one last, his will for me to always do the next
day, 140 pounds and nearly five years embarrassing secret. Before I got up right thing. !
ago, I realize I was frightened about from the table, I said, “No, there is one
sharing everything. After all, from more thing.” So I finally admitted my
Sander B., Marietta, Georgia USA
Step Three I had gained the courage to last secrecy. I was so relieved; she
Reprinted from Lifeline,
share my inventory, so had confidence accepted and loved me just as I was
my HP would protect me. But two or with all my secrets and warts. If she
three items still frightened me. What could accept that of me and my HP
i f m y s p o n s o r f r e a ke d o u t a n d had done the same, maybe I could
disrespected me? How could I couch accept and love myself. I no longer
my defects with words in a way that had to hide from my secrets with food.
seemed less embarrassing? Did I really This was the real beginning of my
have to share everything?!
recovery from obsession, disease and
To d a y I r e a l i z e m y f e a r s insanity.!
!
represented core defects I didn’t know
When I wrote my defects in Step
I had: fear of embarrassment; fear of Four, I concentrated on the bad acts I
l o o k i n g f o o l i s h , we a k o r m o r a l l y had committed, not the reasons I had
defective; fear of losing respect or acted badly. Now I realize my real
To order OA Conference and Board-approved
literature, email [email protected]. CONTACT US:
www.lvoa.org
Las Vegas Intergroup
PO Box 28377
Las Vegas, NV 89126
[email protected]
S H A R E YO U R E X P E R I E N C E ,
STRENGTH & HOPE
We a re s e e k i n g y o u r w r i t t e n
submissions (up to 300 words)
describing how the OA program of
recovery works in your life. Please
email your submissions to:
[email protected]. All editorial rights
are reserved and submissions will be
subject to editing. Names will be
withheld upon request.
Copyright 2014, LVOA Intergroup. Other OA are welcome to reprint without permission. The opinions expressed
represent those of individual members and not of OA as a whole.
WWW.LVOA.ORG!
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