Defining a new way of eating - WELCOME OA VIRTUAL

Plan of Eating

As a Tool, a plan of eating helps us abstain from compulsive eating, guides us in our dietary decisions, and defines what, when, how, where, and why we eat. (See the pamphlet A New Plan of Eating for more information.) This Tool helps us deal with the physical aspects of our disease and achieve physical recovery.

In OA we have a Plan of Eating. It is not a diet, it is a plan of eating that we have to maintain a healthy body weight. Every member may eat differently because some may have an adverse affect to a food or a combination of foods where another may not. We have no opinions of Plans of eating. If a member need more information or help we fully support that they seek outside professional help.

In our literature there are suggestions and samples that have worked for many.

This is an except from “Where Do I Start-Everything a Newcomer Needs to Know“ from oa.org

Defining a new way of eating is important

Obviously, there is something wrong with our current eating patterns, or we would not have come to OA. We are not like normal eaters. Generally, normal eaters eat appropriate amounts of food when they are hungry and stop eating when they are full. Normal eaters do not hide food or plan how they will secretly get it when no one is around. They do not use food (or restrict it) in an attempt to control their unmanageable lives. They do not consistently use food to comfort their insecurities and fears or provide a fleeting escape from their worries and troubles. Normal eaters usually do not feel guilt and/or shame about their eating.

In OA, we discover that our problem is not lack of willpower. We have a disease. Where food is concerned, we cannot trust our best intentions or willpower to guide us in making good eating decisions. We have made hundreds of resolutions to ourselves and others. We have tried many diets, therapies, hypnosis, and shots and pills. But we could not stop our compulsive eating behaviors.

Developing a plan of eating

Developing a healthy plan of eating is our first task. While no plan of eating will be successful without diligent Step work, using a plan of eating as a Tool allows us to deal with food in a calm, rational, and balanced way. This is the beginning of learning to eat according to our physical requirements rather than our emotional cravings.

Reviewing our eating patterns

As we individualize our plan of eating, we review eating patterns in order to learn which foods and/or eating behaviors create cravings. Discussing our eating history with a sponsor and health care professional gives us objectivity and insight. When we seek help in developing a plan of eating, we practice the willingness to review our behaviors in a way we would not be able to do on our own. We have learned that a suggestion made by a sponsor or health care professional should not be automatically rejected just because it makes us feel uncomfortable.

As we reach a healthy body weight or as our bodies change, we sometimes need to modify our choices. We might consider whether we need to change the portions or the kinds of foods we eat. No matter what our body size, age, or gender, in addition to refraining from compulsive eating behaviors, we still need to commit to a nourishing plan of eating.

If we are not making reasonable progress toward a healthy body weight, we need to examine our plan of eating and question whether we are being honest with ourselves about our food. A healthy body weight is not necessarily what is fashionable or what we think we’d like to be. What is healthy for us is a matter we discuss with our health care professionals and share with our sponsors.

Choosing specific foods to refrain from—our “trigger” or “binge” foods

We believe that the body and mind of a compulsive eater react differently to food than the body and mind of a normal eater. We find it best to list all the foods, ingredients, and behaviors that cause problems for us and then remove them from our food plan. We urge you to be honest and not continue eating certain foods or practicing certain behaviors simply because you can’t imagine ever living without them. Those may be precisely the things that should be on your list.

Below are examples of foods and eating behaviors that some members have identified as causing intense cravings or lack of control.

Trigger or binge foods are foods we eat in excessive quantities or to the exclusion of other foods; foods we hoard or hide from others; foods we eat secretly; foods we turn to in times of celebration, sorrow, or boredom; foods that are high in calories and low in nutritional value; or foods we simply cannot stop eating once we start. In addition, we look to see whether there are any common ingredients among these foods—such as sugar, white flour, or excess fat—that may create the “phenomenon of craving” (Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., p. xxviii) in our bodies and, thus, are a trigger for us.

Each of us may have problems with different foods or ingredients. If a food has been our binge food in the past or if it contains ingredients that have been in our binge foods, we remove it from our plan. For example, if pasta is a trigger food, then other foods made with flour (breads, muffins, crackers) could cause problems. Even extra servings of a non-trigger food might create cravings. If we are unsure whether a food causes problems for us, we leave it out at first. Later, with abstinence, we find that the correct answer becomes clear to us. The practice of the Twelve Steps will, with time, relieve us of the desire to eat those foods or to repeat those eating behaviors. When we think of this process not as deprivation but as a positive act and an ongoing spiritual discipline, we begin to find freedom.

Here are some examples of potentially problematic foods:

- - - comfort foods or junk foods (such as chocolate, name-brand fast foods, cookies, potato chips)
    - foods containing sugar or sugar substitutes (such as desserts, sweetened drink products, cereals, many processed meats, many condiments)
    - foods containing fats (such as butter and other high-fat dairy or non-dairy foods, deep-fried foods and snacks, many desserts)
    - foods containing wheat, flour, or refined carbohydrates in general (such as pastries, certain pastas, breads)
    - foods containing mixtures of sugar and fat or sugar, flour, and fat (such as ice cream, doughnuts, cakes, pies)
    - foods we eat in large quantities even though they aren’t our trigger foods
    - foods labeled “diet,” “sugar free,” “no sugar added,” “low-fat,” and/or “low calorie”
    - ethnic or cultural foods
    - foods with specific textures and/or flavors (such as creamy, crunchy, chewy, juicy, sticky, oily, salty, doughy)

When we identify the foods and food ingredients that cause us to crave more food, we stop eating them.

excerpt from #705

Printed copies and e-book versions are also available in English and Portuguese.

NEXT: How we change our eating behaviors

In our literature there are suggestions and samples that have worked for many.

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