FOOD ADDICTS FIND HOPE IN 12 STEPS OF AA

Based on the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA) is a fellowship of individuals who, through shared experience and mutual support, are recovering from food addiction.

There are no dues, fees or weigh-ins at FA meetings. Membership is open to anyone seeking to gain freedom from addictive eating. FA is not affiliated with any public or private organization, political movement, ideology or religious doctrine. Through the fellowship of others, those who share this problem and this program of recovery are offered a solution that allows them to stop abusing food in order to live fulfilling lives.

The program is free to all, sustained through nominal donations. For general information, a schedule of meetings in your area, or to find a sponsor who can support you long-distance, visit www.foodaddicts.org, or call 800-600-6028.

FA has proven to be an effective, long-term solution to food addiction for many food addicts, whether they are overeaters, bulimic, under eaters or otherwise food-obsessed. The group is comprised of thousands of women and men of all ages and ethnic identifications who have had trouble controlling their eating.

Much like alcoholics in AA, lives are reclaimed in FA when the despair brought on by constant thoughts of food and eating, or not eating, are lifted.

Before joining the program, many adult and teen members were overweight, some by as much as 250 pounds. Others were dangerously underweight or controlled their eating to the point of obsession through anorexia, bulimia, laxatives or over-exercising. Today, many lead fulfilling lives without abusing food, free of diabetes and other food-related medical problems.

There are over 85 regular, weekly FA meetings in the Bay Area alone, with over 275 nationwide. Attendance at each meeting varies from an intimate 15 to over 100 regular participants. Meetings run 90 minutes and are populated with members of all sizes, races and religions with varying degrees of time in the program, ranging from newcomers checking out the program for the first time to people with decades of abstinence in FA.

Regular San Francisco meetings are as follows:

Monday
7pm, First Unitarian Universalist Church, 1187 Franklin Street

Tuesday
7:30am, St. Patrick's Church, 756 Mission Street

Wednesday
7:15am, Davies Medical Ctr. North Tower, Flr. B, Rm. B-1, Duboce & Castro Sts.

Thursday
7pm, California Pacific Medical Center, 3700 California St.

Friday
7:30am, St. Patrick's Church, 756 Mission St.,

Saturday
9am, 1st Unitarian Universalist Church, 1187 Franklin St.

Sunday
8am, Fort Mason Center, Buchanen & Marina Blvd., Bldg. C

For a meeting in your area, visit www.foodaddicts.org.

The 20 Questions

Are you a food addict?

To answer this question, ask yourself the following questions and answer them as honestly as you can.

1 Have you ever wanted to stop eating and found you just couldn't?

2 Do you think about food or your weight constantly?

3 Do you find yourself attempting one diet or food plan after another, with no lasting success?

4 Do you binge and then "get rid of the binge" through vomiting, exercise, laxatives, or other forms of purging?

5 Do you eat differently in private than you do in front of other people?

6 Has a doctor or family member ever approached you with concern about your eating habits or weight?

7 Do you eat large quantities of food at one time (binge)?

8 Is your weight problem due to your "nibbling" all day long?

9 Do you eat to escape from your feelings?

10 Do you eat when you're not hungry?

11 Have you ever discarded food, only to retrieve and eat it later?

12 Do you eat in secret?

13 Do you fast or severely restrict your food intake?

14 Have you ever stolen other people's food?

15 Have you ever hidden food to make sure you have "enough?"

16 Do you feel driven to exercise excessively to control your weight?

17 Do you obsessively calculate the calories you've burned against the calories you've eaten?

18 Do you frequently feel guilty or ashamed about what you've eaten?

19 Are you waiting for your life to begin "when you lose the weight?"

20 Do you feel hopeless about your relationship with food?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then you may be a food addict. You are not alone. FA offers hope through a real solution to food addiction.

Copyright © 2000-2003 Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous
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