Food Addicts In Recovery Anonymous

My earliest recollection is from the age of four – being shy and awkward, always afraid to join other kids at play. I was a picky eater and would take a long time to get through what was on my plate. Still, I began to put on the pounds, and I got it in my head that losing weight would change everything. I’d be confident, outgoing, and finally feel like I fit in. So, I went on a diet. Then, I binged. At first, it was just Friday nights, like a little “date” with food. Then it was the whole weekend. Before I knew it, I was binging every night. By 19, I was deep in bulimia – hiding food, purging, taking laxatives, anything to keep my weight down. I kept looking for a “magic fix,” but nothing worked. One doctor told me to eat in moderation, and another told me to go to a 12-step program. I went, but I didn’t think I was that bad – until I was. Years went by. I lost jobs. I even ate out of garbage bins. I joined another program, but I manipulated it to eat what I wanted. I worked the steps, but not really. And my life? It didn’t change. In 2009, I found Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA). I was skeptical, but something clicked. I got a sponsor, and I’ve been abstinent ever since. At first, I complained about the structure – the weighing, the meetings, all of it. Eventually, I stopped fighting it, and when I did, everything changed. Today, I’m fully engaged in life – not just in a smaller body, but with a healthier mind and spirit. I show up for my family, connect with people, and have real friendships – real confidence. Food no longer controls me, and I finally feel free. #bulimia #bulimic #bingeeater #bingepurge

From a young age, she learned that food could quiet her inner storms. As a teenager, desperate to control her weight, she experimented with appetite suppressants—only to find that quick fixes led to deeper pain. She cycled through restricting, bulimia, and over-exercising, each attempt a futile escape from an overwhelming addiction that robbed her of being the mother and wife she longed to be. She lived a double life of promiscuity, drugs, and smoking. When life felt unbearable, food was her refuge. In recovery, however, her story took a dramatic turn. Today, she not only enjoys a healthy body but also thrives in deeply loving relationships with her husband, children, and extended family. With the unwavering support of her Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA) community lighting the way, she has broken the cycle of addiction that has plagued her family, embarking on a powerful journey of self-love and discovery.

From a young age, her life was doom and gloom. Food was her reprieve, protecting her from uncomfortable emotions. She endured sexual trauma as a young child, a difficult family, and mental illness. In elementary school, she began dieting and eventually tried restricting food. It was unsustainable over the long-term. At the age of 21, she found Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA). There, she saw people change their relationship with food. Coming in at 325 lbs, she lost 175 lbs in just over a year. In FA, she has walked through the highs and lows of life. She stayed until the miracle happened and lives in freedom today.

At 78, he’s lived through war, marriage, career highs—and a 30-year secret battle with bulimia. Although he was raised in a middle-class family with healthy eating habits, he internalized early messages that “thin is good” and “fat is bad.” He grew up with food scarcity, body shame, and pressure to be thin, which led to a decades-long cycle of bingeing and purging, hidden even from his closest loved ones. For years, he felt alone, believing bulimia was a “women’s issue.” He hit rock bottom when he lost his business and marriage due to bulimia. He then received an unexpected call from a member of Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA), who encouraged him to attend a meeting, which changed everything. There he found the community, tools, and sponsorship that broke the cycle for good. Today, with over 20 years of abstinence, he shares how recovery restored his health, his relationships, and his peace of mind.

I didn’t grow up on a farm, but when I married at 19 years old, that’s where life took me. My husband and I built our lives there, raising four daughters amidst long days and hard work. It was a beautiful place to raise a family, but as the years passed, depression crept in and food became my escape. Over time—through isolation and the exhaustion of motherhood—food became more than just fuel. It was comfort, distraction, and relief. At 230 pounds on a 5’3” frame, I felt trapped. I tried every diet and made countless promises to myself, but nothing worked. I was hiding food in cupboards, in my purse, and in the glove box of my car. I was losing hope—until a family member introduced me to Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA). Though skeptical, I was desperate, so I asked for help. A sponsor guided me into a structured way of eating and living, and over 100 pounds melted away in the first year. But the real transformation wasn’t just physical. FA’s Twelve Steps helped me face my emotions instead of numbing them with food. My addiction had strained family relationships, and recovery gave me the tools to rebuild what was broken. Life still has challenges, but today I face them with strength and grace. After a decade in FA, I live with gratitude, serenity, and faith. FA didn’t just help me lose weight—it gave me back my life. #depression #farmliving #isolation #healinginrecovery

For as long as I can remember, I was either too much or not enough – too thin or too heavy. At 5’7”, I’ve been as low as 105 pounds and as high as 220. I ran, played tennis, and tried to disappear into thinness, but no matter how much weight I lost, I still saw flaws. I obsessed over food, swinging between control and chaos. My addiction manifested in bizarre ways: while studying at college, I’d reward myself with a treat after each page I’d read, and at work, I’d bring sweets to the office only to consume them all myself. Business trips became opportunities for planned binges, where I’d spread out multiple snack foods on the hotel bed and then eat everything, drowning in shame. When I walked into my first Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA) meeting at 197 pounds, I was desperate. I didn’t think FA could help me. Then, a woman stood up and told her story. I couldn’t believe it. She looked nothing like me, but she had lived my life. After the meeting, I got a sponsor. That night, I binged one last time, but the next morning, I called her and began. I didn’t think I’d last a day, but I have been here 22 years now, living in a body that feels like home. I weigh a steady, healthy 141 pounds, and more importantly, I’m no longer tormented by food or shame. At my first meeting, I heard that working the FA program offers “a life of sane and happy usefulness.” That combination – sane and happy – sounded pretty good to me. And that’s exactly what I got.   #overeater #undereater

In 2013, weighing 193 pounds, I was caught in an endless cycle of gaining and losing the same 20 pounds despite exercising six hours daily. At my heaviest, I had reached 309 pounds. Food was my solution for everything—my way of stuffing down emotions in a family where we never discussed feelings or learned healthy communication. As a child, I soothed myself by sucking my fingers until age 12. I had no stable identity, defining myself only in relation to others. Consumed by fear, doubt, and insecurity, I obsessed over others' opinions while compulsively trying to fix everyone's problems. My dieting began at 15 with a weekly Thursday weigh-in, followed by weekend binges. Working at a grocery store gave me both money and dangerous food access. In college, I met my future husband and gained 35 additional pounds. After college, in the year before our wedding, I lived above a bakery, and my eating behaviors only worsened. Our marriage struggled because of my dishonesty about both food and finances. After adopting a five-year-old boy from foster care, I built my identity around motherhood. When he left for the boarding school where my husband taught, I felt completely lost. Realizing I needed help, I found Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA), where I met two women with decades of recovery who showed me another way. I found boundaries, structure, and community. Today, despite my husband's leukemia diagnosis and my son's chronic health issues, I face life without fear. One day at a time, I've maintained my abstinence and my weight loss of over 100 pounds. It has been eleven years since my last binge. #EmotionalEating  #BingeEatingRecovery #BingeEating #FoodFreedom #FreedomFromFood

At the age of 58, I am grateful to have been in recovery from food addiction for the last eighteen years. I came from a loving, yet dysfunctional family, with a rage-oholic father and a mentally ill sister, and food allowed me to escape my stressful surroundings. Considered a “husky” kid, I was eating constantly. In our family, unhealthy eating habits were normalized – I remember ordering soda and dessert for breakfast at restaurants, and no one questioned it. During junior high, I turned to excessive exercise, spending up to 8 hours daily working out. Despite achieving weight loss goals, I was never satisfied, constantly comparing myself to fitness magazine models. Life transitions would trigger 30-40 pound weight gains. My struggles extended beyond food to financial irresponsibility – I didn't pay my taxes, ignored student loan invoices, and maxed out credit cards. The turning point came when a friend introduced me to Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA). Though initially skeptical about committing to a structured eating program, I was desperate. Today, my life has transformed dramatically. I exercise in a balanced way, live at a healthy weight, and have achieved financial stability – including fully paying off my home and credit card debt. Most importantly, I have nurtured healthy and honest relationships with family and friends.  #lgbtq+ #overeater #overexerciser #huskykid

I was born two months early, weighing just 3.5 pounds, and from the start, life felt like an uphill climb. My mother couldn’t nurse me due to complications, and I never got the kind of nurturing I longed for. My first "drug" was my thumb, which I sucked well into high school – a secret sedative that calmed me. Food became my next source of solace. By the time I was 3, my parents were worried enough to take me to a pediatrician after finding me eating cold spaghetti straight from the fridge. They were determined to control my eating, weighing me daily and taking me to diet doctors – even giving me a calorie counter in first grade. None of it worked. As I got older, I tried to fill the emptiness with sex, drugs, and rock & roll, more therapy, and constant "geographical cures" – from art school to cross-country road trips. As an activist in the 1960s who cared deeply about the world, some major events broke my heart and seemed like too much to handle. Food was always there, comforting me when nothing else could. In my 40s, I quit smoking, and with no other crutch, my weight spiraled out of control. In 1993, I found Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA). Skeptical but desperate, I prayed for help, and something shifted. With the support of my sponsor, I found abstinence and, for the first time, peace. Slowly, as the food cravings disappeared, I discovered joy, faith, and love. I married a man who is perfect for me; he appreciates my recovery, and our love keeps growing. I’m living a life I never imagined, free from food addiction and forever grateful.   #sexdrugsrocknroll #geographicalcure

From a young age, food was my escape—a source of comfort and control in a chaotic world. Growing up in public housing, with a dysfunctional family and an alcoholic father, I turned to eating as a way to soothe my emotions, hide, and find peace. But as I got older, food stopped working the way it once did. Fear of judgment and feelings of inadequacy began to weigh on me, affecting my relationships, my work, and my sense of self. Health problems like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes loomed over me. Despite my growing fear, my food consumption spiraled out of control. On the brink of losing my job and facing bankruptcy, I hit rock bottom. That’s when, in 2014, I discovered Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA). Through FA, I found a lifeline. In less than a year, I went from 316 pounds (143 kg) to 187 pounds (85 kg). But the transformation wasn’t just physical—I regained confidence, improved my financial stability, and adopted a healthier, more balanced outlook on life. I cherish a deep sense of gratitude for my recovery, crediting my journey to the support of my Higher Power and the FA program.

She grew up in a loving family, but she often felt like an outsider because her family was thin and ate in moderation. Despite good grades boosting her self-esteem, the stress to excel led her to overeat. Food and fantasy novels became her escape. In college, she used food to push through the stress and cope with life. Afterward, she spent decades yo-yo dieting, and struggled with the pressures of being a working wife and mom. By her mid-forties, she was overweight and overwhelmed, had high blood pressure, and was prediabetic. She then did an internet search using the words “food” and “addiction”, which led her to discover Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA). She finally felt relief at her first meeting. Through the support in FA, she lost weight, improved her health to her doctor’s delight, and discovered that life wasn’t a burden but a precious gift to share

Una adicta a la comida codependiente comparte su experiencia, fortaleza y esperanza en la recuperación a través de Adictos a la Comida en Recuperación Anónimos (FA). Comparte su historia de disfunción familiar, pensamiento desordenado y derrota. Sobreviviente de abuso físico, emocional y sexual, ha aprendido a afrontar sus emociones en lugar de reprimirlas con harina, azúcar, cantidades, alcohol y compras. Ha abrazado su identidad como lesbiana y ha aprendido a pesar y medir su comida, su vida, y sus relaciones con los demás.

I am 79 years old and have been in recovery for 16 years. At my heaviest, I reached 267 pounds. My journey with food addiction began in childhood when I remember stealing food while my grandmother was cooking and hiding in the closet to eat it. My first binge was at age ten. Throughout my twenties, I developed habits like visiting multiple fast-food restaurants on my way home from work and isolating myself to eat. Extreme measures like having my jaw wired shut didn't stop me from finding ways to consume sugary foods, albeit with a straw. When I was diagnosed as prediabetic, I thought I could outsmart my blood sugar while still indulging in desserts. Even seeing a loved one lose their legs to diabetes didn’t stop me. The turning point came after retirement when my partner introduced me to Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA). Despite my initial skepticism, I persisted in the program and eventually reached 134 pounds. In recovery, the miracles just keep happening. I’ve rebuilt broken relationships, traveled the world abstinently, and maintained my serenity, even through life’s toughest challenges. In FA, I learned to manage my addiction, one day at a time, with the help of a sponsor. Most importantly, I’m free—free from obsession, isolation, and the shame that once consumed me.

From an early age, she struggled with sneaking and bingeing on food. At just five years old, she went on her first real diet. Despite a structured food plan and supportive parents, she could not stop eating. She never felt full, turning eating into a game to see how much she could consume. As she grew older, the game lost its fun. By junior year of high school, she weighed 250 pounds, felt isolated, and did not fit in with her peers. To control her weight, she turned to excessive exercise and starvation methods to lose 60 pounds, but like the results of all diet attempts, that weight loss did not last long. In college, her eating spiraled out of control, and her weight soared to 280 pounds. Desperate to fit into a bathing suit and regain control, she joined Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA). Initially, she found some success, but her unwillingness to fully commit to the program led to a painful relapse. As her obsession with food intensified, she found herself eating like an animal, completely powerless over her compulsion. Realizing she needed help, she returned to FA and began to consistently work the program. Through this process, she discovered peace and healing. Now, she lives in harmony with her body and finds joy in each day.

I grew up in El Salvador during a time of economic hardship and civil war. My family immigrated to the U.S. when I was young, and my early years were filled with separation and constant upheaval. My father was an alcoholic, and his drinking left deep scars. What I didn’t realize for a long time was that I had become just like him, not with alcohol, but with food addiction. I was pregnant at 14, a mother of three sons by my early twenties, and stuck in a cycle of diets, pills, and despair. I terrorized my boys the same way my father had terrorized me – through rage-filled outbursts, "the silent treatment," and a lot of chaos. Believing I could never change, I felt utterly hopeless and full of shame. But when I hit rock bottom, Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA) became the lifeline I didn't know I needed. With the help of a higher power, a sponsor, and a food plan, I slowly began to let go of my anger, food cravings, and the weight that had weighed me down for so long. In FA, I’ve faced my life’s toughest moments – my son’s motorcycle accident and another son’s early-onset Parkinson’s – without turning to food. Today, I’m 60 years old, celebrating 25 years of marriage and 25 years in recovery. FA didn't just help me lose weight; it is helping me learn how to heal, how to love, and how to rebuild relationships. Something as simple as dancing in the kitchen with my husband is one of so many gifts I never imagined would be mine, and I am forever grateful

This story is about a woman who spent years chasing control, yet felt lost in her own life. Despite a loving upbringing, she struggled with feeling like she was “not enough.” Many of her childhood memories were centered around food, but she was able to maintain a normal weight until college. There, her food addiction took off, and she picked up cigarettes and alcohol. As she kept eating and growing bigger, she found her life shrinking. She made choices based on fear, such as working at the family business and settling into a life she didn’t love. After having a baby and not losing the weight, she joined a commercial weight loss program and lost 100 pounds (45 kilos). This kicked her disease into a whole new gear, throwing her into complete obsession with weight loss, exercise, therapy, and medication. Finally, she found Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA). At her first meeting, she heard members reading stories from the FA magazine, Connection, and related to every single story. She realized she was not alone. After one final binge that involved stealing food from her children, she found willingness to surrender control and become abstinent. Now remarried with two stepchildren in addition to her two sons, she has learned to face the challenges of life. But more than that, she describes a spiritual experience of joy and living with a lighter mind, free from food obsession.

I came to Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA) fifteen years ago weighing 211 pounds. Despite countless diets, fasts, and exercise routines, I couldn’t maintain weight loss until I found FA. Beneath my career ambitions, I was plagued by shame and self-loathing, constantly trying to project whatever image people wanted—determined, fun, or athletic.  For confidence, I relied on drugs, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, and, most of all, food. In my twenties, I replaced meals with liquid protein supplements, which led to hospitalization, a two-week coma, and the loss of a kidney. Even after that ordeal, I continued fasting and restricting my food intake during the week, and bingeing and purging on weekends - all to suppress my anger and rage. I was an out-of-control food addict, destroying everything in my path—my relationships with colleagues, friends, family, my bank account, and certainly my own health. My therapist, after determining I had probably lost and gained 700 pounds in my lifetime, admitted she couldn’t help, but she suggested I try FA. I didn’t want to go to a meeting—my life was very busy, after all. But I was desperate and broken, so I went to a meeting, and I found hope. Today, I no longer obsess over food or body image, I’ve mended relationships, including with my husband, and let go of the shame that once consumed me. I no longer compare myself to others, and instead focus on what’s right in my world. FA and the 12 steps have given me the tools to live life on life’s terms, and for that I’m deeply grateful.

This food addict’s story was about fear, which led her to go to the food. It was a drug that made her feel safe. Although her family looked normal from the outside, her dad was an alcoholic, and she did not realize how cunning the disease of addiction was until later in life. As early as five years old, she was uncomfortable in her body. There was a constant desire to be thin, leading her to avoid eating all day, just to come home and binge. High school consisted of drinking and smoking. After one year of college, she married her high school boyfriend, had two children, and stayed clean for a while. Her marriage ended in divorce, leaving her a single mom and broke. She knew alcohol was a problem, so she joined Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) at age 39. Despite seeing her sister suffer from bulimia and anorexia, and ultimately die by suicide, she continued to eat addictively. After getting sober, she finally realized food was also a problem. She eventually found Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA). Underweight when joining the program, she has now been at a healthy weight for almost 20 years. She is available for her relationships - showing up as a mother and a grandmother. After obtaining several degrees, there is joy in her career. She now has a kit of tools that helps her feel safe and live free from food addiction. She hopes others can experience that miracle too.

A food addict from New South Wales, Australia, I am the youngest of three who grew up with a strict, abusive father and a hardworking, protective mother. My childhood was filled with deep-seated fear, including night terrors, fear of the dark, and fear of my father. Despite having a large, extended family around me, I felt totally alone and alienated. As a child, I was trained by Olympian swimmers to be on the national team, but I got scared and quit the sport. Then I found dancing and went off to the UK to study ballet. Once again, fear led me to drop out. I realize now that opportunity frightened me, so I kept saying "no." Amid personal struggles with identity and acceptance, including abuse and familial disapproval, food was my constant source of comfort. At times, I would wake up at four in the morning and start cooking before leaving for work, only to start cooking again when I got home. My eating grew worse, and I started using bulimia and extreme dieting to control my weight. Thankfully, despite initial skepticism, I attended a meeting of Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA), which provided a pathway to recovery and self-discovery. I have embraced my true identity as a gay man and embarked on a journey of healing and personal growth. I never thought I would live past forty, but today I am sixty-one, with dreams and hopes for the future. I thought I was too damaged, too broken, and too far gone, but FA proved me wrong. I thought it wouldn’t, but this program absolutely works.

Una joven adicta de los Estados Unidos con raíces en América Latina vivió con mucha inestabilidad en su juventud. Buscó consuelo en la comida y los laxantes.  Por las extrañas acciones que practicaba con la comida desde muy pequeña, y la incapacidad de parar de comer, ella subió de peso. Cuando se sintió rechazada y perdida, encontró la recuperación en el programa de Adictos a la comida en recuperación anónimos (Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous). El sentimiento de “¿Qué importa?” fue reemplazado con un estilo de vida y una actitud mental sana. Esa estudiante de medicina que luchó por tantos años ahora se percibe como una estrella a sus propios ojos, y a los ojos de su familia.