Posts
I may be revealing too much about myself here but I do unfortunately and thankfully have experience with the 12 steps. I’m in recovery from an opiate addiction and I have successfully kicked my habit using these 12 steps.
This got me thinking, If I was able to kick an addiction to drugs using the 12 steps how about an addiction to unhealthy overeating?
So I decided to write this article going through the 12 steps, step by step relating it to weight loss. I also stumbled upon the 12 steps of weight loss that as far as I can tell have absolutely no relation to the 12 steps of AA/NA.
HERE WE GO!
THE 12 STEPS OF AA/NA In relation to WEIGHT LOSS.
1. We admitted that we were powerless over our addiction – that our lives had become unmanageable.
Seeing that we’re online looking for weight loss tips I’m willing to guess that we’ve already admitted to ourselves that we have a problem with our eating.
The multiple failed attempts at successful weight loss is proof enough for me that my life has become unmanageable. I obviously have no control over my eating if I did I don’t think I’d be the author of a blog entitled 22 and FAT
Conclusion: The first step can easily be related to weight loss but at the same time the first step can be related to just about anything.
2. Came to believe in a power greater than ourselves that could restore us to sanity.
A lot of people get hung up on this step. They think that if they don’t believe in God and Jesus they can’t get past this step or the next. But what needs to be understood is that your “Higher Power” only has to have the following qualifications.
1. It Can’t be what you’re trying to kick in our case overeating
2. It can’t be you.
3. It must be greater than you and food
4. It must contribute to sanity and sobriety
If that’s God for you, then great! If not that’s ok too. Whether you’re a religious person or not it’s not a bad idea to have some kind of support greater than yourself that you know you can go to when you have a problem you can’t handle on your own,
There are tons of support groups local and on line for weight loss.
These can be a great help in your efforts to lose weight.
3. We made a decision to turn our lives over to God as we understood him
This step has always frustrated me. It seems like it could be included with step two but I guess the 11 steps of AA doesn’t sound as good. It’s about taking that higher power you came to believe in and giving it power or learning to utilize it to your advantage.
If you have a source of spiritual support or other wise TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT!
THIS IS NOT SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO DO ON YOUR OWN.
So don’t.
4. Take a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
This one is one of the hardest steps you’ll ever do. But honestly IMHO it’s the most helpful. If you’re really willing to dig deep you’ll figure out why you do almost EVERYTHING you do. The basic guidelines for doing step 4 are as follows.
You want to make a list of your:
1. Resentments
The resentments are very painful. You probably have resentment for everyone you know. It’s just human nature.
There’s a very effective method for listing your resentments and it is as follows.
First list everyone you have resentment against.
Example: I have resentment towards an elementary school bully named
Second list what that person did to cause your resentment.
Example:
Third list how that person affected you emotionally
Example: His bullying made me feel insecure about myself
Once you have your first person done make at least 4 more columns underneath that and fill it up
Some of you might have trouble filling it up others might need 20 more columns. We all have our resentments some more than others. But really taking the time to properly fill this out will make a huge difference in the success of your journey.
2.Faults
Your faults can be included in your resentment chart. But sometimes you wont have a fault associated with a resentment. There’s also faults that are hard to admit. For example If you broke your dads bowling trophy and he gave you a black eye, even though him giving you a black eye is not a justifiable reaction to your fault it’s still a fault. What these are meant to do is give you perspective on why these people hurt you the way they did, It helps you forgive them. Once you see the situation in full you can see where these people had emotional issues themselves. Once we realize that everyone has issues it helps us forgive and deal with ours. It’s hard to come to terms with but believe you me in the end it’s definitely worth it.
3.Harms
A quote from a 12 step site defines this section as “conduct in which we have been selfish, dishonest, inconsiderate or hurtful; or where we have unjustifiably aroused jealousy, suspicion or bitterness. This list will look very much like the resentment table, except that here they could resent us:”
I call it the “reversed resentment” list
Once you have your personal inventory you have a pretty good picture of yourself.
It’s not always easy to look at but you can’t fix what you don’t acknowledge.
5. We admitted to God, Ourselves and another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
This is therapeutic for sure but there’s no exact relation to weight loss here that hasn’t already been covered so lets move on to the next step.
6. We are entirely ready to have god remove all defects of character.
&
7. We humbly ask God to remove our shortcomings.
Let me tell you, this is a fun one if you let it be. In tradition step 5 is the last step you have to complete to leave rehab. so few people make it to this step because the success rate of sobriety is around 8% or something like that if not less. But once you’ve taken that painful moral inventory you get to hand it over to God and relieve yourself of the pain you’ve been feeling for so many years. It truly is an awesome feeling. This doesn’t happen all at once and it really shouldn’t, The beauty of step 6 is that when you’re driving home from work and a thought pops in your head about how you’ve been hurt or hurt someone In the past you can just hand it over to your higher power. Say “God I can’t deal with this I’m not strong enough. Can you please hold on to this until I’ve reached a point where I can deal with it in a healthy happy serene way?”
It’s very helpful.
8.Made a list of all the persons we had harmed and made amends.
&
9. Made direct amends to the people we had harmed whenever possible except when to do so would injure them or ourselves
This step is very helpful in recovery from alcohol and drugs but when it comes to weight loss apologizing to your ex wife for cheating on her might be a little extreme and like step 9 says don’t do it if it’s going to hurt someone including you. Another form of making amends is repenting. Or so I was told. If it would truly hurt you or someone else to make amends for a wrongful act you did meditate on it and never do it again.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it
This is a very humble way of life, my favorite kind. If you want to live your life by the 12 steps you’ll continue to keep yourself in check. FOREVER. And I think that’s why it could be effective for weight loss. Because diets don’t work it’s a lifestyle change.
It’s funny that saying “it’s a lifestyle change” has almost become cliché’ but it still seems like no one gets it. Including myself.
but we can admit when we screw up even if its something as small as flippin someone the bird. We recognize its wrong and we STOP IT.
11. Sought to improve our conscious contact with God, Praying only to find out his will for us.
A constant line of communication with your Higher Power is a good way to keep yourself in line. It’s hard to go astray when you’re really truthfully trying to do what your higher power would think best for you. I find when I’m praying on a regular basis about everything I do I’m far less likely to go on a 2am binge session a waffle house.
Not that I’ve ever done that…;)
FINALLY
Step 12 Having had a spiritual awakening we tried to carry the message to other addicts.
I guess step 12 is kind of what I’m doing right now. When you get to this point which by the way should probably take you at least 12 weeks. These steps aren’t to be done in an hour. You go and share the message.
Think of it this way. Say we did follow the 12 steps with weight loss in mind. If it actually worked we’d be able to help SO many people. And that would be the most beautiful thing yet.
HERE’S MY PROMISE
Being a recovering addict I’ve been through the 12 steps.
I’m going to restart.
I’m going to admit that I have a problem with drug addiction and overeating.
Again.
I’ll dedicate one week to each step if not more and report everything here on 22 and FAT.
I’m excited to see what happens.
And also I wanted to share this website with you
No comments:
Post a Comment