Recovery is a journey we don’t walk alone. Here, members share their experiences—stories of struggle, hope, and transformation. Whether you’re seeking inspiration or connection, these voices remind us that healing is possible.
Story 7 – California
How I Learned to Eat. I was helping to build five 500,000 volt lines into Los Angeles. There was a tall tower that had been put off as far as completion because of the possibility of high winds. I was sent with a crew of about 15 other guys to complete this tower so it could be energized. I had been working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. It was a Monday at quitting time. I was in the process of attaching my second lanyard to the cable going down. As I climb down the ladder, a strong wind came out of nowhere and blew me off the tower. My other lanyard was attached to a pelican hook around a piece of angle iron. As I bounced, it came open that caused me to fall to the ground. I was airlifted by one of many helicopters to the rooftop of a hospital. I spent a month there. I was then transferred to the Center for Neuro Skills. There I had 45 hours a week of physical therapy. They told me I was lucky, I could walk, because that was a hard one to get back. I came back to CEA-HOW. I was very happy; I lost 52 pounds the first month. I decided it was time to get real serious about my food plan when I got obese from my injury. They said that they did everything in the name of saving my life. In the meantime, they had let me swell up to 340 pounds.
I decided that the most important thing I could do each day was to remain abstinent. If all the medical care that is being done to me, turns to sugar in my body after all the shots, and makes the body retain water, I definitely need to remain abstinent. I have been able to keep the same body weight. The inactivity period during your recovery time is a very important time to be abstinent. Often times, the doctors don’t let you exercise a certain part, or parts, of your body. This can lead to this area being soft or flabby. I feel a lot better to not be using sugar or flour. I have now been advanced up to the higher levels on my lower back.
I am excited to have this twelve step food plan. I have an attitude of gratitude. Thankful to my Higher Power that I choose to call God. I am abstinent, through periods of medical recovery when, for one reason or another, you may not be as physically active.
Story 6 – Pennsylvania
I crawled into our rooms, depressed, disgusted, and defeated. Living life my way for three decades had not produced the results that I wanted. I wanted to be thin, rich and successful. Instead, I was eating too much, spending too much, and I knew deep down that I thought too little of myself. Compulsive Eaters Anonymous-HOW accepted me unconditionally. I got a CEA-HOW sponsor, started using our tools and took my first step toward recovery.
I’ve been in CEA-HOW now for three decades. The excess weight has melted off, my excessive spending is a distant memory, and maybe most importantly, finally I’m comfortable in my own skin. Losing weight as I gained peace-of-mind are just some of the blessings of program.
I tell every newcomer that the hardest step is taking that first one and to visit a meeting. Please come, stay and watch your life change for the better.
Story 5 – R.E.
If you are a compulsive eater and want recovery, you’ve come home. Remember, if nothing changes, nothing changes. Take a chance. Try this program! I’m so glad I did. That’s what it was like for me. That’s what happened. And how it is today most often times is a wonderful life full of service and happiness. The 12 Steps teach a way of spiritually-based living so that we learn to turn to our higher power to help us through the hard times instead of turning to the food. The Steps help me organize and approach difficult situations trying to seek God’s will, not mine. Is my journey perfect? Hardly. But I’m so very thankful I was led to CEA HOW and didn’t leave before my miracle. Keep coming back. It really does work when we work it. And as my sponsor says, those size 26-28 jeans are waiting for me anytime this program seems too overwhelming or restricting or demanding. Life can be hard when trapped in bondage to my food compulsion but the solution is clearly spelled out in the CEA- HOW Concept and for that I am forever grateful.
Story 4 – Mexico
My childhood was very happy until I was 10 years old, despite the deficiencies that I had. In my adolescence at the age of 17, I was already a professional. I proved to be very brave because I left my city and went to a distant community. I was responsible for about 200 people, including children and adults.
When I was 20 years old, I got married and my struggles began there, as soon as a week of marriage had passed, when my husband claimed an ex-girlfriend asked him why he had married me instead. This triggered my compulsion for food.
With my short stature of 4.92 feet I came to weigh 185 pounds and my weight was increasing, my life lacked meaning I only thought about dying even though God had given me many blessings, but I was not happy, but one day someone talked about Compulsive Eaters and I gave myself the opportunity to attend recovering and look at many aspects of my life that I thought had lost. By the grace of God in six months I lost my overweight for four years I was in maintenance. I have had relapses and the last one very strong, after having left my program I returned with a bigger overweight.
I hit bottom and came back with all the attitude. I have been two years and 11 months back in the program and I have already thrown 39.6 pounds, I learned that alone I cannot but there is a loving God in whom I believe and who has restored my sanity and despite being there for 15 years living alone God has given me strength and I have found the happiness I longed for.
Story 3 – California
Despite our best plans, there are times when the food still calls to us. What then? One of the greatest benefits of working this program is that, for today, we have been given the ability to choose not to overeat. Our addicted brains told us that we had to eat, so we ate. One thing to remember when we feel like eating; it is much easier to stay abstinent than it is to get abstinent. Once we start abstaining from overeating, eating sanely becomes a habit with inertia of its own. After the initial withdrawal passes, we feel good about ourselves and about what we are eating. But getting started is not easy. If you get back into overeating now, you never know how long it will take to eat sanely again.
As one person said at a meeting, “I know I have another binge left in me, but I do not know if I have another recovery.” Today, I know that overeating is not an option. No matter how difficult life gets, I realize that there is no problem I have that binging my brains out will help By working all the Tools and Steps of the Program, the compulsion to overeat disappears, for the most part. Accepting my eating disorder, doing my best to deal with the emotional damage it causes, and working with others who have my disease have brought me to a point where I no longer crave excess food. The intense cravings to stuff myself with junk food are long gone. Now I consider it a bad day if I start counting the hours until my next meal.
Story 2 – New York
My story is not one of weight reduction. It is a story of ego reduction. I came into the 12 step rooms when I was 17 years old. I grew up in a dysfunctional home with loving parents working out their own recoveries. At a young age, I learned how to take care of myself. I took pride in independence, intellect and resourcefulness.
At first, I felt happy to be in the inclusive arms of a program that welcomed me for my desire to stop eating compulsively. Even though I worked a food plan, I still questioned what it meant to be abstinent and didn’t utilize the many tools available to me. I found myself becoming emotionally unraveled and attempted to control uncontrollable behaviors.
A family member told me about CEA-HOW in 2011. I began attending phone meetings and felt welcomed and supported. I asked a member to be my sponsor and I began using all of the tools on a daily basis. This structure gave me freedom, clarity of abstinence, and serenity. I am so grateful for CEA-HOW as it has helped me to surrender my finite ego and trust my infinite Higher Power.
Story 1 – Pennsylvania
Fat, frustrated and furious is no way to go through life, and yet, that is how I rolled through my first few decades before I found Compulsive Eaters Anonymous-HOW.
Before joining CEA-HOW, I had tried many ways and many times to lose my excess weight. Most of the diets worked, for a while. And then, I would put my weight back on, and usually gain even more. I was angry about being overweight.
I also was angry that other people did not behave in the ways that I thought they should. I thought little of God, and even less of myself.
Hitting that bottom was the best thing that ever happened to me.
I gave up trying to control my food, the people around me, and life in general. That’s when I gave CEA-HOW a try. That decision became the defining moment of my life.
Our CEA-HOW program taught me to stop trying to control and start trying to accept.
By using the program tools and taking the steps, I have lost my excess weight, my character defects and my desire to lord over every part of life.
Slender, sane and serene is a better way to go through life.