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My take on Food Plans and Abstinence

Food Plan = General concepts regarding healthy nutrition
Abstinence = Eating in accordance to those concepts

I eventually figured out that a food plan in OA does not have to be about deprivation, restriction, or dieting. A food plan should be aimed in the direction of having a healthy relationship with food. Rigid rules and lists of forbidden foods never could help me build a healthy relationship to food. They didn't help me get in touch with the wisdom of my own body—my hunger and satiety signals.

The first and most important step in preventing my long time pattern of yo-yo dieting was to eliminate the artificial boundary between dieting and normal healthy eating— weight loss and weight maintenance. From the start, I had to consider my new healthy way of eating a lifestyle change, not a diet. Diets don't cure Binge Eating Disorder, they exacerbate it.

Many members of Overeaters Anonymous make or use food plans that look suspiciously like being on a diet. Diets generally involve sticking perfectly to a recorded list of measured  amounts of specific foods and usually the time of day to eat each item. Many OA members consider their "abstinence" as being able to stick perfectly to their food plans. I did it that way for the longest time and never had any long term success. Just like a lot of conventional dieters, once I deviated from my food plan, I would feel like I had failed entirely. At this point I would usually decide to go ahead and binge and start the diet (my food plan and abstinence) over again the next morning. Always being just one bite away from failure was no way for me to develop a healthy and intuitive relationship to food. I had to make friends with food. It would become one of my strongest allies in recovery.

I suggest people make a food plan based on general concepts. Here's mine:

  • Eat primarily whole natural food—foods that promote my health and well-being
  • Never get too hungry—keep my body and brain well fueled at all times
  • Make the process of preparing and eating food mindful and enjoyable
  • Count all deviations from this plan as a vegetable and move on
  • Move. Being sedentary is not part of being in recovery

Flexibility and self-forgiveness are built right in. There is no being on or off the food plan unless I give up entirely. Abstinence then becomes a general thing. It is no longer a hard line, that if crossed, means failure.

Abstinence in Overeaters Anonymous
In OA, Abstinence is defined as the act of not eating compulsively.

The concept of abstinence in OA can be useful but it can also be a roadblock to success. Abstinence is often presented and discussed in All or Nothing terms; if one isn't abstinent, they are not in recovery. This is a very perfectionistic way to view abstinence. It works well for alcoholics in AA, but may not be the best model for people with Binge Eating Disorder. At least if the concept is taken literally. A drunk person certainly isn't working toward positive healthy goals while they are inebriated, but a person in OA who is trying to recover from binge eating disorder or compulsive overeating certainly can be. They can be progressing on many levels, even when their food isn't perfect. If you choose to incorporate Overeaters Anonymous into your personal recovery, please don't let the concept of abstinence become a roadblock to your progress.
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