Sponsors

In order of importance, for me I have seen that sponsors come after food plans, although now that I say that out loud, meetings probably come before both of these. I'll talk about meetings tomorrow.

Sponsors are members of OA or FAA or FA or 90dayOA or whatever 12-step support groups works for the person (for me it is 90dayOA), who have successfully achieved abstinence and are living the 12-steps as a way of life.

It is written in the OA meeting format, "Find a sponsor who has what you want and ask how he or she is achieving it." That's pretty much it in a nutshell, although, I offer a note of caution because there are many different food plans, many different approaches to food addiction and many different styles of sponsoring. Besides the fact that some people are compulsive overeaters, not necessarily food addicts, which can make a huge difference in the way that they sponsor.

For me, I am a food addict AND a compulsive overeater, which means that even without sugar, flour, wheat and artificial sweeteners and caffeine, I can still be emotionally triggered to overeat. And I can overdose on a head of lettuce! It's not necessarily some especially nummy food. (Is "nummy" a word?...I would expect that you get what I am talking about).

With those facts in hand, I needed to find a sponsor who understood my "stuff," but beyond that I needed someone who would love me through the process until I could love myself and ultimately find and experience God's love in my everyday life. That's the goal...to be restored to the love of God.

In my history, I've gone through many helpful and not-so-helpful sponsors. Before I knew any better, I sometimes felt that it was my fault that I couldn't do what some sponsors wanted me to do, and sometimes I was not willing, but other times, the expectations were beyond reason for me at that time in my life.

For me, today, when my sponsor makes a suggestion, I am in constant prayer...and also find solace in talking to other successful food addicts, asking what they do to stay free and clean.