Do you NEED to Lose Weight?

Do you Need to Lose Weight?

So many times in my overeating I'd think to myself "I NEED to lose weight!" Believing that the weight was, in itself, the problem, and therefore if the weight was gone, the problem would be too. I'd be free.

And yet, whenever I'd embark on any plan to lose weight, I'd feel worse than when I was overeating. More anxious. More obsessive. And definitely more compulsive - like any moment I would just snap and plunge headlong into a binge.

What I was really looking for in weight loss was a way to cope with addiction that was still calling the shots, and keeping me trapped in compulsion.

If you're sober and struggling with food, the cause isn't a failure of morals, will, capability, or desire. It's a unique obsession of mind and body to pursue what feels euphoric, and the terrible feelings (addiction anxiety, depression, cravings, and urges) we experience when we try to stop.

Weight loss is both the catalyst for - and the result of – overcoming the anxious obsession that remains even after the psychic shift of sobriety.

I consider weight loss not only deeply meaningful but even spiritual – a manifestation of the work that needs to be done so that we can be fully present and available to ourselves and others in our (miraculous) sober lives.

This is how we approach weight loss in OPAAT - not as the problem itself but as a "flashlight" that shows us where the disease of compulsion is still affecting mind and body. When we see it, we can overcome it - and be truly happy, healthy, and FREE with food, eating, and weight.

As recent alumni Natalie put it: “I feel like I finally understand the role my “bodily and mental difference” (which I learned about in  my original program of recovery) was playing in this new obsession, food. It’s not me, it’s my “ism” screaming for something to feel good. Moving through those thoughts and feelings with my fellows as I stopped overeating and started losing weight was totally unique. I loved this program for so many reasons, but that was #1.”

OPAAT Weight Loss Intensive

If you want 8 weeks of hands-on tools, live classes, and 1:1 mentorship to overcome compulsion with food in sobriety, enrollment is open this week for the OPAAT Weight Loss Intensive, and you can use the button below to grab your spot. Doors close this Friday April 1, and we’ll kick off this weekend!