I have always enjoyed being active. I played softball in my 20s and soccer in my 30s, but as my weight increased, my physical exercise was reduced to bike riding, and then walking. I enjoyed walking with my friend every morning at 5:15 a.m., rain or shine, sleet or snow, until one day it stopped! She and her family moved out of the city and built a home in the country. Every morning I told myself I would wake up tomorrow and walk or do something, but I just couldn’t do it by myself. I was 44 years old with a husband and two daughters.

I’m grateful to have worked in the same company for 31 years, where I enjoyed the freedom in sales to leave the office as needed. But one day that stopped too. The slow economy had taken its toll in our town, and our company was downsizing. I accepted a position that would provide job security for my future, but the downside was the fact that I would be in a chair at my computer all day long.

Since I wasn’t walking anymore, my weight got up to 266 pounds. Working full time and taking care of a family takes a lot of time, and the more I did, the more I was compelled to do. My mom would say “I can’t understand why you’re so overweight, you’re always on the move.” She didn’t know how much I was eating when no one was looking.

I love to cook and bake “from scratch,” which led to many bad eating habits, such as eating sweet snacks with the kids and their friends. I also ate while cooking dinner, then ate dinner and second helpings, then ate as I cleared the table, and ate even more as I put away the leftovers. My favorite was the cold treat before bedtime at night. Thankfully my husband and kids ate a balanced variety of healthy foods and stopped when they were full. I, on the other hand, don’t have an on/off switch to tell me when I’m full.

One day at work I saw a woman who had lost a lot of weight. I commented on her success and asked her if she wouldn’t mind telling me how she did it. She gave me an FA pamphlet. As I read the questions, I immediately realized that was it! I was a food addict. It made perfect sense. I had thought before about how much better off I would be if I could just give up food altogether—like an alcoholic gives up drinking. But having to think about food preparation for a family, having to shop for it and cook it, had always left me feeling like I could never be free from an addiction to food.

I went to the very next meeting that was listed on that pamphlet. The people were friendly, but it didn’t make any sense to me that they didn’t mention food. When the meeting ended, they were saying goodbye, and still no one had mentioned food. I sat down and politely, but very stubbornly, refused to leave, insisting that someone please tell me what to eat and how to start this program. A very small, sweet woman said “You need to buy a scale and buy . . . as she named a few items I would need. . . and call me at 5:15 a.m. I can help you get started.” I could hardly believe it. I had been praying for something to fill the 5:15 a.m. time slot when I used to walk with Debbie. My prayers had finally been answered.

That sweet woman has been my sponsor ever since. It’s been over two years, and I have been abstinent since that very morning. My life has come back and it’s even better, through the grace of God and the wonderful FA program. I have shed 137 pounds and feel alive again.

One year later, when I next saw my walking buddy again, she didn’t recognize me because of my dramatic weight loss. She asked me about my program, called me the very next day for details, and we’ve been riding together to one of our weekly, committed meetings for a year now. It’s great to have been reunited with my friend and to “give away what I have so graciously been given.” She has now reached her goal weight in the FA program, but that’s her story to tell.