Food Addiction – Renew. Refresh. Recover.

January 2026 Edition

“Reflection reveals the path. Surrender keeps us on it.”

A Note From Your Editor

The start of a new year brings a feeling many of us know well. A sense of hope. A desire for renewal. A pull toward becoming more grounded, more honest, and more spiritually connected. But it can also awaken pressure, comparison, and old patterns of perfectionism.

In recovery, we do not rebuild our lives with willpower or grand resolutions. We rebuild through reflection. We look back with honesty, not shame. We name what strengthened us and what shook us. We acknowledge our patterns, our progress, and our pain. And then we use that clarity to surrender more deeply.

This month’s theme is Recovery in Reflection. It invites you to pause before moving forward. To learn from the past year without judging it. To let reflection become a spiritual tool that softens your heart and sharpens your awareness.

You do not have to transform overnight. You only need to stay willing, stay connected, and stay surrendered. The Steps, the fellowship, and your Higher Power will do the rest.

Recovery Radar – Looking Back to Move Forward

Reflection is not about rewriting the past or reliving it with shame. It is about understanding it with honesty and compassion. When we pause to look back, we begin to see patterns, truths, and lessons that were invisible while we were moving through them.

Every slip holds information. Every victory reveals strength. Every fear points to a place that needs care. Every small act of courage is evidence of growth, even when it did not feel significant in the moment. Nothing is wasted when we are willing to reflect with openness and humility.

Spiritual growth often happens quietly. It shows up in the moments when we chose awareness instead of avoidance, truth instead of justification, and responsibility instead of blame. Reflection helps us recognize those moments and anchor them into our recovery so they can guide us forward.

The goal is not perfection. The goal is clarity. When we understand what challenged us, what supported us, and what moved us closer to alignment, we gain wisdom. That wisdom becomes direction. Direction becomes peace. Peace becomes freedom.

As you move into a new month, allow reflection to be a tool rather than a judgment. Let it illuminate what is working, gently expose what needs attention, and strengthen your connection to the spiritual foundation that supports your recovery journey.

Looking back with intention allows us to move forward with purpose.

Healing Highlights Through The 12 Steps

The Steps teach us to reflect with honesty, willingness, and humility.

• Step Four invites a fearless look at patterns that no longer serve us.
• Step Five invites connection through truth telling.
• Step Six and Step Seven invite openness to spiritual transformation.
• Step Ten invites daily reflection so we do not drift into denial.
• Step Eleven invites spiritual quiet where reflection becomes revelation.

Affirmation:

“I honor my growth by reflecting with honesty and moving forward with surrender.”

Member Spotlight: Monthly Mirror Reflection

Choosing Freedom in the Dressing Room

Lorraine remembers the moment clearly. She was standing in a store holding a larger size, feeling the familiar pull of shame, fear, and resignation. She had been in recovery before, had known stretches of stability, and had also drifted back into old patterns. Structure had loosened. Surrender had softened. Progress had slipped through her fingers.

But in that dressing room, something shifted. She put the item back and walked out empty handed. It was not about the clothing. It was about identity. She knew something deeper had to change.

Her turning point came when she stopped negotiating with the disease and began to tell the truth sooner. She committed to a step study. She tightened her structure. She became more honest with her sponsor. She faced her struggle with overeating and the emotional patterns underneath it. She shifted from trying to manage recovery to surrendering to it.

Reflection became her guide.

Freedom in Action: Tools for Real Recovery

Holiday Grounding Worksheet includes:

• Daily grounding check in
• Surrender prompts
• Connection reminders
• Spiritual reflection guide

Holiday Grounding Worksheet.docx

Support what supports YOU

At FAB, we believe in the community, not just the kind that helps you stay abstinent, but the kind that reminds you you’re not alone. This digital newsletter, the stories, the resources, the reminders, it’s all made possible by people like you.

If FAB has ever helped you feel seen, heard, or understood…
If you’ve ever read something here that kept you going that day…
If you’ve ever said, “Yes, these are my people”…

Then consider being part of what keeps it going.

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Every single donation is a way of saying, “This matters.”
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We are not Alone. Together, we can unite to treat food addiction one day at a time.