Food Addiction – Renew. Refresh. Recover.

July 2025 Edition

“Progress, not perfection, every step counts.”

A Note from Shana, your editor

Welcome to the July (and first ever!) edition of our Food Addiction – Renew. Refresh. Recover! As the sun sticks around longer and routines shift for summer, our theme this month is “Celebrating Small Wins. Recovery from addiction is a constant journey throughout our lives, not a race that has a definitive end.” Every moment of progress (no matter how small) is worthy of recognition. Whether you avoided a trigger or had victory over resisting an urge to binge or simply showed up for yourself today by attending a meeting or cooking an abstinent meal. You’re building a new life, step by step. Let’s celebrate that together.

Recovery Radar – Shame

Shame is sneaky.

It tells us we’re the problem…not that we have a problem, but that we are one. It whispers lies like:

“You’ll never get it right.”
“You’re too far gone.”
“If people knew the truth, they’d walk away.”

And because we’ve believed those lies for so long, we isolate, we hide, and we cope in silence – often turning back to the very things that made us feel worse.

Here’s the truth: Shame doesn’t heal. Connection does.

Healing Highlights Through The 12 Steps

Shame shrinks in the light of honesty. Every time you tell the truth about your struggle, every time you say “me too,” every time you show up to a meeting, send a message, or take a tiny step forward you’re breaking shame’s grip.

Here’s how we take our power back:

• Call a trusted person and tell on your shame.
• Say out loud: “I am not my addiction. I’m a person in healing.”
• Stop aiming for perfection. Aim for progress.
• Replace the lie with truth. “I’m not broken. I’m rebuilding.”

Remember: You don’t need to leap into the future. You just need to focus on staying present for this moment. One mindful breath, one kind thought, one connected step is enough. You are not alone, and you are not beyond healing. We’ve been there too and we’re walking out together. We’re proud of every effort you’re making.

Affirmation:
“I celebrate small wins. Each moment of progress is proof that healing is happening.”

Member Spotlight: Monthly Mirror Reflection

“One Step at a Time” – Shana’s Journey

Dear readers, Hi, I’m Shana – a food addict and I’m so grateful to be here.

I first joined FAB in September 2023. I showed up strong, attending meetings consistently, got a sponsor, worked the steps, and experienced a solid stretch of abstinence. During that time, I felt what real recovery could be like. I felt the mental clarity, peace, pain relief, and strength that come with living clean. That experience lit a fire in me I haven’t forgotten.

But like many of us, I relapsed.

At first, I tried to explain it away. I rationalized, justified, and convinced myself it wasn’t that bad or that I’d easily be able to get back when I wanted/when life stopped “lifing” so much. But what really kept me from returning to FAB wasn’t the food, it was shame.

Shame kept me from replying to messages.
Shame kept me from logging into meetings.
Shame told me I had failed, that I didn’t belong here anymore and that I had to earn my spot back into the group by having a stretch of abstinence again and being clean before showing back up.

Instead of reaching out, I pulled back. I even joined another food addiction group, hoping I could restart somewhere with less guilt. And for a little while, it helped. But I quickly realized I was running and THAT more than anything was hindering my abstinence.

FAB is where I’ve found the most growth, the most support, and the most truth. This group has held a mirror up to both my disease and my healing. So many of you have shown me through your shares during meetings what it looks like to fall, get back up, and stay connected, even when it’s hard. Others who have years of abstinence have given me hope that I too can experience such a relief one day.

As a mom of two (soon to be 3 in August ), I’m juggling a lot and I’ve become quite experienced in efficiency, budgeting, and making abstinence work in real life. I also know the food plan like the back of my hand. But I’m not here as a polished success story. I’m here as someone who’s in it with you, choosing recovery one moment at a time and sometimes not.

One of the most powerful things I learned in recovery is this:

“I used to think success meant big milestones or being worthy enough to be part of the group. Now, I know success is choosing recovery in tiny moments. Every choice matters, and this group reminds me I’m not alone.”

So, I’m choosing to show up, be present, own my flaws and all with humility and (hopefully) grace. So that’s me, I’ll be the fingers behind the monthly Food Addiction – Renew. Refresh. Recover. I’ll be sharing updates, encouragement, and everything we’re building together in this newsletter.

Thank you for those of you who have already been welcoming me back, shame, flaws and all.

Let’s keep walking the recovery way, together.

Imperfectly in fellowship,
Shana – a fellow food addict

Freedom in Action: Recipes, Routines & Real-Life Tools

Delicious Sauce:

(NOTE: this is made and then used as your fat portion in the food plan)

• 1 Tablespoon Mustard
• 1 Tablespoon of Duke’s mayonnaise
• 1 Tablespoon of Tomato Paste

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.

We’re 100% community funded. Based on our analytical estimates, if every member of the group contributed $3 per newsletter, that would fully fund the newsletter and make it 100% sustainable.

Every single donation is a way of saying, “This matters.”
It’s not about the amount. It’s about the heart behind it.

You’re not just donating to a newsletter, you’re investing in your recovery, in someone else’s breakthrough, in the community that’s walking this road with you.

Contribute to your recovery and the recovery of others: PAYPAL LINK or use the QR code below:

Thank you for being part of this. We’re here because of each other.

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Website: fabfreedom.com

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We are not Alone. Together, we can unite to treat food addiction one day at a time.