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(605) 472-5752
Access Code: 299089*
Meeting leader pin: 9523#
- Welcome to the Saturday 9AM meeting of Food Addicts BreakingFree.
My name is _________ and I am a food addict and your leader for this morning. - Let’s open the meeting with a moment of silence followed by the Serenity Prayer. I will say the Serenity Prayer for the group. Please stay muted and pray along with me.
Prayer – God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. - Please press *6 to mute and unmute the line for sharing and eliminating background noise.
- Food Addicts BreakingFree is a fellowship of women and men who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from food addiction. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop addictive eating. There are no dues or fees for membership. We are self supporting through our own contributions.
- We are not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization, or institution; do not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorse nor oppose any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay abstinent and help other food addicts to achieve abstinence.
- Our approved books are:
Food Addiction, The Body Knows; From the First Bite; Healing Day by Day; and the Absolutely Abstinent Cookbook, all written by Kay Sheppard; the AA Big Book and the AA 12 and 12. - We follow FAB’s food plan and it can be downloaded at www.FABFreedom.com.
- Who would like to read the definition of abstinence, found in From the First Bite, pg. 89, first 2 paragraphs?
- One of the greatest struggles in recovery is defining abstinence, which is a must for reaching and maintaining physical recovery. Some who have difficulty staying abstinent never get physically clean. When a food addict ingests even a small amount of an addictive substance, cravings are triggered and along with them the urge to binge.
It has become popular to use an abbreviated (no sugar, flour, wheat) definition of abstinence. There is a problem with this abbreviation. We could abstain from sugar, flour, and wheat for the rest of our lives and continue to stay in the disease forever by eating high-fat foods, volume, and refined carbohydrate snacks. We could eat them all day and all night and still say that we are abstinent. We could show up at meetings and claim to be abstinent right after a huge binge. This definition is just too limited. Abstinence needs to be defined as abstinence from all addictive foods and behaviors, including personal binge foods, and volume, plus a commitment to a weighed and measured food plan. - Let’s introduce ourselves, my name is __________ and I am a food addict.
- At the end of this meeting, we will have a phone number exchange and questions.
- The FAB Twelve Steps
- We admitted we were powerless over refined food—that our lives had become unmanageable.
- Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
- Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
- Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
- Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
- Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
- Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
- Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
- Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
- Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
- Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
- Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to food addicts and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
- The FAB Tradition of the Month
- Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon FAB unity.
- For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority—a loving God, as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.
- The only requirement for FAB membership is a desire to stop eating addictive foods.
- Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or FAB as a whole.
- Each group has but one primary purpose—to carry its message to the food addict who still suffers.
- A Food Addicts BreakingFree group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the FAB name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.
- Every FAB group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.
- Food Addicts BreakingFree should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers.
- FAB, as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.
- Food Addicts BreakingFree has no opinion on outside issues; hence the FAB name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
- Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films.
- Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.
- Set Aside Prayer:
God, please help me set aside everything I think I know about myself, this book my disease, these steps and especially about you, God, so that I may have an open mind and a new experience with all these things. Please help me to see the truth. Amen. - There is no abstinence requirement to share. Everyone’s voice matters, whether you are a newcomer or long timer.
- This meeting is a cover-to-cover discussion of Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book, 4th Edition. We are on pg/paragraph _______. Who would like to read first?
- At 10 minutes before the hour, ask, “who would like to read Healing Day by Day for today?”
- Is there anyone else who would like to introduce themselves?
- Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, who and what you hear here, please let it stay here.
- Next week’s meeting will begin on pg./paragraph ________.
- Is anyone celebrating an anniversary of abstinence?
- We thank those members who participated in reading and sharing, newcomers and visitors, and those who are in service to this meeting.
- Our 7th Tradition states that we are fully self-supporting. Similar to passing the basket at face-to-face meetings, we offer an online alternative using secure PayPal where you can contribute $1.00 or more for every meeting you attend. You may also select the monthly check box to give automatic monthly contributions. Your generous contribution helps with our expenses including logo and web design, literature, and outreach. You can make your voluntary contribution at www.FABFreedom.com.
- Step 12 states “Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to food addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.” Sponsorship is the basic service our fellowship offers. If you are new to our program, we recommend you get a sponsor. A sponsor is your personal cheerleader and will help you learn the basics of our food plan and the 12 steps. To find a sponsor, listen at meetings for someone who inspires you and ask for their number at the end of the meeting. We are always in need of sponsors. Please enhance your program by becoming a sponsor. As the old saying goes: “you can’t keep it unless you give it away.” We are creating a list of Available Sponsors. Please give your name and phone number at the end of the meeting and let us know you are available to sponsor.
- FAB announcements: There are 4 other phone meetings on this same number, all EST.
Monday, 9am cover to cover From the First Bite
Monday, 7pm Step and Tradition meeting
Friday 7pm, rotating topics
Sunday 9am, Beginners and Long-timers Alike meeting.
30 days of abstinence is requested on the current food plan as written to serve Meeting Coordinator and Meeting Leader positions. - Step 12 states that “we tried to carry this message to food addicts”. In an effort to do this as a community, we are beginning a new Spread the Word Campaign encouraging all members to spread the word of recovery from food addiction by giving FAB brochures to each of your doctors and therapists. You can let us know how many brochures you need by going to the FAB website at fabfreedom.com and clicking on Contact. Your contact information will not be visible to anyone except the board secretary, and will be kept confidential. We appreciate you joining in this effort. Hopefully, we will see the number of newcomers increase as a result.
- Any other FAB related announcements?
- We will now close the meeting with a moment of silence followed by the Serenity Prayer. I will say the Serenity Prayer for the group. Please stay muted and pray along with me.
Prayer – God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. - Who would like to leave or get a phone number?
- Are there any questions?
- Goodbye everyone.