The Big Book Awakening (BBA) approach to Food Recovery is an in-depth study of the Twelve Steps as outlined in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, specifically applied to food addiction and compulsive eating recovery.

This BBA approach enables you to have a personal spiritual experience—one you can pass on to others, which was AA’s original purpose—and to live in all of the Twelve Step promises. This approach is for compulsive overeaters, binge eaters, anorexics, restrictors, bulimics, body obsessors, those suffering from body dysmorphia, or anyone who struggles with addictive behaviors around food and body image. 

The quality of recovery demonstrated by those who have participated in the BBA Food Recovery work and who are living an abstinent spiritual life today reflects a true program of attraction rather than promotion, guided by a God of our understanding. If you want a deeper experience of the Twelve Steps, want what we have, and are willing to go to any lengths to get it, then you are ready.

Getting started requires finding someone who has completed the BBA Food Recovery work, experienced what the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous describes as “a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps” and been relieved of the “hopeless state of mind and body”, to guide you through the Steps one-on-one. Alternatively, you can enroll in a BBA Food Recovery Workshop.

Some answers to frequently asked questions…

“How do I find someone who has already gone through the BBA Food Recovery work?” We welcome and encourage you to attend as many online BBA Food Recovery MEETINGS as possible. At these meetings, you’ll be provided with additional resources to help you find a sponsor. Many people are willing to take others through the work by phone, via WhatsApp, or through other online platforms. You may also be able to find someone in your area who is available to meet in person.

"What's the difference between going through the BBA Food Recovery step work "one-on-one" or through a BBA Food Recovery workshop?"  Nothing replaces the one-on-one experience of working with a sponsor or guide who walks with you from the very beginning of the Steps, as suggested across the fellowships. The same is true when using the BBA approach. In our experience, a sponsor guides you week by week—helping you understand each assignment, meeting with you to read the corresponding section of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous together, listening to your responses to the Questions 1-2-3 Guide for Food, and sharing their own experience with you.  The BBA Food Recovery workshop, by contrast, is designed to take several people through the step work at the same time. When BBA for AA first began in San Diego, there was—and still is—a large number of people seeking this approach to recovery. Because the demand for one-on-one sponsors often exceeded the available supply, individuals with solid recovery—those who had experienced a spiritual awakening through the Steps and recovered from a hopeless state of mind and body—were encouraged to take groups of people through the work. This person may refer to themselves as a sponsor or simply as a “guide” for the group.  BBA Food Recovery workshops are also an effective and in-depth way to work this specific approach to the Twelve Steps. When you commit to a workshop, you will:

• Choose a step partner (not the same as a sponsor). This is typically someone who has already gone through the work and can guide you through it.

• If no recovered, experienced person is available, you may choose a buddy within the group—someone who is also participating in the workshop.

• Join a homework study group, if one is available.

In any of these options, you will share your Big Book reading, your written responses to the assignment questions, and your personal insights. That said, whenever possible, it is highly recommended that you work through the BBA Food Recovery step work one-on-one with a recovered, experienced person.

"How long does it take to go through all the BBA Food Recovery 12 steps?"  Most people complete the steps in about 5–6 months, with an average of 2–4 hours of homework per week.  Workshops meet once a week and run approximately 1½ hours. In addition, participants typically meet once a week for 1–2 hours with a step partner or homework group to read the relevant Big Book section together and share responses to the questions.  If you choose to work one-on-one, meetings are usually about 2 hours once a week with a sponsor and/or step partner.

"What if I already have a sponsor in OA/ABA/FA/HOW/90 Day/GSA etc? Can they take me through the BBA?"  Yes—but only if they have completed the BBA Food Recovery step work themselves. If your current sponsor has not been through the BBA Food Recovery approach, it is recommended that you find a step partner or guide who understands the BBA Food Recovery way of working the Steps. You do not need to discontinue working with your current sponsor; however, you will need to work the BBA Food Recovery steps with someone who has already completed this specific process.

"Can my current non-BBA sponsor listen to my 5th step?"  Unfortunately, no—if they have not been through the BBA approach to the Steps themselves. The BBA process requires specific guidance during the Fourth Step, as well as particular questions and direction during Steps Five, Six, and Seven. A sponsor or step partner who is not familiar with the BBA Food Recovery approach will not know how to properly guide these Steps if they have not completed them in this way. We recommend that when choosing a BBA Food Recovery step partner and/or sponsor, you select someone you trust and feel comfortable working with.

"What if a BBA Food Recovery workshop started several months ago and I want to do a workshop?" Typically, a BBA Food Recovery workshop welcomes new participants only within the first two to three weeks after it begins. After that point, the workshop is usually closed to additional participants. At that stage, the decision is really up to you—how urgent your need for recovery feels and whether you’re willing to wait for another workshop to begin. Our recommendation is not to wait. Instead, consider finding someone who can take you through the work one-on-one. In many cases, it’s also possible to find a recovered, experienced person who is willing to start the work with two or three people at the same time, often in a home setting.

"What if I have a number of years sober/abstinent, why do I need to go through the Steps this way?"  Maybe you don’t—but this is a personal question about the depth and effectiveness of your spiritual recovery and your current program. Are you experiencing peace and freedom more often, or are you still struggling with the “bedevilments” described on page 52 of the Big Book? Time in the program alone does not determine recovery. What matters is the quality of your abstinence, sanity, and spiritual growth in all areas of your life. Can you relate to the bedevilments on page 52 despite being abstinent? We never claim that BBA Food Recovery is the only path to deep and effective spiritual healing through the Steps—it isn’t. It is, however, the way we have found to be most effective based on our experience. Whether you are new to or a veteran of the program, it is the method we most strongly recommend. We are hundreds of men and women — some with many years, even decades of abstinence, and others relatively new to recovery — who have found that the BBA Food Recovery has opened us to a new way of life: a spiritual solution-based answer to all our problems. If you have attended a BBA Food Recovery meeting and like what you hear and want what we have—no matter how much time under your belt—then this gift is offered to you for free.

Do I have to pay to do the BBA approach to the steps?                                                                 Absolutely not. There are no dues or fees.

If you have a question about BBA Food Recovery not answered here, please check: GETTING STARTED,  MEETINGS, TOOLS

Read more about the Big Book Awakening Approach to Food Recovery here.