What is CEA-HOW?
If food has become bigger than you can handle alone, you are in the right place. CEA-HOW is a Twelve Step fellowship of compulsive eaters helping one another recover — one day at a time.
A Fellowship of Recovery
Compulsive Eaters Anonymous – HOW (CEA-HOW) is a worldwide fellowship of people who share their experience, strength, and hope so that they may solve their common problem — compulsive eating — and help others to recover. We come from every background and walk of life, joined by one thing: a desire to stop eating compulsively.
The HOW in our name describes the spirit in which we work the program: Honest, Open-minded, and Willing. Our recovery is built on the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, together with a structured, supportive approach to food and to working the Steps with the guidance of a sponsor who has walked the path before us.
Who It Helps
CEA-HOW is for anyone who struggles with compulsive eating, food obsession, or an unhealthy relationship with eating — including those who identify with compulsive overeating, anorexia, or bulimia. If you have tried again and again to control your eating on your own and found that willpower alone was not enough, you are not alone, and you are welcome here.
You do not need to label yourself, meet any standard, or have hit any particular "bottom" to come to a meeting. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop eating compulsively.
Free, Anonymous, and Welcoming
There are no dues or fees for membership. CEA-HOW is fully self-supporting through the voluntary contributions of its own members, and we neither seek nor accept outside funding. You never have to pay to attend a meeting.
Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of our fellowship. Who you see and what you hear at a meeting stays at the meeting. You are free to simply listen — no one will pressure you to speak, share your story, or say anything you are not ready to say.
CEA-HOW is a spiritual program, not a religious one, and it is not affiliated with any diet, church, institution, or outside cause. Members of every faith — and of none — are equally welcome.
Our History
CEA-HOW grew out of the broader Twelve Step movement, which began with Alcoholics Anonymous and its discovery that people who share a common struggle can recover together when they cannot recover alone. As that message spread, compulsive eaters adapted the same Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions to their own experience with food.
The "HOW" concept added a more structured, disciplined way of practicing the program — an emphasis on honesty, open-mindedness, and willingness, worked closely with a sponsor. From a handful of early groups, CEA-HOW has grown into a fellowship spanning many communities, with meetings held in person, by phone, and online so that help is always within reach. Today that same message of recovery continues to be carried, one member to another, wherever compulsive eaters gather.
How to Get Started
Getting started is simple, and there is no wrong way to begin:
- Find a meeting. Browse the meeting directory to find a gathering that fits your schedule — online, by phone, or in person — and just come and listen.
- Reach out. Have a question or want a friendly point of contact? Contact us and a member will be glad to help.
- Read the literature. Explore the readings and program materials to learn more about how recovery works, at your own pace.