Archive | September 2009

Food For Thought From a Food Addict

Sep17

Today I had an interesting food shopping experience. Well, not all that interesting, but it was notable.

I get Honeysuckle White boneless turkey breast from Sam’s Club. It’s the only place I can find this particular item unless it’s a holiday and then they are hidden away until after all the traditional birds are sold.

There are certain food items that I eat regularly, like most people including those with food addictions. Not all the foods we eat are junk, after all.

So I go to Sam’s Club to get the turkey breast, knowing I will find it in the frozen food section so I don’t have to search all over the store for it. It’s an easy buy, in and out.

Since I was due to eat in about 30 minutes–I have to eat every 2 hours to keep my body on an even keel so I won’t be craving junk–I figured I would be back at my home office in plenty of time. Sam’s is only 5 minutes from my house, after all. It was a no brainer.

Well, food addictions being what they are, there are certain foods food addicts need to avoid. When stress strikes, forget about avoidance. It’s too late for that.

When I’m hungry, I get a little edgy. You know how it is, you’re blood sugar drops and the cravings are close by. But still, you can write it down and stick to your list and, most of the time, avoid the triggers. Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, today was not that day.

I knew there was a big remodeling project going on at Sam’s Club. I knew to take my umbrella with me in case one of the daily Florida rains got to me before I got to my car. And I had my list. One item.

After walking a block (literally) from my car to the frozen food section inside the store, I located the prize bird. As planned, I went directly to the frozen food area where all the fish, chicken, lean meats and other healthy frozen foods are kept.

In and out and home to eat my healthy lunch, that’s the goal. Or it was until a lady walked past me and I spied the gigantic can of Contadina whole canned tomatoes in tomato sauce in her cart. I had to have one, too. Still only two items, still an easy in and out, food addiction well in hand.

And what a stroke of luck! The canned vegetables were in the aisle right in the front of me. Get the tomatoes and head for home. And it wasn’t even raining yet. I was a little edgy, but I was happy to have it so easy.

Corn, peas, beans, other canned vegetables, but no tomatoes. I must have passed them. But, no. There were no canned tomatoes in the canned vegetable aisle.

I searched the adjacent aisles. Feeling stupid, I thought “Well, technically tomatoes are fruit, not vegetables”, so I tried that aisle. Fool! Nothing. Now I’m really hungry.

Ten minutes have passed and I am getting hungrier by the minute and very stressed out. Not a good sign. I would just ask someone. So I did, and it went something like this:

“Excuse me, Sir. I’m loooking for Contadina whole canned tomatoes. They aren’t with the other canned vegetables. Do you still carry them?”

“Oh yes, Miss, we have everything in sections now, Mexican food, Italian food, and so on”, he said helpfully. Then he directed me to the new ethnic home of the Contadina tomatoes.

I was so mystified that my hunger disappeared momentarily. The stress, on the other hand, was mounting.

By the time I left the store 35 minutes had passed. I had spent 15 of them searching for a can of tomatoes that had been segregated from the rest of the canned vegetables.

Every food addict has a pet peave. Making things harder than they need to be is one of mine.

It may sound crazy, but when I go shopping, I don’t want to browse. I have my list and my mission is to simply buy what’s on the list and then take it home to dispose of at will.

While it may seem silly to some to get upset over having to wander aimlessly from aisle to aisle looking for products that have been moved since your last visit, it is nevertheless a source of stress for me.

I face my food addictions every day, as do many of you. If merchants really want to serve their customers, why don’t they do things that will lessen the stress of shopping rather than add to it? It would benefit everyone, not just edgy food addicts.

Lest I risk beating a dead horse, let me close by saying that the best thing about working through a food addiction is how you come to regard stress and your overall health and well-being.

I have learned more life lessons through my food addiction than any of my other challenges. For that I am very grateful.

And wonder of wonders. I was so ticked off that I forgot to buy junk food and ate what I had pre-planned to eat when I got home. Things have a way of working out.

Are We There Yet?

Sep15

Patience is a friend to anyone living with a food addiction. Patience doesn’t mean waiting for somebody else to do something. It’s the secret ingredient in life’s great recipe for happiness.

One of the reasons food addiction, or compulsive eating, has become such a problem, and obesity along with it, is this idea of having to have everything now.

It reminds me of how children like to ask, “Are we there yet?” as if by saying it, they would be instantly transported to their destination without further adieu.

It’s like that with goals of any kind. Who would think of food addiction or obesity as a goal? And yet the frenzy with which so many Americans live their lives drives us to behaviors that reinforce the very negative behaviors we seek to avoid.

By asking yourself this simple question, “Are we there yet?” you can gain insight into where you are on your path to recovery or change. It’s a yes or no question, and that means you have to do some work.

Are we there yet? Are you where you want to be? Are you willing to do what it takes to get to where you want to be?

Since stress is unavoidable in some cases and self-inflicted in many others, it is up to us to work through it without endangering ourselves in the process.

Food addiction isn’t just about being fat. It’s about endangering ourselves by taking something we need to survive and turning it into a tool for self-destruction.

Food is very powerful. It’s purpose is to provide fuel for the  body. Without it, our survival would be greatly threatened. For the food addict, food is a double-edged sword.

Patience is like moderation. Both are states of balance. Moderation is not too much and not too little. Patience is not being worried about how things will turn out because you are doing what you need to be doing and are on target.

Patience is willing to wait for the result that you have deemed worth waiting for. There is no need to force a flower to bloom before it is ready.

When a person is suffering from a food addiction, they are suffering. Patience can help the recovery process and reinforce new behaviors.

Healing takes time and yes, there is frustration, and panic, and even despair.

Some journeys take a long time and lead us into uncharted waters. Sometimes it is hard to know how far we’ve come on the journey.

So be patient, and stop every so often and ask, “Are we there yet?” Soon or later the answer is bound to be “yes”.

Food Addiction and Obesity

Sep14

Everywhere you look there are men, women, and children who are overweight to the point of being obese. Obesity is a crisis in America.

But is everyone who is obese a food addict? Not necessarily. Remember that food addiction is caused by an unresolved emotional conflict that manifests itself in the form of compulsive eating.

The food addict eats because panic causes a hormonal imbalance in the body and there is an overwhelming urgency to eat as much and as fast as you can until the feeling goes away. Food is the drug of choice for the food addict.

A person can become obese by eating when bored, or just because something tastes really good so they just keep eating. Obesity for many is the result of habitual overeating for no particular reason.

It need not be connected with trauma, as it is in the case of a food addiction. It may be a case of consuming more calories than the body can burn as energy.

Emotional eating and food addiction can start when a person realizes that they are unable to lose a large amount of weight as quickly as they gained it.

Unable to deal with the excess fat and the humiliation that often accompanies it, emotional eating can easily become a coping mechanism.

When you’re fat, does it really matter to you if you have a food addiction? Do you care about your health? Or do you just want to not be fat anymore?

A person who knows why they eat compulsively may be in a better position than one who doesn’t know how they gained all that weight.

Food addicts are driven. When the addiction kicks in, we are on a mission. We eat uncontrollably for indefinite periods of time and then, as suddenly as it started, the urge just stops.

It’s kind of like a seizure. You know what’s going on but you can’t do anything about it. You just have to wait until it’s over.

Knowing what causes you to stuff yourself when something sets off an emotional trigger gives you a chance to deal with the emotion and possibly avoid the compulsive eating binge.

The more you can recognize what is happening when the panic feelings start to escalate, the more you will be able to confront the person or thing that is causing the panic.

When we can name our fear, it loses its power over us. Once you know what you’re dealing with, you can deal with it.

While not all food addicts are obese, and not all people who are obese are food addicts, the tables could certainly turn either way.

Perhaps the best way to confront your personal situation is by accepting yourself in your present state without judgment. Keep an open mind and heart.

Don’t label the symptoms. Identify the causes and go from there.

3 Ways for Food Addicts to Avoid Stress

Sep13

It’s common knowledge that stress causes people to behave in ways we otherwise might not if we were feeling calm and comfortable. For people with food addictions, stress can easily lead to emotional eating.

Of course, negative stress can trigger anger, fear, panic, and even physical pain. In any of those states, it’s easy for a food addiction to kick in.

How can you deal with negative stress?

1. You can avoid it sometimes, but not always.

2. You can do something that relieves the stress.

3. You can resolve the problem that is causing the stress, which is the best possible outcome.

Today, I would like to share with you some ways you can avoid stress. We can explore the other two ways of dealing with stress in a future blog.

Do these three things to help you avoid situations that might trigger your food addiction.

1. Only take on projects that are meaningful to you. Of course, you have to do things at work that you may not like and you have responsibilities at home that must be honored.

I am talking about choosing to do things that you don’t really care about just to impress or please someone else who doesn’t really care about you. If your heart’s not in it, don’t do it.

2. Plan and prepare your meals in advance and follow your plan. This will help set you up for success.  Eat when you need to eat. Don’t let others pull you away from your goal. Respect your health. It is more precious than you may realize.

3. Practice self-love and self-acceptance. Pamper yourself once every week. It can be something simple and free, like a bubble bath, a walk in the park, enjoying a sports outing, or spending time with a cherished friend.

You are the most important person in your life. Accepting yourself without putting conditions on that acceptance will cause you to feel loved, safe, and happy.

Food addictions are no match for a happy heart. As Bobby McFerrin’s 1988 Grammy-winning song suggests, “Don’t worry. Be happy”.