Archive | November 2009

Food Addict Searches for Candy As The Votes Are Tallied

Nov7

My goodness! That health care vote was intense. I was on the side of the nays and we lost by 5 votes. But only 5 votes.

Since I pay for my own health insurance, under the new health care plan, I would have to pay $5300 a year plus $2000 out-of-pocket expenses for a “qualified plan” the details of which have yet to be determined.

If I declined to pay, I would be fined $5000. That’s not the kind of stress a person with a food addiction needs to be subjected to, so off to the cupboard to search for candy.

Comfort food doesn’t really comfort a food addict when stress grips you at the heart like this issue grips me. If you don’t understand why the bill upsets me, click here.

Where did I hide those candy corns? The sugar temporarily counteracts the insulin war that is going on inside my body until my blood sugar balances out and the addictive urge suddenly disappears.

Some people don’t take governmental issues too seriously. But this issue is near and dear to my heart, so I let people know about it. They can make up their own mind.

Maybe a tootsie roll fell down between the couch cushions on Halloween. I don’t feel like baking anything. There must be a piece of candy somewhere in this house.

Why don’t more Americans know what’s going on in their own country? My European friends ask me that frequently. So I work to gain as much information and insight as I can, and share it when the opportunity presents itself.

My health is the most important asset I have, and I aim to take care of it. That means taking action, learning what I need to know to keep stress levels down and carry on an everyday productive life.

Emotional eating is more common these days perhaps because there are more things to get emotional about. When unexpected outcomes occur–sounds benign, doesn’t it–we become agitated and “emotional”.

Food is convenient, easy, and it works. That is, when you can find the treats your triggers are demanding.

Sometimes, you just have to accept yourself the way you are, make the best of all situations, and hang in there until the food addiction tendency goes away.

Maybe this new health care plan should include weekly massages, forced vacations of 3 weeks a year minimum for all workers except executives who would naturally get more.

Hey, and how about relaxing and fun activities that aren’t labeled “exercise”? And all foods containing more than 5 grams of saturated fats in one serving could be removed from supermarket shelves.

Preventive health care means having a plan. Plan to be healthy. Plan to be relaxed. Plan to heat when you’re hungry and stop eating when you’re no longer hungry.  Plan to enjoy life more.

It was only 5 votes, so there’s more work ahead. So no more stress for tonight. If I have to live with a few extra pounds for a while, I can live with that. Sometimes it just goes down that way.

Thanks for listening to my rant. Now I’m going to take a nice, relaxing bath, forget about those five lousy votes, and have a Ricola cough drop, apparently the only candy I have in the house.

AC-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive

Nov5

That’s the title of a song by one of the greatest American songwriters of all time, Johnny Mercer. What does that have to do with food addiction, you may ask?

Simply stated, to someone with a food addiction, everything is relative. The second line to that song says “eliminate the negative”.

When you’re struggling with a food addiction, it’s pretty easy to get down on yourself, think of all the things you should be doing and aren’t.

But what about the good things you’re doing? Your simple wins for the day? How about that great deal you got on something you had planned to buy last week for more money?

How about the way you stood up for yourself at the car repair shop? That ticket you won when you called in to the radio show? The surprise and elation you felt when someone told you that you are awesome.

Maybe getting over the food addiction is less important then learning how the chemicals in your brain work when you crave food, or finding out what your triggers are.

Maybe it’s smarter to sign up for a walking group than to tell yourself you are stupid or worthless because you feel isolated and small. You can kill two birds with one stone with that one. Exercise and companionship—what a great combination!

And just maybe you could think about how truly awesome you really are, and how even more awesome you will be tomorrow. Remember to leave out the word “if”.

Don’t focus on the negative stuff. Dealing with stress and food addiction is negative enough. Focus on what you want to attract, not what you don’t.

In other words, accentuate the positive! And sing your best song–out loud!

Food For Thought

Nov4

Today was a very long day, and not as productive as I would have liked. I felt more fatigued than usual, even though I slept no more or less than I do most nights.

I seemed more easily agitated than I normally am. There was too much activity with few opportunities to rest.

I was less hungry but ate more of the foods I usually avoid. While I got all 22 items on my “to do” list completed, none of them seemed relevant to the accomplishment of my goals.

In reflection, today I had no feelings about food addictions yet I embraced mine feeling nothing. How can something so powerfully overwhelming one day feel like nothing the next?

Perhaps the answer will come to me during sleep when my body has a chance to realign itself and regain its state of balance.

So much goes on beneath the surface and yet we have all the answers inside. It is up to us to ask the questions that will allow us to sidestep the conscious mind and reveal the truth in our hearts.