"Knowledge is power. Information is
liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in
every family," said Kofi Annan. This couldn't be more true.
When I realized that my food issues were an addiction, I became
liberated. I knew that I could overcome this addiction. I KNOW I
CAN! I have some pretty amazing role models in my life that are living proof
that you can beat addiction cold turkey.
My mum and dad are my real life heros. My dad
quit drinking in October of '93 after his doctor told him he'd be dead in a few
short years if he didn't quit. He had been drinking for 20+ years.
He quit cold turkey. It was a war each and every day for a long time.
And, I know he is probably tempted at times to this day. But, it's
been 22 years of sobriety for him. I couldn't be prouder and more humbled
by his pure will and determination and his will to live for his soulmate and
his children. My mum quit smoking about 5 or 6 years ago after being a
heavy smoker for 50+ years. She, too, quit cold turkey after a horrible
case of bronchitis. I am so incredibly proud of my mum. She quit
with pure will power and determination. If they could break their
addictions cold turkey and never pick up another drink or cigarette, I can quit
my addiction to sweets and carbs too!
After my aha moment on Wednesday night, I had a
feeling of hope. Hope that if my suspicions were correct, then I'd be on
a path to living a healthier, longer, more fulfilling, and joyful life. I
thought of my folks. I thought that if I never had another sweet or
another roll for the rest of my life, I'd be okay with that. An alcoholic
can't have a single shot. A smoker can't have a single drag without
becoming addicted again. An addict can't have a single hit for the rest
of their life. When you have an addiction, there is no such thing as just
swig, a drag, a hit, or a bite. It's the same freaking thing! Holy
Crap! This was revolutionary to me. But, first I had to do some
research.
The first action I decided to do that night was:
I'd stop eating all gluten products, all sugar (real and artificial) and
all dairy the following day. I'd eat foods that God intended to be eaten
in their truest forms. God knew exactly what He was doing when He created
man and the foods to sustain His creation. I'd stick to lean proteins
(chicken, turkey, venison, seafood, and beef), fresh and frozen vegetables,
fresh fruit, nuts, berries, and quinoa. I started this type of eating
beginning with breakfast on Thursday, January 15. I knew I'd be tempted
each day both in my home and out in the real world. As a good friend
recently pointed out to me, the difference between drugs, alcohol, and
cigarettes versus food is that we need to eat each and every day. We do
not need drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes to live. We don't. A food
addict needs to learn to eat clean. A cocaine addict can distance
themselves from other addicts and the drug itself. A food addict is
around food 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. In my
opinion, food addiction is far harder to overcome and sustain than any other
addiction in the world. If I'm to overcome this addiction, I need to
learn to eat foods that don't have the addicting qualities of sugar and gluten.
The next action I took was to research sugar
addiction / carb addiction. I talked to a coworker of mine the next
morning and told him about my epiphany the night before. He told me there
is, in fact, an addiction to sugar and carbs. He sent me on my way with
the advice to do some internet research on the matter. That evening, I
scoured the internet and discovered that sugar addiction is 8x more addicting
than heroine. Say What!!! There has been research done with lab
rats. When given the rats were given a choice of sugar water or heroine
water, the rats went entirely to the sugar water and literally overdosed on
sugar. They weren't the least bit addicted to the heroine water. I
couldn't believe what I read that night. I found a book recommendation
called The Blood Sugar Solution by Dr. Mark Hyman. I checked it out of
the library a week later. I have since bought my own copy so I could
annotate it. I'll write more about the book in a future post. What I'm learning from my own experience, from paying attention to my body, and from what I'm reading by experts in the field of food addiction, INFORMATION IS LIBERATING. I don't feel hopeless any longer. Thank you God for answering my prayers.
I have a ton more to share, but for times sake I'll
do that another night. But, I want to leave off with this. 4 weeks
ago today I started eating whole, real foods. I wasn't following a
prescribed meal plan. I eliminated all processed foods, all gluten, all
sugar (real and artificial) and all dairy. 4 weeks ago today I weighed
myself and was 228.6 lbs stark naked in my bathroom at 5:30 a.m. I
weighed myself in the buff today at 4:45 a.m. (because I couldn't wait to step
on the scale) and drumroll please......................................weighed
in at 219.4 lbs, a difference of 9.4 lbs. I have seen an enormous change
all around, (physically and mentally) but I'll write more about it later on too. I can't wait to
share the rest of my story :) Starting tonight I plan on finishing each
update with a food diary so here it is.
----------------------------------->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>--------------------------------
7 a.m. Breakfast: 3/4 cup egg beaters (equal
to 3 whole eggs) cooked with a pad of real butter, green tea to drink
11 a.m. Snack: pink lady apple
12:45 p.m. Lunch: 2 cups salad greens
with 3/4 cup chopped up rotisserie chicken, cucumbers, 5 cherry tomotoes, 2
tbsp of Walden Farms Thousand Island Salad Dressing (sugar free, fat free,
carbohydrate free, gluten free, and cholesterol free), 1/2 grapefruit, green
tea to drink
5 p.m. Snack: cara cara orange (My
freaking all time favorite type of orange....if heaven had a taste, it would
taste like a cara cara)
as of 10 p.m. I am completely satisfied and am actually full feeling. I have zero desire to snack or eat anything.
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