I've been in a mood all day and I think part of the reason is because I've been thinking about writing this post. This is not an easy subject to talk about and I realize that there are people who will vehemently disagree with me and others who will completely identify with what I'm about to say.
I've been thinking about writing a post like this for some time, but I don't think I had the nerve to put this out there for the whole internet world to read. But after a fairly intense discussion with sara n. dipity last week about food, food choices and, essentially, will power, I think it's time for me to go ahead and put it out there.
The name of the first blog I ever authored was Confessions of a Food Addict. That wasn't just a funny sounding name; I believed then and continue to believe now that I am addicted to food. And I believe I have been for a long time... even when I was a kid.
I grew up in a healthy household. Dad cooked dinner every night, we rarely ate out, no cereal with sugar as the first, second or third ingredient, no junk, no chips, none of that. But I managed to find it anyway. I remember walking to and from school and frequently stopping at the corner drug store for candy. In fact, I remember running the 50-yard dash in elementary school with my hand over the pocket of my skirt so that the bags of M&Ms and Skittles I had poured in there wouldn't fall out.
Despite being fairly athletic as a kid -- lots of little league, bike riding and extra curricular sports in high school, etc., etc. -- I was always heavy. I loved to eat. I still love to eat.
I think I found a little peace when people (like Oprah) started acknowledging that food addiction is real. Unlike other addictions, it's difficult to get away from a food addiction because the thing I am addicted to is actually required for life.
I think the key to food addiction is keeping it all in proportion.Eat to live not live to eat. Find other hobbies and fill your mind with other things. That is hard to do in a society where the marketers target people with commercials etc and mind controlling pictures as in neurolinguistics to make a buck. But if we exercise portion control and go for quality and taste it works better for our health. I know that is my problem is portion control and taste as my tongue is really really sensitive to flavor and taste.So I use cooking tricks like use a drop of real cream to give it flavor and use skim milk instead of the full reccommended cup of cream in a recipe. Or just a tad of butter instead of the whole stick of butter recommended in a recipe I am also very influenced by commercials and colorful noisy art work they contain so I simply do not watch tv much I try to control that also. Pick your battles like I love chocolate so that is what I will reward myself with at the end of the day. Hot chocolate made with hersheys cocoa powder and boiling water not the commercialized mixes you can buy at the store. I also try to eat more vegetables and salads then I do meat. And when I do eat meat I eat chicken fish shrimp or turkey. I bake broil or boil my foods instead of deep fry. If you must fry use pam spray instead or water fry using flavored broth or plain water. Better for your heart and better for you diabetes too!
Love Krissy
Bravo for speaking up! Remember when it was deemed bad to have all those commercials on TV targeting kids to eat sweetened cereals? Or when they got rid of cigarette commercials and hard liquor commercials? It seems the new target is food addicts. Many of the commercials on TV during prime time and later are either ads telling me to ask my doctor if I need such and such medication or they're telling me what I can order this week at various restaraunts from fast food places to sit down eateries. I feel like I'm being bombarded with messages to "eat, eat, eat!" There are food commercials in all of my favorite programs. I can't get away from them. I know I shouldn't let them get to me but still, I get hungry just watching those lovely pictures of waffles covered in syrup or the latest pasta dish being served with all the salad and breadsticks I can eat...
It would not hurt my feelings if all of the food related commercials were banned from TV!
Portion control is another tricky problem for me. Knowing how much to eat and actually eating only that much is easier said than done!
I, too, was fairly active growing up -- hiking, biking, karate -- but always overweight.
Hostess berry pies were my choice at the little neighborhood market on my way to school but I would eat them before I got to the bus stop. I didn't have to protect them during a 50-yard dash.
I think that this is a really constructive post, thank you for putting it out there. I think a lot of us have struggled with emotional issues with food as a result of feeling deprived. When I was a teen I would binge eat junk food every chance I had then cover it with massive amounts of insulin - not exactly the best idea...
Sorry to be harsh in my previous comments, but I think the value of a supportive place like dLife is not only the positive encouragement, but the fact that sometimes we disagree and as a result can learn a lot from each other.
Well said, sara. Thanks.
I applaud you for your bravery to write about this here, in a public forum. I think people with diabetes will always have a strained relationship with food, and addiction on top of it just makes it that much harder. In particular, I agree with your statement about being addicted to something you need to live. Can you imagine telling an alcoholic: You HAVE to have alcohol three times a day, but only in moderation and only in the correct portions...? Yeah right! Food and its effects on diabetes are so powerful, and I really admire you for speaking publicly about it. Maybe this is your first step to getting some help with that issue. I have been there too, felt powerless against food, and I have found that sometimes just being open about those feelings is therapeutic. Keep working through those feelings!
I, too, am a food addict. I love the preparation, the taste, the smells...everything. So, here I am at 42, morbidly obese, Type 2 diabetic....I KNOW all the things I SHOULD do....I know "eat to live, not live to eat", etc......I just can't seem to find the willpower...even knowing what it is doing to my health, I can't seem to put down the fork......Thanks for putting the topic out there.....
Hi this is my first comment. Thank you for what you have written here. I feel the same way. digging up will power is hard for me. I am a type 2 and 52.
Wow! What a great post! I am SO addicted to certain foods, mostly starches, sugars and salads. Yes, I said salads. Go figure. I also have severe gastritis and spastic colon so I can't have any more salads, or beef until it heals and it's taking forever, I also love a good rib steak on the grill. After those, give me anything gooey and sweet, cream puffs, & hot fudge sundaes! It really is a hard thing to crave food to the point that you have to consciously stop thinking about it. I guess I never thought anyone else had this problem. I thought you all were good people following your diabetic list of what to eat and were happy about it. Or at least resigned to it.
I actualy went through a period of mourning and depression when I went from Prediabetic to Diabetic. Then when I got my gastro diagnosis, I really got depressed. I didn;t think I had much to live for, since I did live partly for food. I guess I'm getting better now, but my belief about getting older, (for me), is that it is a process of giving up what you hold dear. Life becomes stripped of fluff and fancy regarding what was dearly loved as food and you are forced to find new reasons to go on. Prayer has helped a great deal. My husband also struggles with food addiction, but won't deal with it. He has heart problems, not diabetes.
Anyway, thanks for all the great feedback on the original post and Congratulations to Michele for freeing herself and us from a prison of "wanting" what we will never have again. There is a new freedom in having to be still and learn what else there is to live for. I'm doing my art, after 2 years of doing nothing. I do water colors and crafty things. Don't be afraid to see a therapist about the sense of loss. It halped me. God bless us, one and all! Eileen
I liked your post, and just don't see why you'd be worried to post that. It's not like it's a new thing. Food is all around us. We go to parties, BBQ's, reunions, and much more, to eat. Food is a big deal. You should never feel like you are alone with your feeling on that topic. It's hard for a lot of people.
I do understand food addictions. For me it was when I was an unhappy child. It filled an emptiness in me. That problem followed me for
most of my life. Where is it pleasure versus
emotional need to fill to replace something that you lack?
I have gotten much better about what I eat but
once in a while I fall from the wagon. For instance, I got hungry for starch and ate two
cups of rice.
One of the wonderful things about dLife is all the healthy receipes there. It would be wonderful to cook all of them and they really sound good, and they are also good for you.
It is a food addicts paradaise. Just a thought.
Sally
I too love food, but have not been checked to see if i am a diabetic. i am working my way to healthyness by exercising and choosing different foods, but diabetes is abundent in my family. For a person with no insurance is getting screened for diabetes expensive?
Hi ashpal. Getting tested for diabetes could be done a number of ways: a finger prick for a fasting blood sugar, a blood test for an A1C, and/or a glucose tolerance test. I don't know about the cost, but if you check around there may be a free clinic in your area that can help.