Food Addiction

My advice today: Instead of trying to follow a diet plan, simply focus on eating foods that are good for you. Stick with it for two weeks, and see how you feel.

I firmly believe you can be addicted to food, just the same as you can be addicted to drugs, alcohol, and nicotine. I have a friend who is an addiction recovery counselor, and he told me you know you're an addict when you're either "doing it, thinking about doing it, or planning for the next time you're going to do it." That hits a little close to home, because there was a time when I was always either eating, thinking about eating, or planning my next meal.

(Sigh) I do enjoy a Chick-Fil-A chicken biscuit fix.

Delicious foods have always been an important part of who I am. I'm a Southern girl, and therefore love everything breaded and fried. I'm also a Southern Baptist - I don't consume alcohol, so food truly is my drug. I drown my sorrows in hot fudge sauce and celebrate victories with extra cheese. When I'm angry, I rip into pizza, and when I'm stressed I dive into a piled-high plate of Chinese food.

When I went through the Covenant Health Biggest Winner program, I made a decision to go all the way with it. I quit eating just about everything I was used to living on. I swapped burgers and fried chicken sandwiches for lean meat on whole wheat tortillas. I quit sopping up the drippings from my frozen dinner with Cheez-Its. I started ordering salads without dressing. My baked potatoes were covered with salsa instead of butter and sour cream. No more picking up Little Debbie cakes on the way home from work, or hitting the drive-thru for hot fudge cake and milkshakes.

It was painful, and I was miserable...but only for a couple of weeks. Honest, it was like going cold turkey off drugs or something.

After about 14 days without regular doses of sugar and grease, I really, truly didn't miss them much, at all. I started to prefer salads, and looked forward to my 100 calorie ice cream bars for a special treat. I started craving hummus. And granola bars didn't taste like shredded cardboard to me anymore. Cheating wasn't nearly as much fun as I always anticipated it would be. Eating two or three bites of my beloved decadent desserts just wasn't that much fun anymore. Eating brownies gave me a stomach ache that would last through the night. A curse and a blessing.

After an off season of sliding off the wagon a little, I allowed myself one, big splurge day before starting the new training season for the Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon Biggest Winner Team. I ate and thoroughly enjoyed a Chick-Fil-A breakfast with sweet tea, Zaxby's for lunch, a chocolate chip Double Doozie that afternoon, and I had brownies for supper. The food was sure tasty. But, honestly, it made me feel a sick.

And that's good.

See, knowing that those foods don't feed my needs anymore is pretty empowering. I don't get the same rush - the same high - that I used to get from binging. The food tastes good, but it doesn't give me the euphoria it used to. I'm looking forward to the way I feel when my life is filled with better, healthier choices.

For the record, I still enjoy Chick-Fil-A.
I get the wrap (no dressing), or the grilled chicken sandwich. It's their pleasure to serve it up, and I'm happy to say it's my pleasure to eat it up.

Pale Kids in a Sunshine World

Years ago, there was a Saturday morning cartoon on TV that featured an episode about the "pale kids" at school. The show was "Recess," and it revolved around the adventures of a bunch of fourth graders on the playground. The so-called "pale kids" were children who would rather stay inside and play board games (aka: nerd games) than get outside in the sunshine during recess.

I laughed so hard I literally had tears pooling up in my eyes.

Anyone who knew me well when I was a kid that age would absolutely agree that I was a true Pale Kid. It's not that I don't like sunshine. I'm simply apathetic and non-athletic (to quote my personal theme song from "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes"). I was the kid who would rather scrape gum off the bottom of the desks than go outside and play softball. In the summer, I'd be sitting in the shade reading a book while my friends were in the pool. When the neighborhood kids picked and sold blackberries to make money in the summertime, I sat inside the air conditioned house and watched Jeopardy. My favorite place was the basement, where it was dark and there was a TV. Some of us just don't do the physically active thing, and we especially don't do it outdoors.

To make a (very) long story short, I had to make some changes as I got older. Reluctantly and resistantly, I had to get my health under control. Watching TV all the time has a much different effect on your body when you're 14 than it does when you're over 40. With cardiovascular disease in my family, and some health issues of my own surfacing, I eventually had to come to terms with the fact that I needed to make some changes if I wanted to stick around for awhile, and continue to enjoy life to the fullest.

So this blog is about health, fitness, starting over, life in general, and being a Pale Kid. I have learned I can coexist with grown-up sunshine kids quite well.

- I look different in pictures than sunshine kids, but I don't shy away from cameras.
- I may not be fast, but I have endurance.
- I may be the only person wearing jeans at the training runs, but I do show up.
- My legs will never be skinny, but they do work and so I will use them and be thankful.
- And while I don't cross the finish line with the sunshine kids, I do finish. And that's what counts!