The reason for re-posting is I believe in honesty and apparently we had to come back to Food Rehab. In an attempt to relapse into food comas, we chose the wrong foods even after I wrote this and we had both lost weight and thought we had the food addiction whipped. The scales told a different story so this has to be a life style change, a mental determination, and the strongest commitment we had to make to maintain a healthy weight. I give you this confession to affirm this is not easy but here we are again so at least we are aware what we had returned to eating incorrectly is not what we want to do. Everything in this post is on point. I can honestly say it works when we “work at it”. We also know it doesn’t work if you give into temptation and it becomes the norm and not a cheat treat. Here is the original post and to inform you how it works in 1 week I lost 6 pounds and my husband lost over 7 pounds.
FOOD REHAB? DO WE NEED TO CHECK IN? I made a joke remark to my husband that we might qualify as food addicts and it brought me to this thought for the blog. In a society, geared toward commercials, commercial processed food, fitness programs which make us even hungrier, and video recipes showing us in a few seconds how to make a scrumptious dessert; how do we not become food addicts? We see super thin models and now they have embraced being fat as a sexy thing; how are we to know what to think, do or eat?
We are being programmed with a warped sense of how to maintain a healthy weight (notice I didn’t say skinny). In an effort to be politically correct which is a phrase I wish had never come into existence. Now, if someone is satisfied with their body when they are obese; that is their right but it is not healthy. I am not hating on obese people; they are dealing with enough of their demons. I see a lot of people hiding behind a mask of if they pretend they are sexy when they are 400 pounds; they will be. It is a game of denial and it is time to check into Food Rehab. No one has to be skinny but it stops being healthy when there are layers and layers of fat. Heart attacks and strokes as well as organ damage occurs and it is what it is…..that is not sexy. |
| If you would choose the one on the right, read this post. |
My husband and I have been fighting a weight gain over the years and it kept creeping up year by year. Here is why I am referring to Food Rehab; pretending to eat healthy. We had “pretended” to buy healthy; cook healthy; and exercise while indulging in occasional desserts, carbs, and just junk. We offset our minds it was not a regular thing; so we ate and we gained and we gained and we went into denial. I did lose 22 pounds over a long period of time but had I not been a Food Addict; that should have been 50!
The reason I am being up front and in my own face is a little over 2 weeks ago; Greg and I checked into Miller Rehab Center for Food Addicts and here was the sign in sheet for us:
1) Clean out that pantry….If it is there; we will eat it. Like an addict, if the drug of choice is lying on the table next to the addict how much harder is it to resist it?2) Good food shopping trip…….We find it easier to prepare, cook, or snack healthy if we have healthy in the house.
3) Prep the good food snacks…..Clean, cut and have celery, carrots, fruits, and raw nuts, seeds, etc in zip lock bags or containers when the urge to snack, these items can help distract us. It is like an AA meeting for food addicts, a reminder of the goal to stay away from the harmful things.
4) Talk and kid about your goals….One of the most encouraging parts is our “Sponsor” idea. We encourage, support, and kid about our progress or lack of (all of you out there trying know what I am talking about). It is nice to hear my husband joke and say, “One great thing, is when I lose this weight; I have a new wardrobe in the closet!” Humor makes the changes more fun while we are getting in shape for more fun as healthier and fitter people.
5) Tune in to your inner self…..It is not fitness gurus or programs; it is not changing your eating until you change your mind. One of the things I do for myself and it is not for vanity (or maybe it is more pride in how we look) is I look back at pictures and some clothes I saved from the days when I was fit. I remember those days of jogging and walking and being able to breathe while I did those healthy exercising.
6) Be real with yourself……It is not going to happen over night. There is not a magic wand to make it disappear. One of the most deceitful thoughts we can have after it has taken years to get overweight is to think it will go away if we eat right one day……Doesn’t happen that way, folks. The good news with some changes, it does start to go away…..The Millers are proof of this method. Greg has lost 7 pounds in 2 1/2 weeks. I am now officially off 25 pounds and headed for the next 25 pounds.
Here are what we had to leave at the door of the Miller Food Addict Rehab Center and these methods have been around so no secret formulas to help get us through but they are working:
1) Breads had to go. Along with the breads, they had company Pastas (except the veggie), Sugars, Flour.
2) Water took the place of tea (even with Stevia) and we have one cup of Coffee in the morning. It is amazing the more we drink water, the less hungry we are without so many cravings either. If there is magic in healthy eating, it is the water. Half your weight in ounces is how much water to consume. The skin gets better, you don’t feel sluggish, and it is the river of good health.
3) I passed over Sugar but I cannot reiterate how important this step is. The more sugar we eat; the more of everything we want. Give it up with only an occasional treat (not meaning everyday treats either). Small portions of fruit (the ones with fiber and chewing are best)
4) Healthy snacks instead of junk food. Prepare small pieces of an apple or nuts. We have celery and carrots in ziploc bags ready in the refrigerator and we get our chomp-chomp from these. Healthy crackers are the only bread with peanut butter are in a container already made (not store bought) and if we get extra hungry, one will suffice and kill that urge to go rogue!
5) And this should have been Number #1, ATTITUDE. As I said in the beginning, the mind is portion control center. Get on the weight loss train and be the good food conductor and soon, you will be concentrating on the positive side of healthy instead of the woe is me victim syndrome. I made the comment the other day “I am not upset by the things I can no longer eat; I have already eaten more than a lifetime quantity of them.”
6) Encourage others but don’t patronize them if they haven’t made up their minds. I have been guilty thinking I was encouraging friends by expressing “That’s alright; you will do better or You can start over tomorrow.” Enabling is not encouraging. Maybe “You royally messed up and now you need to get serious” is what we need to say.
7) New tip since original post: Make foods attractive. Healthier food looks better when plated with some arrangement and colorful placement. I am posting a slide show of healthy food presentation for you to get the idea. It makes you want to eat healthy.
Good eating; get real; acknowledge the food addiction; prepare the intervention by changing the foods in your home; and be prepared for a free from got to have food life so you can enjoy life to the fullest.
Until we eat and read again…….Arline Miller, author of Sipping Cups of Inspiration and A MISTRESS, A WIFE, novel
(C) Copyright 2012-2018 Arline Miller. All rights and properties reserved and to be used with permission. Third party material is sourced to original location for credit reference.
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