End Destructive
Food Cravings
(From a TEDx
talk delivered at the University of Idaho in April 2018)
10 years ago,
I had…
Sleep Apnea,
Major Depression, Brain Fog, High Blood Pressure, I was hospitalized twice for
an irregular heartbeat. I had Diabetes,
Fatty Liver, and Neuropathy. I was scared
to death of Alzheimer’s… something that runs in my family and is sometimes
called type 3 diabetes.
I’m now a
recovering crap addict, that’s C.R.A.P. and a recovering binge eater. According to the Diagnostics and Statistical
Manual, or DSM… Food Addictions don’t exist.
But anyone with one, knows they do.
I was
morbidly obese for most of 30 years. At
my heaviest, I was almost 300 lbs. (Demo
belt) I kept my belt to remind me how big I was. I don’t usually wear it, but I did today. Since then, I’ve lost a few pounds, without
surgery or diet pills.
For the past
6 plus years, my blood glucose levels, or A1C have been between 4.8 and 5.2, which
is almost perfect. My intention is not
to brag, but to give someone hope.
I’m now off
medication for diabetes and volunteer as a lifestyle coach for the National
Diabetes Prevention Program.
While not
the whole story, destructive food cravings come from 4 primary sources:
1.
Food
Insecurity. I’m not talking about… not getting
enough food to eat, I am talking about not getting enough of the essential
nutrients. Food Insecurity occurs when
your mind and body do not get all the nutrients they need. As long as you are food insecure, you will
crave food. Even if you were to eat a
gallon of macaroni and cheese every day… even if you were to eat TWO gallons of
macaroni and cheese every single day, if that’s all you ate, you would be food
insecure.
I actually had a college roommate who
tried that, and ended up getting so sick he had to have vitamin shots to regain
his health. He was lucky, it could have
been much worse. For many, it is.
Some of you, may be on a similar
path.
According to the World Health
Organization, and perhaps for the first time in history, there
are now more people in the world who are malnourished and obese than
malnourished and underweight. Let me
repeat that. There are now more people
in the world who are malnourished and obese than malnourished and underweight.
Some believe it is too expensive to
eat healthy. That’s a myth… for most.
It’s actually cheaper to eat healthy
and be healthy, even on food-stamps, IF you know how.
Many can even eat more than they usually
eat, and still lose weight, if they eat the right foods.
The best solution is to eat a healthy,
well-balanced diet, every single day.
2.
Crap. If you eat crap, you will crave crap… period.
Also, if you eat crap, you will feel like
crap, if not today, eventually, if you live long enough. There is simply no getting around the law of
the harvest. No pill will ever
completely change this. Most of you have
a pretty good idea what crap is.
The best solution is to avoid crap. I know, that may sound harsh, but remember,
I’m a recovering crap addict… think about it this way… how much alcohol can a
recovering alcoholic safely consume?
NONE!
3.
Emotional
distress. First a story: Last summer my
then, 3-year-old granddaughter and two grandsons were on a trip with me,
returning one of my grandsons to his mother.
My granddaughter was wearing a sequin dress. She decided it would be a good idea to remove
a sequin and stick it up her nose.
OK, how many of us have stuck
something up our nose and got it stuck? I
did when I was a kid. It was on the weekend and was a hassle for my parents to find
someone to get it out.
I tried to remove the sequin from my
granddaughter’s nose, but couldn’t even see it.
When we got back to town we went to the doctor’s and the receptionist
asked why we were there. I said: “somebody
stuck a sequin up their nose.” The
receptionist smiled and asked: “now, who did that?” My granddaughter beamed with delight and patting
herself on the chest, said, “me.” When
we got in to see the doctor, she was able to see the sequin, but unable to remove
it. She referred us to an ENT. Afterwards, she offered my granddaughter a sucker.
Quite often when children are in
distress, we give them comfort food. Usually comfort food, is crap. As we grow older, sometimes, when we
are in distress, we seek comfort in food, and usually it is? crap. Even if it’s healthy, it’s way too much, which
only makes the situation worse.
OK, how many of you have eaten a whole
carton of ice-cream, a whole box of doughnuts, a whole bag of cookies, or
something similar, after a breakup?
The best solution… learn to manage
stress in healthy ways, and seek appropriate help for trauma.
4.
Habitual
responses to cues and triggers. These
are all around us. Businesses and
organizations have become quite expert at using smells, images, and social
pressure, to separate us from our money.
For some of us, many of these cues almost compel us to eat. While it is difficult, change is
possible.
The human is the only animal that can
planfully and purposefully reprogram how we respond to cues and triggers. I’ve done it and helped others do it. It’s not easy, but its possible for almost
anyone.
The best solution is to avoid difficult
cues. However, much of the time, this is impossible. The National Diabetes Prevention Program may
help. Other programs and resources may
also help.
OK, one more tip
for those of you who may be binge eaters, I have learned, as with most
addictions, it can be very difficult to make healthy choices when either tired
or stressed. How many of you have heard
an old commercial that says: bet you can’t eat just one? Well, when I’m tired or stressed, I can’t eat
just one of anything. Because of that, I
rarely eat after 5: P.M. This strategy
has served me well for many years. Perhaps
something similar will help some of you.
Remember! You do not need to be a slave to
cravings.
There is hope
and there is help.
You can choose
to love yourself more fully, you can choose to live life more fully, you can choose
your own personal optimal health, whatever that may be.
Thank you
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