EVERYTHING IN MODERATION

I absolutely abhor when someone says to me "Everything in Moderation".   The truth is I don't know how to moderate or I would not be at the weight I'm at.

A friend of mine just came back from THE BIGGEST LOSER camp.   She spent an expensive week re-learning how to eat, eating less, exercising, and looking for an answer that can't be found.  One of the nutritionists/trainers said to her, and I'm paraphrasing, "You're not a sugar addict. You just need to learn how and what to eat and you can have sugar, too.  My friend, who I'll call Elsie, then explained what she does with sugar...that she could eat a whole box of doughnuts, not just one, and then go have an ice cream, and two big macs, and so on and so forth....

"Okay, the nutritionist said, "Maybe you are a sugar addict."  Hellooooooo!!!!

When are people who don't have a weight problem going to realize that sugar addiction is just as bad as heroin, or cigarette smoking, or an alcohol addiction?   Plus, sugar is harder to give up because we're  faced with food every day, all day.   Sugar addicts go through withdrawals, get headaches, panic, go out in the middle of the night for their fix. They have sleepless nights, mood swings, and go into depression when deprived of their 'drug' of choice.    

Many doctors, nutritionists, food therapists don't have a clue as to how to treat this addiction, mostly because they cannot even admit that it is one.   The only group I've ever come across who really owns up to this addiction, is a 12-step program - there are a few of them Food Addicts Anonymous, CEA HOW, OA,  et al.    I've been to all of them but when I want my sugar, I usually duck out.  Why?  Well, maybe because I can't be in the One Day at a Time mode.  Or because I still have not gotten to the crux of my addiction, and more honestly is I still want to think that somehow, somewhere there is a God and I don't have to spend the rest of my life without sugar.

That is why, right now, what I am trying to do by ordering food delivered in 5 days a week, is seeing if I can lose weight by having between 1200-1400 calories a day that include 'dessert'.  So far, it's been a little over two weeks.  I'm down 8 lbs. and that feels good but it's just a small scratch on the surface of my 60 lb. overweight body.   Stay tuned!!!!