Food Rehab

Here are just a few suggestions that seem like things that could help me. In the book you will find many more helpful ideas.

***

Set Rules. Be specific, such as:
I don't eat candy bars.
I don't drink soda.
I don't buy store-bought cookies.
I don't eat fast food.

"The shift from wanting to behave differently to actually doing so requires setting rules and practicing them until they become programmed behavior." (page 192)

Practice, practice! Habits are difficult to break and start, but become easier the more you practice them.

***

Learn to view the pursuit of sugar, fat, and salt in a negative light.

"The cognitive strategy is to recognize when you're having euphoric recall and selectively remembering only the good parts. Then, in your mind, you play the scenario out to the end and you say, 'This is what's going to happen. I'll feel good for two minutes, and then I'll feel horrible.'" (page 198)

Not by choice or by any heroic effort on my part, I've done this with ice cream. I've known that I was slightly lactose intolerant for 15+ years, but it's only been in the past couple of years that I've finally recognized that every time I eat ice cream, I get a slight headache and a nauseated sensation in my stomach. I think I ignored the connection between ice cream and that sick feeling for a long time. However, once I put them together, ice cream no longer tempts me.

I'm hoping to use this with other treats. After the holidays, I posted about the effects that all the sugary, fatty treats had on my body. I'm trying to practice "playing the scenario out to the end" so I get to the part where too many sweet treats make my bowels feel miserable. Not to mention that the "high" only lasts a few minutes, before I want more.

I re-lapsed conducted an official scientific experiment recently. I'd bought several Cadbury Creme Eggs for John's birthday, but I should have waited until the day OF his birthday to buy them. When I succumbed (several times), I melted into a pile of euphoric goo when the chocolate and sugary center reached my mouth. It made me feel good. happy. relaxed. And then, within a few minutes of eating it, my mouth had a yucky, sort-of metallic aftertaste. I wanted more. And mostly just to get rid of the yucky aftertaste!

Dr. Kessler talks of a man who, trying to break a cigarette addiction, inhaled deeply into a jar packed with cigarette butts every time he was tempted to smoke. That negative association has helped him stop smoking.

"Unless a person makes the cognitive shift, where it's more reinforcing to have a life without the substances than it is to have a life with them, recovery is not obtainable." (page 198)

"Not smoking becomes the thing the individual feels good about." (page 198)

"It may not seem that food can become as readily aversive as cigarettes, but for my part, very large portions now strike me as generally disgusting." (page 198)

"Once I thought a big plate of food was what I wanted and needed to feel better. Now I see that plate for what it is -- layers of fat on fat on sugar on fat that will never provide lasting satisfaction and only keep me coming back for more." (page 200)

"If we think rewarding food is a friend, we're likely to pursue it. If we think it's an enemy, we'll turn from it with distaste." (page 201)
-- I hesitated to include this quote. I was talking with a friend about this book and mentioned the concept of seeing food as an enemy. She was concerned about that wording, because sometimes people with eating disorders see food as the enemy, so they abstain completely, or purge it after eating. So use this one with caution. Not all food is an enemy, but if we find ourselves addicted to certain foods, and they are detrimental to our health and fitness goals, then they are better off viewed in an un-friendly light. Just please don't go to the other extreme! Good food in moderation is our friend. Cadbury Creme Eggs? Not so friendly.