Head Up Eating Bites

Continuing with the Simpson's theme is this little gem poking fun at eating when you're not hungry.



A while back I read a great little post about a way to tell if you are truly hungry. Ask yourself, where does my hunger come from?

If your feelings of hunger originate from the neck up, your hunger is emotionally based.

If you feel hunger from the neck down, your body is telling you it is hungry.

This advice was great when I heard it the first time, but I figured out why it didn't always work for me. It's because I was eating my "Trigger Food."

When I ate sugar, my emotional eating increased and I often overlooked the fact that it was emotional because I just wanted to eat the food I was addicted to.

So, identify those trigger foods, stop eating them, and learn to eat from the neck down. It's a pretty liberating feeling to be in control of your appetite. And next time you'll know when to stop eating, even when you "can't seem to stand up under your own power any more."

Sugarholic Synonymous

30 days!

I just completed 30 days without sugar.

Yes, it's like being on a deserted island taunted by sweets

How do I define "sugar?" Anything on a label that says sugar, evaporated cane juice, cane juice, high fructose corn syrup, or corn syrup. I do not include natural sugars that are associated with fruit. I consume xylitol and agave (for now - might cut that too). My two sweeteners of choice are honey and dates.

I have never experienced the traditional vices. Never drank alcohol. Never smoked a cigarette. Never tried any drugs. Never had an issue with prescription drugs. But I've had an addiction. I've been addicted to sugar in the traditional sense of the word.

I've learned over the last year or so that sugar was my trigger food.

• It triggers greater consumption of sugar. 
• It triggers my appetite.
• It triggers fluctuating emotions. 
• It triggers eating when I'm not hungry.
• It triggers weight gain. 

I've heard "Everything in moderation" all my life. But it does not work for me and sugar. Sorry Mom.

One of my wonderful co-workers has a candy dish filled with M&M's. If I have one M&M, I have five.   If I have five, I have twenty. I can't eat just a couple pieces. 

For a while in our home, the only sugar we had was a 3 lb bag of chocolate chips from Costco. We went through two of bags of chocolate chips a month. If I had 10 chocolate chips, I'd have 50. 

I am addicted to sugar. 

So how have I felt the last 30 days without sugar?

• In control of my appetite. I listen better to my body's cues when it says it is full. This is a whole topic by itself, but suffice it to say, my senses are not dulled or dimmed by sugar
• I've been happier. I don't get discouraged when things aren't going according to plan. I feel more motivated to get stuff done. 
• I don't feel tired when I get home from work. This is a combination of a few factors, but still a great side effect.
• I feel empowered. The other day I had to buy donuts for an activity for the church youth. I walked into that donut shop and the sugar in the air and other aromas caused me to crave it immensely. All I wanted was to eat a donut. That night as they sat out in the open the only thing that kept me from eating the donuts was the tally sticks on my glass wall at work. I didn't want to end my streak. It empowered me to avoid sugar.
• I'm losing weight. Again, other things factor into this.  
• I don't have to count calories to lose weight. More on this in another post.

My original goal was no sugar in January (we weren't going to buy chocolate chips). My revised goal became no sugar until my birthday in May. But I will take it to a greater extreme and say, "No sugar until our family cruise this fall." That would be 9+ months of no sugar. 

Ironically, that's the length of time a certain book advocates for expectant mothers to have a wonderful pregnancy experience. Jenny did this to a certain extent with the last baby with success, but intends to follow the diet completely for our next one. 

In sharing this, my purpose is not to declare that sugar is as addictive as heroin. That could be true, but studies change, science changes, and who knows what contradictory evidence will come out against that statement.

I firmly believe that the right diet for you is not found in one book or website or that it comes from avoiding that one food or group of foods. It's found in acquiring truth from many different sources and then listening to your body and spirit teach you what things you need to do. It's about learning precept upon precept and here a little and there a little. 

For now, for me, I need to avoid sugar like the plague. So that's what I'll do.