Weighty Wednesday -- Food Addiction cont.

Yesterday's blog was a tad disjointed. That's what I get for writing it without drinking my first cup of coffee, and when I need to wake the family up to get ready for work and school, and the dog manages to puke on herself. Yeah, good times.

"Onward, Teb!" (Galaxy Quest)

When a person is addicted to something: alcohol, drugs or gambling, the goal is to totally cut those behaviors out of the equation through rehab programs, therapy, and non-association with the addiction. 

People with food addictions CAN NOT cut out the problem causing the addiction. We need food to eat to survive. Temptation comes  every single time we open our mouths and place something in it.

This is why we have to modify our behavior instead of cutting it out.

Learning to put the appropriate types of food and quantities in our mouths is a big step in the right direction.

Even after we 'succeed' in our weight loss goal, we must face food challenges every single day. Some days are good days and some days are not so good. We must be honest with ourselves and acknowledge that if we backslide, we must do something about it.

When I joined Weight Watchers previously, I had an end goal in mind--my wedding, vacation, etc. I didn't have my end WEIGHT in mind. And when that weight started creeping back up, I thought I could deal with it on my own. I had the knowledge, right? I discovered the magic elixir and knew the answer.

Sorry, but it doesn't always work that way for me and many others.

This time around, I decided that the only way I would be accountable for my eating habits was to continue going to a Weight Watchers meeting after I reached goal. And that didn't mean just once a month for my official weigh-in to keep me on their free etools.

I needed the honesty and accountability of weekly meetings. And yes, I will say I needed the FEAR, too. Fear that I'll revert to my old behaviors. Fear that I'll have to pay for the meeting. Fear that I will have failed.

And I'm not the only one who does this. One lady has been a Weight Watcher for over 30 years. I think she's been at goal since the days when you had to eat liver once a week on the program back in the 1970's and '80's. Trust me, that program was starvation mode. My total daily points were 18 and I had to count fruits and vegetables. Now, I have a comfortable 32 points (maintenance level, 26 points when I was losing) daily with most fruits and vegetables a zero point value.

Liver, Yuck!

Donnie knows the secret. And so do I.

You have to be honest with yourself to realize that your food addiction will not disappear. Every time you open your mouth, you must make the choice. Periodically, your trigger foods will trip you up, or special occasions, or simply eating out. Constant vigilance is the name of the game.

For me, that means attending weekly Weight Watcher meetings.

Later, Peeps!