Discussion Board

Sooooo here we go! I've flirted with you, loved the promises you offer and know that you're the one for me - and - I know (at least in my head) that you'll deliver on those promises IF I stay committed to you.

Ahhh, there's the rub...commitment!

You mean I CAN'T keep doing what I've done and reach wellness?

Ok. You win. No more flirting. No more "trial runs". You and I will be like 2 peas in a pod. Mmmm peas!!!

In the face of fatty, salty chips and creamy, chocolatey ice cream...in the face of forbidden snickers bars...okay, enough drama, right?

Rather than focus on what's "off the menu" I'll focus on what's "on the menu"!

Let's see....salty baked corn chips...creamy, sweet sorbets (made with ingredients I can pronounce, since I'll be putting it together), delicious sweet potatoes, lovely baked home fries with ketchup and mustard...yum...okay, I'm yours!

Today thus far:

B: sweet potato, apple and banana flavored with cinnamon and nuked - yum!

Welcome Back, MrsPotatoHead! Glad you're here!

I love your post! It reminds me of a song by Mercy Me called "So Long, Self"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj90OG6bm2o

I haven't thought about it in a long time, but I used to think of this song as it related to my "relationship" with SAD eating. It's a "break-up" song.

I especially like the lines:
"It's been fun, but I have found somebody else."
"Don't go away mad, but by all means, just go away."
"Don't take this wrong, but you are wrong for me, farewell, oh well, good bye, don't cry."
and - "Stop right there because I know what you're thinkin' but no, we can't be friends!"

thanks, KirstyKay! I've always loved that song..never thought about it like that, but you're right! I am surrounded by foods that are "off limit" so the temptations to stray are all around me.

This isn't an excuse, however, to eat foods which will harm His temple, I realize that.

Using an analogy to describe where I want to be:
I have absolutely zero problem staying faithful to my husband. If you parade a thousand men in front of me who try to seduce me with their words, my ears are deaf to their calls.

This is the relationship I want with food. I know that by eating foods which provide the nutrients my body needs I can get to this point.

I want to walk into a buffet and have no compulsion whatsoever to eat unless I'm truly hungry.

I know that a starch based, plant based lifestyle will help me get me there!
Now I just have to put that belief into action...consistently!

There are two aspects to getting over cravings for our past love affairs with food. The first is the physical craving. You'll hear it said often enough that if you totally eliminate all elements of them from your diet that eventually the physical cravings go away. For some this takes as few as two or three weeks. Some a bit longer. Some still longer than that. But eventually they go away. If, on the other hand, you take a bite here, one sip there... the cravings remain as strong as ever.
The second aspect is our emotional attachment to these foods. Our relationships with food can be just as dear to us as our relationships to people. Imagine someone in your life that you love dearly. That you would go to the end of the earth for. That you have a strong relationship with that you always believed would last a life time. Now imagine that one day you found out that everything about your relationship was based on a lie and that your loved one wasn't who you always believed, and that your relationship was actually a very disturbing one that might even end up killing you. You'd be very wise to end that relationship immediately, remove that person from your life, and never speak to or think about them again.

Easier said than done, right? Human relationships are deep and complex and even when you know you must end them it is still painful and often requires a time of bracing and strengthening yourself before hand and always involves a lot of grieving both during and afterwards.

Most people's relationships with food don't come anywhere near this level of attachment. But for many of us they do. For me they sure did.

Have you gone through a grieving process for the foods you must give up? Have you worked through those feelings? Think about someone who goes through a divorce but never goes through that grieving process. They will carry emotional baggage with them into the future that can hinder and sometimes ruin future relationships.

If we don't address our emotional attachments with the food we're trying to eliminate from our lives then we're going to carry emotional baggage with us into new relationships with food.

For most people, just realizing they need to go through this process is enough. They then work through it on their own. Others might need help.

-Norm

Thanks for the "food for thought" Norm - yes, pun intended!

It's funny. The thought of never having meat again makes me go, "meh, whatever...next". The thought of no cheese, milk or eggs, the thought goes up to, "well, okay, I'm pretty sure I can do that, sure", but when you throw in the need to (at least for MWL) drop the bread and the sugar...a/k/a baked goods - the thought goes, "oh man, I'm not sure about this...how can I fight the temptation when it comes around...and it always does...Snickers bars and I have an intimate relationship - shhh, don't tell my husband!"

It's not so much the actual food for me though, I think. I guess it's as you say the emotional attachment that's the issue. I've sought food to be my friend and comforter. As a Christian that's idolatry, I know, so it has to go!

As the twelve steppers say, "one day at a time", right?

So far so good today... yeah me! Praise God!