Addictions and Labels

Is Obesity an Addiction? Is Obesity a Label?

Hmmm . . . I'm not sure. In my experience, the things that lead to my obesity have been addictive. The wrong kinds of food, the lack/fear of exercise, the emotional solution to eat rather than deal with problems, etc. But is it my label?

I certainly hope not. I hope that I am more than just a Fat Person. Because aren't we all more than just one characteristic? Don't we all have many characteristics that define us and the certain group of characteristics that define each person is different from the next. Isn't that what makes us have certain things in common while we also have differences that make us unique?

Okay, so if one of my characteristics is that I am obese from years of poor eating habits, poor exercise habits, etc. Then my other characteristics might include: musical, dramatic, fiction addict, etc. Why do I let one characteristic speak louder than the others?

Or is it that I feel others are saying I'm fat and rather than let them hurt me, I just admit it and defuse the pain? Does that make sense? Do you find yourself doing that?

The truth is, I don't want to be obese or unhealthy, but the factors that led to these life circumstances are still present in my life and I have not yet found the power to combat them.

The truth is, I am much more than just a fat person, but unless someone can look beyond the body image, they will not see the other great characteristics.

Thankfully, God sees the truth: Isaiah 55:1-2 "Come, all who are thirsty, come to the waters . . . Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare." Jeremiah 31:3 "I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself."

Today, may we cast off the false labels, rid ourselves of our unhealthy addictions, and bask in the love of our Lord!

Getting Outside

Well, Spring is starting to arrive. With it comes wonderful outside weather. I had so much fun playing in the yard yesterday with my kids. It was 63 degrees outside, the sun was shining though a bit overcast, there was a gentle breeze and I could smell someone down the street was grilling. Fabulous outside day!

So with nice weather comes a desire to exercise. And perhaps plant a garden of fresh produce.

Did you know that playing with kids can be exhausting? Thus, it must also be exercise, right? Well, maybe not quite everything exhausting is exercise. But in this case, if the exhaustion comes from physical exertion, then yes it is exercise and therefore it is good. So I need to play outside more with my kids.

And did you know that gardening can be exercise too? Yep, shoveling, hoeing, bending to weed, etc, all can be considered exercise. So there is another reason to be outside and exercise.

I certainly hope we have a beautiful spring and many opportunities to get outside!

Diabetes

Well, with the possibility that I have diabetes and the fact that I don't have health insurance, I have been searching for alternate techniques of treatment. I did a number of online searches about diabetes and have discovered a few key things.

• Diabetes is very much dependent upon lifestyle choices.
• With healthy eating, regular exercise, and other healthy living habits, diabetes can be controlled and even reversed.
• Cinnamon is a natural item that acts in the body like insulin.
• Cayenne Fruit/Pepper can also help Diabetes (though I need to be careful with it since I also have GERD.)
• I will still need to be tested and have regular Dr. appointments.
• But I am learning as much as I can about what I can do to reverse this condition.

My trouble currently is: I have been trying to lose weight and become healthy for months actually years. So I am very concerned that I will not be able to make changes to my life to reverse this disease for the very same reasons I have been unable to lose weight in the past. But, maybe I am just being fearful. I guess time will tell.

Recent Healthy Activities

Well, I am sorry I haven't posted in a while. It has been to long.

My journey towards healthy is taking crazy twists and turns. We have discovered that Gluten free living is not working for our family. For one thing, it is expensive. But also, we have not been able to get away from gluten, it seems to be everywhere. Even foods that are supposed to be gluten free have thickener or some additive that has gluten. So unless the label says "gluten free" it is very likely to contain some gluten. And once the label says "gluten free" the price goes up high, unless you can live off of Chex cereal. Good luck to people making gluten free work, I am certainly proud of you!

Actually, another factor went into us giving up on gluten free living. There is a possibility that I have Diabetes type 2. Now in all truth, living gluten free may help in a diabetes menu, since everything is made fresh and has less additives, etc. But, at this time, we need to focus on getting my healthy situation understood and work toward pure healthy living.

So, I am searching for exercise activities that work for our family (cheap, effective, kid friendly, and fun, etc.) I am also looking forward to spring and summer with produce costs going down and perhaps growing a garden. I continue to research natural healing resources and true health, including healthy foods and activities, etc.

I will continue to post things as I come across them and as I continue on this journey. If you have any questions or blog topic suggestions, I would be happy to oblige. Have a great day!

Addictions

We know there are real addictions that exist throughout the world. People can rally around the addiction to alcohol and recognize how it effects the addict and his/her family members. People openly say cigarettes and tobacco are addictive and hazardous to health. And the world recognizes that second hand smoke is unhealthy too, which means everyone in a breathing radius of a smoking person is being effected by the addiction. What about other addictions? Is there such a thing as a food addiction? I believe there is. I believe a person can become emotionally dependant on the comfort of food.

So the problem becomes, how to break the addiction in order to live a healthy life? A person addicted to alcohol needs to stop drinking alcoholic beverages. He/she still drinks water, milk, juice, etc. Just not alcohol.

A person addicted to tobacco needs to stop smoking or chewing tobacco. He/she may chew gum or wear a medicated patch to help replace the addiction. But the main concept holds true, he/she must stop doing the addictive behavior.

So what does a food addict stop? We must continue eating in order to live. Right? The answer, I'm told, is to find healthy substitutes. So really a person must give up junk food and only eat healthy food for the rest of his/her life. And just like other addictions, it is easier said than done.

Here is my issue, not only does the addict need to stop the cravings and bad habits, not only does he/she need to find the cause of the addiction and resolve what led to the addiction in the first place, the addict must also deal with other people and their opinions and behaviors towards the addiction.

Society and the people around us understand how a recovering alcoholic must stay away from alcoholic beverages and bend over backwards to help on that journey. A host who normally chooses to drink responsibly will go to the trouble of removing all alcohol from the premises prior to inviting a recovering alcoholic over to visit. Thank you! That is called being kind, courteous and compassionate.

Smoking has been recognized by the government as being so unhealthy it is banned from public places. Thank you! A recovering smoker can walk freely into public places without being terrorized by temptation.

Yet, when faced with a junk food addiction, what do people do? They criticize. They tempt. They offer no alternatives or understanding. Food is everywhere (churches, stores, restaurants, friends house, theater, sports events, etc.) Now if it were fruit and veggie platters, I wouldn't mind one bit. YAY! I love food. And if someone wants to provide Subway sandwiches without the dressings, etc. YAY! You have my blessing to do that. Unfortunately, most of the food placed before me is bad for me. And I'll add, it is bad for everyone else too.

Who says there must be a dessert table at every potluck? Who decides that all the food at the main table will be caked with grease and cheese? Why do people think if you put iceberg lettuce in a bowl and have a thick mayonnaise sauce next to it, you can call it a salad? And does that salad amount to all the health offered at the event? Ugh!

I submit to you that a junk food addict, and most of the people could fall into this category, needs to give up all junk food forever and be supported by those around him/her to not be tempted.

I recognize this is hard for a few reasons:
1. most people don't really know what health food is. So let me make it easy, if it is a raw fruit or vegetable with bright and vibrant color, you are safe. If you want added flavor, put the sauce on the side. Please do not add butter or cheese or salt, etc.

2. most people don't want to be confronted with the fact that they are unhealthy and could be considered a junk food addict too. Okay, I sympathize. And yet, wouldn't it be heavenly to be able to go to a church potluck and only have healthy foods on the table? Wheat pasta with homemade spaghetti sauce. Fresh homemade soup with real meat and fresh veggies. Sandwiches with no salt lean meat and fresh cut veggies topped with a light vinaigrette. Yum! Honestly, when people bring fresh fruits and veggies to a potluck, those items are the first to be eaten. It tastes good and it is a no-guilt food. Mothers will crowd around a veggie tray trying to find something their child will eat, because we know it is healthy. Why not make everything healthy?

3. most people enjoy junk food and want the freedom to eat as they please. Okay, I get it. No one wants to be told that what they choose is wrong. But please do not subject me to your justification. I don't want to be told that I am wrong to give up junk food, when we all know it is the right choice. I don't want to be told "oh, it won't hurt to have one piece of cake. it is a birthday party." Well, some people drink and smoke at parties, do we tell the other addicts to cheat too. If so, I am so sorry for them, cause it is wrong.

And eating out, ugh! I would welcome going to a fast food restaurant and seeing truly healthy items on the menu. I would welcome Subway to have a drive through line or a family playground inside. If McD's can have a playground, why not Subway? I would love if the food offered at Panera Bread was more family friendly and more accessible.

If only our churches, families and friends could realize how much food is an addiction and make efforts to help us all. Our country is struggling with issues that we caused ourselves. Now we, as a people, must fix the problems and help each other through the consequences.

Journey Twists and Turns

Well, I haven't posted in a while, sorry to say. My journey has taken another turn in the road. My family has decided to switch to a gluten free lifestyle. I had no idea how many food products contain gluten.

If you are not aware of what gluten is: it is a part of most grains. Wheat, Oats, some Barley, etc. Therefore it is in flour. Most every kind of flour. So any product containing flour has gluten. Or it is made with a gluten free flour like rice flour or corn flour and it just doesn't taste quite the same.

A loaf of white bread in my local grocery store is $1.19. A Loaf of gluten free white bread which is half the size of the regular loaf costs $6.00. So at the same time as going gluten free we are also switching to low carb.

Plus, as I struggle with all the dieting options I have realized there are certain things all diets agree with:

• drink lots of water
• eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables
• raw produce is better than canned or frozen
• monitor how many carbs and how many proteins are consumed each day
• have a food log/journal
• eat a variety of colors of produce (i.e. green lettuce, orange carrots, red tomatoes, etc.)
  
• get some form of exercise
• get regular and restful sleep
• be cautious of portion size
• don't eat lots of oils, salts, and sugars
• etc.

Therefore, while switching to a gluten free lifestyle, I am also focusing on following these other rules, too.

How is your journey going?

Reflections from watching Biggest Loser Season 8 week 2

• Stress doesn't help anything
  
• It is all about calories in and calories out
  
• Find your "sweet spot" where you are burning calories before you hit the gymn and then burning calories at the gymn
  
• Plan ahead
  
• 1200 calories per day
  
• Use make ahead meals with Ziploc bags
  
• Journal out food and calories
  
• Write the calories on the make ahead meals so it is easy
  
• Wear a monitor of calories burned
  
• Accountability helps
  
• It also has to be a personal choice to make it happen
  
• Protein after a workout
  
• Build the muscle up right after you work out cause the work out breaks them down
  
• When you cannot exercise for various reasons, keep a close check on nutrition
  
• Use whey protein powder (Biggest loser brand is 40 calories per scoop per 8 oz and supposedly tastes goods.)
  
• Huge challenge towards teamwork the combined group must lose 150 lbs and all stay another week at the ranch, but if they don't make 150 lbs then two people go home
  
• Food tips from Chef Curtis Stone
  
  • Portion size
    
  • Weigh your portion size
    
  • Fats and oils
    
  • Minimize oils and fats by how you cook and using spices to improve taste rather than salt or butter, etc.
    
  • Ways of cooking
    
    • Baked chicken breast
      
    • Poached shrimp
      
    • Steam salmon
      
    • Grill on non-stick grill
      
    • Broil pork loin
      
  • Fast food salads are caked with fat – not really healthy at all
    
  • No loading it with dressing, croutons or loads of cheese
    
  • Replace 50% of pasta with a vegetable like zucchini
    
  • Give up soda pop it is WAY too much sugar
    
  • Protein: build muscles, maintains fullness and helps blood sugar levels
    
  • Healthy snacks
    
  • Have a couple of snacks a day so you are eating fairly often
    
  • Three meals and two snacks = five opportunities to eat right
    
• Biggest Loser Quiz (worth 15 lbs advantage at weigh in)
  
  • Serving size of meat: how much is the right amount for a family of four? (answer: the amount for a family of four fit on a saucer)
    
  • Cooking without oil: Curtis named 5 now your name 3 of them? (answer: baked, broiled, steamed)
    
  • Fast Food and eating out salads: guess how many calories are in this popular chain restaurant's popular chicken Caesar salad with Caesar dressing? (answer: 1010)
    
  • Starch (substitute zucchini for pasta) how many fewer calories are there in one serving? (answer: 248)
    
  • Soda: How many calories would you consume if you had one 16 oz glass of soda with 3 refills? (answer: 747)
    
  • Which of these desserts is less than 150 calories? (answer: 1 cup fresh raspberries with ½ oz of dark chocolate dipping sauce, not the parfait with plain yogurt, blueberries and sliced almonds or the 1 cup plain vanilla ice cream)
    
  • Snacking: Curtis mentioned three specific reasons why it is important to add a protein to any/every snack, I need you to tell me two of them? (answer: makes you feel fuller and gives your muscles more to work on)
    
  • Curtis Stone approved dessert: Pineapple grilled kabobs, served with natural yogurt (low fat, low calorie), tasty dessert that is fairly good for you
    
• Biggest Loser Challenge
  
  • Four rafts in a lake with balance beams between them. The group must get the whole group past all the balance beams to the end.
    
  • Everyone must move as a group, so everyone must make it to one raft before they can move on to the next. Meaning everyone must be on the balance beam at once before they continue on to the next platform.
    
  • If someone falls in the water, this challenge is over for every single one of the group
    
  • Each balance beam is smaller than the one before
    
  • Prizes at each stage of the challenge
    
    • 1^st raft = 5 lb advantage
      
    • 2^nd raft = 5 lbs
      
    • 3^rd raft = phone calls from home
      
    • 4^th raft = satisfaction of teamwork and 10 more lbs
      
    • So the entire challenge is worth 20 lbs and phone calls home
      
  • The last beam is 6 inches wide.
    
  • On each beam one person's movements had the ability to shake the whole beam.
    
  • For an obese person to trust a piece of metal like that is really hard. Let alone put 15 obese people on the same piece of metal at once.
    
  • It was HARD but they made it, especially by working as a team!
    
  • They received their phone calls home.
    
  • They were reminded of why they came to the ranch and started this journey.
    
  • They miss family but they have chosen that being away from them for this season is the best thing for their families in the long run.
    
  • Danny's daughter once said, "daddy, I want to grow a big belly, just like you" so now when he is at the gymn he has motivation to shrink that belly
    
• Bob and Jillian's reaction to finding out the team now must lose 115 lbs instead of 150 lbs
  
  • Jillian is glad but not relieved or confident
    
  • Bob reminds them this is week two, they have seen people gain weight on week two and be working just as hard as week one.
    
  • Jillian is glad it is not 150 but don't be over confident and ride high
    
  • Don't feel comfortable at 115 lbs it is still a huge amount to lose
    
  • Jillian said, "We could hit it hard and take a hit on week three or . . . "
    
  • Jillian said, "When your body drops a huge amount of weight in a short amount of time, it puts the body into survival mode."
    
  • "It puts your metabolism on hold."
    
  • "If we push it in week two, we will pay in week three"
    
  • Jillian asked Bob, "Who ya gonna go for?" and Bob answered almost immediately, "Julio". Jillian was thrilled. She is sure Julio is not doing the work. Every time the trainer turns her/his back, Julio stops moving. Jillian told Bob to "Kill him" which really means, work him hard.
    
  • Bob and Jillian take the challenge as their own and say, "There is 115 lbs, we have got to get off. The pressure is on."
    
• Last Chance Workout
  
  • Julio must have tunnel vision. Nobody else is here just Julio and Bob. Even though Jillian is busy working out all the rest.
    
  • Jillian has them doing squats with heavy weights, down along the body and then rip it up.
    
  • "Ten more, last chance. Ten more, what are you gonna do with it?"
    
  • "What are you gonna do with your last chance?"
    
  • Answer: I'm gonna take advantage of it!!
    
  • "Afterwards I'll love you, but right now I wanna kill you." Julio's statement to Bob.
    
  • Bob's response, "Good. I'm glad. I like that."
    
  • Jillian was pushing hard.
    
  • "I don't care what you lost last week. You are nowhere. I'm gonna push you as hard as I can."
    
  • Tug of war: Jillian weighing 115 lbs and Rudy weighing over 400 lbs
    
  • "We are doing last chance workout together. It is Bob and Jillian against all of you people."
    
  • All Bob could think about was "Jillian, I'm coming over there."
    
  • Now it is Rudy against Bob and Jillian playing tug of war
    
  • The team is cheering Rudy on and Bob and Jillian are reminding him of why he is there
    
  • "Last chance workout let's go"
    
  • Last chance means, this is your last chance before the weigh in, push it until you really cannot push anymore, "anymore."
    
  • "Do not quit, finish it" "Keep going"
    
  • Jillian said, "The gymn is like a truth serum. The trainers beat on them, beat on them, beat on them, until all their defenses are down. Then everything they have been stuffing down comes flooding up."
    
  • What are you gonna get out of this? Shay wants to be happy. Bob asked, "how long have you been unhappy?" And Shay's response is 30 years. With her mom being a heroin addict for 29 years and it taking her life. Shay must let go of the burden.
    
  • Shay said, "A lot of these pounds are wounds."
    
  • "Times that people have said things or done things or not done things. Broken promises."
    
  • Bob said, "this is your life what are you gonna do with it?"
    
  • The people are faced with reality and it is okay to break down and cry. Bob is not scolding Shay for crying, he is comforting her. She needs to heal and that is okay.
    
  • 24 hour fitness and the Biggest Loser – is it the best gymn or just the gymn that won the contract?
    
• Preparing for the Weigh In
  
  • The trainers actually want these people to succeed. Even Jillian even though she is tough and "mean" she cares.
    
  • Julio feels a person was sacrificed for him to be able to stay and he feels the rift that has remained because he stayed, now he wants them to be glad they made the choice and had him stay.
    
  • Bob has seen people work hard, really hard and still gain 3 lbs on week two. 115lbs is really a lot, especially for week 2.
    
  • People are scared. Partly because they don't want to let the team down.
    
  • They all want to stay longer, because they know the ranch is the best place for them to be right now.
    
  • The people are trying so hard for something and they keep getting low weight loss results so it feels like they are not getting what they are trying/working for.
    
  • Tracey has been walking, swimming and eating right, she felt like she wasn't participating. Yet, she lost 10 lbs and they may be crucial in reaching the challenge.
    
  • "No predictability" "The whole time I'm thinking, I hope I did enough." – Abby
    
  • "Watching your diet, counting your calories, moving, it works!" – Abby 26 lbs in two weeks
    
  • Bob said "I was shocked. Jillian and I pulled out all the stops. We knew we had to make this happen and we were making it happen."
    
  • In previous seasons, so many people have such little results, these numbers are phenomenal
    
  • Rudy has lost 42 lbs in two weeks and as happy as he is, he is also thinking what would another few minutes of workout achieved?
    
  • People are shocked at Julio's results. They were convinced he was not working and at least this week, he lost 19 lbs. WOW!
    
  • Bob was glad they reached the 115 lbs challenge, but then he wanted them to reach the 150 lbs goal.
    
  • So, just like a trainer, Bob wants to train like you can't reach the goal, make it and then set the next goal above and beyond.
    
  • As a group they lost 155 lbs in week two. WOW!
    
  • "Week two is a myth, we conquered it and blew it away." – one of the contestants
    
  • WOW! What an episode.
    
• What have I been thinking?
  
  • I have been doing wimpy workouts, barely sweating or hurting
    
  • I thought I was trying and giving my all, but was I really? REALLY?
    
  • Sure, I lose my breath, but eventually it comes back
    
  • I should be working out more.
    
  • Plus, 1200 calories for an entire day, wow. I could eat that in one meal right now.
    
  • How am I gonna get down to 1200 calories?
    
  • Well, I need to log my eating and log my burning
    
  • I need to follow all of this advice
    
  • Eat veggies and fish,
    
  • stock up on protein,
    
  • eat whole grains
    
  • be willing to be uncomfortable
    
  • eat with no oils or fats other than spray and maybe olive oil
    
  • Stock up on spices and learn which spices taste best on certain things
    
  • When I eat, eat right
    
  • When I burn, burn hard
    
  • When I sleep, rest good
    
  • Somehow I need to make this work, because I am dying right now and I want to live.