Cravings

There are times when I am like a runaway train careening out of control. The bridge is out and the breaks are burned up. I can only stare in absolute horror as I crash into the abyss. This is how intense my physical cravings are. These moments come because I have indulged in sugar more than I ought and I have to start the cycle of weaning myself from it again. These are not simple, “I want a snack” cravings. These are, “I need a chocolate faucet with unlimited access” cravings. Today the cravings are amplified by work stress which has turned them into Gargantuan Cravings of Doom. Meaning, it’s probably only a matter of time before I give in. Which leaves me feeling helpless, hopeless and utterly broken. I have been reading a book called “The Addicted Brain.” I am learning a great deal about addiction and beginning to understand why I use food to calm myself. I have used food this way since I was a child and fighting against it is a brutal and bloody battle. I lose many battles but I continue to fight the war, and probably will until the day I die. Reading this book is helping me to understand that I am not fundamentally flawed. Sure, some of my “need” for relief is psychological but I am utterly relieved to know that much of it is physical. Dr. Michael Kuhar says “Research has taught us how drugs and other pleasures affect the brain. It turns out that drugs, gambling, Internet use, and chocolate all affect the brain in similar ways. The importance of this discovery extends well beyond knowing about drug abuse and pleasure; it impacts on ethics and morality, the nature of the brain as a survival organ, the evolution of the brain, and the good, the bad, and the ugly of human nature.” This war is not for weenies. I am not a failure, even when I give in to the cravings. I am human. Today is a day where I try really hard to limit myself to foods I know won’t trigger impulse eating but also satisfy my “need” for something sweet. At lunch I thoroughly enjoyed my orange. It’s kind of hard to overeat an orange. And I have my other crutch, Trident Sugar free gum, which I can chew to my heart’s content. I may be inhabiting a smaller body now, but the war is the same today and every day. My encouragement comes from knowing I am forgiven when I overeat. I am not condemned. God loves me just as I am. I don’t have to beat myself up, I just need to be diligent and forward thinking. I also know that if I resist the cravings I can get past them. If I go without sugar for at least 3 days, the cravings subside and go away. I just have to get over that hump. It’s hard to break the cycle but Christmas is over and all the goodies are gone. I am tempted to stop by the store and refuel but that would be counterproductive. Because here’s the deal… I am master of this ship. I have a choice to indulge or deny. And today, I deny. Because I know the cycle. I know I can get over the hump. I choose triumph over tragedy, hope over despair, forgiveness over hate. And while I hate these cravings and what they represent, they also give me courage. Because if I’m fighting, that means I haven’t given up.

What’s My Motivation?

People frequently tell me they just don’t have the motivation to get in shape. I’ve heard all the excuses.

“I don’t have time.”
“I can’t give up soda.”
“I just don’t feel like working out.”

I used to think healthy people were stupid. Well, I didn’t really think they were stupid, I just hated them. I mean, what kind of lunatic would work out where there is a perfectly comfortable couch and Felicity to watch? Those super crazy healthy people were all bouncy and peppy and smiley. Like, why would I ever want to be like that? I liked my depressed state. I was all moody and mysterious and dark and twisty (like Meredith from Grey’s Anatomy).

So why did I feel all dead inside? Why was I embarassed to go out in public? Why did I feel like a constant failure? I won’t go into all the details about how poorly I felt about myself. I liked to rationalize my choices. I lived the way I wanted to live, until I didn’t want to live that way anymore.

So this is what I need to start telling people who say, “I don’t have any motivation.” I need to say, “It’s your life. Live the way you want to live. If you like being fat, stay fat. Eat unlimited Doritoes and Orea Cookies. I know they’re yummy. Enjoy!”

But for those of you who do want to get in shape and change your life, just do it! Here’s how I roll.

I am really struggling with the cold weather. I can’t seem to put on enough layers to warm me for walks outside. I want to run but since the orthopedic doctor told me I have damaged cartilage in my left hip, I can’t. It makes me sad and cranky, but I just can’t. So, I pouted for a minute and then moved on. Some days I just can’t wrap my mind around pretending to be a hamster. I mean, my elliptical machine is da bomb but no amount of JOY fm can get me through it. Today I woke up and saw pink clouds from my kitchen window. Pinks clouds mean the sun is shining! I was so excited I started to get like those stupid healthy, peppy people.

I put on layer after layer after layer of clothes and two pairs of socks. I plugged into my tunes and took off out of the front door. And it was COLD! And I had the same thought I have every morning I step outside in the winter. “I’m going back in!”

But I didn’t. I kept walking because I know that about half way through my walk I’m going to warm up and get a burst of energy. When my heart rate speeds up, I get a happy feeling that starts in my toes and radiates out through my fingers. I love that feeling. So you ask, what’s my motivation? I feel GREAT when I work out. I’m not always in a good mood, don’t mistake me, but my endorphins activate my brain and it is wonderful.

I started working out because I wanted to lose a chunk of weight. I hated it for a long time. It was a chore. But somewhere along the way I fell in love with it. Walking, running, cycling, roller skating… I love it! I frequently listen to my audio Bible. With no distractions I can absorb the words. I downloaded it for $7.50. Amazing! And the very best thing about my workouts is it is usually the only time I get to myself.

So here’s the thing, since I had to give up running it’s hard for me to get my heart rate up like I used to. So instead of pouting, I decided to do fist pumps. Fist pumps to the front, fist pumps to the sky and flappy wing fist pumps to the side. Passersby give me the funniest looks and you know what I say, “Hello! How are you today?”

And you know what they say? “Hi.”

And then they get that look, the one that says they think I’m some kind of crazy, healthy, peppy, person. And you know what? I can live with that.

Death By Chocolate

If chocolate is the color of temptation, color me chocolate. Chocolate ice cream, chocolate krinkle cookies, Godiva chocolate truffles. If my children were chocolate, I’d eat them. Considering all the chocolate I ate during my pregnancies, it’s amazing they aren’t. Over the holidays I had difficulty saying no to all of the goodies in the office. I did really well at first. People would offer me cookies and I would take 4, tuck them in my lunch box and take them home to my snack deprived family. (they constantly tell me we don’t have enough snacks in the house and this is my way to reward them—though for what I’m not sure.) Then one day, a beautiful Christmas Tree cookie asked to be mine, all mine, and I ate one. Then three. It was not a national tragedy, but close. Cookies are one of my trigger foods. Once I start eating them it’s all over. But I didn’t eat the chocolate. Instead, I began collecting it and tucking it away in my desk drawer. Every time I saw a goodie box, I grabbed a piece. I reasoned that I might *need* it for a rainy day. There is now a veritable gold mine of chocolate in my desk at work.

There is comfort in knowing this treasure trove is near. But why? If it does rain, will the chocolate make the rain stop? I have read that there are chemicals in chocolate that stimulate the serotonin levels in the brain. These are the chemicals that elevate mood. So is that why I’m keeping it? In case my mood gets low? I will admit my boss also has a chocolate addiction so when he asks me for a fix I am able to oblige. It is definitely important to elevate the serotonin in my boss’s brain. But I digress.

If chocolate is my salvation, then how did I get so heavy eating it? Could it be that chocolate is another lie? Oh, dear.

Early on in my journey I mentioned to my friend Becky that I could not imagine life without chocolate. She turned me onto dark chocolate. She said, “Just have one piece. It is difficult to eat mass amounts of dark chocolate because it is more bitter than milk chocolate. She was right. I promptly renounced milk chocolate for the rest of my life. Now when I am craving something chocolatey, I treat myself with a piece of the dark stuff.

So when I bought milk chocolate for Christmas stockings I promised I would not eat it and tucked it away in the pantry. I ignored that chocolate for over a month…and then we ran out of cookies(that’s another story). Last night my husband found me in bed, cuddled up with my Kindle and *gasp* the bag of Hershey Mint Kisses. He had eaten most of them but there were a few(over 20) left and I lost control. I ate them all. He stood over me like a dictator whose portrait has been vandalized with red paint and I was holding a dripping brush. “Are you going to eat ALL THAT CANDY?!”

Gulp.

I clutched the bag with an iron grip. “Yes and you just try to pry it from my cold, dead, hand.”

I am not proud.

I obviously still have a lot to learn about discipline. The first definition that comes up in Merriam Webster’s online dictionary is “Punishment.” But that’s not how I perceive it. I like the fourth definition better: “training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character.”

Today, I am refocusing on correcting bad behavior. I am repeating a Bible passage I memorized in December, Titus 2:11-15, because it reminds me to train myself to renounce worldly passions and to live a self-controlled and godly life. God sees me under the covers with my chocolate stash. I am not hidden. And to help hold myself accountable, I am sharing here as well.
 
And if anyone is interested in my work chocolate stash, I will release my death grip and donate it to a worthy cause.