My Secret Junk-food Cravings
and how I beat them
I clearly remember the day I was told I had to ‘change my diet’.
I freaked, what would I eat with no bread, no milk on my cereal — no CEREAL!
No butter on my mashed potatoes or ice cream …at all.
No toast? Is this guy serious?!
Having been advised that my health had hit the skids and if I didn’t do something serious about it then I was in REAL trouble, I decided to approach this in a structured and mature manner.
I rang the Health Practitioner and abused him.
How would I replace these foods…I had forged deep emotional attachments to all of them.
Ice cream is a reward,
Butter is what we are supposed to have because it’s healthy and it tastes amazing in soft, creamy, mashed potato my mum would do so well.
Sugar on my cereal is what I’ve always had since I was tiny.
Same with toast and cheese — my dad would make it for me and it made me feel so special.
And then there was Milo, Chocolate topping, Tim Tams, more milk, lemonade, chips, pancakes with brown sugar and lemon, bacon, yoghurt, apple pie….all totally made me feel awesome (but sick).
There was no way I was going to give these up — nothing would ever compare to the joy these foods gave me.
These are just a few examples of the emotional attachments we experience daily, hourly and often every minute!
The emotional attachments we have connected to foods is deep rooted and goes unnoticed until we have to stop eating them.
This is the reason we find it so difficult to eat well and continue to eat well.
Removing the ‘feel-good’ foods from the pantry and fridge and replacing them with the necessary whole foods which have NO emotional attachment or any feel-good memories whatsoever and thus no reason to eat them, produces a quandary if you really want to get on the whole-food bandwagon.
To avoid that panicked feeling have a good look at the meals you are eating now.
Are these your favourite meals and do you have them a few times a week? Often breakfast is the same day in and day out. Or you may be having toast, sandwiches and pasta on the same day.
Pasta can appear to be a healthy option and it is — but if it’s the third time today you’ve had grains it isn’t going to end up being your friend.
Getting back to the emotional attachment thing — The first step is to acknowledge why you are eating them.
The easiest way to witness your ‘why’, is to stop. Because that moment you reintroduce them will bring up an emotional blast you will recognise.
Food is a reward.
A reward for eating all your dinner, being a good kid, playing a good game of football, doing well in an exam. Even as an adult I’ve worked in places where lollipops are handed out to the best workers!
And it works!
I have managed to alter my diet a LOT. It took me years of trial and error to discover the foods that agrees with me the best. i.e. no bloating or fatigue, my immune system is great, awesome energy and a very positive outlook.
Everyone will follow a different path to health and they are all good.
Don’t be afraid of change and……..
Keep It Simple
If you’d like more info on what foods to replace Sugar, Wheat and Dairy there’s a FREE guide for you.
http://www.beinspiredliving.com/food-guide-pdf/
