True Confessions of a Sugar Addict
Sugar and Flour Addiction is real.
THIS IS A TRUE STORY
There was this weightloss coach certified in Holistic Nutrition named Zelda Sheldon, who did a detox and reached her ideal healthy weight and cured her eczema and psoriasis with a super clean diet. After a while, when life got hectic and overwhelming, she started eating little treats here and there, that soon became regular treats, that then turned into BIG treats - that finally resulted in 27 pounds of excess unwanted weight. Oh no! Really? How could this be?
AS A WEIGHT LOSS COACH I THOUGHT I KNEW BETTER.
So yes, this really happened. I’m a Holistic Life Coach and hypnotherapist helping others with their various addictions and issues. And yet somehow I had lost control of myself. I was indulging in snacking and eating high sugar foods. What I did not know what there was a part of me driving my thoughts and behaviors. The key to all this is ‘I’d lost control of MYSELF’. My self was still in there somewhere but I had become hijacked by some other part of me taking me where I did not want to go.
FOOD INDULGER
According to the Internal Family Systems framework we all have parts of us deep in our psyche directing us towards certain actions and behaviors. And the Indulger part of me was somehow now in control. I did not understand that my Indulger Part whose job is to try to help me feel good - by telling me I deserved a sugary and floury treat - many times a day - because I had worked so hard to reach my perfect ideal body size - was in fact leading me down the wrong path to being overweight again.
ME, A FOOD ADDICT?
Is my sweet tooth really an addiction? To find out I took the Food Addict test on the Bright Line Eating website and discovered my level of addiction was 8/10. That's in the high addiction group. No wonder I crave sugar and flour - because these foods are so addictive. Lettuce and broccoli I do not crave because these foods are NOT addictive. I selectively crave sugar and flour - chocolate, dates, raisins, jam, honey and the flour sugar carbs like bread, crackers, cake, muffins, noodles, pasta, white rice.
IT'S MY ADDICTIVE BRAIN.
Aha! Now I know that my addiction is real. I cannot even eat these foods in moderation because I am a sugar addict - and addicts with high levels of substance addiction like me need to abstain - totally. But does this mean I need to quit and give up sugar and flour F-O-R-E-V-E-R?
COLD TURKEY QUITTING
I was a cigarette addict and quit 41 years ago without patches or cravings. Yet I know that today if I have even 1 puff, that would put me into the danger and destructive zone. Same for me with sugar.
I know this is true because twice in my life, after reaching my ideal perfect body size, months of working so hard to get there, my part said 'celebrate', 'indulge' a little with little sugar and flour treats because I've been SO GOOD. So I allowed myself to indulge with little food treats, here a little, there a little and then BAM! Overweight again. By listening to and following the food indulger I had Yo-Yo’d back.
BRIGHT LINE EATING.
After devouring the book Bright Line Eating by Dr Susan Thompson PHD and following the BLE plan for 2 weeks of I've dropped 7.8 pounds - eating 3 big healthy meals a day - No sugar, No flour, No snacks. And best of all, no hunger or cravings. Now that I know what's really going on inside my brain I can indulge or soothe myself in other NON FOOD ways.
FINALLY IN CONTROL.
Following the BLE plan I’ve seen great results. Down 7.8 pounds in 2 weeks is awesome, and no hunger or cravings is even awesomer! At this point I have 20 more pounds to drop. Now after reading Dr Susan Thompson’s second book ‘Rezoom’ a few times I've discovered more about the Indulger Part inside of me.
I am now fully aware of how these parts can operate. They are trying to help me. So when I do get to my ideal perfect body size within the next 12 weeks I now know that sugar and flour abstinence is best for me long term. I know I need to keep following the Controller Part, because I am high on the food addiction scale.
A NEW IDENTITY
Can I do this? Only if i get a new identity - like I did when I quit smoking. I call myself a NON-SMOKER. Or when I was a vegan for 7 years I said I DON'T EAT ANIMAL PRODUCTS. My new identity right now is "I DON'T EAT SUGAR OR FLOUR." This time my weight loss feels different. I don't feel like I'm depriving myself. And for the first time I understand what is driving my addiction.
PROGRESS UPDATES COMING
I'll keep you posted. Zelda@ZeldaSheldon.com
