Food addictions, halloween and an update!

The Eat to Live diet is amazing, and it really doesn't lie at all about it's claim of losing 20lbs in 6 weeks while still being completely healthy, balanced and more-than-adequately fed! I'm three weeks down, one week to go before my official Curves weight in that I do once per month on the 7th of each month. I'm in week 2 of the Eat to Live plan and already seeing massive improvements in my overall health. We also had an amazing family nature hike on the Civil War Trail in Old Town, Occoquan on October 30, 2010. It was about 1.5 hours of walking, exploring, seeing beavers and squirrels and a nature treasure hunt.

I'm down 14.4 lbs since Oct 7, 2010's weigh in. My body fat is down an entire 1%. I'm making headway and I just LOVE eating all these fresh yummy veggies. This morning it was cold, and so I thought I'd make myself some oatmeal and cheat by putting a bit of low-cal syrup on it. But if there's one thing the E2L book taught me it's that I must read the labels and avoid the refined and artificial ingredients. Suffice it to say the dogs got a lovely bowl of hot oatmeal for *their* breakfast. Aspartame? Yeck. No thanks! Time to feed my body the healthy food it deserves and get away from the processed garbage that hurts my health.

Halloween was fun! Managed to get quite a few snaps of me taken in my outfit, and for the first time since I can remember I didn't hate every single picture. I'm learning to appreciate my body, learning to appreciate my hard work/effort, and learning to love the bits of me that still need work!

My husband suffers with a very real food addiction. I always thought I was addicted to food, but I've found that I can actually cut entire groups out of my diet without any severe cravings or withdrawals. I think everyone could be down for a giant slice (or three) of chocolate cake from time to time, but I've managed without the refined sugar or the wheat (which were my weakest point). My husband is a salt/meat/sauce addict, and  dietary doctors and specialists say the more salt you eat the more you need. Cutting out salt cold turkey for him has been hard. Whereas I never salted my vegetables, fruit, meat (dislike the taste) he'd salt, and then salt some more. Nagging on him never worked, but as soon as he started the diet the salt was one thing that had to go - and it's been rough on him, and the others around him.

On Halloween I noticed his mood was dipping, so he broke his E2L commitment for two slices of combination meat pizza, a deviled egg, salted nuts and wheat crackers with dip. He seemed to perk up afterward and feel a little happier...I just wonder how that works. You don't give a heroine addict more heroine if they start getting in a slump, do you? Food addiction is very real and impossible to escape because unlike drugs/alcohol you can't avoid food entirely and for forever.

How do you help someone you love cope with their addiction to the very thing that is ripping quality out of their lives, as well as the quality of their future years? Some people say they "Live to Eat, not Eat to Live"...how do you go about changing that very dangerous mindset in a way that isn't destructive or insulting to the person eating themselves to death? I love my husband, I want him around for a few more years yet. I know it is okay to splurge from time to time, so I guess perhaps the answer is to look into a few organic/all natural options for splurge that can give him the same satisfaction without the same serious health implications. The other answer has to be patience. All-encompassing patience at times because this food addiction is a hard nut to crack!

If you have any great natural/organic recipes or know of any awesome natural/organic ready-made dishes/treats you can pick up from a shop (or online) go ahead and let me know! I'm excited to bring some things into the house that will leave him feeling happy and healthy.

Egg out!