Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Week 32

Acknowledge your food addiction(s).


This is a very, very tough one this week.  I know.  But it is very important if you want to succeed.  If there is any food or ingredient that you MUST have daily, then you are addicted to it.  Foods/drinks that you are addicted to will adversely affect your health. 

It is very easy to be in denial about your food addictions.  As long as you are in denial though, you will not be able to conquer it (them).  So often, those in denial say, "I'm not addicted to ________, I just enjoy it and like to have it every day so I see no reason to cut it out of my diet."  Well, great but please do a test for me.  Give it up for just one week and see how your body reacts.  If you don't crave it or have any symptoms, then you probably are not addicted to it.

One item that might fall into this category is coffee.  If you truly are not addicted to it, then purchase an excellent quality organic coffee and enjoy.  But please do the one week test to determine if it is controlling you.  

I would like to share a friend's story with you.  My friend  refused to acknowledge that coffee could be causing him to have health problems for years.  His blood pressure was high and he was on blood pressure medication.  He ate great and was trying lots of things to naturally reduce his blood pressure.  I suggested he give up his coffee and he said that he knew it was not a problem and he drank only one cup in the morning anyway.  He was a bit defensive, so I didn't pressure him about the matter.  

About three years later, his blood pressure was not only high but no longer controllable with medication.  It had become very erratic.  He again came to me for advice.  I said, I know coffee is not a problem, but why don't you give it up for just a week or two.  It may not help anything but it certainly won't hurt anything.  So, he did.  Two weeks later, his blood pressure was normal and he was completely off all blood pressure medication.  Wow - even I was amazed at the quick change (but remember he also did eat extremely well).  

I tell you this so that you will not be in denial with the attitude, "I could give it up, I just don't want to".  When someone says that, it is my first clue that the food/drink being referenced is something they are probably addicted to.

God has given our bodies amazing healing power if we just stop putting things that are toxic into them and instead supply them with the necessary nutrients from the foods God gave us to eat.  That is what it means to me to go 100% - stop eating addictive foods altered/tainted by man and eat foods made by God.  No other restrictions.    

"Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.  For it is a shame even to speak of the things that they do in secret;  but when anything is exposed by the light it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light.  Therefore it is said, 'Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.'"  Ephesians 5: 11 - 15

So this week, find an accountability partner to verbalize your food addiction to or write it down on a piece of paper.  Acknowledge it and bring it into the light.  This is an amazing healing step that reduces its power over you.

If you don't think you are addicted to anything - GREAT!!!  But confirm this with someone that knows you well.  If they mention something, see if you can easily give it up for a week.  If you can't, it is likely something you are addicted to.

What things might you be addicted to?  Here are the top two ingredients for most Americans:

1.  Caffeine
2.  Sugar

You might be addicted though to something more subtle, such as cheap salt, cheap fat, or some other man-made artificial ingredient that has been added to some food you regularly eat.  These things are in the addictive foods we buy such as chocolate, white flour, snack chips (Doritos, Lay's, etc.), ice cream (loaded with sugar and often artificial ingredients), candy, or soda (including caffeine-free or diet) to name just a few.   Many of the processed foods today are manufactured to MAKE you crave them.  They want you to be addicted.

If you have been to one of my classes or read my story, you know that I am a sugaraholic.  I no longer have processed sugar in my diet, but I say "I am" rather than "I was" because I know I can have none.  I am like an alcoholic is with alcohol, who can't have just one drink.  I can't eat just 'a little' sugar without it controlling me again.  I don't have a strong enough willpower, nor do I want to deal with needing this level of willpower.  That is no fun.  I've tried.  I know that once a sugaraholic, always a sugaraholic.  Acknowledging this has helped me so much - I now know I cannot control it so I don't try.

So, knowing that I am a sugaraholic, I eat only sweets that are sweetened with raw unfiltered honey, maple syrup, dates and other dried fruits.  I also eat a lot of fresh fruit.  On a rare occasion, I have something with agave nectar (when it is used in prepared foods which I purchase such as Coconut Bliss) and I drink only water, milk, an occasional Izzie (sweetened with fruit) and unsweetened tea so I don't use stevia.  My sweets made with dried fruits, honey or maple syrup (God's sweets) do not control me like processed sugars do.  

I did not openly acknowledge to others that I was addicted to sugar until six years ago when I taught my first 'Eating God's Foods' classes, but once I did I finally was able to conquer it and I am no longer even tempted.  It did not work for me to keep my 'secret' from others or to think I could control it.  I should have realized this years earlier when I got some homemade birthday cake out of the trash can to eat.  I had put it in the trash can in the kitchen the night before so I could not eat any more of it.  But that did not stop me - that addiction, that craving for sugar was too strong.   First thing I did the next morning was get a piece out of the trash can and eat it for breakfast!  Keep in mind this was homemade cake using all organic excellent quality ingredients but it contained raw sugar.

I had tried freezing it immediately the previous year, but that was easy to get to and though it required a little thaw time, it was still readily available.  Since the kitchen trash can did not work, the next year I put the cake (I was only making homemade delicious birthday cakes for the boys' birthday parties) in the smelly trash can outside.  Phew - finally I had enough will power to not get it out and eat it.  Really - this is control?  How could I possibly think I could control my sugar addiction with this track record?     

Don't make the same mistake and remain trapped.  Share what you are doing with your friends and acquaintances.  Tell them you are eliminating man-made processed foods, including all processed sugars from your diet which are made to make you crave them.  Share what you are doing with confidence.  Claim your freedom. 

My experience with caffeine was not pleasant.  When I got out of college, I started drinking one Dr. Pepper a day with lunch.  I went out for lunch every day and if I went to a restaurant that did not have Dr. Pepper and I would get iced tea instead.  On tea days, I would get a horrible headache mid-afternoon.  It took me awhile to figure out having a soda would eliminate the headache and thus my brain cells were being controlled by caffeine.  It was hard to give up my daily Dr. Pepper, and even after stopping for a year or two, it only took drinking one to be re-addicted.  I think the sugar was more addictive for me (causing me to crave it) than the caffeine.  But the withdrawal symptoms from caffeine were much more painful.  It has now been probably 20 years since I have had a regular soda of any kind - I could not tell you the last time I had one.  I know it was before Tom was born which was 19 years ago.  And the thought of drinking a soda is now repulsive to me!  I thank God for helping me see the addictive power of these readily available foods and freeing me from them.


"You shall have no other gods before ME."  Exodus 20:3

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