Sugar Addict. Or Something.
Despite the startling lack of mayonnaise in my life, which I still haven't corrected, there seems to be an abundance of sugar-laden foods.
When I was writing over at Big Slice on ClubMom, I went through this whole process of self-labeling, and read 900 books on different reasons that I am fat and (shockingly, I know) cranky.
See, the plan was to follow the guidelines in The Fat Fallacy - and I still believe in it. Eat fresh, real food, in small portions. Enjoy your food, but take your time and savor it, don't wolf it down. Sounds simple, right?
It should have been simple. But it never has been easy for me.
So I started to look for other solutions. I did a 10-day fruit only diet, and lost 12 pounds and totally screwed up my body's cravings in the process. I eliminated all refined flours and sugars and promptly went crazy and blew up a gas station. I quit caffeine, and my eyeballs fell out of my head. I axed carbs. I added them back in. No meat. Lots of meat. Only raw veggies. The only place I didn't go was to faux-foods.
This summer, I took on my job with BlogHerAds, and promptly stopped thinking about eating. If I remembered to do it, great. The challenge now is to remember to grocery shop.
The cranky remains, though, and that is troubling. I haven't been getting my once daily exercise - mostly from not making it a priority.
I've been eating what passes for comfort food for me - carbs, carbs and more carbs.
And I've been feeding my kids the same way.
When my son got home from school in melt-down mode yet again, and it took a glass of juice and some chicken to put him right again, my lax attitude towards food reared up and slapped me in the face.
See, from the 900 books I read, and from my own experimentation, that I feel better when I eat lots of veggies, some fruit, whole grain products and lean proteins - and VERY LITTLE REFINED SUGARS OR FLOURS.
And so do my kids. The naughty behavior, the tears, the frustration and fatigue, I can trace it all to the way they've been eating lately. And woo-boy. The guilt of that is a killer.
So, I'm making a list, and checking it twice (and it doesn't include candy.) I've got to start thinking ahead and planning healthier meals for my family again, or we are going to end up getting into a hissy-fit dance off in the middle of the street.
The knowing vs. the doing. It makes me crazy.
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Comments
It doesn't seem natural, does it -- having to THINK about everything you eat? Especially when you are juggling so much at once.
You're off to a good start. Good luck!
Posted by: Donna | November 10, 2007 8:59 PM
Sigh... I feel you there. I don't know why the knowing/doing connection is so hard to make. I feel so much better when I spend time outside every day, you would think that I would then choose to spend time outside every day- but that doesn't happen. My kids behave better when they have very little sugar. You'd think I'd feed them less sugar- but I give in too much.
I think I'm just not very smart most days, either that or I'm a masochist. ;)
Posted by: Amber | November 11, 2007 12:27 AM
Jenny - if I can be so obnoxious to offer my observations...
I've read you for years and throughout the whole Big Slice blogging. I think where you go wrong is that you go extreme in all of your attempts, which sets you up for failure. Have you thought about a step by step plan, based on the fat fallacy (a book that I adore except for the fact that he doesn't acknowledge that SMOKING plays a big part in the French small appetite ;) ).
When I started switching over to less processed food, I tackled one issue every couple of weeks, i.e., eliminating HFCS, finding whole grains, etc. Because I wasn't overwhelmed, I found that we've stuck with most of the changes (though admittedly we need some tuning again).
And by gawd, too much HFCS drives my kids batty. Sugar? Not so much. But faux sweeteners? Off the freaking walls. We still have some HFCS - I can't find bread, of all things, at my grocery stores, without it. But the overall consumption is so low that the few things with it don't seem to bother us.
Posted by: HG | November 11, 2007 4:19 AM
I have recently come to the same realization. If I eat cookies and salty snacks all day I feel like crap. But if I make myself eat an egg for breakfast and go light on the carbs the rest of the day, I feel great. I feel like I'm smacking my forehead, "duh!" with this revelation. I guess it surprises me how much of an immediate impact my food has on how I feel. And adding candy and junk on top of cranky? Yikes, watch out.
Posted by: Bunny | November 11, 2007 5:12 AM
I have the same problem, I know what I am supposed to be doing but...I think that another problem is the ease of serving and eating the bad foods. It takes a lot more time to make a plan, do the shopping, do the cooking etc... drive thru or opening a box is so much faster and so much easier.
Posted by: Marsha | November 11, 2007 8:25 AM
I totally can see a difference in the way my kids, specifically my son, behave when their eating habits get all screwy. Whenever he starts to have a meltdown, I always ask, "Are you hungry?" Usually a helping of protein and glass of milk set him straight again.
For all those doctors who poo-poo the correlation between a kid's behavior and what he has to eat, well, I poo-poo them.
Posted by: Melissa Garrett | November 11, 2007 9:31 AM
Oh lord, me too. I know what to do. I know that when I eat healthier I feel better, I have more energy, I lose weight. I'm happier. And when I eat healthier so do my kids.
I know I know I know. But do I do? No. Mostly not. I let stress get to me and take the "easy" way which in all reality just causes more stress.
You would think I could connect the dots and put the knowing into action. I'm working on it. I'm back to working on it.
Posted by: Sleeping Mommy | November 11, 2007 9:59 AM
I can completely relate to this! My husband is out of town on business, and the kids and I have been eating nothing but junk. It's so much easier to wave a hand in the direction of the animal crackers or the sugary yogurts instead of cutting up apples.
When I was doing the Glycemic Index diet, I felt fantastic. I lost seven pounds in the first two weeks, and I was SURE I had finally found the eating plan that worked for me. Then I had a few days where I didn't follow the diet, and just like that, I stopped doing it completely. It's like, if I'm not perfect, then I'm a failure, so I might as well quit.
I hate that.
Posted by: Elizabeth | November 11, 2007 7:05 PM
I'm about to make supper, and I just read this post. I guess my "easy" supper of mac and cheese isn't really the best choice. I'll go with a few more veggies. At least.
Posted by: Daisy | November 13, 2007 2:42 PM
A-freakin'-men.
Posted by: jennyonthespot | November 15, 2007 3:44 PM
I go through the same thing - stop eating well and start noticing that everyone is cranky and short-tempered and just generally crappy to be around. Then we start the organic fruit-filled life again and it's all sweetness and light (more or less), and then comes a night we're in a hurry and run to Wendy's, and then the night we do hamburger helper, and it all goes down the tube again. Why does it have to be so difficult?
Posted by: superblondgirl | November 18, 2007 5:50 PM