Temptations

By Cam

Anna has asked me to talk about the challenges of food temptations and what we can do to control them. I am not an expert on this matter, but have simply been on a trial and error basis for the last 1-2 years and more so in the last 8 months.
Without going into detail, cravings for poor foods are triggered by the fact you have been eating poor food.
After the ingestion of a carbohydrate rich meal - blood glucose levels increase rapidly - once the body detects these elevated blood glucose levels it releases insulin. Once blood glucose levels reach normal again, it takes insulin a little bit longer to reach normal again. It is this lag time in normalization of insulin levels which gives us those sugar cravings after carbohydrate rich meals. This is because blood sugar levels are normal but we still have insulin present in the blood and that insulin needs something to do - without sugar to store, it gets bored! So it has the effect of asking the body for more sugar. That's why we get hungry even though we just ate a few hours ago - and the fact that we can't access our fat stores (the best energy bank ever).
All actions have a consequence and all actions start with a thought process generated by the brain. When it comes to temptations with food, it stems deeper from what you have been putting into your body previously as you can see from above. A bad eating habit like all addictions leads to the continuing of the habit. Sugar is an addiction and a very powerful one; do not be under any misconceptions about that. I have found it harder to control my urges for sugar/food than I have to give up cigarettes. Society is addicted to sugar and the response this provides us.

So how do we deal with these cravings in everyday life?
I have noticed some say to clean the house out of all bad foods. In my opinion, this can have a good and bad effect. Yes you’re eliminating all temptations in your house, but what happens when you take a step out that front door into reality, when you enter work, drive home, stop at the shop to get the paper. I have always lived with my environment the same. I still have two packets of cigarettes in my top draw, so every time I go to get socks and jocks in the morning; there they are. Every time I open that draw and then shut it without giving in, it is a win for me. I still get cravings for cigarettes even though I know how disgusting they are, I cannot control them coming, but I can control my response.
I have had my failures, and there have been many. My weight has fluctuated for years. This is the most important aspect of giving up an addiction, how you pick yourself up after the failure. We have heard Drummond say “You are only one good meal away from being back on the right path” and this is very true. It’s this point of the failure that is the hardest to make the right decision. The turning point where you can go one way or the other because you may feel down on yourself for failing - but turn that guilt into a positive. Tell yourself “Ok, yep I had a mini fail, but I will come back from this” Record this, own it and look back on it; record your feelings. Also listen to your body at this point and feel the effects of the food you have cheated on, and I guarantee no matter how much you enjoyed the taste, the bloating, sick feeling, heaviness and tired feeling isn’t as enjoyable. Record this in a food diary, I can’t recommend these enough. If you have to write it down, you have to acknowledge your action and if that’s a bad action, then you feel guilty.
At the end of the day it comes down to you making the right decision, no one else can control this. Have a friend you can call or message when you think you might be heading towards a fail, I have done this with Anna and it helps greatly. If you fail, pick yourself up and dust yourself off and tell yourself you can.

“No matter who you are, no matter what you do, you absolutely, positively do have the power to change.”
Bill Phillips