I've been given a diagnosis of pre-diabetes. I'm not surprised as I do love all my sweet foods. In any event I'm now determined to eat better and get some weight off. However, it has proved far from easy - those sweet treats keep alluring me to break my diet.
I've had to face up to the fact I am addicted to food.
Trouble is food is all around us. Especially the availability of cheap treats like chocolate, biscuits and sweets. They fill up aisles of the supermarket. Plus since I've started my quest for a healthier diet I swear the amount of food adverts tempting me to get chocolate have increased.
If I give into temptation and eat even one piece of chocolate, before I know it I'm down at the shop buying a whole packet of chocolate biscuits that I can scoff in one sitting. Now if that's not indicative of addiction like behaviour I don't know what is.
I've been trying to lose weight for the past six weeks and I have indeed lost six pounds so I must be doing something right! However, I have kept falling off the bandwagon so to speak.
I think addiction is certainly part of the problem, as is easy availability. However, I do think it may run deeper then that. I think I have used food (especially sweet food) to comfort me and feed my emotions.
Furthermore, there is the question of life long habits that need to be broken. I can't remember a time when sugar was not in my life. As a baby I was bottle fed so I didn't get a great start. My parents both worked and I grew up at a time when home cooked meals morphed into processed grub.
As a Uni student I often lived on noodles or the MacDonalds which was located at the end of my road. To treat myself I could purchase five donoughts/donuts for $1 (that's when I lived in the States, where I also became accustomed to larger portion sizes).
I could blame myself for lack of will power (and there is an element of that as I'm quite impulsive), yet still I feel there's room to put some blame on the shoulders of the big food producers. Filling their processed foods with products that make them taste better and prove addictive to some.
I've given up addictive substances in the past successfully, although it took numerous attempts with tobacco to finally kick the habit. I think this was made easier by the fact that as I grew up smoking became less and less acceptable. It was banned in numerous places, such as cinemas, cafes, public transport and pubs. Plus the taxation burden increased each year. These all helped me quit.
Does the government do enough to persuade people to choose healthier food?
The sugar industry still holds enormous sway in society. Companies such as Nestle and Kellogg's sit on healthy eating advisory boards. Looking at health pyramids many still contain a small section for sugar related products. Even if in small portions should they be on there at all?
Typical food pyramid but how healthy is it?
The sugar industry has managed to persuade whole generations that fat is bad whilst small amounts of sugar are ok. Often on these pyramids fruit features heavily, but they contain lots of sugar. It's true it's natural sugar but when combined with the sugar that's hidden in so many processed foods it can create havoc in a person's body.
Falling repeatedly off a diet creates a feeling that you have no will power. It's no wonder people turn to such extreme measures as gastro reduction surgery. Plus there's always some new diet pill available.
For me though I want to do this the natural way. In order to do that I think the first thing is to admit I'm an addict. Slowly over the next 4-8 weeks I vow to wean myself off my sugar addiction by cutting down all the sweet stuff, including fruit and carbs. I realise this is going to take will power, but I know from previous experience of tackling addiction that the first part is the hardest. Once you reach a certain place eating healthy becomes second nature and, whilst others eat cake, I will enjoy the feeling of appreciation that comes of being addiction free.
