Tweet
I want to share something with you that's happened in our family, because I realized last night that there's a lesson in it for all. Hope you don't mind.
My husband's parents are elderly and his Mom has been sick for the past 3 months. He is very close to his folks, and it's been difficult for him to be 1200 miles away from them during his Mom's illness. His sisters live fairly close and do what they can to help out DH's Dad while my MIL is in the hospital. DH calls his Dad every night just because...
Well, we've gotten conflicting reports how MIL was doing, and DH finally decided to fly up there this weekend and visit with his Dad, see his Mom in the hospital, and find out what's going on. He called me last night. It wasn't good. His Mom, who has always been a wonderfully intelligent, strong, opinionated woman was on medicine that took these qualities to an extreme -- shouting at the family to leave her alone, telling them they were doing nothing to get her out of the hospital, telling them that people were stealing her blood... none of which made sense, but it was difficult for all involved to remember it was the medicine talking.
DH has been on Atkins with me since Day 1, and is 3 lbs from his goal weight. He is my strongest supporter, and adamant that neither of us will cheat in any way, shape or form.
He called me last night to tell me what all had happened at the hospital, in a very teary voice. And then he really broke down and said, "I cheated". He told me he'd had three pieces of pizza and two beers after the hospital visit.
Why am I sharing this? Because I want to tell you what 2Big once told me. For most of our lives, prior to Atkins, many of us were "emotional eaters". Food equalled comfort. Particular foods mean comfort to our body -- mine is bread. DH's is pizza. Yours may be mashed potatoes and gravy or chocolate cake.
So now, after decades of this emotional training, when we find ourselves in a truly stressful situation, our body says "I need comfort" and because it's been trained to equate comfort with food, it literally craves the comfort foods of the past. These cravings can be very powerful and, because they are psychological cravings rather than physical cravings, I believe they are more difficult to recognize as they are happening.
I'm sharing this because we all have or will have some very emotionally stressful things going on in our lives. I think it's important to understand WHY your body is suddenly screaming for comfort food -- not because you're a weak person who can't stick to a diet(!) but because your physical body has been trained to seek comfort in particular foods, and during highly emotional stressful times, turns back to that old comfort habit.
Knowledge is power. When you undergo these stressful times, try and stay mentally aware of these cravings so you can stay on top of them. THIS is the time, in my opinion, when even the people who are the most determined to succed at Atkins, are most likely to fall off the wagon.
However, it can now be a time to re-train your body by using high-fat/protein foods and other non-food methods to comfort your self. Soothing music, uplifting quotations or affirmations, a walk outside - all non-food ways to get the comfort your body is asking for.
Just file this away for future reference... and please keep DH and his family in your prayers while they get through this ordeal.
Joan
My husband's parents are elderly and his Mom has been sick for the past 3 months. He is very close to his folks, and it's been difficult for him to be 1200 miles away from them during his Mom's illness. His sisters live fairly close and do what they can to help out DH's Dad while my MIL is in the hospital. DH calls his Dad every night just because...
Well, we've gotten conflicting reports how MIL was doing, and DH finally decided to fly up there this weekend and visit with his Dad, see his Mom in the hospital, and find out what's going on. He called me last night. It wasn't good. His Mom, who has always been a wonderfully intelligent, strong, opinionated woman was on medicine that took these qualities to an extreme -- shouting at the family to leave her alone, telling them they were doing nothing to get her out of the hospital, telling them that people were stealing her blood... none of which made sense, but it was difficult for all involved to remember it was the medicine talking.
DH has been on Atkins with me since Day 1, and is 3 lbs from his goal weight. He is my strongest supporter, and adamant that neither of us will cheat in any way, shape or form.
He called me last night to tell me what all had happened at the hospital, in a very teary voice. And then he really broke down and said, "I cheated". He told me he'd had three pieces of pizza and two beers after the hospital visit.
Why am I sharing this? Because I want to tell you what 2Big once told me. For most of our lives, prior to Atkins, many of us were "emotional eaters". Food equalled comfort. Particular foods mean comfort to our body -- mine is bread. DH's is pizza. Yours may be mashed potatoes and gravy or chocolate cake.
So now, after decades of this emotional training, when we find ourselves in a truly stressful situation, our body says "I need comfort" and because it's been trained to equate comfort with food, it literally craves the comfort foods of the past. These cravings can be very powerful and, because they are psychological cravings rather than physical cravings, I believe they are more difficult to recognize as they are happening.
I'm sharing this because we all have or will have some very emotionally stressful things going on in our lives. I think it's important to understand WHY your body is suddenly screaming for comfort food -- not because you're a weak person who can't stick to a diet(!) but because your physical body has been trained to seek comfort in particular foods, and during highly emotional stressful times, turns back to that old comfort habit.
Knowledge is power. When you undergo these stressful times, try and stay mentally aware of these cravings so you can stay on top of them. THIS is the time, in my opinion, when even the people who are the most determined to succed at Atkins, are most likely to fall off the wagon.
However, it can now be a time to re-train your body by using high-fat/protein foods and other non-food methods to comfort your self. Soothing music, uplifting quotations or affirmations, a walk outside - all non-food ways to get the comfort your body is asking for.
Just file this away for future reference... and please keep DH and his family in your prayers while they get through this ordeal.
Joan
