Friday, January 23, 2015

Facing The Addict

I have a confession.

I am an addict.

Once upon a time, my addictions were of the more destructive type. That might be a story for another day. For the sake of this particular newsletter, I wanted to tell you about my addiction to something you may relate to better.

I’m addicted to sugar. 

In 12-step programs, members are told that it isn’t necessarily the amount of a substance you elect to consume but the psychological impact of it.

As far back as I can remember, I’ve had a sweet tooth. However, when I found my passion for this line of work, I realized that I had to temper my consumption of sweets. For me, if they’re not around I do just fine. Every so often, a craving will strike and I’ll buckle. My problem is when the sweets around, it’s as if they call out for me.

This past Christmas, 3 different people (clients, mind you!) brought me cookies. All shapes, sizes, flavors, etc. I had more variety than I knew what to do with. And like many of my clients who are battling weight loss, I would attempt to justify eating any of them.

“I’ll just eat one”
“I’ll train harder today, since I ate three”
“I worked out really hard so I can afford to eat these”

Now, I’d like to think I’ve got more knowledge about this song-and-dance than the average Joe. I KNOW you can’t out-exercise bad food choices. But the addict was taking over.

I finally had to make the decision to regretfully throw the remaining cookies out. When the sweets aren’t around the temptation to eat them and the craving for them tends to subside. But like any consistent addict, it’s the first few days of withdrawal that are the worst.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t give credit to my other dietary addictions in this order: caffeine and salt.

I joke with a lot of people that due to my long hours here at the studio, I’m nearly brain-dead at 4:30 in the morning when I go to brew my first cup of coffee for the day. Now, I still make sure I get my 20 or so ounces of water in before I start with the coffee, but it’s never far away.

Because I tend to internalize stress and lack of sleep when it strikes, I can always tell if I’m giving in to my caffeine addiction by how late in the day I continue to consume it. It’s usually a bad sign for me if I can have a cup of coffee or other caffeinated beverage in the afternoon but still fall asleep at night. Then I realize I have to start cutting it back again.

But enough about me, the inspiration for this newsletter came from one of my newest clients. When I sit down with a potential new client, our consultation always covers food and dietary habits. In this most recent conversation, she said the words that a lot of people fail to admit:

“I’m a sugar addict.”

I was quick to tell her that I too, have a sugar addiction. Judging by the look on her face when I said that, she probably wasn’t expecting someone in my line of work to struggle with the same thing!

I relayed my cookie story to her and we were able to commiserate over the hold that sweets had over us.

So, how do you succeed over your addictions?

I realize that not everyone has a sweet tooth. Some people don’t know how to stay away from potato chips (salty foods), or cheese (fatty foods), or diet coke (artificial sweeteners/caffeine).

There are several different things that can play into our dietary weaknesses:

-stress
-mineral deficiencies
-lack of sleep
-patterning issues (my personal favorite)

Let’s say you have developed a habit of having dessert after dinner every night. Most dinners are salty in nature and having that complimentary sweet treat can balance things out. After a week or so of this habit, your brain starts to expect the dessert. Perhaps you tell yourself you aren’t going to indulge in the ice cream this evening. Sure enough, the pattern is ingrained and you find yourself right back in the freezer, salivating at the thought of your treat.

The trick is to change the pattern.

Find something new to do directly after dinner. Maybe you go for a walk. Or maybe you brush your teeth. Or read a book. Maybe you just need to drink something to keep your mouth occupied. No matter what you choose, a new pattern has to develop (just like it did when you started your trend of after-dinner desserts).

For some people, it’s just about minimizing the caloric damage. Instead of a bowl of ice cream, it’s a small square of dark chocolate. Or maybe you share the ice cream with your spouse or significant other. For other people, they have to stop cold turkey because they’ve lost the control over this particular food.

Where you can really run into trouble (as is the case with my aforementioned client) is when the treats (or trigger foods) are always lurking at your place of work. Despite your best attempt to abstain, just knowing that the foods are around is too much temptation.

You have to learn your limitations and decide the best course of action. It’s true that one cookie or one small bag of chips won’t make you gain legitimate weight. But how does that one indiscretion cascade into other issues?

In the case of my fellow sugar addict, one trick that recently worked was the recognition of investment. We spoke about her monetary investment in me as her trainer. I asked her to justify that expense against her cookies.

“Is that dessert worth the equivalent to the price you pay me as your trainer?”

And all of a sudden, we have a different perspective on the trigger food. More than anyone, I always want there to be a return on investment for people who train with me. Personal training is not cheap. And the fact remains: very, very few of us (see elite athletes) can out-train poor diet habits.

The first step towards breaking away from your respective addiction: sweets, alcohol, salty foods, caffeine, etc is realizing how it’s contributing to the problem. Then you have to decide how you’re going to change your patterns. Will you do it on your own or will you develop a support system around you? Whatever decision you make it’s on YOU.

Some people can have a little of their trigger food and they’re okay not to overstep boundaries. Others (like myself) have to completely distance themselves for fear of overindulgence.

Not sure if you have a food or substance addiction? Ask someone close to you whose opinion you value and trust. Someone who is unlikely to cast judgment on you. The truth might not be easy to hear but sometimes we’re blind to our own misgivings.

Ready to conquer your weaknesses?

We can help!

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