Eating Yourself to Death

I have been watching a lot of shows about food addictions lately.  What a hard thing to deal with!  If you wanted to quit smoking or stop drinking or stop smoking crack you could separate yourself from those habits.

Everyone has to eat.  How does one overcome this issue?

I watched an episode of Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition where the trainer on the show actually gave up on a client and made him go to rehab because he COULD NOT stop.  He lied and lied about what he was actually eating and when he came in for a weigh in he gained back all that he had lost and more.  While he was still participating in the weight loss portion of the show!

I also watched an episode of True Life that covered two women who were addicted to food in such a way that they were like junkies.  They were moody and irritable if food was unavailable, they ate until they were sick, and they alienated themselves from friends and family to get their fix.  One woman actually had the SHAKES.  Not a shake, but the shakes from food withdrawal.

I remember when I was at my heaviest how food was such a comfort to me.  All I thought about was what I was going to eat next.  I never wanted to feel hungry.  I kept filling that hole inside with food until I didn't have to feel anything anymore.  If I was full then I wasn't worried- I was taken care of so everything else in life was not so bad.  It was probably why I smoked pot or drank too much.  It's a temporary distraction from whatever in life is bothering you.

I don't know when the light switch moment occurred in my life that made me substitute my more negative behaviors with positive ones.  And I don't always crave those trigger foods anymore.  I certainly don't act on the triggers.  All the substitutes I have made over the years have become habits and I feel queasy when I remember the days of eating an entire pint of Chubby Hubby AND a cheese sandwich AND a bag of chips in one sitting.

Any of us could suffer from a food addiction at any time based on what's going on in our lives.  Is anyone out there dealing with this?  Or if you have overcome a food addiction, how did you do it?

MTV's I Used to be Fat

The Biggest Loser isn't the only weight loss related reality show out there that you should be watching!  MTV rolled out I Used to Be Fat last week, and I really think it is worth your time.

Every week the show covers a teenager that is graduating from high school and using the summer before they are going off to college to change their lives through intense diet and exercise.  The teens run the gamut of the home coming queen to the lonely fat girl that is being home schooled due to being made fun of.  The one thing they all have in common is their desire to finally take control and responsibility of their eating and their lives.

This show really hits the nail on the head.  Exercise is hard work, changing your life is hard work, but if you are willing to put forth the effort you will see results.  There is no candy coating.  It is AMAZING to watch the transformations of these kids and to know they have their whole lives ahead of them.

Gabriella the homecoming queen.

The first episode covered a beautiful girl named Gabriella who is popular but unhappy with herself because she is heavy.  She has an overbearing mom that nags in a negative way and she is lost when it comes to the right way to eat and work out.  Thank God she has a great personal trainer named Katie that kicks her heiny and gets in her head to turn Gabriella's whole outlook around.  When she reveals her thinner self at the end, it is a total inside out change.  And you can tell that it is going to be a lasting change.

I Used to Be Fat airs on MTV on Wednesday nights (with plenty of repeats)-- set your DVR!

Here is a clip of this week's episode:

I Used To Be Fat - MTV Shows

Oh, I can't wait!

I Used To Be Fat - MTV Shows

What I will do after the finale of The Biggest Loser

I am always looking for shows to fill the gap.  That's how I found Thintervention and my favorite guilty pleasure, Bridal Bootcamp!  Oh, I miss Cynthia Conde!!!

This is what I am watching this winter:

1.)  Bridalplasty (E! Channel)

A bouquet of injectables!  Roses are so passe.

Yes, Virginia.  I am watching this show and it proves that there may not be a Santa Claus if he has had lap band surgery and a tummy tuck.  I haven't reviewed this new E! Channel show yet (it just aired it's second episode) but I have been watching it.  I am really appalled yet intrigued.  And there is a former cast member of The Biggest Loser on the show-- wonder what Bob and Jillian think about that?

2.)  I Used to Be Fat (MTV)

Call it Biggest Loser Junior, this show chronicles teens losing weight the summer between high school and their first year of college.  What will happen to the Freshmen 15?  I am really looking forward to this one.  It airs December 29th, just in time for those holiday resolutions to be made.

3.) Heavy (A&E)

I can't tell much about Heavy from the title, but from the preview it seems to be an Intervention-style weight loss show.  I like Intervention and didn't like Kirstie Ally's Big Life as much, so I am hoping that there is a place in the middle where this show can settle.  Just not around the abdomen.

I will be watching and blogging, so make sure to join me in the conversation!  If there is a show I should be watching, shoot me a note and let me know.