PTI Tucson Blog

When we hear the word addiction, we think of alcohol, drugs, pornography, gambling, cigarettes…  We rarely think of food.  The truth is, food can be an addiction, a deadly one.  In fact, food is the only addiction that is blatantly thrown in our faces every second of the day.  Everywhere we turn we are being sold the addiction that is food.  Encouraged to indulge, practically given for free the foods that are worst for us, rewarded by convenience, comfort and cost.  Unlike other addictions, we actually need food to survive.  It’s not something that we can cut out of our lives.  We can’t just avoid grocery stores and restaurants and vow never to eat again.  We need to make a change.  To make that change, a lasting change, we need to get to the root of the addiction.

For me, when I think about food, it’s like remembering an old friend.  As stupid as this may sound, food has always been there for me.  No matter what I was feeling, I could always count on food to make me feel better.  If I was alone, depressed, happy, nervous, afraid, sick, angry, in love, sad, stressed, bored… I could always count on food to medicate my emotions, take away the edge of pain, reward myself for a job well done, distract myself from whatever was going on.  Unlike people, food never judged me, never criticized me, never made me feel unwanted, never rejected me.  It gave me exactly what I needed in that moment; a feeling of happiness, relief, and satisfaction.  It gave me an excuse to ignore the issues going on inside, and cover them up with pounds and pounds of weight.  I am currently 295 pounds, and it has been so hard to move away from that 300 pound mark.  It’s like my body knows that there are things I have to deal with as the weight comes off and it doesn’t want to make itself vulnerable and give up the “security” of the weight.  There are issues buried so deep inside that as they begin to poke their ugly little heads up, they’re things I had totally forgotten about, things I had pushed down; but they’re still there… and they still need to be dealt with.  Part of my problem is that I don’t really know how to deal with those things.  A friend of mine helped me realize that I am good at thinking it, acting like it, feeling it – but I have never truly vocalized it.  I will get there, I think most of it is fighting through that fear of being vulnerable, of being stripped down to who I really am.

When we get to the root of the addiction, that is when we can really take control of it altogether.  Food isn’t evil, but it isn’t a drug either.  We can diet and exercise all we want, but until we deal with what is on the inside… it will never match what is on the outside.

Why would anyone need a personal trainer? Can’t you just go to the gym by yourself and get what you need done? Probably not. What is a personal trainer doing for you?

1. Accountability. You have an appointment at a specific time for a specific duration to get your training done.
2. Form. Proper form reduce injuries and ensures you are getting the most from the exercise. If you are going to do it, do it right.
3. Breath. Correct breathing is essential to reaching failure and incorrect breathing can be dangerous.
4. Tempo. Building strength requires using your strength, not momentum to move the weight. Too fast a tempo means you are cheating with momentum.
5. Range of Motion. Make sure you are training over the full range of motion of the muscle to prevent tightness, imbalances and injury.
6. Joint Action. Are you moving your joint properly to prevent injury? Most gym injuries are around joints.
7. Heart Rate. Are you exercising at your optimum heart rate to accomplish what your goals are? Are you training at a safe heart rate?
8. Goals. Trainers develop programs that are specific to you reaching your individual goals.
9. Motivation. Trainers know your goals and know how to motivate you to get you though the set.

Almost all if not all of the personal trainers that I know work out with a partner to help them. Are you able to make sure that all of these are met every time you workout on your own?

I realized something this week; I have a choice.  I went out to eat at Red Lobster with my husband this past Friday.  I had the grilled tilapia (only 210 calories) with broccoli and a baked potato.  I planned to only eat half of the baked potato, I had looked up their nutritional guide online before we went so I would know what the best choices were.  Now, we all know that when you go to a restaurant, it is so easy to eat more than you normally would even after you’re full because there is so much food right in front of you and you keep mindlessly eating.  I found myself doing just that even after I had finished all my food and I was full.  I kept picking at that baked potato until a thought crossed my mind… It’s my choice to keep lifting this fork up to my mouth, and it’s my choice to stop eating.  I guess I have lived my whole life with so many bad habits and excuses that they have become my reality.

I have had so many excuses when it comes to losing weight.  I’m sure you can relate to some if not most of them – It’s too hard, I’m tired, I don’t have time, It’s not really worth it, I’m happy the way I am, I’m not that unhealthy, Eating healthy is too expensive, I deserve to eat what will make me feel better, I will do it later… on and on and on, those are just some main excuses.  Now that I look at all of those excuses, none of them are even true!  How long have I been lying to myself, and how long will I keep lying to myself?  Until I make the choice not too.

It’s hard but it’s NOT impossible, I may be tired – but my body actually feels BETTER after I exercise, If I have time to watch 2-3 hours of TV a day, then I DO have time to exercise, I am NOT happy the way I am, I AM unhealthy and my weight HAS negatively affected my life, eating healthy CAN be cheap, being healthy WILL make me feel better, and I will NEVER do it later if I don’t do it NOW.

I went to go see The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring at the theater this last Tuesday, they are playing all three movies in theaters this month!  I know maybe not everyone will understand, but this is like the most awesome thing ever!  Anyways, I love the part where Gandalf says to Frodo, “All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given to us.”

How much time have I wasted making excuses, putting things off, sitting on the couch, going through the routine of life?  How many years have I spent just going through the motions?  What’s important to realize, is that that is all in the past.  What is important now is what I decide to do, what I choose to do, from now on.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve lost the first 10 pounds.  Every single time I have started to try and lose weight, I have always dropped 10 pounds right away, and then it seems to stop after that.  That’s usually when I give up.  Like I mentioned in my last post, when I weighed in last Weds I had lost 10 pounds in two weeks.  As usual, my weight loss has slowed down this last week and I have only lost 2 pounds this week.  That’s still 2 more pounds than I ever lost before!  I am still sticking to my diet and exercising every day and I hope that I will be down at least 307-308 by next Weds when I weigh in again.  One thing I do know; I will never seen the number 322 on the scale again!

I am following a 1200 calorie diet, and I have been surprised at how much food you can actually eat for only 1200 calories!  Some main things that I eat to keep me full are veggies like broccoli and kale that are very filling, lean turkey breast, ground turkey, chicken, brown rice, edamame, almonds (I get the Emerald 100 calorie packs, the Cocoa Roast is the best – chocolate!), light string cheese, oatmeal, cereal, apples, Jello chocolate mousse, etc.  I love Trader Joe’s as well, they have a lot of cheap, low calorie, delicious food!  This week I got their Jalapeno Chicken Sausage – only 100 calories a serving, their frozen mashed potatoes, only 100 calories a serving, their frozen Baked Ziti, only 320 calories, a veggie pizza for only 250 calories!  The last few days I have actually been short on calories so I have had to find extra things to eat just to come up to 1200 calories for the day.  I have found that I am not hungry after working out, so that may be part of the reason – but it is important to eat enough calories even when losing weight for your body to continue to function healthily.

I just want to encourage you if you are reading this and you are like I was – putting it off to another day, another month, next year…  Start now.  You will never be ready to start, you have to make the choice to start.