What I liked:
- Both Sarah and Stacey were very open in discussing their use in the past of Paleo Treats
- Both Sarah and Stacey are maintaining large weight loss and have admitted they also have experience with sugar/food addictions/food recreations/mental games.
- There are no rules or standards- personalize the approach for yourself.
- Paleo Treats drive traffic to blogs, fun foods vs health promoting, so lots of Paleo treat photos
- Check out the list of emulsifiers at the end of the blog post Most emulsifiers also induce binge urges for me
- I really appreciated Sarah and Stacey dialog and honesty.
How I deal with "treat photos" from post recovery-AKA my own standards. Remember, I am an abstainer.
I cannot put photos into my sight an/or look at Paleo treat foods without getting triggered. We are all different: different foods in recovery, different triggers. Photos of Paleo treats are just not something I can include in my life and count myself as being in recovery.
What makes me a decent hobby photographer also is a slippery slope for relapse for me.
- I don't follow Instagram Accounts that have more than 1 in 20 dessert photos
- I don't make "fun" or" gray zone foods". Even on my birthday, Food Addiction is not fun or gray. Food either makes me well or puts me back into food addiction.
- I google meat, veggies, and AIP topics and wind up on The Paleo Mom's site via a search
- I do eat 85% chocolate, maybe half or more days- one or two squares, or not. It doesn't trigger me.
Karen's take away: When you are getting food sober and getting off the Standard American Diet (SAD), get clean and free first. Really. High sugary foods -even real food and high carby foods all = sugar to your liver. Your genetics will determine your tolerance- IMO. Since I was battling life long obesity, fat storage was all my body could do to protect my liver, kidneys, eyes, and heart from the high glucose levels. I honor that!
- Don't bring the SAD with you, ( wisdom from Jason Seib, 2012 workshop, 2014 Facebook post)
- Make a clean break for a long time,
- Then when you are on solid non-binge eating ground , safely self experiment (n=1)
- Celebrate, we are talking gratitude here, what you can bring back. It's a gift.
- Realize everyone is triggered by different foods and situations
- Have some compassion for others, the disease of food addiction is life threatening and at the very least life degrading, recovery is tough. We are all in different phases of recovery.
- Being honest about your recovery is key. Some self reflection and action when you know you are "using" or "playing games" with your food.
- Make honest standards for yourself
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| Wading into the food waters after addiction recovery |
Okay readers, how do you deal with Paleo treats? Do you have to unsubscribe from IG accounts? I know lots of people can have occasional grain free baked items on special days. There's no one right way, but 2-3 ways that are going to work a heck of a lot better than others. Leave your comments below.
I used to make low carb desserts and slices etc. It was a necessary part of moving from my old diet to a low carb lifestyle. I think they play an important role in a diet change (certainly for me anyway). I hardly ever make these foods now - I simply have no need. I might make a low carb cheesecake if I have visitors for dinner but that's about it now.
ReplyDeleteI don't visit any paleo websites now as I just consider myself low carb and get on with what I know to work. I stopped looking at/reading blogs and sites a long time ago that focused on what I consider junk paleo foods. Even a favourite Facebook page that I enjoyed became too much when the writer changed to "moderation". It's not that I am tempted by these photos/foods now, it's just that I simply don't want to see them.
Well stated, Lynda! I can see how using those foods as a transition can be helpful, I used them myself for a few weeks - like grain free pancakes to sub for the Medifast pancakes. I quickly realized that they just didn't taste that great.
DeleteThanks for stopping by the blog. :)
I think Lynda brought up a good point, there were transition stages for most of us. And I think it is important to say that every once in a while for newbies reading.
DeleteI still eat more treats than you do, but I am working to do better. I am not triggered by looking at blogs or instagram accounts with fattening food that I would never eat. When the person who posts the picture is thinner and has lost weight, I wonder how he/she can eat that and stay thin and in shape. I have several people on my FB feed (one of whom is one of my best friends) who post pictures of the desserts and other calorie laden meals they eat. I just think to myself (and I don't mean to sound terrible), "Well that person is heavier than I would like to be," and then I am not tempted by what they post (despite that post getting tons of "likes" or comments. Those people already think (or would think) I am crazy for being so strict with my food, but I just need to do what's best now!
ReplyDeleteAll good points, Ali. Some people can genetically eat junk and not have obesity, high glucose, or chronic pain. Truth. I'm just glad I never took the blog commercial so I would not feel the stress to post sxy dessert photos to sell my message. Ugh! Double Ugh.
DeleteI have stopped reading a lot of blogs over the years over fake food pictures and "recipes".
DeleteI have others I still read because they put it all at the bottom of their post and I can just read/see the top.
To be honest, unless I am traveling, we have pretty much stopped eating away from home. The sodium really gets to me.
Vickie, yes- the cost of eating out, and you get who knows what corn oil blended in. Eating at home is a very big help. I'd rather save money to eat at a higher quality restaurant occasionally than eat out often- even though I'm hugely busy, defrosting a batch cooking meal is faster than driving to and ordering at a restaurant.
DeleteI think it's important to consistently review what does and doesn't work for each of us - you do this so well!
ReplyDeleteI eat very few "treats," and when I do, I'm very carefully about what I eat. Very dark chocolate is great (we have a friend who makes his own chocolate; he even started growing his own cacoa beans in Hawaii, it's the purest chocolate I have ever tasted, and a tiny piece is all you need to feel satisfied).
Anyway, I'm not really influenced by treat photos, but I have no interest in seeing photo after photo of "healthy Paleo treats," so I have unfollowed a bunch of people. (I also realize that my account has changed a lot and people are unfollowing me for the same reason...). I think different things are right for each one of us, and we have do figure out what's right for us and then follow through.
Good points, Andrea. I also eat 85% chocolate, 1-2 small squares, but not every day. I can take it out, I can leave it in, it's a big whatever and that is a good indication I"m not "using" or "hooked" on it.
DeleteOh my, it would seem that if you were now interested in Paleo, that grain free treats are the basis of the food template. Sigh. Yes, agreed, we've got to figure out what is right. Thanks for stopping by the blog. :)