Seven minutes

Seven minutes is what it takes to watch this clip and get an understanding of why its so hard to follow the doctor's advice on loosing weight.The outlook for those suffering could be different if the medical society would accept this message that Lustig is preaching; the urge to eat unhealthy food is a biochemical drive. The focus is here on sweet sugary stuff, it could just as well be on wheat-based foods such as bread and pizza.

This is what I have been trying to say to those who advoate "eating a balanced (low fat) diet": Such a diet makes it impossible for those with food addictions to overcome their cravings. It's just not possible. And I speak from my own experience...

Robert Lustig is explicit on the issue:
"Nobody chooses obesity, obesity chooses them"  Then he goes on saying "... these are all hormonal driven...What we call behavior is not behavior at all, it is a cognitive inhibition on that biochemical drive, the question is how long do you think you can excert a cognitive inhibition on a biochemical drive that is going on 24-7-365, getting worse every single day that you perform it. Nobody can excert a cognitivie inhibiotion, wil-power, over a biochemical drive that goes on every minute of every day, it's just not possible."

When I was for the first time trying to get rid of my extra kilos back in high school (after a year in high school in the U.S. I got home, hmmm, a little bit swelled...), I remember getting mad at my dad for buying home ice cream while I was trying to loose weight. I gave him a lecture right there, that if I was to succeed, he'd better only buy healthy food for us. He obeyed. And I was back in my normal size in time for graduation.

Later with hubby, or boyfriend at that time, I remember having had a similar conversation regarding, yes, icecream. We used to have the cozy habit of sharing one of those ultra-sweet one-liter packages of icecream (caramel with marshmallows), each with a table spoon in our hand, digging in while watching tv. I wanted us to stop eating that way, he didn't think much of it and said if I wanted to stop it was just a matter of will-power. I said it was not - I could not stop once the ice cream was in front of me. It was impossible. I don't know how many times after that we've gone through this exact discussion again and again, particularly discussing my obsession with (milk) chocolate.

I always knew it was an addiction. The problem was that my surrounding did not understand the severity of my cravings. Today, I thank hubby and others around me for being supportive on this issue. Not having had any of this junk food around at home for the past year has saved me from temptations. On those few occassion when it has been around, my conviction that one bite of the wrong kind of food could spark a series of serious cravings has kept me from even trying. It's just not worth it. Actually, now coming to think of it, there has been milkchocolate in our cupboard several times, and although I am home alone during the day I never touch it anymore...still, I do not consider myself cured, for me, overcoming my sweet tooth will be a lifetime battle, one that I am planning to win.

So for all of those out there who are in the position of giving advice to fat people on how to eat; give this video clip seven minutes of your time. And if you understand Swedish, and have another 60 minutes to spare, then I'd suggest you watch Bitten Johnsons lecture on the different levels of sugar cravings and how to work on sugar (on any) addiction. Well spent time I'd say.