After spending 13 hours in the cab of a moving truck with my mom, followed by 2.5 days of her visiting my home in Seattle, complete with her tagging along with me at my Crossfit sessions...my mom got many questions answered. If I mush together questions and my responses from the 13 hours + 2.5 days, a nice little interview is born:
(Some questions are paraphrased/recalled from memory, so they may not be entirely acurate)
Mom: How did you hear about this Paleo thing?
Me: Oh, you know, the internet, various sources. I saw a blog post by a girl who crossfit's and began eating Paleo, and I was inspired. (I left out the information about me starting a blog in January, and through the blogging community stumbled upon that one particular post, and Paleo)
Mom: So how much weight have you lost since beginning to eat Paleo?
Me: I really didn't remember, so I think I said "about 20 lbs" After yesterdays weigh in, I see that it is 25lbs.
Mom: Does it bother you when Dave eats food that you can't in front of you?
Me: Nope! That's one of the biggest differences between my behaviors on Paleo and my behaviors on previous attempts at weight loss. On previous attempts, I would be going crazy inside. Jealous, and in near physical pain because I was "being good." Now, its like those foods don't even exist.
Mom: Have you noticed any changes in the way that you think as a result of your different way of eating?
Me: Yes. Absolutely. I have this new clarity around everything...Its hard to explain, but everything that I'm supposed to be doing just got laid out in front of me, like a perfectly paved road. Its as if I got a brain tune-up.
Mom: You must be starving. You haven't eaten in hours.
Me: Eh, not really. I don't get the low-blood sugar grumpiness anymore. Eventually, I will need to eat, yes, but I'm fine for right now.
Mom: Maybe someday you can start incorporating some beans into your diet for some variety.
Me: Maybe. But, I really think that too much variety is another problem all in itself. Sometimes we have too much choice, and that leads to indecision. I'm ok with having less options available to me.
Mom: Do you ever crave stuff?
Me: Not like before I went Paleo. Before Paleo I would crave stuff and HAVE to have it. Sometimes I could put it off for a few days, but I would think about it until I got it. It was nuts.
Mom: Yeah, that's food addiction.
Me: I really have a problem with that term. Its used so frequently and so loosely. Not everyone that is overweight has a food addiction. You need food to live, so its not like drugs or alcohol in which you can give those up and still live. Sugar addiction? Sure. I can believe that one. But the blanket term "food addiction" is really where I have an issue.
Mom: Did you take before pictures of yourself? You should have done that.
Me: No. (lying)
Mom: (Asked on separate occasions throughout the trip) Can you eat oatmeal? Corn? Yogurt?
Me: No. (to each)
Mom: What happens when you do eat something that is off your list?
Me: Within a few hours my allergies (cat and dust) return. A feeling I had become immune to, just thinking it was 'normal.' Now that I am allergy free, when they return, they are incredibly annoying. Enough so that I seriously have to think before eating something with excess sugar or anything with grains.
There you have it. A nice little summary of my Paleo experience coaxed out of me question by question by my mom. It was quite a contrast to my experience home in June, when I was only 10 days into my Paleo experiment, and I was met with skepticism, doubt, and numerous comments about what I should be eating. My mom is so much nicer to me when I'm smaller.
Hi. I was interested to read about your process, and especially about what you said about food addiction. I have thought and written quite a lot on that topic — I self-identify as a food addict — and I thought we might have an interesting conversation about it. I'm going to post today, springing off your post. If you want, you could write a reaction to what I say. In part, my motivation is to share traffic. In another part, my motivation is to introduce ever-wider circles of potentially interested people to my book, "Fat Boy Thin Man," which comes out officially next week. But I do think the colloquy could be interesting on its own, and would justify itself just as it is.
ReplyDeleteYou, of course (of course!) could decline to enter into any of it. I just thought I'd mention the idea, and mention that I'd be linking to you today.
Michael
PS It's OK with me if you post this as a comment, but it's OK with me if you take it as a private interaction. Totally your choice.