Saluting Jared Fogle: 10 Years & One (Subway) BUN At A Time

Y’all know who Jared Fogle is, right?  (As soon as WordPress fixes their latest technical glitch, I’ll upload his picture so as to refresh your memory). Jared is the guy who lost nearly 240 pounds while eating Subway (submarine) sandwiches EVERY day while he was losing weight.

Jared not only achieved his weight loss goal, but he has been at his goal weight for just over nine years…and has been CONSISTENTLY losing/maintaining his weight for over TEN years! And wouldn’t you know it, but he has been eating BREAD virtually EVERY day of his inspiring weight loss journey (GASP!!!).

BUNS (yes, those Subway [submarine] sandwiches always come with BUNS!!!)…And those BUNS are made of lots of ingredients including SUGAR AND FLOUR!!! <I think I just heard the sound of a H.O.W. food plan devotee just passing out from shock (not to mention carbohydrate deprivation!)>.

My point to this rant? Well, other than to salute Jared on his impressive success, I wanted to point out that at least some food addicts CAN eat bread (e.g., CAN eat sugar and flour) and still remain in recovery.

So the next time some devotee of one of those dredful “no sugar, no flour” diets tries to tell you that you MUST avoid ALL sugar and flour or you can’t/wont be successful in your recovery journey, feel free to point out that at least some food addicts (e.g., Jared Fogle) ARE long-term successful WHILE STILL EATING sugar and flour.

Maybe they have to avoid ALL sugar and flour (that is their choice — even if they can’t find a doctor or dietician to sign off on it due to the increased risk of health problems caused by low-carbohydrate diets)…but their choice does NOT have to be yours…and your success does not have to come while attempting to follow a CraZy diet that is based on (at best) whacked-out scientific theories.

Oh yeah…I probably should mention that ALL carbohydrates break down into SUGAR in our bodies!!! So NOT “ALL sugar” is bad or (in one sense) is any indivudal TOTALLY sugar free IF they eat ANY amount of carbohydrates.

 

Notes From The Journey…

Before anyone sends me hate mail because I’ve posted yet another picture of REAL FOOD on my blog (yes, I actually got a message from some guy recently who was all shook up over seeing the picture of a man holding a fork — NO food on the fork, just a fork – in the masthead at the top of this page!), allow me to explain why, when I deem them appropriate, I choose to post such photographs.

Allow me to do a reality check: Just SEEING a picture of food canNOT force any food addict to overeat compulsively!!! If I posted a picture of dog poop would you HAVE TO eat it?  Nope!  The same is true when you see, smell or (gasp!) even think about food.  We addicts are powerLESS over food, but NOT over our elbows!

I used to fear the sight, smell and thoughts of food. But my atttitude toward food has been radically changed by a couple of passages found in Alcoholics Anonymous, the basic text of that fellowship. One of those passages (pages 84 and 85) reads:

“”We have ceased fighting anything or anyone — even alcohol (food). For by this time sanity will have returned. We will seldom be interested in (food). If tempted, we recoil from it as from a hot flame. We can now react sanely and normally, and we will find that this has happened automatically. We will see that this new attitude toward liquor (food) is really a gift of God.

That is the miracle of it.  We are not fighting it, neither are we avoiding temptation.  We feel as though we had been placed in a position of neutrality - safe and protected.  We have not even sworn off.  Instead, the problem has been removed.  It does not exist for us.  We are neither cocky nor are we afraid.  That is our experience.  That is how we react so long as we keep in fit spiritual condition.” (pages 84-85)

So you might as well get used to seeing pictures of FOOD within the entries of OVERACTIVE FORK, because I’ll continue to post them when/if they fit the topic I’m writing about! Oh yeah…you might want to consider working the 12 Steps so when you do see ”recovery-threatening pictures” you wont CHOOSE to eat whatever food is pictured on my blog! :-D Working the 12 Steps, not just mentally masturbating about them, is how one gets to the “position of neutrality” discussed in the AA Big Book passage listed above. Hiding from food is NO substitute for working the 12 Steps. Being afraid of food is, in an of itself, NOT a hallmark of authentic 12 Step recovery from food addiction. On the other hand, being afraid of what acting out with our addiction can do our health and physical well-being IS something to fear, IMHO.

We now return to the subject of this entry…

I’m pleased to report that this week, my second week of back-to-back food sobriety and exercise sanity this time around, is going very well. Thank you, God!!! Thank you, fellow addicts and others!!!

Occasionally I hope to write about “little but important experiences” I have along this “journey known as recovery”. This is the first such entry.

* To help remind himself that he really is NOT the center of the universe, a good friend of mine in the AA and OA fellowships is fond of saying, “I may not be much but I am ALL that I think about!” What? An addict with an OVERinflated ego? Say it ain’t so! I don’t know about you, but I can certainly relate this  line (at least occasionally). <blush>

One of the ways that I’ve finally figured out that my ego is getting OVERinflated is when I find myself REALLY ANGRY (then ultimately resentful) for the seemingly smallest things that other people “do to me” To paraphrase another AA member , “The bigger the target, the easier it is to hit”. So true!

One of the things that would (normally) send my anger level into the stratosphere is when fast food drive-thru workers would get my WRONG. I just knew that they “were out to sabotage my excellent recovery efforts”. If you go thru many a fast food drive-thru lane you know how (if you are lucky) one in ten of your orders comes out wrong. So I’ve had LOTS of occasions to get pretty mad over the years — Once last year I even managed to use the terrible “F Bomb” when a fast food worker tried to INSIST on giving back to me the WRONG food ALONG WITH the food that I (finally!) had actually ordered (“Just give me the f—ing food that I ordered!” I yelled). <still blushing>

FINALLY, earlier this week, I “got it”!!!

At last I realized that NObody was trying to mess with my recovery (REALLY!!!) when I was handed a food item that I had NOT ordered.  When I went back to thru the lane I was given the CORRECT item that I ordered and was told to KEEP the item that was given to me INcorrectly…And yet I did NOT explode! It may not sound like a big deal, but for me this IS progress!!!

I’m so very thankful that someone finally told me that Health Department regulations PREVENT restaurant employees from serving food that (for any reason) has been returned to them. So when they say, “Go ahead and keep it (the WRONG food item)…” they probably would rather I eat it (or that I give it to someone else to eat) because the only other option is to throw it away.

Even if I feel “terribly weak” in my ability to NOT eat something that I was given in error, it is MY responsibility to take care of myself and NOT eat it. This really is NOT about what other people are doing to mess with me and sabotage my recovery efforts!  I (yes, me) CAN choose to throw away something BEFORE it enters into my mouth (”I may be powerLESS over food, but I’m NOT powerLESS over my elbows!!!). <amazed look>

And really, NO food is my “problem”…My “problem” is the DISEASE OF ADDICTION living INside of my body…NOT an INantimate piece of food that exists OUTside of my body. I have a program of recovery with LOTS of tools that CAN (and HAVE) help(ed) me defuse tense interactions with food.

 

INsanity?!? No way!!!

Persons involved in 12 Step recovery are quick to point out that if we don’t remember all the pain, misery and outright INsanity of the last time we acted out with our “drug(s) of choice” we probably will act out with them again. For me as a food addict, I translate this thought as follows: If I can’t remember my last food binge, I haven’t probably haven’t had it yet. In other words, I probably have at least one more binge inside of me just waiting to pop out and make a train wreck out of my recovery.

While it wasn’t my last binge, one of the most bizarre ones from around 1985, came to mind when I found the picture posted at the top of this entry while recently cruising the Internet.

Drinking a little Diet Coke makes our OVEReating all OK, right? Not hardly.

It certainly didn’t make it “OK” the night that I ate 19 pieces of Kentucky Fried Chicken, Cole Slaw, Baked Beans, Biscuits, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy and who knows whatever other “KFC sides” I inhaled along with the GALLONS of DIET COKE I had with my “dinner”.

BTW, real addicts might eat 20 pieces or more of Kentucky Fried Chicken, but I STOPPED AT ONLY 19!!! Such moderation is something to be truly admired!

No way that OVEReating is a form of INsanity. Right. <blush>

After all, drinking Diet Coke probably IS a little bit healthier than drinking regular sugary soft drinks, right? And drinking DIET Coke is an “incremental step” toward living a healthier lifestyle, right?

Heck I recall one Weight Watchers leader quoting a news article about “lifestyle changes” that claimed it was possible to lose nearly fifteen pounds over the course of one year if you just drink one less 12 ounce cain of sugary soft drinks each day (Do the math: 365 days X one 12 oz. can less per day = 15 pounds weight loss).

We food addicts are sooooo incredibly sane, aren’t we?!?

You see, drinking Diet Coke alone is not the same thing as following a balanced, moderate food plan and moderately exercising, one day at a time.

Just for today, I have a plan of recovery (food plan, exercise plan, support network and life philosphy) which includes/allows Diet Coke (and other sugar-free soft drinks) to be consumed. But Diet Coke alone is not what has allowed me to now lose nearly 81 pounds.

But I have to admit, Diet Coke does taste great with chocolate!!!

 

To My Own Self Be True

I haven’t mentioned this elsewhere on my blog, but in February 2006 I was diagnosed as being a Type 2 Diabetic. Diabetics are much more likely than non-diabetics to develop other serious health problems, including heart and kidney disease.

Keeping in mind my health history,  coupled with my addictions to both OVEReat and UNDERexercise, I am today committing (one day at a time) to make the following small (but I think important) changes in what I eat and how much I exercise. These changes are well within the guidelines of my Weight Watchers’ POINTS food plan and directions given me by various physical therapists over the years.

One day at a time, I commit to…

– Stop eating french fries and onion rings.   They have virtually NO nutritional value, regardless of the type of oil in which they are deep-fried. And I surely do NOT need the TON of SALT that fast food restaurants (especially McDonald’s) pour on their french fries!

– Start eating MORE green vegetables,

– Eat a garden salad three or more days per week.

– Start eating/drinking MORE Vitamin C-rich fruits.

– DO physical exercise for at least 15 minutes each day, every day, NO MATTER WHAT!

– Eat fish and white meat MORE often, while eating LESS red meat.

Am I “excited” about making any of these changes? NO WAY!!! I’m just being honest (”Nothing ever changes until it becomes what it is.”) AND am seeking God’s grace to make these changes.

“God grant me the serenity to accept things I cannont change…the courage to change the things I can…and the wisdom to know the difference — even when I do NOT feel like doing these things. In Jesus’ name. Amen!”

And what if I don’t PERFECTLY adhere to my commitment? Then I have another prayer, known as The Serenity Prayer - Part 2, to pray:

“God, grant me patience with the changes that take time, an appreciation for all that I have, a tolerance for those with different struggles and the strength to get up and try again . . . One Day At A Time. In Jesus’ name. Amen!”

 

What Part of “HAMburger” Don’t They Understand?

Yesterday I bought my lunch at a local Wendy’s (you know, they offer “healthier” side items with their combo meals than just french fries, like most fast food restaurants). Instead of dining in, I opted to go through the drive-through lane.

I ordered a #1 Combo Meal: Single HAMburger w/small Chili and Diet Coke. NOTE: The menu actually reads “Single HAMburger” (”Single” = one hamburger. I’m adding the emphasis on the HAM part of the burger’s name).

REALITY CHECK: A CHEESEburger is a HAMburger WITH cheese. A HAMBURGER has NO cheese. Therefore a ”HAMburger with cheese” is NOT a HAMburger — it is a CHEESEburger. Savvy? Yet just about every time I order a HAMburger at Wendy’s they ask me if I want CHEESE on it! If I wanted a “HAMburger with cheese” it would NOT be a HAMburger — it would be a CHEESEburger!!! Calgon, take me away!!!

So I ordered a HAMburger, but in the cashier’s frenzied attempt to “suggestive sell” me something MORE than what I ordered, she attempted to charge me for a CHEESEburger with my combo! (Who in their right mind would pay 40 cents for just ONE slice of cheese? Not moi! I can buy a package of cheese with 16 slices for less than $1.75 at my neighborhood Krogers.)

So I confronted the cashier about their mistake and was then charged the proper amount for a Single HAMburger Combo Meal.

However when I opened the wrapper on my sandwich (as I was driving away from Wendy’s) I discovered that I was given a CHEESEburger!!!

In a way, I got a little thrill that I got an overpriced slice of cheese for FREE. But then again, I’m on a food plan and I want my food order to be respected and I don’t want to deal with that suggestive selling crap!

IMHO, suggestive selling is rude – it shows a blatant disregard and disrespect for the customer. It prevents the cashier from listening (really listening) to their customer.

“HAMburger” means HAMburger.  “CHEESEburger” means CHEESEburger.

What part of “HAMburger” don’t they understand!?! They DO understand, they just disrespect me and deceptively try to sell me something that I didn’t order. As a consumer, I deserve BETTER treatment than that.

What part of getting my order RIGHT can’t they handle?!? Isn’t that what they are paid to do?!?

Some of my journal entries deal with the subject of the problem I refer to as “perfectionism”: the unrealistic expectation of PERFECTION from myself. I don’t think that I’m coping a perfectionistic attitude with fast food cashiers who engage in suggestive selling. Suggestive selling is an INTENTIONAL behavior.

When confronted by me, many a fast food cashier over the years has told me that their supervisors insist that they engage in suggestive selling. Some have even been warned by their boss that if they don’t suggestive sell that they will be fired!

So I’m not demanding perfection from fast food cashiers.

I am, without apology, insisting on respect and that the person taking my order “actively listen” to what I’m telling them.

Being a guy who is still overweight (oh just a little), I obviously do NOT need to “supersize” my meal. Rest assured that I wont be mistaken for being anorexic any time soon.

So what did I do with the slice of cheese on my HAMburger? I ate it. <gasp>

Thankfully with Weight Watchers POINTS food plan I have the flexibility (NOTE: perfectionism and flexibility are typically NOT compatible with each other) that allows for errors on the part of those who serve me food. I just counted the Point value of the cheese along with the other items that came with my Combo Meal.

Eating the cheese on my HAMburger did NOT cross the line into “overeating”. I simply ate something I hadn’t pre-planned for, yet was still able to stay within my allowed number of Points for the day.

Prior to Weight Watchers, I probably would have gone into a “(downward) shame and guilt spiral” and would have used the UNexpected piece of cheese as an excuse to OVEReat. Even though eating the cheese would not necessarily been OVEReating.

Dieting fed my perfectionism. Dieting severely limited my choices. Dieting created new excuses to overeat.

Moderate eating, achieved by following a nutritionally-sane food plan, can (thankfully!) undermine my perfectionistic tendencies, increase my choices/options and circumvent the guilt and shame that used to help me discover new excuses for overeating.

Thankfully my recovery is NOT about “dieting”!

 

McSpin: Call It “Fried”, Will Ya’!!!

To save money and time (great reasons, huh?), I too often eat at fast food restaurants. I think that Wendy’s is probably the best in terms of nutritional value for the money, since they allow customers to choose a side item OTHER than French Fries as part of their Combo Meals (combo meal = sandwich, side item and beverage).

McDonald’s refers to their “meal deals” as Value Meals. McDonald’s does not allow substitution(s) for side items — French Fries are a must for the side item. I’m told that despite how delicious they are, French Fries have virtually NO nutritional value. At McDonald’s they also usually come OVER-salted. And did I mention something about their fat content?

Here’s hoping that McDonald’s, Arby’s and all other combo-meal-serving fast food joints will follow Wendy’s lead and allow for something OTHER than French Fries to be selected as a side item. Until that wonderful day when such a choice is offered by McDonald’s, I have (at least) two other complaints about McDonald’s cuisine…

1) Let’s call “fried” food “fried”, OK? Have you noticed that their various chicken sandwiches and Snack Wraps come in two varieties: grilled and crispy.  ”Crispy” is THE SAME as “fried”. I challenge McDoanld’s to have the integrity to respect their customers by using the word “fried” — despite all the bad press that word gets these days! (SIDE NOTE: Did you know the reason that Kentucky Fried Chicken shortened it’s name back in the 1990’s to  ”KFC”? Because of all the bad press in heart disease that FRIED food was getting! So we can still eat FRIED food, but dare not speak the name “fried” and it makes it all OK? Sounds like spin to moi!)

2) Have you ever ordered one of these “grilled” items (perhaps as a way to reduce your intake of FAT)? If so, you might have noticed like I have that McDonald’s employees LARD IT UP with maynaise!!! What’s the point it having your item “grilled” (to reduce fat) just to turn around and smack MULTIPLE ounces of fat-laden mayonaise on your sandwich or wrap? Kinda’ defeats the purpose, doesn’t it? At least they could offer reduced fat or fat-free mayonaise!

On a more McPositive note…I did (past tense) enjoy partaking of McDonald’s Southwest Salads this past summer. They came with a choice of either “grilled” or “crispy” chicken (That’s FRIED chicken!!!). I’m sad to report that now that fall has arrived, this healthier item is no longer McAvailable. The Southwest Salad has come up missing just in time for the McRib to make a brief return.