I was a collegiate athlete, a triathlete, and a very fit woman who eventually ate myself to 267 lbs. For some people, sugar is a treat – scoop of ice cream, several cookies, one piece of cake. For others, like me, sugar is a drug. This article is for the people like me – or for those who are wondering if sugar is a problem for them.
My story is that I would have never addressed this unsettling truth if the sugar did not show up on my body. As stated earlier, I was very athletic and stayed in good shape. Running, jump rope, running stairs, lifting weights, and playing basketball into my 40s. On my 40th birthday I was at 15% body fat – trim and lean.
Then injury came – back surgery. painful heel spurs, and my knees started rebelling! By 46 or 47 I was over 230 lbs. (healthy weight is 165-170). My weight kept going up and up.
My wedding outfit was custom made, but every time I went to the seamstress, she always looked puzzled because the measurements kept changing! I was so embarrassed, but I could not tell her the truth – that I was stuffing my face. She kept thinking it was her…but it was me.
What I did not want to face, or deal with, was the fact that once I started eating a sugary item, I was off to the races. I was battling a massive sugar problem. This began my 15 years of “yo yo” dieting. Lose weight, gain weight. Lose weight, gain weight. Over and over and over!!
All the years that I was fit, I did eat healthy food, but I also binged regularly on sugar. I could easily put down 2000 calories in one sitting. Hence, basically all the exercise kept my weight down and I was purging through activity. Bulimic behavior.
What happened? I woke up one morning and prayed, “Lord, please help me for this one day, this one meal, to eat clean.” And He did. To make a long story shorter – I regularly attend a 12-step Christian meeting for Christina Food Addicts, I record my food, and send it to someone each day. This has been a grueling process (initially) on living in the moment and leaning into God BIG TIME!
I welcome your comments and questions. If you are wanting help, please reach out. I am in your corner!
