I was relying on the Suppers proscription against judging others the day I told my story. Most of the people in our meeting had had trouble with depression on top of all they were juggling because of sugar issues. For the most part, they wanted to get off their antidepressants, or at least reduce the dose.
I went to my first Suppers meetings out of curiosity. I had seen the flyers posted around town and wanted to check it out. Just curious, right? At the very first meeting I went to, I remember thinking to myself, “These people could sure use my help.” After all, I knew an awful lot about the subjects they were discussing. It was clear to me that by attending these meetings I could help everyone by telling them what I thought they should do to improve their diet, their program, and their life.
“I will not journal.”
“I will not eat breakfast.”
“I will not give up meals of pasta and bread.”
It was an interesting departure from the usual business one night at Suppers, when we were reading about how people develop the taste for particular foods. The conclusion was that food scientists had it all figured out and that it related to designing combinations of ingredients that change how people feel. Each one of us could name a favorite fruit and a few vegetables we enjoy, but the foods that we used to feel less lonely or give us a boost of energy were all manufactured foods. We all had health problems related to a weakness for sweet, creamy and starchy comfort foods.
My mother was a single mother and we were very poor. She worked around the clock, except on Sundays and holidays when she operated from a different place inside herself and produced flat out amazing food. I was raised by my older siblings. Both of my parents grew up in South Carolina; my mother moved to Maryland with her parents and my father came in his 20s seeking work.
I had experienced bliss. It's that quiet sort of friend. The one who, the first time you meet, you trust immediately without a word being spoken. It slips unobtrusively into your day and you are so glad it has arrived. You know all will be well. And when quiet bliss slips away, you hardly notice. Other louder things replace it, things like drama, happiness, freshness, motivation, anxiety, accomplishment, and all kinds of things that give one's life meaning. I start most days with a sense of these things, or some of them.
This story is about global solutions. I wrote my first story from the angle of rheumatoid arthritis, and now I want to share my story on weight loss.
We have it backwards. In the calculus of weight loss and health, I was a failure at losing weight first. I had to get healthy first and then the weight went away by itself.
Some people might like to have my problem, but believe me, not being able to put weight on is just as much of a problem as not being able to take it off.
I had the feeling I was not absorbing nutrients from my food properly. But all my trips to regular medical doctors showed the same results: standard tests and blood work could find nothing wrong with me. This went on for years until other things started happening. After developing severe pain in my shoulder, I decided it was time to see a doctor who specialized in food allergies.
I am used to our medical system, to getting a diagnosis, and then receiving whatever prescription or procedure matches the diagnosis. I have had mostly good experiences, and my doctors and therapists would generally say that I am compliant. Well, I’m compliant until nothing works, and that is the point I reached with foot pain.
Hi, remember me? I’m Rose; lentils saved me eight years ago. As you may recall, I have always been a compulsive eater. Eating lentils in the afternoon made it possible for me to make it through my work day until dinner, which often consisted of a big bowl of popcorn. That wasn’t a binge; that was dinner.
