I never wanted to weigh 350 pounds. This may sound like an obvious statement, but it needs to be said. Why? Because so many people doubt the power that food can have over someone's life. In many ways, the foods I used to eat were so addictive that I literally overate myself into morbid obesity and all of the health problems and social stigma that go along with it.
So, today I am starting a blog series entitled "My Struggle With Food" where I discuss why I overate, and why I had such a hard time gaining control of this part of my life. For Part One, I decided to reveal exactly what foods I was eating as I climbed to the 350 lb mark.
You may notice that the following examples are all outside of my home environment. There are two reason for this;
1. My wife has always encouraged me to be healthy, meaning that the majority of foods we have eaten in our home have been much better than the average american home.
2. My real struggle with food was a private one, where I would often eat in secret or try to hide the extent to which I was overeating.
There are three main places where I tended to eat beyond what was necessary for true hunger or survival:
Gas Stations
I used to stop by a gas station once or twice a day, and it wasn't for gas. Here's a list of absolutely horrible things i used to get at a gas station:
Little Debbie Snack Cakes: Swiss Cake Rolls, Fudge Rounds, Oatmeal Creme Pies
Candy: M&Ms, Reeses Cups, Snickers Bars, and my personal favorite, Twix Bars
Sweetened Beverages: Coke, Dr. Pepper, Powerade, Root Beer
"Breakfast" Items: Blueberry and Chocolate Chip Muffins, Mini Donuts, Full Size Donuts, Sausage Biscuits
Salty Snacks: Potato Chips, Doritos, Fritos, etc.
Gas Station Pizza: Gross...
Fast Food Drive Thru
Also, once or twice a day, I would drive through a local fast food restaurant for a meal or snack. Here is what I used to eat...
Biscuits: Fried Chicken, Sausage, Egg, Bacon, Cheese in all different combinations. My go to was a Chicken, Egg, and Cheese from Chick-Fil-A.
Fried Potatoes: Hash Rounds, French Fries, Waffle Fries
Cheeseburgers: Usually at least two Double Cheeseburgers from Mcdonalds.
Fried Chicken: In sandwiches, nuggets. or strips.
Sweetened Beverages: Sweet Tea, Coke, Dr. Pepper. I never ordered a simple ice water...
Workplace and Church
Another struggle I had was food actually offered to me by others.
As a teacher, virtually all of my gifts from students or administrators are candy, baked goods, or other junk foods. As Christmas time, my desk is filled with cookies, candy, cake pops, chocolate covered pretzels, etc. This is not just limited to teaching. A majority of workplaces offer this type of fare for free or you can pay for you typical vending machine choices.
Another place that leads to bad eating is Church! Walk into any given sunday school or small group class at church and you will most likely see the worst of the worst: Donuts, Coffee Cake, Danishes, Muffins, Biscuits, etc. This is meant to be a service to the class, but in reality it provides an excuse to eat junk food.
Conclusion
So, you get the point. Both the quality and quantity of food I was eating was more than enough to lead to my weight gain and health problems. I knew that these food were negatively affecting my health, yet I continued to eat them each day, but...WHY? Stay tuned for my next post in this series where I hypothesize about this.
What is your take on this? Have you ever struggled with eating these types of foods? Leave a comment below. Thanks for reading!
-Stephen
1. My wife has always encouraged me to be healthy, meaning that the majority of foods we have eaten in our home have been much better than the average american home.
2. My real struggle with food was a private one, where I would often eat in secret or try to hide the extent to which I was overeating.
There are three main places where I tended to eat beyond what was necessary for true hunger or survival:
Gas Stations
I used to stop by a gas station once or twice a day, and it wasn't for gas. Here's a list of absolutely horrible things i used to get at a gas station:
Little Debbie Snack Cakes: Swiss Cake Rolls, Fudge Rounds, Oatmeal Creme Pies
Candy: M&Ms, Reeses Cups, Snickers Bars, and my personal favorite, Twix Bars
Sweetened Beverages: Coke, Dr. Pepper, Powerade, Root Beer
"Breakfast" Items: Blueberry and Chocolate Chip Muffins, Mini Donuts, Full Size Donuts, Sausage Biscuits
Salty Snacks: Potato Chips, Doritos, Fritos, etc.
Gas Station Pizza: Gross...
Fast Food Drive Thru
Also, once or twice a day, I would drive through a local fast food restaurant for a meal or snack. Here is what I used to eat...
Biscuits: Fried Chicken, Sausage, Egg, Bacon, Cheese in all different combinations. My go to was a Chicken, Egg, and Cheese from Chick-Fil-A.
Fried Potatoes: Hash Rounds, French Fries, Waffle Fries
Cheeseburgers: Usually at least two Double Cheeseburgers from Mcdonalds.
Fried Chicken: In sandwiches, nuggets. or strips.
Sweetened Beverages: Sweet Tea, Coke, Dr. Pepper. I never ordered a simple ice water...
Workplace and Church
Another struggle I had was food actually offered to me by others.
As a teacher, virtually all of my gifts from students or administrators are candy, baked goods, or other junk foods. As Christmas time, my desk is filled with cookies, candy, cake pops, chocolate covered pretzels, etc. This is not just limited to teaching. A majority of workplaces offer this type of fare for free or you can pay for you typical vending machine choices.
Another place that leads to bad eating is Church! Walk into any given sunday school or small group class at church and you will most likely see the worst of the worst: Donuts, Coffee Cake, Danishes, Muffins, Biscuits, etc. This is meant to be a service to the class, but in reality it provides an excuse to eat junk food.
Conclusion
So, you get the point. Both the quality and quantity of food I was eating was more than enough to lead to my weight gain and health problems. I knew that these food were negatively affecting my health, yet I continued to eat them each day, but...WHY? Stay tuned for my next post in this series where I hypothesize about this.
What is your take on this? Have you ever struggled with eating these types of foods? Leave a comment below. Thanks for reading!
-Stephen
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