I've had asthma all my life, and I've always been susceptible to respiratory infections. When I was a kid, I averaged one bout of pneumonia per year. Each time I got sick, my mom would feed me, buy me boxes of candy, and so on. And, of course, now that I'm close to 40, I still do the same thing.

Now my wife is just getting over the flu, and I can feel it working its way into my lungs. But now I have to avoid my usual comfort foods: the candy bars, the doughnuts, and (deadliest of all, which my Mom never fed me), the Bacon Ultimate Cheeseburger from Jack in the Box (1070 calories, 77 grams of fat, 2 grams of fiber, 53 g of carbs, 27.5 WW Points, etc.). Last night I successfully avoided this monster of a burger, but man, I still wanted it. I didn't feel triumphant about that little victory; I just felt kind of sad.

What do you do when you really miss your comfort foods, but you know you can't have them anymore?

Richard I feel you brother. My worst time is watching football on sunday. There was a time when a 12 pak of beer and a 12 pak of nachos with chili and cheese was right up my alley. Nowadays it's flavored water, celery and ranch dip..........My how the mighty have fallen. But I tell you, its all worth it to me when I can physically do whatever I want easily, without trouble breathing or fatigue. Take care and hang in there, most of us share your pain.

Mark

Funny thing happened this evening. I went to my WW meeting and discovered that instead of gaining or maintaining (as I'd expected), I'd actually lost 3.4 pounds. I almost celebrated by going to Jack in the Box and getting that monster burger, but as I got closer to the restaurant, the appeal faded and actually went away completely. I went and had sushi instead.

Those are sick, and I know the depths that they can take you to.

I try to stay mentally tough and take on a warrior's attitude to combat any negative thoughts that will take me off plan.

I am a demon slayer! arrgh!

See Richard, you DO know what to do! Good for you!

There are two philosohies here and I'll briefly outline them:

1. You have lost the weight and you ate properly and healthy and therefore deserve a "bad"/cheat, whatever you want to call it... You can do it, but risk how you'll feel afterwards (I don't have a crystal ball, but I CAN tell you that a cheat meal is NOT very rewarding post two hours while you're running to the men's room from the grease) either physically, mentally (guilt, beating up, etc.), or BOTH; then the downward spiral starts.

2. You can avoid it at all costs like an alcoholic does, like an addict truly does. Realize that these foods are laden with trans fats, saturated fats, fats that will clog arteries and create heart disease. Food can be a drug for some of us and stop us from achieving our goals.

Think about this...if you "rewarded" yourself with a cheat meal once a week, that would be 52 monster grease burgers for the year. Is that what you want? You gotta be honest with yourself and try to rationalize the action without the emotion. Look at all of the progress you missed with the meat.

I love burgers - always will, but when I have a weak moment I try to see why I want that grease. A craving? I'll down a teaspoon of Olive oil and a fistful of almonds (careful with the calories and fat!), go walk the dog and BAM, the thought is gone - distraction is the key here - and yeah a little of K's mental toughness wouldn't hurt. You wrote yourself that the appeal actually WENT AWAY! That's what it's all about; changing your life forever. Read this:

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Heart attacks are a result of several risk factors over time. However, the more risk factors a person has -- like smoking, atherosclerosis, high blood pressure and obesity -- the greater their chances of having a heart attack after a large, fatty meal.

Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston found that heart attacks are four times more likely to occur two hours after eating a large, fatty meal. After a large meal, the heart has to work faster and stronger to digest food. So the more a person eats, the harder their heart has to work. The body also diverts blood away from the heart to digest food, which is a problem for people who are at risk for heart disease.

A high-fat meal impairs blood flow for up to six hours after the meal. This is because a high-fat meal sets the blood up to form clots, which is the main cause of most heart attacks.

Anyone with a history of heart disease should go easy on the size of their meals and the amount of fat per meal.


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Keep going brother! You're doing great! You did the right thing.

My Recipe:
Next time, try a Morningstar grilled prime burger with ONE slice of american, topped with some olive oil, lettuce and onion on a whole grain bun. The craving will be satisfied AND you'll be eating a lot healthier.

Dave

Used to do that, may do that again, but have started to substitute the cheat meal with other food. Instead of a burger, I've been grabbing some ground sirloin and cooking it at home, no bun, maybe some home style potatoes. Saves a bit of money and I'm in control of how it's prepared and what goes into it.

I still grab a chocolate bar every other week, 80% cocoa or so, really dark, and savor it.

We are not mama's babies any more.
I think we must realise that it is time to stop allowing childhood memories from adversely affecting our adulthood. Even in simple everyday issues like diet.
Candy and unhealthy snacks will only make a sick person feel sicker. In fact doctors even say we must avoid sugary throat soothing candy for a sore throat. Foods that up the blood sugar levels put a stress on an already stressed body and delay healing.
When we were children, we were at the mercy of adults in our life. We therefore submitted willingly or unwillingly to them. Now we are adults. We are in full control of our lives.
How we live our life no longer has to depend on the adults who used to control us.
I grew up eating the most unhealthy foods and was overweight all through childhood and through most of my adulthood. At that time obese children were considered beautiful and my mom who did not know better, overfed me almost from the day I was born.
But when I learnt about healthy living, I decided I had to change for my own good and the good of my family.
Now, I have created my own comfort foods and none of them go against my health. For example, I make hot steaming oatmeal for breakfast to soothe a sore throat. I also make healthy broths and soups to ease cold symptoms.
I make myself a lovely herb tea and sip it slowly. I also carry a flask to work and sip it at intervals.
Richard, you probably wrote this message in a bout of self pity. I can see from a later post that better sense prevailed and you managed to avoid the unhealthy stuff.
You might even find your asthma getting much easier to manage once you get rid of the excess weight.
Keep up the good work!

Well, the asthma isn't letting up, but common sense continues to prevail. Yesterday I went and saw my doctor who was both very pleased with the changes I've made in my lifestyle lately, and also surprised ("My patients never do what I say," she said -- she's a great doctor, but she does have a tendency to be a bit heavy handed on the importance of exercise and weight loss as ways of controlling your weight and health rather than medicines and what not). And yes, she also indicated that when the weight goes, the asthma will be under better control. And at this point, the infection is probably gone but the asthmatic spasm remains.