Ten on Tuesday on a Tuesday, Miracles Never Cease: Ten Comfort Foods

Carole asks for ten comfort foods.  This is currently a difficult topic.

I have tried to lose the same 8 pounds now for 4 years.  Down two, up two.  Down one, up two, down two, net down one.  Over and over.  So I read of a new way of eating, discussed by Dr. David Ludwig of Children's Hospital in Boston.  He had an intriguing metabolic theory that made some sense.  I talked about it with Mr. Etherknitter.  (This was mid-January.)  We decided to try it for two weeks, figuring we can survive most anything for two weeks.

I won't even give you the details.  EVERY SINGLE PERSON I have discussed this with glazes over when I say, "Oh, and no simple carbs.  Nothing high glycemic AT ALL."  If you are interested, you can find his website yourself.  Please don't tell me how you refuse to give up your high glycemic foods.  I know already.

I lost four pounds in the first two weeks.  That was pretty convincing.  It was hard to give up bread.  It was hard to give up my weekly cookie.  But I am not draconian about this.  I still have a teaspoon of sugar in my caffeine.  I still have a glass of wine.  I eat a granola bar for breakfast.  And I have NEVER been hungry.  I am down six pounds, with no effort other than in food choices.  I fit into my clothes.  I like what I see in the mirror.  (Hate me yet?  I would hate me if I wasn't me.) And since I didn't starve myself, and I didn't have to eat minute quantities of food to get the weight loss, I am fairly certain that I burned mostly fat, and lost very little, if any, muscle.

I understand what the brain does to the body.  From my pangs of remorse (pretty brief), I am certain that simple carbohydrates produce dopaminergic rewards from the brain, the same as in addiction physiology. And withdrawing from those neurochemical rewards is not easy.  I suspect this was easier than quitting most addictions.  But I have no base of reference, so I will stop speculating about that. 

That makes this list poignant. The food choices are really not all or none.  I have given myself permission to cheat several times per week.  But since I am carefully choosing those cheats, I have rarely cheated.

1. Hamburgers.  Done something between medium rare and medium, which the industry supposedly calls medium-plus.  I have the restaurant not serve the bun, I eat it with a fork with all the fixings, and it is delicious.  The bun may be a future cheat.
2. Mashed potatoes.  Not on the food plan anymore.  But I will cheat now and then.
3. Chocolate.  Anything >70% chocolate is on the food plan.  And I have not stinted on this.
4. Wine.  Also okay on this food choice roster.  At least for me.  
5. Hot dogs.  Has nothing to do with the food plan. For the last 16 or so years, I have been very picky about which hot dogs I will eat. Mystery meat, pink slime, you know.
6. Mom's apple pie.  I have the recipe, I use the Northern Spies, and this will be my entire October cheat.
7. Chicken.  Yes.  As often as I can.
8. Short ribs.  This choice has appeared here before, in the guise of what makes winter worthwhile.
9. Tea.  Definitely allowed.  Is this a food?  Close enough.

Wow.  Only nine?  And seven of the nine are not cheats.

I will have my cholesterol drawn in a few weeks.  We will see what eliminating crummy carbs does.