My Name is Amber and I’m a Carboholic by Amber Allen-Sauer

Hi. My Name is Amber and I’m a carboholic.

Isn’t that how the introduction would go if they had a Carboholics Anonymous meeting? When I first joined Facebook, there was this list going around “25 Random Things About Me” and on #9 I actually wrote “I’m a carboholic”. Well, I’m deep in recovery now, on the wagon, but still taking one day at a time. I don’t mean to take lightly the power of drug and alcohol addiction at all. But my point is that food addiction is also very powerful. And that is exactly how I have come to look at it, as an addiction.

I never understood why an alcoholic can’t just have a drink or two and then stop, until now. You can’t stop. You get the taste for it, the craving for it. It is just that carbohydrates and sugar are my drug of choice.

There are some foods I was surprised to find allowed on Jorge Cruise’s Belly Fat Cure. A single serving of Cheez-its, Chips, 85% Dark Chocolates and even french fries. The trick is as a carboholic, you just can’t have too many. And I say “trick” because for me that is pretty difficult. In the beginning, I had enough sense to just completely stay away from these foods. For me these can be trigger foods that kick off binge eating. Now that I have been on the plan for over 4 months, I sometimes let these things back in my home. Sometimes I can handle myself with, others not so much. So I have a new saying, “just because it’s allowed on my plan, doesn’t mean I’m allowed alone in a room with it”.

Being A Carboholic and Self-Control

My self-control and interest in nutritionally valueless carbs has really diminished. Cakes, cookies, pastries, sodas, etc I can pass up, no problem. I can even make them for my kids without a lick of the finger. However, bring in a bag of Doritos and I’m tormented. Recognizing these trigger foods is really important, and I’m proud to say the list is getting smaller.

I’ve converted several friends and family members over to the Belly Fat Cure, which is essentially a low sugar/low carb diet where you do not use any artificial sweeteners. The first thing I usually hear is “This sounds good, but I don’t think I can do this forever”. That is too big and drastic for most of us to handle. But taking it a day, or one meal at a time, that we can do.

Maybe there will be a day when I can casually have “normal people” carbohydrates and sugar. Maybe in a social setting where there is no chance I can go finish them off in a dark corner. But for now, I recognize my weakness with carbohydrates and a power they have over me that I can’t quite yet control. So as a carboholic, until I can control it, I will ban them from my home completely.

© 2010 by Amber Allen-Sauer. Used by kind permission of the author. What do you think? Please send Amber your comments or questions to Amber.