See, a couple of years ago, my wife and I made the conscious decision to lose weight. However, we did not go on a diet, rather, we made a complete lifestyle change. Hers was a complete conversion to a gluten free lifestyle, while mine consisted of adapting my eating habits by making simple swaps. These included eating grilled/baked chicken instead of fried chicken and homemade (lean ground beef/turkey) burgers instead of McDonalds or Burger king. Those delicious McDonalds fries? Gone. Instead I began to consume vegetables and a baked (sweet) potato. Those absolutely Flamin’ Hot Cheetos that were so pleasing to my palate? They were replaced with fruit, yogurt and nuts.
It wasn’t simple, but over the course of a year my wife and I lost a combined 100 pounds. We weren’t obese before, but looking back at our old pictures it became apparent that the aforementioned lifestyle change was absolutely necessary for the both of us. Although I had sacrificed a wide assortment of food that had previously been a feigning necessity in my life, I could not completely relinquish the urge I had for my ultimate addiction: pizza.
Every weekend I had to consume pizza. I was (and still am) addicted to the aroma, the taste and the gooey cheese that extends like an infinite rubber band when pulled away from an adjacent piece. Every bite and chew pleased my palate incomparably to any other food I had tasted in my life. In addition, I had developed a pervasive emotional connection with pizza that many others subconsciously have with their favorite foods. It reminded me of my favorite childhood moments, exuberant thrills and festive events. Negating this habit, even slightly, would not be an easy task but I was able to accomplish this reluctantly.
I began to cook my own pizza by delving into the world of self taught culinary arts. Initially, I starting making pizzas on prepared crust, but I eventually graduated to making crust from scratch. This way, I could control my calorie intake and decorate my pizzas with as many vegetables as possible without sacrificing the taste I had grown accustomed to. I had successfully counteracted my addiction, into something healthy. Yet and still, I had to tone down my consumption.
Previously, I had been adamant about maintaining a weekly pizza diet. This would soon be transformed into a monthly habit (for the moment) where I was able to control my consumption. I had gained control of my addiction momentarily.
Many don’t view food as an addiction on the same level as such hazardous drugs as cocaine despite the fact that it should be. According to David Kessler in The End of Overeating foods that contain ample amounts of fat, sugar or salt (two out of three) stimulate the same sections of the brain that are activated when a person takes drugs. When this perturbing fact is considered, it seems to add more urgency to the fact that we must tame our unhealthy eating habits. It seems God (The Creator, or whatever you call the divine being if you believe in one) has played some type of cruel joke on mankind by supplying us with healthy foods that are not stimulating to our palate. But wait. What if there was a vegetable that was pleasing to our palate while concurrently assisting us with weight loss and a healthy diet?
From my knowledge, that vegetable does not exist, but if you ask a member of the U.S. Congress it very well does exist; as of November 2011 anyway. It turns out that Congress has declared my addiction, into a healthy addiction; so it seems. Based on their knowledge, pizza can be classified as a vegetable because it has tomato paste. Yes, tomato paste. Despite the fact that a tomato is actually classified a fruit, this is ludicrous on many other levels.
This is clearly an effort by the Congress to save money with school lunches by not providing our children (who are overweight at a rate of 33%) with sufficient options for health eating which are almost always more expensive. Instead of providing our overweight children with the necessary knowledge and eating habits to become healthy adults, we are instead fostering behavior that is accepting of shortcuts and nonsensical explanations.
See, had I been raised in an environment where I believed that 4-5 serves of pizza a day was a necessity for a healthy diet, I’d be obese by now and surely I would not have lost any of the weight I worked so hard to eliminate. This faulty logic exhibited by Congress could very well be the reason why future pizza addicts, who suffer from the same ailment as me, may not be able to alter their diet to maintain a healthy weight. Whenever they feel discouraged, they can simply comfort themselves in the faulty logic that they are consuming a vegetable and be fine with that fallacy.
In the game of life excuses never suffice if you plan to win. I can correct my faults and correct the perpetual habit to make excuses to improve my character. However, I can’t do the same for fifty-something year old adults who quite possibly will be responsible for continuing the perilous health pandemic in our country.
There’s a conspiracy to keep you fat brothers and sisters but we refuse to ignore the obvious signs. Those in power do not care about our well-being and this is just more proof. This means that you and only you are responsible for health. Our government is cheap in regards to our wellness; however we are raised in a propagandist environment that decries any level of frugality. Hypocrisy at its finest. Take care of yourself and do not be duped into believing that regular consumption of your hazardous food addiction, whatever it may be, will actually benefit you over the course of your life. This is no conspiracy theory. It has already become a fact.
[Editor's note: Also keep in mind how this ties in to the pharmaceutical complex and the health industry which rely on you being sick to make a profit. These industries depend on people continuing to be sick along with more people getting sick on a regular basis in order to continue growth of profits. One must consider how these issues tie in with this powerful industry which wields a great deal of lobbying clout in Washington.]
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