hey hey amigos!
i was chatting away with my mom this morning, as usual, when she brought up yesterday's post. she totally understood how we can substitute "healthy" addictions in place of dealing with deeper issues, and it looks like you guys have experienced similar bumps in the road.
isn't it frustrating how we can do such a good job of mentally "blocking out" an issue? it's so easy to overlook something just because on the surface, it seems OK, "healthy," or other people are doing the same thing, but it can mean something totally different to us personally.
but what if there really isn't a deeper motive?
i thank my mom for pointing this out. i realized that in order to "dig deeper" yesterday, i failed to point out that sometimes, we just develop bad habits.
so like yesterday, let's say you chew a fair amount of gum. you like gum, and you eat too, so really don't feel like your using gum to cover true hunger. nonetheless, you seem drawn to chew gum... maybe a little more than you should.
why is this? you, my friend, just have developed what we call... a bad habit! it's super easy to do, with "healthy" things especially. little quirks like that tend to get lost in the daily grind, and 10 years can go by before we ever even notice it (can you imagine the cost for 10 years of gum!?!).
i'm not trying to continually knock gum, y'all. i'm just using it as an example of something we don't think about. there can be something different for each of us, or nothing at all. it's unique like we are.
my bad habit? for nearly every morning of all my teenage years, i would pour a huge bowl, and i would keep filling the bowl until all the milk was gone. that was my "serving size."
i would do the same thing everyday, regardless of how hungry i was. i just didn't even think about it. did i need all that? no way! it was just a mindless bad habit i picked up (my dad does it, too!), and it stuck with me for years before i ever gave it a second thought.
if i had simply judged how hungry i was before i poured that planet-sized bowl, i could have saved myself a lot of frustration! i used to do this with apples, too. there's nothing wrong with apples, but i used to just grab one whenever i was "feeling munchy." 4 or 5 apples a day is a lot of sugar, extra calories that didn't fill me up, and a lot of money!
the point is, whether you don't floss, mindlessly munch on fruit all day, or chew with your mouth open, a bad habit is something worth considering.
are "healthy" addictions bad?
thoughts?
-rebekah
Oh my gosh I did the SAME thing with cereal! I would finish an entire box of special K in two or three days! I didn't realize how much I was eating until I started measuring it out!! Now I pre-portion my cereal, because otherwise I'll munch on it allll day!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I added you to my blogroll :)
ReplyDeleteI think anything you get addicted to can be bad and unhealthy.
ReplyDeleteI am realizing that I am addicted to soothing my emotions with food. I am also addicted to the dieting mindset. I am working on this one day at a time. So far so good. Thanks for this post. :)
ReplyDelete:) "sometimes a cigar is just a cigar" ;)
ReplyDeleteso happy to have come across your blog
wow your reasons for chewing gum perfectly describe my old habit of gum chewing (2-3 PACKS of orbit a day). dealing with feelings and intuitive eating has helped kick this habit. thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeletewow i feel like you read my mind.. or my thoughts.. or i read yours! i was just thinking about how many healthy habits turn really addictive and somewhat negative fast. for instance its healthy to eat sweet potatoes.. yet there are times where i will have 4 big ones for dinner.. or 2 whole bags of grapes or cherries. or walking, i used to walk everyday.. then i got addicted and all i did was walk. even things like muffins.. they can be healthy but when they start to substitute meals 24/7 (or protein bars or shakes) then ur reliant on them to 'get by' same with teas or coffees..or 'diet or health' sodas/foods.
ReplyDeletexoxo
Hmm... this post made me stop and think. At first I thought you were talking nonsense but I suppose there could be something I do that isn't inherently bad but my reasons for doing it are less than pure. I'll be thinking about what that is for me but thanks for sharing this. Your blog is great!
ReplyDeleteI'm new, so come visit me! :)
I did the same thing with cereal. Now I fill it with millet puffs, so I get all the good stuff, feel like I'm eating a lot with out added sugar and I ton of calories.
ReplyDeleteCan't believe I missed your gum post! It's so crazy, because I gave up gum back in March, for the simple fact that I wanted to cut out all strange chemicals that my body didn't need. Oh sugar-free ingredients, you thought you wouldn't get caught.
ReplyDeleteI chewed gum because I was always self conscious about my breath, to be honest. And? Because it helped me STOP eating. It was sweet, like cake, like candy, and I chewed 3 pieces a day without falt. 6am, 9am, 12pm, maybe one at dinner if I couldn't stop munching after my big plate-o food. Oh gum. I felt like I actually had withdrawls, too. I craved it for those first 2 weeks, but just knowing why I gave it up and how it IS possible to live without - both helped me leave it for good.
Guess what? Don't miss it. Not one bit :)
Healthy addiction? I had a chia-seed overdose the other day, but it was on accident. I think the one fruit I go overboard with once in a blue moon is the glorious banana. 3 a day happens about every month or so. They're just. so. delicious.
I love your blog more and more each day. Maybe one day my comments won't consist of 500 paragraphs :)
God bless you girl!
Huh, wow, this is interesting to think about...
ReplyDeleteI was trying to come up with a "healthy" (or rather, not "bad") addiction of mine, and I couldn't figure it out for a while. Then it hit me:
Coffee. For real, I have about two cups per day, which isn't a lot for some people, but I don't need them. I drink it more out of habit. I don't think coffee will hurt me, but it's still something I rely on for comfort, stability, etc.
Hmm... does this mean I'll cut back? I don't know. It's definitely something to consider.
Healthy addictions are ok until they start ruling your life. If it becomes an excuse, then there is a problem. "I'm addicted to brocolli" is ok, but its "I'm addicted to brocolli, so I don't want that cheeseburger (even though you KNOW you do)" thats when is becomes unhealthy. I don't know if that made any sense, but I got it :)
ReplyDeleteHow was your day?? From your Tweets it sounded busy!
Wow, love this post! So weird, Ive been thinking about this all week- how a healthy lifestyle can so easily become a health obsession- and ironically,thats probably really unhealthy. Youre awesome!
ReplyDelete