Posted On: June 9, 2009, 3:02 pm CDT

Posted By: dawn

Good for you- you did what you needed to do and you lost the weight. Keeping it off will be your next challenge, and I'm not being sarcastic when I wish you good luck.

But this is my question for you- at your heaviest did someone pointing at you and yelling 'hey fat-***' make you feel like going to the gym or eating another cookie?

You are right. Everyone has problems. I'm sure there are habits you have that go back to something that happened to you as a child. You shake your hands three times after you wash them, you brush your teeth exactly 45 times, etc. Some rituals or habits that you may not even be aware of that you've carried with you through the years. Not easy habits to break, whether they are good for you or bad for you. For some people eating is no different.

Mommy gives a cookie to stop crying. That instills food as comfort to alleviate an emotion. Later, that same child turns to food as an adult. They either turn obese, bulimic or anorexic. It's really that simple some times. Breaking that habit is next to impossible.

I used to get a small toy twice a week after an allergy shot. Nothing big- just something in the $.50 range in the store next to the doctor's office. To this day when something bad happens, it's everything I can do to stop myself from running to the store and buying myself something. Comfort. The only difference is the price of the toys. LOL

An addictive personality is also a common trait in drug addicts, alcoholics, and food addicts. I took up smoking to stop eating when I was 18. Now I'm so afriad I'll go back to eating I'm afraid to quit smoking. Go figure. I know I have an addictive personality- never even tried cocaine or anything like that- knew I wouldn't be able to stop if I did.

People don't always fit into the 'norm'. Latchkey kids get what's cheap and can be made in the micorwave. Nothing good in that.

Food has also gotten higher in saturated fat. Salt has been increased in food. Until the recession started the size of a normal dinner in a restaurant was huge. Diet sodas have never had more sodium in them then they do now. Worse for you then the sugar. More preservatives, more additives, you name it there's more of it. I've long suspected that has a lot to do with the exponential increase in food allergies. And I'm sure it has something to do with the increase in obesity as well.

Just my opinion. Best of luck to you.