BRIENMALONE's CalorieKing blog
Friday, May 2 2008 - Face of the Earth
View BRIENMALONE's food & exercise for this day
Forgive me CK, it has been 3 weeks since my last blog 
Maintaining Weight, but Losing Food Quality
Wow - Time sure does slip by. Well, here I am munching on my banana, pineapple and cottage cheese snack. I've managed to maintain my weight at appx 232 since I "fell off the wagon" back in late Feb. Could be worse, right?
Amazingly, in all of this, I have slipped back into my sugar cravings. I've had sundaes, milk shakes, sugary cereal... foods that I found completely disgusting back in Feb.
Ice Cream Sammiches
Here is a good sugar addict story. The sure sign that I have a sugar problem came on Monday of this week. My wife wanted an ice cream sandwich because she had a rough day. (She's one of these people who can eat comfort foods and stay thin.) I was heading to the store, so I offered to pick some up while I was there.
My grocery runs tend to be on the outer rim of the store... veggies, fruits, meats, dairy. This was the first time in ages that I've even wandered past the frozen dessert aisle. Holy smokes, what a wonderland. Every type of junk for every type of craving. There were easily a DOZEN choices for ice cream sandwiches - half of which said "low calorie" or (laughably) "non-fat". (If you're eating an ice cream sandwich, dietary fat is not the problem. *laugh*)
They weren't too expensive, so I bought two boxes - One from Mrs. Fields, and the other, a Starbucks ice cream sandwich that I thought would be a winner with my caramel machiado drinking wife. I hate coffee - and this used coffee flavored ice cream, so I figured they would be safe from me.
I asked Amy which she preferred, and she surprised me by choosing Mrs Fields! The starbucks sandwiches were encased in chocolate, and she doesn't like hard chocolate covered things. So, we polished off the Mrs. Fields box that night... (There were 5 tiny sandwiches about the diameter of a raquetball @190cal each. I had 2, wife had 2 and son had a bite of one).
Then Why Did You Eat It?
The next night, sugar monster struck the Malone home. I was rifling through the cupboards looking for something sweet when I came across the unopened Starbucks box. Ugh... coffee... but its ice cream! I unwrapped one chowed down. The nauseating smell of coffee somehow didn't wreck the fact that I was chomping on sweet ice cream with caramel sandwiched between oreo-like cookie and chocolate. (Keep in mind that until now I was avoiding chocolate because of the caffeine).
Wednesday night, I rounded off a very healthy day by eating ALL THREE of the remaining starbucks ice cream sandwiches. Did I mention that I HATE coffee... yet I ate three coffee flavored sugar bombs that were 320 calories each! Why? I ended up brushing my teeth twice that night because the sickening smell of coffee breath was keeping me awake.
Man... I have a real problem with sugar. I wish I could go back to only eating fruit. I felt so much more in control of my foods then. Well - All I can do is force myself to avoid those foods for a while. I've got some nice fresh pinapple and some grapes that should help.
Maintaining Weight, but Losing Food Quality
Wow - Time sure does slip by. Well, here I am munching on my banana, pineapple and cottage cheese snack. I've managed to maintain my weight at appx 232 since I "fell off the wagon" back in late Feb. Could be worse, right?
Amazingly, in all of this, I have slipped back into my sugar cravings. I've had sundaes, milk shakes, sugary cereal... foods that I found completely disgusting back in Feb.
Ice Cream Sammiches
Here is a good sugar addict story. The sure sign that I have a sugar problem came on Monday of this week. My wife wanted an ice cream sandwich because she had a rough day. (She's one of these people who can eat comfort foods and stay thin.) I was heading to the store, so I offered to pick some up while I was there.
My grocery runs tend to be on the outer rim of the store... veggies, fruits, meats, dairy. This was the first time in ages that I've even wandered past the frozen dessert aisle. Holy smokes, what a wonderland. Every type of junk for every type of craving. There were easily a DOZEN choices for ice cream sandwiches - half of which said "low calorie" or (laughably) "non-fat". (If you're eating an ice cream sandwich, dietary fat is not the problem. *laugh*)
They weren't too expensive, so I bought two boxes - One from Mrs. Fields, and the other, a Starbucks ice cream sandwich that I thought would be a winner with my caramel machiado drinking wife. I hate coffee - and this used coffee flavored ice cream, so I figured they would be safe from me.
I asked Amy which she preferred, and she surprised me by choosing Mrs Fields! The starbucks sandwiches were encased in chocolate, and she doesn't like hard chocolate covered things. So, we polished off the Mrs. Fields box that night... (There were 5 tiny sandwiches about the diameter of a raquetball @190cal each. I had 2, wife had 2 and son had a bite of one).
Then Why Did You Eat It?
The next night, sugar monster struck the Malone home. I was rifling through the cupboards looking for something sweet when I came across the unopened Starbucks box. Ugh... coffee... but its ice cream! I unwrapped one chowed down. The nauseating smell of coffee somehow didn't wreck the fact that I was chomping on sweet ice cream with caramel sandwiched between oreo-like cookie and chocolate. (Keep in mind that until now I was avoiding chocolate because of the caffeine).
Wednesday night, I rounded off a very healthy day by eating ALL THREE of the remaining starbucks ice cream sandwiches. Did I mention that I HATE coffee... yet I ate three coffee flavored sugar bombs that were 320 calories each! Why? I ended up brushing my teeth twice that night because the sickening smell of coffee breath was keeping me awake.
Man... I have a real problem with sugar. I wish I could go back to only eating fruit. I felt so much more in control of my foods then. Well - All I can do is force myself to avoid those foods for a while. I've got some nice fresh pinapple and some grapes that should help.
5 comments so far.
5.
a decade ago
Oh boy, did I relate to that story! I try to avoid refined sugar completely for just that reason. Once I get started I'd eat anything with sugar in it. A friend sent me a King Cake at Mardi Gras one time. My husband and I each had a piece. I later polished off the rest and was so embarassed that I lied about it. It's not like I could blame it on the dog or anything!
:afraid2: Thank you for being so honest and sharing your story with us!
by MARJORIEO
4.
a decade ago
I hate coffee, but I eat coffee ice a lot. I make it myself though - low cal. Good job on not gaining. Sometimes I think it is harder to maintain than to lose.
by MIRIAM
3.
a decade ago
Refined sugar is addictive for some of us. Try to get off the sugar again and load up on the fruit. I love ice cream so I either don't buy it or I decide to buy it knowing I will not leave it alone until it is GONE! Right now I am deciding not to buy it! Thanks for the warning! Take care! You are proof that this thing never goes away. It is just waiting around the corner. Eliza
by ELIZA
2.
a decade ago
Brien: Sounds like a rough three weeks, slipping back into previous habits. But glad you have come back to post! Remember, each moment is a chance to start afresh. Start Afresh - Something I'm using as my mantra this morning - my weight went up a bit last week, and has stayed there this week <sigh>. Back to evaluating my charts and exercise patterns, and renewing my commit to change my behavior patterns. Happy Fruit Snacking! -Otter
by OTTER
1.
a decade ago
I can relate because I am sort of in the same place. I had the flu, which lasted 4 weeks. During that time, I got off track. I haven't gained but my meal planning and food quality has gone down hill. The key for both of us is planning our food and don't have any of those "trigger"
:angry2: foods on hand. It will be tough but we can do it. 
:)
by BLUEMOON