Dear Jewish Fairy Godmother:

Helllppp!! I’m back on the carb train. I was doing pretty well with my
food and exercise program until Passover. Then I got addicted to
matzo. I’m not blaming Judaism for my lack of will power. But matzo is
what I call a carrier food. It’s the perfect vehicle for butter, butter, and
more butter, as well as cream cheese and lox, and other delicacies.
I’ve put it away but I still hear the white flour (and its friends
potatoes, sugar, rice, etc) calling to me. Can you give me a plan to get
back on the right track?

All Puffed Up

 
Dear Puffed Up:

One of my favorite cartoon is a Gary Larson image of the woman
sitting in her armchair while the sound balloon coming from the pie in
the kitchen is calling “Edna…Edna…Edna….” That’s how things like
cocaine and nicotine as well as sugar and carbs work. They are
addictive, and once they have us hooked it is oh so very hard to break
free of their alluring and beguiling calls.

 
Read my lips: The only way to stop is to s.t.o.p. As in STOP! You can
spend a lifetime researching different diet plans, and look for food
alternatives akin to a nicotine patch, as in tapering your intake slowly.
But ultimately all roads lead to one conclusion: If you don’t want the
impacts of what you eat to impact you negatively, then just stop
eating it. I’m rarely accused of quoting Nancy Reagan, but the “Just
say No” motto is applicable here. If you don’t put it in your mouth,
you’ll be one choice closer to being free of it.

 
Make a list for this week that you can stick to. Say, no sugar. Or no
white flour. Or no potatoes or rice. Think about white foods and refined
foods as being bad. Go one week without one of them. Then week two
add in a second. Begin to prove to yourself that you can just say no
and soon you will be able to do it consistently and more widely.