It's Back.....

Well, today was a much better day than yesterday! I did a little assessing and saw a few kiddos! It's no secret that I am VERY interested in childhood obesity and the problem in America. So, today I went to a very interesting talk on "Food Addiction." The talk was led by the head of the addiction unit at Brigham and Women's hospital in Boston. The lecture was not exactly what I had expected, but still good. Here are a few points I took away from it:

- Obesity is a national GROWING problem (for the past 25 years) not only with adults, but children and adolescents as well.

- Diets don't work: if you deprive yourself of anything you are only going to "binge" eat next time the food is introduced to you (this was shown through studies done in the lab with rats and with children).

- Food addiction has been decided (by the psychologist and psychiatrist community) as a "real" problem, but it is not considered a DSM disorder. However, food addiction holds some of the same characteristics and brain activity as other addictions.

- Food addiction is very, very complicated and the addiction field is just starting to look into them. There are not only biological factors, but psychological factors as well.

- People whose BMI is over 40 have a very little chance of losing weight by diet and exercise alone. Surgery is needed for recovery and weight loss to happen.

- When you have by-pass surgery and you had an alcohol addiction problem prior to the surgery, you are more likely to relapse after. However, if you have the lap band surgery instead the chance of relapse does not increase.

Anyways, after running 5 miles on the treadmill (it was raining off and on in Boston), I made a delicious and healthy dinner: KERF Recipe: Risotto with Butternut Squash and mushrooms. 

YUM!!! I followed the recipe to a tee, except I used Arborio rice instead of Steel Cut Oats and I doubled the amount of rice, wine and veggie broth. The meal was perfect and definitely restaurant quality!!!

Oh, and guess what made a come back tonight....

ICE CREAM!

I was trying to cut ice cream out of my diet because I was getting a little carried away with my intake. However, after today's lecture I do not want to cut anything out of my diet, especially something I love as much as ice cream. Maybe, I will just cut it down to once or twice a week, instead of every night....

What are your thoughts on food addiction?