"I Want it Now" sings Wendy "Varuca Salt" Place

Yes, I have watched quite a bit of Willy Wonka in my babysitting years. And it seems it bled into my subconscious a bit too much since my Child Wendy was firmly in control. How do I possibly take control back from a 300 lb, 40 year old unruly child?

I began by writing all the things that I used to like to do when I was younger. Swim, ride a bike, be artistic, crochet, play with friends, play piano, and EAT JUNK. Then I looked at the list and asked myself, "Which of these things would still be of interest to you?" and "Which of these things are you allowing yourself to do?" and the only one that I consistently allowed myself is EAT JUNK. I found that I was always telling myself that I didn't have time or energy to do the fun things that I could do to fill my time. No wonder I ate so much junk - it was the only thing that my Parent & Child could agree on.

So I had to begin working on a more adult version of my "fun" and "allowable" activities and I tried to start integrating them into my everyday life. Including singing aloud to songs in the car. Since I was very little my brother would never "allow" me to sing aloud to songs. "I can hear your lips moving", I would hear even if I tried to mouth the words. So I had to overcome the urge to stop myself & I began singing aloud in the car to songs - much to the enjoyment of Emily my daughter. Also, instead of cringing when Kurt would sing aloud, I tried joining in & found it was much more fun (unless of course, it's Norah Jones - that's just sacrilege). Amazing how the little things can add so much enjoyment to your day.

What I still struggled with was the food addiction. Despite the advances I had made, it was still an addiction that I couldn't control most of the time. I was doing better and could make "better" choices but I still "needed" food to help me cope throughout the day.

How to overcome addiction - the age old question . . .