A few weeks ago I wrote about my addiction to Dunkin Donuts and how I needed an intervention for me to kick that addiction. Well, I have made some progress on that front. Facing it was actually the best thing, since I wrote that piece I have only visited “Mistress Dunkin” three times. I have detoxed the chocolate crème, vanilla crème, Bavarian crème, and the sugar glaze out of my system; at least I hope. As I drive within a block of her she still calls my name. When I hear that familiar call I turn up the music in my car, hit the gas pedal, and pray I don’t hit a red light on her corner or the police pull me over for speeding.

I am a “foodie” who is in recovery. I will always be in recovery regarding food. I admit it. I love good food. That’s half the problem I have been told; facing addiction. So far I have won a few battles in this war with my inner demons. I have lost 32 pounds since November. I go to the gym three and sometime four days a week for no less than an hour. Mostly my workouts are at least 90 minutes long. I do not have chips or popcorn in the house. I keep fruit, salad, carrots, a nut trail mix I make from scratch, and oatmeal in my home to snack on.  So to some degree I have changed my old habits.

All I can say about last night is that it was a blur. One of the local independent television stations decided to run an infernal Law & Order marathon. I really like that show. The first domino fell. I was preoccupied preparing a box to ship to a dear friend of mine for their birthday while drinking a V8 Fusion. The second domino fell. All of a sudden sometime during the second or third episode I was hit by a sudden urge for a Little Debbie Zebra Cake. Then for Ruffles potato chips; not Lay’s Wavy chips but, Ruffles because it has ridges. Then came the almighty urge for crinkle cut french fries with Hunt’s ketchup and Morton’s salt. I want my salt to stick to my fries not to the plate.

Of course, all of my crave foods no longer reside in my cupboard or refrigerator. I decided to follow my normal process and grab some trail mix. That didn’t work. So, I grabbed some more. No luck. Grabbed a banana. After that, I morphed into Magilla Gorilla (remember that cartoon?) and devoured 3 of em in short order. I started to go into a form of “munchie withdrawal” as I was staring into the fridge spinning my mind trying to concoct a sweet, salty, fattening, sugary snack from cucumbers, carrots, and the other “green” foods the infamous “duh-duh” chime from Law & Order pierced my skull. God, how I hate that. Only one word was in my head, “FOOD” that’s all I wanted, all I desired. A cold sweat came next I was thinking about going downstairs, jumping in the truck with three options in my head. 24-hour drive thru at McDonald’s, 24-hour drive thru at Sonic or Taco Bell. I decided not to because I had a great parking spot in the lot and the fear of losing that outweighed my desire for a cheeseburger, fries, chicken burrito or a nacho supreme. Needless to say, my cat Cali is staring at me with a look that said, “I think my Daddy is losing his freakin mind.”

Again another “duh-duh” chime of Law & Order. I garner the strength to pull myself away from the kitchen with a banana in one hand and a Myoplex in the other. It’s really not satisfying, but I wanted, needed something. I sit on the couch and to be honest, I don’t know what the heck was going on with Law & Order and hadn’t known for at least the last two or three hours.

My next memory is coming to on my couch, now an annoying infomercial is on the TV. The empty Myoplex carton on the end table, the Ziploc bag with my trail mix emptied and at least one bunch of eaten banana skins, two orange rinds and the remainder of a salad is scattered on a plate at my feet.

I survived the “munchie attack.” I survived, I ate myself to sleep. I’m not proud and yes, I gotta go food shopping today to replenish my “healthy eats.” But today is a new day of rededication to healthy eating and the gym. An extra special workout and an inspiration awaits. Everyone who is a “foodie” stay strong and its okay to have a mental breakdown about food cravings and munchies. It’s all part of the process of becoming healthy and weight loss. Just don’t give up and always remember tomorrow will bring you one step closer to the goal if you just resist the midnight munchies.

It’s a New Day, Good Morning!