In Overeaters Anonymous, they talk about “trigger foods” – foods that bring on that bottomless pit, must-have-now, at-all-costs, inhale-kitchen insanity. I thought I didn’t have a trigger food. Food was my trigger food – salmon, brown rice, salad, ice cream, apples, you name it, I could go to town.

But then last week I decided to cut out all sugar, kick cheese out of my house, and all but totally stop eating fried food, because I was outta control. I figured I didn’t need to be ingesting those things for nutrition, so away with them! Then a few things happened that surprised me:

1. Food lost its sex appeal. It was no longer a source of entertainment, but rather a function of sustenance. I mean, seriously, when you take out all those ingredients, what’s left to play with?
2. I do not have the crazy reaction to the same foods that were making me crazy before. I do not desire to eat an entire watermelon or pound of beef. Which leads me to wonder: Did the cheese, fried oil, and sugar change my brain chemistry in such a way that food almost triggered an allergic reaction in me? By removing those ingredients, am I now experiencing food the way that people who are not compulsive eaters have experienced all foods their whole lives?
3. My eating behavior got more and more healthy each day, without trying. I went from inhaling two quesadillas, four oranges, and a big bowl of salad in one sitting, to having, oh, a small bowl of oatmeal. (With soy milk. Blech. Dairy milk is back in the fridge now, thank you very much.)
4. I suddenly found myself wanting a social and romantic life. I was the Happy Hermit for a long while there. But all of a sudden, you take away my cheese, sugar, and fried goods, and – hey, where’d the party go? I also suddenly have the urge to paint. Go figger.
5. People are getting out of my way. OK this one is seriously hilarious. Who knew there was a relationship between cheese and body space??? For a while now, people constantly were entering my energy field and nearly plowing me over when they passed. Not today. Suddenly everyone – and I mean everyone – was making arcs around me when they passed. Has my energy field taken on that of a football player, sans sugar? I need more observation time to come to a conclusion on this one.

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