THE TRANSFORMATION OF A FOOD JUNKIE: KICKING THE HABIT BY JUDY MAZEL – EXPERIMENTS WITH FOOD

I got up my courage and began experimenting with bread, nuts, potatoes—the not-so-safe foods. Then I tried the foods I'd always broken my diets for: pasta, pancakes, and finally ice cream and desserts. Eureka! It was working! By eating a single food at a time, I was working with my digestive process . . . and not gaining weight I still couldn't eat real salty foods without bloating, but I discovered that foods containing small amounts of salt didn't necessarily spell disaster.

My experiments intensified. I learned that tropical fruits have an incredibly high concentration of digestive enzymes. Was it possible that the enzymes in these fruits could make hard-to digest foods less fattening? Could their enzymatic capabilities be used to offset the indigestibility of fattening mixed foods?

I tried it. I'd never tasted a mango in my life. I had no idea what a papaya looked like. Are you kidding? A steak and ribs and pizza freak? I concentrated on which enzymes would counteract which food groups. I tested and tried and ate . . . and ate . . . and ate. And still I lost weight. I was obviously on to something fabulous!

For eight months I matched enzyme against enzyme, learning to literally "have my cake and eat it too." I began to accept the fact that slimhood could be a reality. That once I got there, I could stay there. That all I had to give up were a few old neuroses, a few worn beliefs that had to do with balanced meals, and a few pounds. I concentrated on health and on maximizing the nutritional value of my diet. I set out a program for myself that was initially to maintain, not lose, weight. But I continued to lose. I began scheduling my favorite foods rather than eating them so compulsively, and then I followed them with the proper counteracting enzyme.

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