You are what you eat, and I am creamy and sweet.
Last year, the world was giving me hints. My shirts weren’t fitting me in a way I’d like, and my Mii on my Wii was looking chunky. I was doing some light exercising, but my arms were bigger than I wanted, and when i slept on my side, I didn’t like how my skin felt.
In March, my employer gave everyone free Weight Watchers meetings, if you continued to go. In other words, I had nothing to lose but a few pounds, and I had an incentive to simply attend every meeting.
Seemed easy enough, right? Well, the first week, I stepped on the scale & it informed me I was 156 pounds.
156.
I’ve never been light.. but 156? Really? Burgeoning on overweight? I knew it was a good time. So, I listened during the meeting.
The concept was simple: Stop eating so much! Everything has “points” and I could eat 23.
Then you start looking at what you eat… plain oatmeal is 1.5 points, but Maple oatmeal is 3 points. a cookie is 3 points, vegetables are free, an egg is 3 points and milk is 1.5 to 3 points per cup. Cheese, just a slice, is 4+ points. You start realizing that just because you got a coke to drink with your meal, that coke doesn’t “Not Count”. That coke is worth almost as much as your small fry. Snacking on your chips because your bored meant you better have eaten less dinner, cuz they count too.
Me? I had a lot of revelations. A Lot.
- I was competing with Rob for food. He requires 33 points, I required 23. I didn’t need venti white mochas, large fries, and a huge hamburger. My body just doesn’t need to eat that much.
- Rewarding yourself with food is bad. I don’t get a cookie because I was good, or a coffee because I’m having a bad day. I am actually still looking for something else to fill this void, but I’ve got a good start with “Yes, I _do_ deserve something sweet as a reward… but I don’t require the actual consumption of it as a reward.” It helps, the acknowledgement without the act.
- When I’m bored, I have an oral fixation. I’m gone through a lot of pens now, and I know to keep things around me that are zero points, like Coke Zero, mushrooms, and rice cakes. Those help a LOT.
- If I need something, craving it is worse than actually eating it. Fine, eat it, but recognize that sometimes just the first few bites are better than eating the whole thing. If I want a bagel, I get it.. but I am constantly asking “OK, am I full now? THen put it away. It will be there later.”
- There is no shortage of food. Wasting it by eating it when you’re not hungry IS just as bad as wasting it by throwing it away. Next time, just don’t buy as much!
That being said.. right now, I am craving Drinking Caramel from Coastal Mist. Unfortunately, I think what I am really craving is sitting in Bandon, relaxing in the sun, drinking the sweet caramel with my family, and smiling. So many of our events are food-related, and the emotions are triggered by consuming that same food.
Think about it.. Turkey with cranberry… pumpkin cookies… wassail.. cheeto’s…mac and cheese … grapes.. egg nog … champagne. So many events are commemorated with food..
I’m not sure how to get around this, but it is good to at least acknowledge it, and recognize when you are fulfilling foods TRUE purpose, or if there is another one, and if maybe something else can fulfill that same purpose.
