It's taken me over a year to get my head around how false this idea is: "I better eat up now, not sure when I will have it again."
I remember that before starting a major diet or especially before starting the pre-op liquid diet, I would act as if every meal was my last. You know, "We'd better go by Olive Garden, not sure when/if I will get to eat Fettuccine Alfredo and breadsticks again." How wrong I was in that thinking.
For me, this false thought process also went hand-in-hand with the "it's cheap, so I better buy a ton of it...I'm saving money!" thought.
I can think of TONS of examples in my life:
- Foods that I would think are only available or could only be made during holidays: "We have to make stuffing, it's Thanksgiving" or "We have to buy those cookies/cake/pie/etc because it's Christmas". REALLY?!? We live in the Western World people! We have an abundance of food. I bet you that I could find you a pumpkin pie in May or a beautiful Easter ham in September. Think about it.
- In November, seeing the big sale bin of Halloween candy on sale at the grocery store for 75% off! I would think to myself "What a deal! I better buy a bunch of bags, i'm saving money after all." WRONG!
- Eating out on vacation or for a special occasion provided the excuse that I will never be able to have that wonderful food ever again. Will I really never get to have that favorite dish or birthday cake again in my whole life? Really? Think about it.
I'm all for moderation and enjoying certain foods on that rare occasion, but making excuses for why I should eat a certain food just because my calendar or penny-pinching mentality tells me to is RIDICULOUS.
Guess what I ate this past Christmas 2010 for my holiday meal? Wait a second...I can't remember actually...because food is fuel to me now. I bet you can probably remember exactly what you ate. Think about it.
Great post. I really needed to hear it too! I have a similar mentality, but its when it comes to my binge eating - I feel that I need to eat everything RIGHT NOW! As if it wont be available to me tomorrow. I'm in therapy for this, but its such a challenge. For awhile I was telling myself - its unnecessary to eat everything now - it will all be there tomorrow. But I had forgotten that little mantra until I read your post. So thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you once again for reminding me - all of us - about thoughts and behaviours that I need to work on!
ReplyDeleteGreat Post!!
Wise words! I agree completely. There is a certain food item that I decide I have to have about once a month (maybe twice), so I always go to the store and buy a single serving of it rather than the multipack at Costco. Mr. Husband thinks its silly because I pay about twice as much per item to buy it this way... but for me the cost of buying the big box at Costco would be much higher.
ReplyDeleteI have identified this as my "core" weight problem. I've been dieting since I was 10...every time I go off whatever plan I'm on, I have the "eat as much as you can now cuz you are starting the diet again tomorrow" mentality. Then, more often then not, tomorrow took 3-4 weeks to come around.
ReplyDeleteAnd buying cheap food...oh yeah! There is one grocery store in my area where all the bad-for you food is so cheap that I can't stand to NOT buy it. I actually DON'T go there for this reason. Do I really truly need spaghettios?
Wise words and I totally agree!
ReplyDeleteYes, I am working on all those thoughts - and learning to deal with them on a day to day basis!
ReplyDeleteGreat Post :)!
This is my biggest obstacle in losing weight and I'm really trying hard not to worry about what I'm eating and to just eat for fuel. It's so hard though!
ReplyDeleteI am still not here. I dont know if I will ever think of food as fuel. I think you are a rarity. I remember reading lapbandtalk when I was first starting and reading when people wrote "never think about food anymore", etc. I just don't know if that is in the cards for me.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, I have been trying to overcome the same thoughts. I also have a problem with leaving food on my plate because it is wasteful. So funny how our own minds work against us.
ReplyDeleteThat is exactly how I think. Every time I plan on starting dieting again I will do an all out day to night binge on everything I can think of because "I won't be able to have that for a long while." I hate that mentality.
ReplyDeleteGood post!
Thank you for the post. I am 42 days pre-op and have started the pre-op diet so that I don't go through a month and a half of the 'I can never eat that again, so I better eat it now' mentality.
ReplyDeletewearstripes.blogspot.com
OK, This is my inner nerd speaking...
ReplyDelete"How does food create this power over us?"
3,000,000 years of evolution! Only in the last 100 years and only in certain countries is the phrase "I better eat it now while I CAN" NOT true.
We are blessed in the time and the country we live in. Having enough to eat is an incredible blessing. The fact that our DNA has yet to adapt to the fact that we do NOT have to store food as fat to survive until we get to eat again is not surprising considering that 75% of the people on this planet will go to sleep hungry tonight.
I love the movie "a Christmas Carol" so I read the original Dickens. I was fascinated! (in the way a deep cut is fascinating) One of the reasons Christmas was so special to the Bob Cratchit family was that it was the only day of the year they did not run out of food before they were no longer hungry. Only one day of the year were "left overs" a "problem".
Can you imagine such a life?
For 3,000,000 years, starvation has been the normal condition of mankind. Those of us who eat little and gain weight are the genetic results of that normal condition. If the US ever returns to the "normal" condition of mankind, we fatties will be the genetically superior survivors.
Until then though... lol
So am I totally deep or what? lol