Monday, July 26, 2010

Eating patterns & other observations

Hello Monday thanks for being here to let me start anew!

This weekend was ERG! for a number of reasons and I let it be an excuse to eat a half a bowl of queso compuesto with chips & tortillas from Chuy's for lunch and half an order of cheese sticks for dinner on Saturday as a way to soothe my soul/anger/PMS/I'll-do-what-the-hell-I-want-screw-you attitude. I know eating to soothe emotion is no bueno, but is probably something I have done my entire life and am just now learning to try and stop and assess the situation before proceeding with the feeding. These are some things I have been noticing over the past few months leading up to my realization that I need to regain control of my life:
  1. I eat mindlessly - if I have a bag of chips I will just eat & eat them, but if I have them in a bowl I stop when the bowl is empty. OR for example, just the other day, at Lupe's office, I took one of each of the varieties of mini candy bars (snickers, kitkat, twix, rolo, midnight mars bar, and 3 musketeers) in the front desk candy bowl and ate them all in a matter of minutes when I really didn't want them, I was just bored waiting for Lupe to get off from work. This relates to observation #2.
  2. If it is there I want to eat it & I want to eat it all - chips, cookies, candy, et cetera. If it is around I want to eat it all, all of it until it is all gone. Cookies for breakfast w/my coffee. Maybe 3 more with an afternoon cup. 3 more after dinner.... So I have to NOT buy such things. I remember getting a coffee mug full of mini candy bars (those damn Snickers again) as a Christmas gift from a coworker several years back. Every day that mug tormented me. I wanted that candy so badly, but had said I would only eat 1 piece a day. Of course, I ate the contents of the mug in one afternoon... and felt a mixture of guilt and relief about it. Guilty that I had eaten probably 15 pieces of candy in one sitting, yet relief that it was no longer there preoccupying my mind! Sad, but true.
  3. I have a tendency to "wolf" my food down - I used to blame the Army for that, having to race through chow to get back to whatever we were supposed to do next. I realize that that is a convenient excuse, but I really wasn't in the Army long enough to develop that kind of long-term habit. I have noticed over the last few months that when I eat, I eat 3 fries at a time, or a pile of chips at once, or I eat my piece of toast/slice of pizza in 3-4 bites, stuffing it all in so I can have more. I act like I won't get to have more, or that someone is about to take it away... I cannot explain this, but I am sure it relates to the 2 things above. I have been more conscious about how people around me are eating and compare it to what I am doing. It is interesting.
  4. Places I have been frequenting (to eat) are full of obese people - yea, I really noticed this the week after the wedding when Lupe & I went out to Fossil Rim Wildlife Preserve. We stopped in a small town at the Dairy Queen for burgers & ice cream and I was looking around while we were waiting for our food. Everyone in there (with the exception of 2 of the teen employees) were obese. I am not talking a little fat, I mean HUGE. Embarrassingly huge. Had a 100lb on me at least. Even the children were big. It was sad. I registered that as I ate my Peanut Buster Parfait and filed it away for later. But then I started noticing it more and more in the places I go... with the exception of the Thai place, the Indian place, and the Lebanese place... hmmm... notice an ethnic pattern?
  5. I am lazy - I opt for the quick fix every time. Today I am at home with a fridge full of fruit & veg. I was hungry and just ate a bowl of cottage cheese and some cheddar popcorn, because it was easy. :(
ok, that is enough for today.

4 comments:

  1. You suffer from the same things I do. If it is in front of me, I want to eat it. Controlling your environment is KEY to success. This mean surrounding yourself with everything healthy. This goes for food and for friends. One of the most prolific statements ever to ring true with me and everyone I have ever come across, is, "you become like those you surround yourself with". So if your goal is to get to FIT by 40, take a hard look at your surroundings and ask yourself, "is this what I want to be?" This is also true of food. Surround yourself with healthy food, and take pride in making them look so delicious that you want to devour them. I don't know too many people that look at a bowl of lettuce and say yummy. However, if you have been looking at the posts of the food I a have been making lately, does it not appeal to your sense of appetite? (this is Mike by the way). After you eat a healthy meal, you feel proud of yourself, just the same way you feel proud after you have done a workout. Keep your focus on those feelings and surround yourself with people that have "mastered" what you are trying to master!

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  2. Thanks Mike! Yea, I have been enjoying your recent food posts/photos. And lucky for me I LOVE fresh food, good veggies & fruit! I went to our local farmers market and bought some great stuff! Last night for dinner I made us a delicious potato (and carrot) pancake and roasted zucchini & yellow squash. It was so good! And I did feel proud of our filling & healthy dinner. One step/day at a time.

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  3. Um, yeah, when you become aware of your surroundings, you start to notice the habits and patterns of others and how they relate to you. My suggestion for the snacking would be to carry mini veggies or trail mix in those little snack size baggies and then munch away. Measure out a serving of the veggies or 1/2 serving of trail mix, that way you're within your calorie zone and you're eating healthy. If you increase your water and freggie (fruits and veggies) intake, you'll notice that you're full faster and you eat less.

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  4. Thanks, Dani! Yea, increasing awareness (of self & others) was a pivotal point for me - at least in pointing me to the place I am now. Continued awareness is a goal. Freggies... I like it!

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