Thursday, May 27, 2010

"I haven't had anything yet... So how can I have s'more of nothing?"

In the midst of my breakfast excitement, I forgot to mention a neat lil' revelation that I experienced last night...

Our team decided to take the night off from pub quiz, so Doug and I did some produce shopping. We hit a couple of stores and about halfway through, I started thinking about junk food. So we shopped for junk food. But I ended up not buying anything. I looked at all sorts of cakes, cookies, donuts and chocolate bars, but got frustrated because nothing appealed to me. So I gave up.

I went home and and found myself in a bad mood. I felt like I had deprived myself. "How can I have a sane relationship with food if I deprive myself?", I thought. But I was totally missing a bigger, more important point: I didn't even know what I wanted in the first place, so technically, I wasn't depriving myself of anything!

Before we went out to shop, I had a filling, satisfying dinner. I wasn't hungry. But of course, the habit of thinking that I "want" or "need" something sweet started to play out, as it often does. But that's all it is- a habit. It's something that isn't really valid and certainly not necessary for my survival or happiness. And by finally taking on a new perspective last night, I have (at least for the moment) broken that habit. If you don't really want something specific, why pretend the "need" is still there and waste time going through the motions of digging and trying to fulfill a "need" that doesn't even exist? Seems a bit silly, no? That whole thought process ends up being so schizophrenic and obsessive that it's no wonder I have so many issues being sane around food. Turns out it's waaaay easier to pause, relax and realize that it's okay not to want sweet/fatty stuff all of the time. When I truly do want something, I'll be able to think of a specific item and won't find myself quibbling over other alternatives. It'll be a quick, simple decision, one that will yield satisfying (and sane) results.

Anywho. Just another one of those "duh!" moments I wanted to share. They seem to help me make the most progress in the long run.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sometimes we just need to put out our thoughts and talk/blog about it all in order to process it. Best of figuring it all out; I think the title is so creative
Katherine

Tamara said...

@whataboutsummer

Thanks- and the title is actually a quote from "The Sandlot," haha. It's one of my favorite movies and I thought the line was appropriate.

Meredith @ An Epic Change said...

it is so hard to breakaway from old habits like a post-dinner dessert! sometimes you eat enough and you aren't hungry or simply don't want something sweet! as you move forward you'll really learn to listen to your body and know what it wants. every day I get better and better at it and I love truly knowing what I want! awesome "duh" moment -- I've had plenty of those!