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Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Mmm...cheese...

Last night I was making my lunch for today.  As I sliced some cheese, the idea occurred to me that it would be yummy with some saltine crackers.  Before I knew it, I'd gobbled down two crackers and cheese. 


No biggie.  But it was very good.  So I had two more.  And then I was fixing a snack for the pet rats and decided to make two more saltines with peanut butter for myself. 

Why do I do this?  It wasn't planned.  I wasn't hungry.  I was literally shoving food in my mouth for no reason.  And the worst thing?  I didn't even enjoy it.  I have some rules when it comes to eating.  I must eat sitting down.  I cannot eat while driving.  I can't eat when I have to pee or am otherwise distracted.  Standing in the kitchen, eating quickly definitely violates the rules!

Mindless eating does not lead to satisfaction and when I am not satisfied by my food, chances are I'm going to keep eating.  Shoving food in my mouth is like trying to eat as much as I can before I notice that I'm eating, before I put the breaks on, and before I make myself stop.  I used to eat like this a lot.

Thankfully, I no longer do.  Thankfully, I know that even though I made a poor choice yesterday, I don't have to continue making poor choices.  I know I deserve to eat food and I deserve to feel satisfied by it.  I don't have to gobble something up while silently screaming at myself  that I'm fat and stupid.  And THAT feels pretty good!

 

10 comments:

Cat said...

What an amazing insight. I like your eating rules you follow. I understand how they could work for me as well. I think I may incorporate them into my life as well. I have already adopted your "no crappy chocolate" (I paraphrase) rule about making sure if you are going to enjoy some chocolate, make certain its the good stuff and you take time to enjoy it. : ) Thanks as always Amanda for sharing your maintenance with us.

Samantha said...

I agree with Cat. thank you for sharing. I know I need to work on mindless eating. It's so normal for me to grab a book to read while I eat.. but then how do I know when i'm done? I shall try to embrace your rules!

Amanda said...

I got stuck on the word cheese.


Nah, honestly I need to make the same rule about standing and eating or eating in the kitchen while I am cooking! That is where it gets me. I shovel and then I am not even hungry for dinner!

~Lisa~ said...

I love your rules and have actually begun using them myself - very down to earth and they make sense to me! Thank you!

Kiki said...

"when I am not satisfied by my food, chances are I'm going to keep eating"

Wow... that statement just hit me like a ton of bricks. You've just given me food for thought.

Kudos to your for being able to not let one bad choice snowball into others.

Anonymous said...

Wait, did you say pet rats?????

Your statement about if you are not satisfied by food, you will keep eating is totally me. I have been much beter lately but I know if I really want something, I might as well have a bite or I will eat all around it. And why I eat, I need to be paying attention to it and not letting myself be distracted.

Dani said...

I am also guilty of mindless eating, I am going to follow those rules,Great post :)

Dani said...

PS-why is my name purple when everyone else's is blue?-Does that mean something?

Rhonda said...

I like your rules, I try to cut out the mindless eating, too... sometimes we all just need a kick in the seat of our pants to remember, though!

Dinnerland said...

I totally agree with you!! Great realizations...