Something hit me today. It may sound so simple, so obvious, but the truth is, most women don't realize it.
We shouldn't be eating to live. We shouldn't be restricting ourselves to foods that we just simply think are "okay" or decent in the name of losing weight. We should eat what we honestly love.. That may sound a bit crazy at first, but really - hear me out. Do you truly love french fries or fast food? Do you love processed foods or high fat potato chips?
We like these things, because they have fat and salt that our bodies crave, but if you put a bite in your mouth and truly savor it, most of you will realize that you don't actually love these "indulgences" at all. On the other end of the spectrum, how many women eat things like rice cakes or celery simply because they are low in calorie? Why do that to yourself? When you eat bulk amounts of food you simply tolerate, it just makes it more likely that you will binge on the foods you crave - mainly sugar and fat and salt.
I for one am sick of the pattern of eating next to nothing or pure junk. That's why I've decided to stop dieting and to start living. Eating to love, for once.
My thought is that if I eat the expensive, indulgent foods that I truly love, I will find that I stop craving junk foods and that I will never actually need to diet. I expect my weight to stay the same or decrease, because I will no longer diet and then cheat on the diet. I will simply eat the foods I love in the smaller, healthier amounts that they should be eaten in. This food blog will detail how my eating has changed and how it is affecting my body.
Why eat to love?
I noticed that when I tried to restrict calories or carbs because my weight is slightly higher from a holiday weekend or vacation, I had a tendency to binge at the end of the day. Just two days ago, I went all day eating nothing but lean protein, only to lie in bed and polish off a full box of nerds candy that I received for Easter. Why do I do this to myself? Sure, I'm up about 10 pounds, but really, who isn't after a holiday vacation?
Today, I went grocery shopping. I started out thinking, "I'll just get low carb foods I enjoy. I can skip the dolmas and hummus until I'm down 10 pounds." But then it hit me: Why was I skipping foods I love - relatively healthy foods at that! - just because of some temporary water weight? Why keep the cycle going of diet - binge - diet - binge?
Instead, I picked up the hummus and the dolmas. I also got some cheeses I truly love (fresh parmesan, fresh imported Greek goat cheese, Australian cheddar), some high quality roast beef, some crusty italian bread, wine, fresh bruschetta topping, greek yogurt, dried fruits (pineapple and golden raisins), asian pears, artichokes, and shrimp. For me, these are the foods I truly love. For you, they may be something totally different. The point is, I told myself that everything was allowed and not to worry much about the price. Then, I picked out what foods I truly wanted to eat.
Tomorrow will start my first full day of eating to love.
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