Don't be a Scaredy Cat!

I've got a pretty big weekend coming up.  Not only am I going to lead a dozen or more people through hours and hours, 1000's and 1000's, of swing reps but I'm going to be doing it on camera! Of course I want to look my best, or feel like I look my best!  So I've tightened the ship around here!  Every time I've gone to the market this week I've been tempted to stock up on my regular, healthy, favorite foods, no big deal.  The big deal is when I have too much of my favorites.  I can, I mean should, only eat so much, and I've gotten a bit spoiled this past year.


Buying and owning, therefore eating, too much food is probably rooted in fear...the fear of scarcity.  I say "probably" because I don't want to assume what the feeling is for you.  For me, personally, I already know that the habit of thinking this way is at the root of how I developed this behavior, and more and more I feel successful on changing how I act on it.  Everyday I feel that I react less and less to these feelings, and I can absolutely imagine the day (maybe today) that I no longer eat foods I don't need, and really don't want, just because I can, or because I'm afraid if I don't I'll never get another chance. The foods are not representative of hunger, they represent a feeling of control.  Feeling like I have to own too much, food or anything else for that matter, is a habit that I am excited to not be a part of my life.

I've been much more conscious when shopping this week.  Lots of food choices I normally wouldn't think twice about I've thought twice about!  Yogurt, crackers, sweet potatoes, salted nuts/peanut butter, foods like these seem healthy, but no foods are healthy when you overeat them.  In the past dried fruit is a food I tend to overbuy.  Raisins, dates and persimmons are among my top favorites and I can add them in almost everything I eat, sweet or savory, so I didn't buy extra this week...and it's all gone now, so what, and how much I buy in the future is something I'll be more aware of.

I don't have any food restrictions in my diet at all.  I don't believe I have any allergies, and I have very few dislikes!  However I am aware of how certain foods make me feel when I overeat them!  I can honestly say that no food, even bread, pasta or potatoes makes me feel bloated if I do not over eat them.  I believe the true culprit is the imbalance of nutrients and/or the imbalance of calories in/ calories out, which can affect me in negative ways.  I know when I feel less healthy, and I always know why. I know when I feel more healthy, and I always know why!  It always comes down to how much of any one food I eat, or don't eat, and why.

I'm not sad about this.  I'm not sad that I don't binge on sweets, McDonald's Quarter Pounders and french fries or a Meat Lovers pizza.(everyday, that is, lol)  I'm not sad that I don't start my day out with a mocha latte and gingerbread scone.  I'm not sad that I don't keep baking ingredients in my pantry.  Those kinds of things on a regular basis just don't make me feel good anymore. Eating foods I don't need or really want because I feel like a scaredy cat doesn't feel good.

Am I perfect?  I'm perfectly happy!  And that's all I want.  (Now let's do a few thousand swings this weekend!)

Here is a little bit of information I found online about this "fear of scarcity" subject that may be affecting how much and what kids of foods you choose to consume.  The link to the entire article is at the bottom.

The Fear of Scarcity

The fear of not getting enough, of lacking, of scarcity is deeply ingrained in our societies. Coming from our parents and ancestors, who experienced physical lack of several kinds (food, houses, clothing, etc.) in several wars, this is a very understandable fear. But unless you experience the lack in your situation right now, let’s take a look at where it has brought us.

What Has the Fear of Scarcity Done to Us?

1. Nutrition:

It is a known fact, that we eat too much. We stuff things inside us, and have lost all touch with our own physical feeling of hunger. We became an obese society just because we have an inner fear of “someday all the good might be gone”. That’s why we subconsciously have an impulse to store things. So we store food as fat in our bodies.

http://www.unwrapyourmind.com/release-your-fear-of-scarcity/