Thursday, February 13, 2014

It's the "More"

This part time vegetarianism is interesting.  It seems to have brought out a few of my character
flaws.  Some of them are my "all or nothing", "cold turkey", and my competitive nature.  Once I decided to not eat meat I also decided to not eat animal products in general, making me a part time vegan, actually.  Yes, I still have cream in my coffee, but I've done something I've never ever considered before....I cut back to half and half....almost.....but that's besides the point.  After my morning cream I just can't bring myself to eat cheese, yogurt or butter.

A few interesting things have happened besides triggering my OCD!  I've come to think that those of us that #1 really, really think we like to eat a lot of food, and #2 those of us that know food, whether it's how to cook and prepare lovely, lovely foods, or have the money to buy them, will eventually find a way to overeat even the healthiest of diets.  Vegetarian, Vegan, Paleo, Gluten free, low carb, slow carb, whatever.  If you like food and you think you like to overeat, then you WILL find a way to overeat, period.

Personally I like to overeat less and less and less.....and less.  The perceived pay off just never comes.  But for some reason I had kept challenging it.  I'm becoming bored and exhausted actually. In the mean time there are a few things I've experienced, which I think may be common.

I find myself purchasing more ready made foods.  

This troubles me.  I am perfectly capable of making my own foods, and for years at a time I never, ever, ate purchased, ready made, foods.  BUT for some reason I'm craving sushi (vegetarian, of course)  So much so that I will make my own fairly quick here.  I bothers me that I don't have the supplies and the practice to simply make my own.  It's just sweetened rice and seaweed for God's sake!

Speaking of "sweet".  I'm finding I'm eating more "sweet" in general, along with carbs for sure (beans, rice, sweet potato/pumpkin, flour, etc.), in addition to buying vegetarian sushi (I never ate it before...ask Mark!).  More fresh and dried fruit, more candy, more breads, more wine/alcohol, more sugar.....as long as there is no meat, eggs, or dairy then I'm good, right?  I'll become the healthiest and skinniest person on the face of the earth!  

I guess I'm experiencing what I already knew....it's not what I'm eating it's the "MORE" that could cause a problem!  It's the "more" that needs to go.  Not the animal protein, not the carbs, not the fat, not the gluten, it's the "more".

photo above is one of my latest favorite snacks.  I love unshelled nuts!  Spending a relaxing evening cracking a few open is fine.....but when a few turns into more than a few.....

2 comments:

Diana said...

"The perceived pay off just never comes."

This sentence stuck out...this is what happens when we continually strive for "perfection". We always raise the bar in our minds-no matter what it is.

It’s impossible to live without failing sometimes, unless you live so cautiously that you aren’t really living at all – you’re merely existing. If you’re too afraid of failing in front of others, you can’t possibly do what needs to be done to be successful in your own eyes. You have to remember that it doesn’t matter how many times you fail or how messy your journey is, so long as you do not stop taking small steps forward. In the end, those who don’t care that failure is inevitable are the ones that reach their dreams.

For us "over-eaters", it's a continuous evolving of what "works" and what doesn't. Like myself...giving up diet dew for the real stuff. I'm not up to as much as I drank of the diet, but none the less even 1 is too much. I have to decide what's more important to me and my goals of this life....a can of "liquid gold" or health and happiness!

Tracy Reifkind said...

Diana,

Hmmn...when I wrote that I was feeling that the pay off to overeating comes less and less, if ever in actuality. I'm not sure that an idea of perfection was a pay off as much as the thinking that I could feel good, or have good feelings about overeating.

And when I say "overeating", some of us knows exactly what that means!

I rarely think I live my life trying not to fail. I just do my thing (s), and I always do them as best I can. I don't think about failure because I don't care that much, I guess.

Personally I can think of a ton of things worse than a can of soda....like a 6 pack of soda, or a case of soda. Everything in moderation.

Moderation. A balance of healthy AND non "healthy" foods, a balance of healthy and non healthy thoughts. What ever I eat, how much or how little I still think I'm a pretty smart, talented, worthy chick!

The evolution is tuning into what really makes us happy, not caving into fad diets, or "studies" (fear). It's fine to take those things into account, but never take for gospel the experience of others, only your own experience.