When it comes to food and eating, we have very little
actual requirements. I'm speaking of our basic biological
requirements.
We need to eat for nutritional intake to maintain our bodies,
health, and mass. (Now, getting specific, the level of protein
you need, the vitamins, etc, is very specific. But our reason
for putting food in our bodies--as a necessity--is very simple.)
However, we are a by-product of a prosperous and spoiled
society, and a technological society, and our eating habits and
motives have become varied. And negative.
We eat because others are eating.
We eat what it is convenient to eat.
We eat the amounts that others give us.
We eat because we are bored.
We eat so as to not have any leftovers left to save.
We eat to fill an emotional void.
We eat to finish the bag.
We eat because we're angry and not paying attention.
But the bottom line on all of these patterns of behavior is
that we are not truly PRESENT in the moment, paying
attention to what we are doing...and more importantly,
the EFFECTS of eating what we are eating.
It's important to recognize the correlation between our
actions and our consequences. Our weight, our health,
our energy levels, our longevity, our very lives are effected
by the quantity and quality of every single thing we place
in our mouths.
Hard as it is, we have to get out of a habitual action of
eating whatever is available, or eating to medicate feelings.
If we are learning to care about self, we must learn to consider
and deliberate what we are doing and how it relates to our
body's actual nutritional needs.
We need plenty of water, vegetables, fruits, and protein.
We need less fats and oils and sugar.
What have we had so far today?
How much are we eating beyond quelling hunger?
What would make me feel better?
Stop. Think. Consider.
We are responsible for our well-being...and we must make
the changes required to adjust to better living.
What with all the depression and frustration and blah, blah, blah
of recent months, I had made a conscious decision to let my
healthy eating/lifestyle slide.
I rationalized that some food-related comfort was acceptable,
and I might as well enjoy life since I don't know how much
longer I have, etc.
You know the drill!
I was also having trouble finding what foods I needed for
optimum health through the food bank and with my limited
food stamps. (For those not 'in-the-know,' healthier eating
is more expensive.)
Shit 'foods' are readily available and inexpensive. It costs
very little to manufacture the empty calories that are killing
Americans with completely avoidable health problems; diabetes,
hyper-tension, cancer, stroke, heart attack, etc.
The biggest 'convincer' that "some of this stuff won't hurt you!"
myth is that the habit of poor eating is so widespread. Even
after all the nutrition facts and statistics and scientific results,
most people in this country treat their bodies like a garbage dump.
We use white flour because we always have, we use sugar
because it's possibly the most highly addictive substance (besides
nicotine) on the planet, and we FRY, FRY, FRY because that's
the way that's always been done.
So, after stuffing my face with crap and feeling bad the next day
and tiring of seeing my never-ending waistline expansion,
I got real. Again. No more excuses.
*I am responsible for everything I put in my mouth.
*It is not a 'Treat' to lace my body with chemicals and artery-cloggers.
*Sugar is a drug; stop medicating with it, Robert!
*No more giving in to what's easier; make better decisions.
I have to remember my goals. I have to think of the
long haul, and not be distracted with the momentary pleasures.
It's just like every other addictive and compulsory problem;
except I have to deal with this every single day.
I sort of lost my way, and once you do it, staying lost is easy.
But I have to bear in mind that I care about myself, and that isn't a
part time job. Being conscious and "in the moment" about food
intake--and exercise--is crucial for me to have the kind of life
I want...and deserve.
It isn't magic. It isn't going to fix itself.
It's hard work and will power. But we can do it, once we
decide we need to and we're worthwhile.
This isn't punishment. It isn't an ordeal. I can and do eat fun
and tasty food. Like everything else, I have to stop allowing
myself to be influenced by the majority, and just DO WHAT
I KNOW TO BE RIGHT.
It works out ever so much better in the end!
Peace....
