Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Sign says all you can eat - not eat all day!


I had the best meal I've eaten in a LONG time the other night. It was date night, and dinner at a fancy restaurant was on the agenda. Hearkening back to an earlier time in my life I made sure not to eat anything that afternoon because I didn't want to "spoil my dinner." It worked. I wasn't ravenous, because I'd eaten well at lunch but I was hungry. At this restaurant the food portions are not overly huge (like some places) so I left full but not overstuffed. How I felt afterwards had me thinking about food and what I happen to be doing with it lately (forever).

Some days are like the all-u-can-eat buffet. No matter what I've just eaten, I'm bored, so I hit the fridge, cupboard, vending machine for the next snack. I realize what's happening: I'm eating my stress, or boredom but I can't seem to break the cycle. Some days are like yesterday. I had breakfast, lunch and dinner being busy in between without the call of the sugary or salty snack. I even swam 1000 meters at the pool. Why can't all days be like that? I wish I knew.

I'm calling myself out because food is part of the fitness equation. I remember reading an article once about a woman in her forties. In the photo she was beautiful, tanned and fit looking. But she said something that chilled me, "I've been hungry for twenty years." The article detailed her depression with constantly battling cravings and dieting. That's just grim. I've had times in my life where I've been at a good place fitness-wise and I'd like to get there again. I don't know if I'll ever be rid of my inner eating machine but I'm going to try to make better choices with it. Better to crunch through a bag of carrot sticks than potato chips. We'll see how it goes.