Funny, I've asked myself that question several times...when I am clear-headed.
For me, my uncontrollable eating monster doesn't want me to stop and think. It just wants me to react automatically by eating what I'm feeling....Have a good day?? Order a pizza. Have a bad day? Order one with extra cheese! Better yet order two because one might not be enough!
Eating what I'm feeling...well that's a joke! Whenever I am in an uncontrolled eating binge the last thing I'm doing is comprehending what I'm "feeling". The "monster" wants me to react the same no matter what..."just keep eating until you feel better."
There may be enough food in the world to eat so that I can"feel better"...but I can't eat it all!
But for years and years, I acted(and ate) as if I could.
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It occurs to me that dieting is a lot like the T.A.N.S.T.A.A.F.L. principal I learned from the author Robert A. Heinlein. To wit: “There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch!
We as people who are watching our weight… (Up or down – your choice!), cannot expect to get something for nothing. As Americans we have been conditioned, especially over the last couple of decades to get everything NOW!
We no longer need to wait for a check from the I.R.S. for a tax refund; we can get it sent electronically in a matter of hours. I bet there are some people who have never set foot in a McDonalds or Starbucks, as they just go to the drive thru. Getting out of the car and walking in takes too long! Debit cards have predominately taken the place of cash in our society, thereby allowing us to swipe and go with nary a thought of waiting for change. Well you get my point.
We are normally rational human beings, but when we are dieting, we irrationally think the weight should come off right now! (If not yesterday!!) In 1990 I weighed 183 pounds after losing 118 lbs at Weight Watchers. In early 2010 I weighed 379 lbs. - a gain of 196 lbs in 20 years. Basically I gained 10 lbs per year on average. To gain a pound of weight you need to consume 3500 calories more than you burn in a given time frame. So in an average year I was overeating by 35,000 calories to gain 10 lbs. Divide that by 365 days…go ahead I’ll weight…er wait….yep that’s right! I gained 196 pounds in 20 years by overeating an average of 96 extra calories a day!!
Swap a 12-oz. glass of whole milk for skim milk. Save 96 calories!
Eat 3/4 cup oatmeal instead of a 1-1/2 cups of oatmeal. Save 97 calories!
Try 1.5 oz. of fresh grapes instead of 1.5 oz. of raisins. Save 98 calories!
Enjoy 12 oz of steamed rice (choose brown rice when possible) as an alternative to fried rice. Save 96 calories!
Top your salad with 1.5 oz. reduced-fat Italian dressing instead of regular. Save 96 calories!
So what’s my point? Well, gaining weight is easy to do and that little bit extra really adds up! I know that I did not uniformly double my weight in 20 years, some years I even lost a little, but how hard is it really to cut an extra 100 calories a day out of your diet, or even better, burn up an extra 100 calories with a little exercise??
Answer: NOT THAT HARD!
Granted, I too want to lose this weight quickly! We can be realistic about virtually anything else, but doggone it that weight better come off PDQ!!!
So, TANSTAAFL. Nothing is free, everything costs. Until someone above my pay grade changes the rules, this is the only game in town!
