CRAVINGS (PART 2)

In my last post I described thinking about what I would eat if there were no strings attached.  No calories to worry about, no weight to gain.   

This implies that one denies oneself certain foods in order to lose or manage ones weight.

If one thinks of weight management as something that causes you to suffer, one won’t be attempting weight management very long.  

 In times past I went on “diets” to lose weight and the plan was that having once lost the weight, I could then go back to eating whatever I wanted but always gain and lose the same 5 pounds so as not to be obese again.  The fly in the ointment, or in this case the oatmeal, is that 5 pounds became 10 pounds became 25 pounds etc.  I doubled my weight from 183 pounds at the end of my last significant “diet” to a scale-tipping 379 pounds in 20 years.

To put it in terms that just blow my mind, I overate by approximately 96 calories a day for 20 years to double my weight!

Sigh.

So this breaks down to 2 paths here.

1.      What foods do I miss or crave and what are my “red light” foods?

2.  *How do I maintain the mindset of weight management vs. a “diet” for the rest of my life? (see the end of this post)

Foods I miss the most or get me into overeating trouble pretty quickly (the two go hand in hand); I miss them because I cannot eat them in normal weight management portions.  They can and have triggered overeating binges.  So I’ve tried to learn to generally not keep them in the cupboard or fridge.  

These foods are MY list, others may be able to manage their weight eating them, I struggle with them.

No fast food burgers or deli sandwiches.
No french fries or onion rings. 

No chips, baked, “wholegrain” or otherwise.  

No boxed cold cereals. 

No “artisan” breads such as Panera™ or take and bake breads that come out fresh and hot and smell wonderful right out of the oven.

Very, very limited low-fat cheese or peanut butter…always weighed and measured. 

Very, very few restaurant meals. 

Nothing fried.  Thankfully there is non-stick spray and counter-top grills! 

Only non-fat margarine or low calorie spray “butter”. 

Since mid February of this year I have eaten three hamburger patties, one half slice of grilled breakfast ham, one half-pancake, and two 6 oz. portions of steak.  Probably not more than two pounds of ultra thin sliced “deli” roast beef/ham usually in controlled portions.

AND…NO PIZZA!   

This list could go on and on…my next door neighbor’s SUPER home-made potato salad etc. ad infinitum!

Do I miss them severely?  Not usually.  Sometimes?  Yes.

So I have a choice.  Do I wish to be miserably overweight and die prematurely or do I learn to live differently, eat differently,  and perform regular exercise to get (and stay) healthy?

Will I be willing to be constantly on guard as to what and how much I put in my mouth?

These are the heavy thoughts I struggle with that hopefully helps me decide to pursue lighter living.

  *I’ll save the question of how I maintain the mindset of 
weight management for the rest of my life vs. a “diet”for a future post.  I also want to explore where God and others fit into this plan.