Eating Food Just for the Sake of Eating

Alright, tell me if this has ever happened to you: its late afternoon on Monday. You made a decision yesterday that from today you would start 1) eating right, and 2) start to get usual work out, and 3) stop all your bad habits. So, you're packing things up around the house and start noticing all the small bits and pieces of leftovers from the last weekend. You notice the cookies here and tiny bits of candy there. Today in my house I observed three separately enfolded, large shortbread cookies with icing (my preferred), numerous bags of candy that appears just like true rocks (in a ornamental jar--it's for show, in actual fact, it is) and the leftovers from the most recent family get-together, which in this case is about five pounds of fruit salad -- not a bad idea in itself, but I can’t eat too much fruit salad. And Then There appears the Wine Certainly, I had to purchase some wine at a tasting on Saturday (I always buy it, don't understand why I feel those wine tastings are so important -- they always tempt me to buy), and now there's an open bottle just there for the taking.

Consequently, my contemplations are, "Do I take this, or not?" "Do I toss it away and WASTE it?" "Definitely no, that’s a bad idea," I suppose. Oh, I just realized there is also a full plate of big cinnamon rolls (Cinnabon style) I prepared Friday night. They'll be sour soon. That's bad. It'd be such an embarrassment to toss them all away, and I ate only one so far.

And so it happens. Do I convince myself into becoming a human dust bin by consuming all the leftovers from the weekend, as a result going into Tuesday and probably Wednesday with the experience of weekend immoderation still in my mouth, or do I make up my mind, really make a decision, I've had it? It's time to eat healthier, like I just stated, yester night. Remember yester night? It appears so long ago now...

How About Beginning my Diet Tomorrow?

It's fascinating how easily we convince ourselves against what we were certain yesterday was such an excellent idea. So what's erroneous with just beginning tomorrow? What's mistaken is that tomorrow never arrives. It's forever today, right now. You'll never get to that vague tomorrow. Of course, the date on the calendar differs, but you, standing where you are, right here and now, are always in the present. You can't exist in the past, nor can you reside in the future. You can only subsist in the moment.

The Right Time is Now:

Therefore if you want to make your mind up, the time is now. What do you wish for, really desire for yourself? Do you want to carry on spoiling yourself at every twist, or do you want to apply just a bit more discipline and find out if you can achieve improved shape? It's not about what you'll fail to benefit from; instead it's about what you will achieve. Better health, more vigor, stamina. You'll feel better, you'll appear better. It's all about what you'll benefit, however in that instant moment; there is the tendency to think only of the present. Of course, but at the moment this would taste delicious, wouldn't it, and there's always another day.

I've discovered that when I make an intellectual change, a genuine change, not just a pronouncement but a right change in my thoughts, then I pursue all the way, and not before then. Every time I strive to talk myself into engaging in things that I don't actually want to do, I don’t get results. Almost certainly they're not successful for the reason that I don't heartily want to do them.

How to Get Encouraged?

 I begin with a list. Write out all the grounds you want to shed some weight. Think in stipulations of a small goal of five or 10 pounds. Make it a month target, not a lifetime ambition. It's okay to have enduring goals, however if you actually want to learn to transform once and for all, then you have to make it something easy to live with. Integrate authentic change into your everyday life and you can pamper yourself at a holiday party without it being troubled; without it destabilizing you. When you go on holiday you may return a couple pounds heavier, but it won't be an issue. You'll have taken what you wanted; you'll have had a superb time and not get anxious over whether you're adding weight.

Make a list: Why I want to lose Weight

What's my initial mini-goal? (1 week to 1 month). What's my longer-term ambition? (1 month to 1 year)

How stern must I be for this to deliver results? (Premeditated or legalized variations work very well for lots of people)

Occasionally, particularly if you use a plan that accommodates "legalized cheating" then you'll end up with some surplus food. Get used to eliminating it. Dash it away, toss it away, it really doesn't make any difference. You're not helping yourself by consuming all the leftovers. So what if the cinnamon rolls goes sour? I ate one and truly loved it, and that's what's key. Others also took some cinnamon rolls, and even if nobody had, did I prepare them so I could eat them all, or did I prepare them for the reason that I was in the frame of mind to make cinnamon rolls? Does consuming everything by myself make any sense at all?

Every now and then I feel a bad preparing goodies and then dashing them away because I believe encouraging others to stick to their programs, however then I remember what I do in that circumstance, and I have to believe others are mature about how they come to a decision to take care of themselves too. If I make up my mind to eat in a more healthful way, and somebody brings something out of the blue, it's not hard in most conditions to simply tell them, "No, thanks. I’ve already eaten," or take some on a plate for later on.

Because I don't go on "preventive" diets, then I can slot in pretty much anything into my day's diet plan. I just take it, when I'm famished. I find a lot easier to base my meals on whether I'm hungry, than on if something is just there. Just because unanticipated people show up, doesn't imply you use them, does it? Truthfully, do you assume anyone is angry when you leave a bit more for them? I don't suppose that.

The Story of the Missing Wedding Cake

True story: When I was a teenager my mother married again and I offered to buy the wedding cake. I had a hidden intention. My much loved bakery, Beaverton Bakery, was where I planned to  buy the cake, and I knew by arranging much more than would be needed there'd be plenty leftovers for me to stuff yourself myself silly after the celebrations, or so I thought.

What happened as a replacement is a shadow. I don't remember what actually happened to the cake but I do remember I not only didn't catch any leftovers, I didn’t even eat a small portion at the wedding. I have a propensity to get trapped up in the people and don't generally eat at parties, so I gave it no thought, and much to my disappointment someone else had packed it up before I arrived there to do so. Sadly, I didn’t taste that cake at all. Such a frustration, it must have been a life changing occurrence because I still keep in mind it and it's been more than 25 years ago!

Food reminiscences stick for extended period time. That day is my foremost illustration of how I would not have minded at all if more people had said, "No thanks, I’ve already eaten," and passed on the cake. I just wish I'd been a little more watchful in keeping a piece for later.