Buffets are a dieter’s worst nightmare.
Because a dieter is trying to not eat bad food by using her willpower.
There are so many things wrong with that sentence, I can’t even tell you.
OK, I’m going to tell you.
First of all, there is no bad food.
Once you make something a bad food with your mind (making you a badass magician), that’s going to make you want it even more. There are some foods you don’t want to eat every day, sure, but they’re not “bad”. Labeling them as bad makes them taboo in an alluring way. Bad foods become your temptress. It’s a big, slippery slope of spiraling deprivation. (Not that I’m overly dramatic.) Don’t go there.
Second, instead of thinking about what NOT to eat, wouldn’t it be much more pleasurable to think about what you DO want to eat? Spend your time rolling around the delicious possibilities. A rich salmon with light steamy quinoa, or a thick smoothie with cocoa and nut butter? Mmmmm.
Third, if you are fighting your body urges with willpower, you will never win. You have to use your body’s urges to your advantage, not fight them. Willpower will not support you long-term. Use your mind management tools instead.
If you belly up to a buffet with the idea in your mind that you are going to gorge yourself, chances are good that you will
Take a look at your thoughts that have set you up in this no-win situation. Popular thoughts are, “I deserve to have what I want.” “It’s only once a year.” “It all looks so good.” “This will make me feel better.” “I want to get my money’s worth.”
Instead, how about choosing the thought, “What are going to be my top three choices?” And then choose to have three bites of each. After three bites it usually doesn’t taste as good anyway. Pay attention next time and see if that’s true for you.
Or how about the thought, “What is going to make my body feel good (and healthy) while I get a chance to catch up with all my friends? I want my best energy to say hi to everyone.”
Buffets are not your enemy. Buffets are neutral.
The thoughts you think about buffets are what get in the way.
A few years back, I was complaining to someone (probably my poor sweet husband) that all everyone cared about at Thanksgiving was eating. Grrr. Thanksgiving is a land mine for those of us who are drawn like a magnet to the holy trinity of fat, salt and sweet.
Anyway, the words came out of my mouth, “Why do people make this holiday all about the food?”, when it dawned on me that it IS a holiday all about the food. There are no presents or Thanksgiving songs. There are no costumes.
They were making it about food because IT IS A HOLIDAY ABOUT FOOD!!!
Turkey and stuffing and gravy and cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes and green bean casserole and pumpkin pie.
To name a few.
It’s tradition.
It’s our ritual.
And then I realized that I totally bought into that idea because for ME, it was a holiday about food.
It’s actually a holiday about gratitude. Oh, yeah. I totally forgot.
So, I stepped away from the fourteen dish meal planning and put a little effort into the whole “thankful” part.
We now have a few new Yale rituals.
We decorate with natural things found in our yard. (It looks better than it sounds.)
We write down what we are thankful for and I put all the slips of paper in a hermetically sealed envelope in my attic like a poorly hidden time capsule.
Well, that’s it so far. But if you have any suggestions for awesome rituals, let me know. Because the more we put the focus on things that fill us in a way that food does not, the more we don’t need food to feel full.
I look forward to a Thanksgiving without elastic waisted pants.
What are you really hungry for?
Me: Do you believe telekinesis is real?
Boy Child: No.
Girl Child: Yawn.
Me: I’ll bet you five bucks that I can make this piece of cake disappear with my MIND.
BC: No, you can’t. (Rolls eyes.)
GC: OK. (Humors me.)
Me: Done. Ta da!!
BC: You just ate that. (Rolls eyes AND walks away.)
Me: But my MIND told my hand and mouth to do it. My mind was in charge of the whole operation.
BC thinks he has won. But I think I have won. Minds are cool like that.
Choose the cake.
Or don’t.
You have the power.
You are in charge.
*This blog post was heavily inspired by The Bloggess. This post and my enjoyment of curse words.