I have spent the past 2 years of weight loss thinking about food.
When is my next snack?
What's for dinner?
Did those almonds really fill me up?
What should I have for breakfast on Friday?
One thing I've noticed is that on the weekends I'm much less obsessed with snacks and meals because I am doing quality things in my life: shopping, walking, household projects, spending time with the husband, even cooking!
On the weekdays, however, it's hard to get through the workday without watching the clock for my next meal. I changed my eating habits and planned snacks earlier this fall, and I am working on listening to my body and hunger and not letting the clock tell me when it's time to eat. So the following excerpt from Fit From Within REALLY hit home:
From Fit From Within
The rationale behind three meals a day is simple: if you start to eat only three times, you have to stop only three times, and stopping is the problem....This doesn't mean there can never be an exception, that you will never have afternoon tea or an after-theater snack...Nothing that you eat rationally and out of choice rather than compulsion will interfere with the fit-from-within process. Nevertheless, I highly recommend that, unless you have a medical condition that requires you to eat more often, you stick with three meals a day most of the time.
If you do, there will be several waking hours during which you will have nothing in your mouth. This is good. This is when you learn to focus on your inner life and your outer world instead of food. It's also when you come to know at a visceral level that, although food and water and air are indispensable for maintaining your body, the essential individual that you are is sustained by something else, something more.
Eating three meals a day is both a discipline and a gift. In the beginning, it might take all the fortitude you've got to get form one meal to the next without picking up something to eat. Call in your inner resources, understanding friends, or something else that inspires you. Learn the difference between what it feels like to be hungry and to think you're hungry because you're used to eating often.
About Me
- KathEats
- Blogger behind Kath Eats Real Food [www.katheats.com] and Baby KERF [www.babykerf.com]
After
My 25th Birthday at 120 pounds
Before
Summer 2004 around 150 pounds
3 comments:
Good day to you, Kath!
I liked your article post and I think its totally right, as a "dieter" I am so much more obsessed with FOOD and everything related to it then I was before I actually minded what I put in my mouth! I wanted to thank you for answering my question; I know all about the difficulty winter tends to impose on running. I live in Eastern Europe (Czech Republic to be precise) and the sun bothers to come out at around 7:00. If its 5C out there I should be thankful. I am switching to indoors but its not as effective and gyms are a problem since they don't open before 8am (I am half way to work by this hour). Will be visiting your blog later today!
Love the thought of the day. Thanks for sharing it from your book. Someimtes, I really do feel exhausted thinking about food and when I'm eating and what I'm eating! I go back and forth about the 3 meals a day, versus eating meals/snacks, 6 small meals a day. I just don't know WHAT to do sometimes! Either way, I agree...my ultimate goal is to one day eat when I'm hungry, stop when I'm full, and exercise when/how I want. I don't want to have to LOG forever!!! Ok...so, more pictures of me, huh!? I'll see what I can do on CK. :-) I get frustrated sometimes with their picture functions. We are the same height and weight! Samies! Wow, that was immature. Can you tell it's a slow Friday for me at work! -Meg-
Thanks for sharing these thoughts. I think I might need to pick up this book. :) I'm with Meg in that I go back and forth as well between 3 square meals or 5-6 smaller meals. I have been trying to be more conscious lately about eating when I'm hungry and stopping when I'm full. Hope you enjoyed your wine!
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