I recently went to an overeaters anonymous meeting and to become a speaker a person had to practice abstinence for 90 days. Abstinence from the food that the overeaters binge on. While I understand abstinence from the food for a while but to give up your favorite food for the rest of your life would be really hard to do. Usually the overeaters binge on food that they like. The binge food is usually filled with a lot of sugar, like cake, doughnuts, and fast food.
My binge food was doughnuts and cakes, which are my favorite foods. I love red velvet cake, glazed doughnuts with chocolate, and pancakes.
For a while, when I was losing weight, I was able to give them up and not eat those foods. But after losing the weight, I slowly added them back into my life. I've added back muffins and cake. That choice is one of the reasons that I have gained some weight recently.
I thought about why I eat my favorite foods. It isn't just because they taste good to me. Its the feeling that I get when I eat it. When I eat pancakes, I remember the times when I was little and my mom would cook pancakes on Saturdays. I looked forward to that when I was a child because I liked the taste of pancakes. I even remember when my mom had to work weekends and my dad would cook the pancakes. They wouldn't taste the same as my mom's pancakes even though he used the same pancake batter. I know I could recall those memories any time that I wanted to but I can get them also when I eat pancakes.
I wonder how many people eat their favorite foods because it helps them to bring back some good memories from childhood or a good time that they had.
Do you eat your favorite food just because you like the taste or is it the memories also?
If you had to give up your favorite food for the rest of your life, would you or could you?
I've found that having a balance is better for me than abstinence. I've always liked sweets and that hasn't changed since I became a vegetarian. I've found some vegan chocolate chips muffins at Whole Foods that I love. That helps with the sweet tooth at times. Some times I just want a piece of red velvet cake too. I have also found that almonds covered in dark chocolate help as well. I just have to find a balance between eating some of my favorite foods and taking care of myself.
I did abstinence in the past in the wrong way and sent myself to the ER. I took out carbs and fruits from my diet for about five weeks. That didn't turn out well.
I do agree with abstinence from binge eating, that behavior doesn't work at all. I do agree with giving up your favorite food for a while. After the person gains control of their eating habits, that person may find that they don't like the taste for the food anymore. Some cakes that I used to love now make my stomach bloat, hurt, and the cake tastes too sweet. I never would have guessed that I would say that because I used to love really sweet cakes. Some of the red velvet cakes make my stomach hurt. My taste buds have changed. I love to eat vegetables now.
Its ok to have balance. I'm not going to give up my favorite foods for the rest of my life but I will not let them control me like I allowed in the past. I will not use them to deal with my feelings like I did in the past. I have developed healthy coping habits to deal with my feelings and I will continue to show myself love. I will be kind to myself for gaining some weight and I will lose the weight. I can't change the past but I can change the future.
I've found I can't stick to a diet but I have found a lifestyle that I can maintain. I have gotten off balance lately but I am able to get back into balance.
If you yourself have found yourself falling out of balance or off the wagon as the saying goes. Its ok. You can get back into balance and keep going. Nobody is perfect all the time. I show my imperfections on this blog to help people see that no body is perfect and has it all together.
I'm imperfect but I'm the perfect Shavawn!!