Friday, August 17, 2012

On Food

This post isn't meant to disparage anyone and their way of eating, but I've been pondering food a lot lately and have begun to question a lot of things.

Do you think our attitude towards food is because we were never taught how to eat as children?  Or taught about nutrition as it relates to our food and body?

Well maybe you were but I never was.

I've always just looked at food as breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.  There to be eaten because you're supposed to eat three meals a day and clean your plate.

And of course snacks.

Were you ever taught to stop when you were satisfied?  Not full, or finished, but to just take stock of where your body was and stop, because you were simply no longer hungry?  I never was.

I think that has been part of my problem.

And of course, food tastes good, and I love to cook and bake.

But since we've become concerned about health, I find myself looking at both my food and my body in different ways.  For the first time, I'm trying to be more aware of my body and the signals it sends,  Learning to eat to a sense of satisfaction, that is,  no longer hungry, rather than full.  By eating much slower and chewing thoroughly, I'm amazed at how little it takes to satisfy my hunger.

Combining this attitude with our exercise regime, we're feeling better than we have in years.

Please, if you've read this far, don't preach at me about what works for you.  I appreciate everyone's regime because I'm completely aware that what works for one person doesn't necessarily work for another.

I'm simply sharing what, after 64 years on the planet, seem to be completely new ideas to me.

Have a great weekend, we have yet another flea market tomorrow.

5 comments:

Jim and Sandie said...

Your post made me think back to my childhood and how I was raised with food. Living in Montana it really was meat and potatoes with homemade bread and cream brought by the milkman to our back door. I think my folks, after living through the depression, wanted to always make sure we had lots of food around. Food was used to take care of hurts and slights and everything else. Mom stayed at home and made cookies and pies. Definitely no one said anything about paying attention to our bodies.

Russ Krecklow said...

We gotta get down there and see the "new yous ".

Merikay said...

If it works, keep it up. If it doesn't try something new. You can't change the past, but you can make the future.

Pam said...

I got the "clean your plate, starving children in foreign country" lecture and even remember sitting at the table crying with a timer set because I wouldn't eat my peas. Needless to say I didn't force my kids to clean their plates, and only made them try one bite of something new. I also taught them to read labels and about nutrition through our homeschooling program, but neither one is eating the way they should be now as adults. However, I know they know how they should eat, and hope someday they'll decide to take better care of their bodies. More leeway for bad choices when you're young!

Nan said...

Oh, yes. Remember the starving children in China. Then you sit there till your plate is clean. Thank goodness times have changed.