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.

Musings on Food

As you may have gleaned from previous posts, we're exercising more.

Our aims are many.  We'd both like to lose some weight, we'd like to get Terry's diabetes under control (he was recently diagnosed and is on pill meds.  Our hope is to keep him off insulin and maybe even get him off his diabetes meds all together).

For that fact, we both take various prescription meds that we'd like to get off of.  And of course, there's the benefit that if we eat better and exercise more, we'll certainly feel better.

So far, we're doing quite well.  I wont go into the details of our changes, suffice it to say we're seeing excellent results.  And I think I'm learning some things along the way . . .

After years of yo-yo dieting, something occurred to me the other day.

No matter what changes I've tried to make in my eating over the years, I've always looked at the plan and tried to get the very most out of the meals.  My viewpoint was always "how much can I eat and still stay on program?"

I've done this all my life.

This time though, things seem to be different.

I feel so much more in touch with my emotions and my body.  Instead of looking for how much I can eat, this time I find myself paying attention to my body.  Rather than eating to a sense of fullness, I'm eating only to where I'm no longer hungry.  Substituting a sense of fullness with a sense of satisfaction is a whole new place for me, but one that I'm enjoying.

I'm thinking this is how life must be for those that are naturally thin.

Silly ramblings, I know.  But I wanted to write this down while it's still fresh in my mind.