SilverMtns wrote:Happy to hear what you all tell yourselves when you want to quit and successfully keep McDougalling!
"Bet you can't eat just one."
Do you remember that commercial? That's the United States Food Industry betting that they can manufacture a drug, market it as food, and -- if they can get you to taste it -- you will be forevermore addicted and won't be able to stop eating it until you die. Preferably after a long, slow, drawn-out death, so you can continue to consume the drug for many, many, years before you succumb. But if you die sooner, that's okay too, because there are lots of other suckers who will take that bet. So far, they've been winning hands down.
That's what I tell myself.
Obviously, this doesn't work with nutrient-dense foods that are just a little too salty, a little too fatty, or a little too sweet. But it works with most of the "food" that I might be tempted with. I have invested far too much time and energy getting to where I am to throw it all away by accepting a hit from a drug pusher.
When I see a doughnut at work, I don't look at it longingly, thinking about how good it will taste. I think of slavery. I think of selling my free-will for a quick sugar rush, and I feel
angry. I recall that 3/4 of Americans are obese and I get
angrier. I remind myself that roughly 1,000,000 (one million!) Americans die every year due to the combined effects of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and other diet-related diseases that are almost entirely preventable and I become
even angrier.
Then I go put a bowl of frozen blueberries in the microwave for 90 seconds and cool off with an icy, blueberry, treat that squirts delicious blueberry juice down my throat with every bite. The blueberries turn my lips black and my wife says I look like Lurch (from the Addams Family). So I stick my tongue out at her and she laughs hysterically at my totally-black tongue. What other food is so much fun?
I'm reminded of an incident from a few years ago. I was in the hospital with pericarditis. After speaking with me, my cardiologist moved to the next bed. Her patient started telling her what he ate today, and tonelessly, but with an edge to her voice, she interrupted him and said, "That's not food."
That's also what I tell myself.
That's not food.
That's not food.
That's not food.
And sometimes, I think of my
mom. If I knew in my 20s what I know now, I could have helped her and she would still be alive today. I miss her.
You deserve to be happy. You deserve to be free. Don't let the drug pushers win.
Cheers,
sirdle
"Before Enlightenment chop wood, carry water. After Enlightenment chop wood, carry water." -- Zen proverb