Eating Under The Influence

My doctor is one of the few that believes medication should only be a last resort and she believes that I can and will take my less then perfect current health to a place where I am vibrant and healthy.

This is where I begin..


This evening I went to the first of three classes on changing my relationship with food, understanding why I eat the way I do, comfort myself without food, changing my thinking and change my eating. Its a pretty tall order!

Each day you will make 200 food related decisions - 90% of which you won't be aware of. Frank Wansink

One of three factors that are influencing my choices are:


My environment


I was careful to put the word my before the statement because truely, I am in charge and it is whether or not I choose to accept responsibility of this.

Environment:

My life is a busy one and my schedule is not a regular one. I work anywhere from 10-12 hours and I rarely take the time to sit, eat slowly and digest my meal. Quite often, it is eaten in 10 minutes. Many times I opt for the conveinence foods that are readily available. In North America alone, I am not the only one living a life that is hazardous to my health and waistline. People and pets are getting... bigger !


Did you know that for every dollar our government and health care system puts into promoting healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle, that the fast food industry spend $500 against it!


Taking time for grocery shopping? Shopping for healthier choices isn't made easy. They are marketted on the bottom or highest part of the shelf. Processed, unhealthy foods are sitting right in front of you; eye level of the shelves.

Save money; buy big! If you buy big, you will consume up to 18-25% more in a meal and when snacking you will eat 30-40% more when buying a jumbo sized bag! As consumers, we believe we are saving money but when in fact, our health is losing!

Eating on the cheap at places like McDonald's will also cost you more healthwise then you thought. Today's Happy Meal was an adult meal 3o years ago!

Food within reach. This happened the other day. I call it the See Food diet not to be confused with the Seafood diet!

On one of the desks at work, sitting in an open container was sugary wine gums. I put my hand in, pulled out a candy and just as it touched my teeth I said, I don't want this. Why did I pick that up? I was going to eat it without thinking? There is no nutritional value in this! I threw it into the garbage.

Mindless eating. See the above scenario. Our serving sizes are crazy. When you compare our plates to that of thirty years ago, they are so large that we have no idea of portion control. More, more, more. My Grandmother's dinner plate would be considered today's salad plate. Our dinner plate would be considered her serving platter!

Why does this happen? Learned behaviors or habits. When things are paired together repeatedly, I learn how to associate one with the other. Animals and people are very much that way. Turn on the can opener and see your cat go wild. Take a person to the movie theater and they reach for popcorn.

For example, a trigger can be a tough day at work and the response can be eating chocolate. The food then becomes the response to the trigger instead of its importance in nutrition or to the body for survival.

Learned behaviors can also be how you grew up as a child. Some of mine are: Food = Celebration. Snacks = You will spoil your appetite. Meals = Eat all your meal. There are starving children in Africa. Food + Reward.

Now that I recognize these behaviors and habits. It is time to break the link between the trigger and the learned response.

Learned behaviors can be changed with time, effort and courage.

It's a lesson I am working on.