How do I love thee? Let me count my chins…

Day three, and the food list continues:

Maverick Breakfast bundle, hash browns, 44 oz. Diet Coke, Kirkland Chicken Bake, Take 5 candy bar, Twix PB, 12 mint truffle Hershey’s Kisses, 12 oz. V-8, 1 c. trail mix, 1 banana with peanut butter, Beef w/broccoli, Lemon Chicken, Ham fried rice and a spring roll.

Chocolate, as you can tell, is a big thing for me.  I love it in just about every form except white chocolate.  Not a big fan of white chocolate.  Mostly because it’s not really chocolate. But milk chocolate, dark chocolate, chocolate cover peanuts, almonds, cashews, macadamia nuts,…  Basically, cover it in chocolate and you can just about guarantee I’ll eat it! I try to tell myself that dark chocolate is better for me because of all the antioxidants. But, I know that is just a justification. Moderation in all things is what we are counseled.  Well, moderation is great until you hit that lull in the afternoon.  You’re starting to droop a little, your lunch is settling in you gut, and everything is just kind of laid back.  You think, “I’ll just have some candy.  It’ll give me a boost, and I’ll be great.” Fifteen minutes later, as you dig yourself out of the mound of candy wrappers, you think, “How did this happen?” and that whole moderation thing seems like a faded memory.

A very wonderful cousin of mine gave me some advice when I started this.  When you feel those cravings, ask yourself what you really want.  Why are you reaching for the ho-ho’s? Why is your hand digging into the Cheez-its? Are you really hungry?  Lots of times hunger is a cover for stress, anger, thirst, etc.  What are you really trying to “feed” with the binge?  It’s a method used with alcoholics.  And frankly, what am I but a binge-aholic.  I hate the term addicted to food.  People are addicted to things they don’t need.  Last time I checked, food was required to keep me from dying.  What I am addicted to is binging. Like the old Lays ads, I can’t eat just one.

Now the fact that I’ve stayed the same weight for several years says something about my ability to regulate, to some extent, my binges.  I don’t fluctuate more than a few pounds either way.  When I was on my mission I was eating much more than I do now, and lots of fried foods, tons of bread, pasta, cookies, etc.  The big difference was that I walked EVERYWHERE!  And I walked all day long.  Now my lifestyle is the polar opposite.  I walk as much now, as I used to sit on my mission.  As a result, I am twice the man I used to be.  And then some!  My biggest obstacle now is that I am so out of shape that I can’t walk for any great length of time.  I huff and puff and drip with sweat, and feel like my lungs will cave in.  I get out of breath going up and down the stairs.  I feel fairly confident that if I would just start moving, I would see weight drop off me.  Add to that a new diet of portion control, and I can’t help but see results.  But complacency is the hobgoblin of fat minds.  I realized not too long ago that I use my kids as remote controls.  “Get me a glass of water, please.”  “Hand me my shoes.”  “Get me the remote.”  I wouldn’t get up if there was a kid in ear shot.  I am slowly getting over that and making myself move around.  My biggest fear is that I will end up like Ruby or one of the bariatric patients on the Discovery Channel.

Now for today’s quote:

“Inside some of us is a thin person struggling to get out, but they can usually be sedated with a few pieces of chocolate cake.  ~Author Unknown”