The Battle Against Obesity is Doomed for Failure
I have been forced to think about eating.
It's a weird thing...to be constantly thinking about eating as a source of nourishment, as opposed to a source of enjoyment.
I'm noticing that the biggest habit isn't eating more vegetables, or cutting down on portion sizes, or even eliminating sweets. The biggest problems are the habits that need to be broken.
Most of the rituals are just flat out ridiculous, but engrained none the less. It doesn't matter how hard I try to convince myself that I don't NEED the habits...I miss them.
Stupid things like food pairings. If I have a steak, I'm SUPPOSED to have a potato. I know potatoes are not good late at night. Usually after a meal, I'm not hungry for a potato anyway, but I get this nagging feeling that eats away (pardon the pun) at the back of my skull. It TRIES to convince me I'm not SATISFIED even though I'm not hungry.
Sauces are another thing. I can't get myself to understand how I'm supposed to eat chicken that hasn't been marinated in a nice, sugary sauce, or BBQ'D without the help of my good friend "Diana".
The thing is, I KNEW and STILL KNOW how awful all of the sugar I was consuming was and is for me, but it's what I am USED to eating.
And what the hell is with a dinner that isn't followed by a bowl full of Ice Cream for desert?
We hear the phrase "Comfort Food", and it passes through our ears (the gap between mine gives a nice whistling noise as it makes it trip), but don't really acknowledge that it isn't a matter of education to teach good eating habits. Rather a matter of practice.
I've had 21 days, not to educate myself on good food, but to practice VERY good eating habits. The education part was easy. The practice of it is a constant struggle.
We are BOMBARDED with bad food choices. Cakes at birthdays, fatigue making a stop at Mickey-D's THAT much more appealing, and snacks that SURELY couldn't do "that much damage".
This is where the battle against obesity is doomed to fail. By the time any of us realize that we are not as healthy as we should be, we've already developed an emotional attachment to the food. We already feel that a Tim Horton's chocolate dip BELONGS with the Large Double-Double.
That emotional attachment will always win over "knowledge of good and bad", with the exception coming from a big scare like a heart attack or diabetes. Illnesses that dictate a necessity in changing.
It's a shame that the long-term effects of good eating are just that...LONG-TERM. Unfortunately, many of us will be comfortable eating "all we can" wings WELL before we realize how uncomfortable the comfort food will make us later on in life.
They say practice makes perfect. It's just daunting to think every time I'm not practicing, I'm shortening the amount of time I have to make it to perfection.
