***ADD ENJOY THE VIBES

Now that we have been running free in the land of cookies, candy, potato chips, macaroni and cheese, or whatever it is you’re interested in, we should be able to relax and think more clearly about our food choices. When I began bringing in the foods I viewed as forbidden it was a wonderful feeling to have full control over myself. I found that a lot of the food I was bringing home would either get stale or just sit around for months because I was no longer truly drawn to it. In the old days I would pick the M&Ms out of trail mix at a strangers house because I felt out of control in the presence of chocolate. Now I was finding myself less appealed to cheap sweets, mass produced cookies, and things like donuts. It was an incredible feeling to realize I didn’t truly enjoy these items at all. However if they were available in the break room at work I felt powerless to resist them. I have not felt this way for a few years now. I cannot recall the last time I even ate a donut.

So now that I realize this I stopped buying the things I don’t truly enjoy. But what about the rest? I understand now that I absolutely enjoy See’s Candy and a quality chocolate chip cookie. I allow myself to eat these things whenever I feel drawn to them. However a new question that I began asking myself when grocery shopping is: “How do I want this in my life?” What I mean by this is that now that I understand it is possible to enjoy these items whenever I like, I am also aware of how they make me feel. I know that eating a few See’s Candy truffles tastes amazing and gives me a little sugar kick. I know that eating more than 2 makes me feel wired up and a little sick to my stomach. I am glad I understand this boundary. I also know that I don’t truly want to have these 2 truffles every single day. It is not something that I want to be in my daily life. This is not because they would make me gain weight or that they are “unhealthy", instead it is because I do not want to feel those effects every day. I would prefer to enjoy them every once in awhile. Using this information I choose to not keep an entire box of See’s Candy in my pantry. If the box was there I would go and enjoy them when I wanted responsibly (they have zero control over me) but I would prefer to go to a See’s Candy and grab a few truffles when they sounded good. This is a way that I set my environment up for my success. This is an extremely important habit factor when it comes to success in understanding your body cues and food choices. Like I mentioned before the candy has zero control over me….however you need to understand the distinction between what you really want and what is available. Sometimes I will be thinking of a snack and if the See’s was front and center I perhaps would select that over something that would sustain me better for the day. As humans we desire convenience and quick decisions. That is why it is important to set up your environment for success. I have always believed that I couldn’t keep sweets in the house because I would eat them no matter what, I was powerless. We are going to learn to organize our shelves to differentiate if something is an actual desire……or just an idea.”

I make choices like these every time I shop for food. For example I usually spot the black and white cookies (which I love) at Trader Joe’s and they always catch my eye. They come in a pack of 8 and for this reason I never buy them. This is not because I would eat all 8 but just the opposite. I do not want this cookie to be a part of my life every day for the next 8 days. I prefer to go to a bakery and get the best black and white cookie they have to enjoy it. This is again because I honor my hunger, honor my cravings for soul foods, and most of all I honor my body and what I choose to be a part of my life.

For years I have always heard people say that they were craving “just a little something sweet.” I would laugh and think to myself how ridiculous that someone could have just a little of something and not devour the entire box. My wife is the type of person who eats half of a Snicker’s bar and then puts it in a Ziploc bag where the other half would undoubtedly harden over the next few months. I always watched her and laughed that she behaved this way. I can finally say that I am that person. It wasn’t that she was not “into” sweets or had more self control than I did. It was that she followed her hunger and cravings intuitively without ever believing she was powerless under the spell of chocolate.

To me there is nothing better than getting so excited to eat something you love, enjoy it, and then move on. Not because you should eat them in moderation but because you want to.

A good example of this is like a rollercoaster. It is fun, fast, and exhilarating. You may want to ride once, twice, three times at the most and then it is no longer appealing right? It doesn’t feel good to be whipped around over and over. It is fun becuase it is special, different, out of the norm. Food should be the same. Excitement, enjoyment, and then back to regular life where you feel your physiological best. You don’t fault yourself when you walk around not on a rollercoaster and think this is boring. It is normal to have your feet on the ground. We all need a baseline.

get the food zoomies

lemonade hot day, cocktail long day, fair food, hot brownie couch