Hey-
I know it's soon but I'm doing another Love Hunger entry. I have so much negative stuff on my mind due to my thesis. I don't mean to whine and bitch about it but thing are not great since my advisor is moving out of her house and to a new state these days. All I can do is work on the material I understand and wait for her life to calm down so I can work on statistics with her....over the phone. Enough talk about that crap.
The next interesting part I read in Love Hunger is about our family members' relationships with food. The first section asked you to think back about your mom and her relationship with food. What were her food-related habits and have the changed now? I have to say that I'm very impressed with how my mom eats. I can tell she truly listens to her hunger and doesn't mindlessly snack. She also makes smarter snack choices and eats appropriate portions. I don't think my mom has changed much over the years.
Next is your dad (or step-dad).... I think my dad eats a lot of junk. However, I think he's lost weight over the past several years. He has a tendency to eat at convenience stores and he always has a huge bowl of ice cream after lunch (sometimes dinner). I don't think he snacked and visited convenience stores that often when we were kids. I think developed that habit when I was in high school, maybe late junior high. He likes to chit-chat with some employees that work at them and play the lottery so I can see how those activities would lead him to eat some of the food in the stores.
The next people to reflect about are your siblings. I tried to think about your relationship with food LeAnn and I really can't recall of much. I know we all do some unnecessary snacking now a days when we visit but I can't remember much from high school or our childhood. Alissa on the other hand...some of her behaviors with food drive me nuts. I just have issues with how messy she can be and how fast she eats during meals. I'm also concerned about her portion control too. If and when she stops playing sports so regularly, things could catch up to her quickly.
So what does your family's relationship with food cause you to think of food as? Is food just something you ingest for sustinence? Is it comfort? Or does it cause negative feelings? I personally find food as a comfort now due to the good meals I had and still have when I go home. But due to the snacking that's become habitual when I'm in Waukon, I no longer consider some foods to be a treat. I've gotten used to eating chips or ice cream so nothing really strikes me as "oh goody, this is a rare and delicious treat." I miss having that response to food. The only food I can think of that triggers that response is pie. A great piece of pie is always a treat to me.
Another cool part discussed the fact that people make excuses. Most people think they eat normally or don't eat THAT badly but are just big-boned or have a slow metabolism. It's important to discuss or accept the truth about yourself. I have accepted the fact that I will not be itty bitty skinny...I will always be larger even when I get down to 200lbs. And yes I bet I do have a slow ass metabolism but I made it that way. Metabolisms can be changed as you change habits.
Another excuse that stuck out to me was this one "when life settles down, I'll end my bad habits." When the heck does life ever settle down??? It's always one thing after another so waiting for that magical time when life is easy is stupid. The truth for me is simple. If I'd get my act together and sleep better, I could get up earlier and have more time to do other things besides work, clean, and take care of Gavin. Buying that treadmill was a good step as well because I can use it in the morning or evenings when I shouldn't be sleeping or watching TV.
Any other excuses come to your mind? Another popular one in the book is "My weight doesn't bother me....people don't notice or judge me" Well I think it's safe to assume that our weights bother us....we are trying to make changes already so that excuse is just silly.
2 comments:
Wowsers. You continue having lots to say. I have to concur with most of your descriptions of our family's eating. Mom has always eaten the least of anyone, she controls herself quite a bit better. But I like how she uses buttered popcorn as a treat. Dad has been following his sweet-tooth for several years now. He does not eat as healthily as he used to. His eating out, convenience store visits, and drinking only pop (most of the time) can't not be good for him. You're right that he has lost weight but I think it has something to do with his health rather than his eating. I'm afraid he has diabetic stuff going on but he hasn't be diagnosed for it. It's a lingering worry for me about him. What I remember from your time at home is that you were busy a lot so your eating was normal and snacking didn't happen as much. I think now-a-days there is quite a bit of snacking. We sit and do stuff too much. We need to start playing tennis and stuff. I agree with you about Alissa. She has been a heavy-eater for quite awhile. I think her current active schedule helps keep too weight from gaining but someday when she's less active and her metabolism slows she'll pay for it. She's never been a fan of silverware so her fingers feed her face. She's no Miss Manners. In regards to Gavin, he's a picky eater who tends to eat more unhealthy food than healthy food. No offense.
With me, I have a lot of really good days and then really bad days. I need to keep the rhythm of good days. Back in the day I used to go to class, go to Healthy Lifestyles (work-out place in our hometown located in the hospital), come home and have supper, then do homework or whatever. It was such an easy and lovely schedule. I miss having the time and convenience. I used to love it actually, spending an hour or so just running or working out. Now I don't have the time or convenience. Plus working at UNI means doing it in front of a lot of people and fighting over machines. So not cool. Ok, I forgot your questions but I think I said enough anyway. On to the next blog . . .
P.S. *Sustenance* (You had a spelling error)! Don't ya just love me!!
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