At the age of 49, I’ve experienced a eureka moment when it comes to food. After half a lifetime of bad habits, I’ve finally realised that it makes much more sense to go for the smaller option where food is concerned.
I’ve always had an *ahem* ‘healthy’ appetite and almost always go large when presented with that option. Often intrinsically linked with fast food (for all the wrong reasons…), going large has always been the only way to go. Perhaps no surprise that it’s always unhealthy food this applies to, though that has never stopped me. It doesn’t solely apply to eating out or buying food from elsewhere either – the same has always applied when eating home-cooked meals. My wife always tends to cook more than we need anyway though I’m not using that as an excuse – if I’ve been able to, I’ve always piled up the plate or bowl, and have usually returned for seconds. This has sometimes been due to me being hungry though, by and large, it’s more a force of habit.
It isn’t just main meals which I go big on either. When it comes to snacking, I can binge-eat with alarming ease. Why just eat 1 packet of crisps when 3 or 4 will be much better? Even better if there’s a family bag to be devoured. Why just eat 1 biscuit when there are 3 or 4 to devour? Why eat a few squares of chocolate when there’s a full bar there, slyly winking at me and luring me in. Why eat a modest slice of cake when a doorstop portion will be so much more satisfying? It pains me to admit that this has been me for most of my life to date.
Why the sudden eureka moment then? I’ve realised recently that going larger, having larger portions, or binge-eating leaves me feeling awful. The eureka moment was largely down to my body telling me this must stop. I don’t know if it’s down to aging though something has definitely changed. If I eat to this extent these days, I experience the following:
- It may provide instant gratification and feel good for a few minutes but soon after, I start to feel excessively full, fat, and bloated.
- This is a feeling that lingers for some time.
- This is a feeling that leaves me distinctly uncomfortable.
- This nearly always results in me feeling drained and lethargic.
If I feel like this frequently, it means I frequently lose my energy and it leaves me unmotivated. That affects my ability to be productive and do the things that are important to me, which subsequently angers and frustrates me. So, therefore, I need to stop these bad habits. I need to feel more at ease with being slightly hungry at times. I need to fast more. I need to be wholly comfortable in having nothing to eat after 6pm each day. All of these are certainly achievable – I simply need to return to these good habits and ensure they become the norm in my life.
Something which is so incredibly easy to do when I read this post back but nowhere near as straightforward to address in my day-to-day life! It simply has to change though.
As always, thanks for reading and take care.
Best wishes.
Mick
