Awesome question...FOOD

Yesterday, I posted THIS. And at the end of the post, I made this statement:

I don't give myself a day to be gluttonous. That kind of crap is what creates binge eaters. Life is life every day of the week. I don't get a day off of life, I don't get a day off of making healthy choices for myself because that IS LIFE.

And I got this question/response:

I see what you are saying. But what do you do on the days that you are on vacation, or the days when there is no food in the fringe and you absolutely have to order something, or you go to a restaurant with friends. Do you never give yourself a meal to just eat what you want? Couldn't that eventually lead to burn out?

I love this question and I wanted to do a separate post just to answer it.

And here it goes.

Vacation: I haven't been on vacation since I started serioulsy kicking this new lifestyle into high gear so I can't really speak to that specifically. But, I have been through all the tough holidays so far and I guess I view them the same as vacations in terms of how I look at food and choices and freedom, etc.

Before the Fall/Winter holiday season hit, I gave myself a couple free days. I allowed myself freedom from exercise, freedom from tracking my calories, freedom from eating responsibly on a few predetermined days over the holidays. I think I gave myself freedom on Thanksgiving Day, the day after Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day. It was me giving myself permission to enjoy the holidays free of stress and judgement and restriction. Afterall, 3 days out of the year is nothing when you look at the big picture.

A funny thing happened though. When it came to Thanksgiving and the rest of my free days, I wasn't interested in indulging. All the favorite foods were there: candied yams, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, rolls, pumpkin pie, apple pie, etc. I saw them all and thought about loading up my plate like I've done all the years passed but something in my head and in my heart changed. I realized that if I did load up, I wouldn't be doing it because it's what I wanted, I would have been doing it because that's what I thought I was suppose to do. So instead, I did exactly what I wanted. I ate what I thought were the healthy choices and limited my portions. Not to "stay on plan" or "diet" or anything but because I like how I feel when I eat right. I did have a small taste of my friend's awesome pumpkin pecan pie and I enjoyed a glass of wine here and there but I didn't feel the need or desire to have more than what my body needed.

And one last thing about vacations. Who said that vacations are for overindulgence anyway? Vacations are for vacating from work, not from life or food.  

No Food in the Fridge: Now this is a big one for me. I wish I could have all the time back in my life that I have spent standing in front of the fridge with door open, staring at everything and trying to think of what I want or what sounds good. I am a grazer. If I'm hungry (or emotional) I will go to the fridge and grab some cheese and a couple green olives, then I'll go to the pantry and grab a couple crackers and a date, then back to the fridge for some jelly, then back to the pantry for a slice of bread and Nutella, then back to the fridge for a couple swigs of milk. All that kitchen Ping-Pong in a short time span of 5 mins just cost me about 700 calories, and I'm still hungry. I maintain about 1,400 calorie/day diet so shoving 700 calories of unsustainable energy and limited nutritional value into my body is just such a waste.

I had to get control of the grazing for obvious reasons. What I decided to do was to make weekly meal plans. Every week, I sit down with my health magazines or one of my many healthy cook books or one of the many websites that offer healthy recipes and I put together a plan for what I will eat for every meal for an entire week. Monday through Sunday, breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner. As I'm creating the plan, I make a list of groceries I need to buy so I have everything on hand to make all of the meals before the week starts.

I post the meal plan in the kitchen so both my husband I know what to expect for every day of the week. This has helped me so much, I just can't even begin to tell you how valuable I find it.

1. I NEVER have the grazing problem anymore
2. I NEVER end up standing in front of the fridge or pantry trying to figure out what I "want"
3. I NEVER end up wondering what I can throw together because I don't have any food in the house
4. If/when I find myself emotional or sick and am just not feeling it, my husband knows exactly what he can do to help me be successful.
5. It eliminates the "What do you want for dinner, I don't know, what do you want, I don't know, how about some greasy garbage? Whatever!" conversation.
6. It keeps food fun and interesting, trying new recipes

Restaurants: I do still go out to restaurants every once in a while. I'll meet a friend for happy hour or grab dinner with the hubby over the weekend. I will enjoy a glass of wine and a slice of pizza. I just don't do it regularly. It's a treat. I track it. I plan ahead (in my weekly meal plan) and I make sure I leave room in my calories to have whatever it is that I want to have. If I want desert, I can have it, I just make the decision knowing full well what I'm doing before I do it and what sacrifice I'm choosing to make before I place the order and put it in my mouth.

I'm a total food snob and I enjoy preparing and eating decadent food. I love to cook. I love to go out to restaurants. I love happy hour with the girls. When I plan to go out to dinner with someone and I'm going somewhere I've never been, I'll look at the menu before I get there and try to make my decisions before I'm sitting at the table, hungry, and bombarded with all the wonderful sights and smells of the place. I also make it a habit to ask for the nutritional information if they have it so I can track calories, carbs, protein, and fat as accurately as possible. If nutritional info is not available I always overestimate calories because restaurants like to hide all kinds of unnecessary fat and calories in the food that wouldn't normally be there if we made it at home.

Eating what I want: The beautiful thing about how I view and approach food is that everything I eat is "eating what I want". I'm not on a plan or a diet of any kind. I don't have any rules for myself. I don't restrict anything. Let me repeat that. I DON'T RESTRICT ANYTHING. Nothing is off limits to me. I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want.

I've done the crazy rules and restrictions thing before and it always ended up the same way. I'd "be good" for a while then I'd fall off the wagon. And when I fell, I fell hard. I'd judge myself harshly for failing which would put me into an emotional tailspin where I'd sit on the couch deep in self loathing shoving more and more grease and sweets down my throat to numb and reinforce the disgust I had for myself and my failure.

When I plan my meals, I do it because it makes me feel good to do what I know is right for my body. And when I eat healthful foods, I like how it makes my body feel. I feel clean and strong and energetic. When I want a treat, I have it, as long as I am making a conscious decision to take responsibility for what I'm puting in my body. If I have an emotional moment and shove two cadbury creme eggs down my throat (hehum, like I did a couple days ago, hehum) I track it and make sure that the rest of my day is full of healthy decisions. I knew what I was doing before I did it and I was okay with it. I acknowledge the decision and the action and then I move on with my day.

Food is fuel, pure and simple. But no one ever said that you have to sacrifice flavor and variety and enjoyment to get the right fuel for your body. I eat today and everyday like I plan to eat for the rest of my life. I don't make my food decisions to "lose weight" or to "get to goal", I make my decisions to give myself the proper nutrition necessary to allow my body to do all things I ask of it for many many years to come.

Thanks for the question Mandy and congrats on your awesome 50lbs lost. :)