Do you love to eat?
Personally, I love to cook, love to share food with others, and I just like food!
It’s perfectly okay to love eating and to appreciate good food. But there’s a big difference between appreciating the flavors of your food and liking the way you feel as you eat it.
When you say you love to eat, you may simply be providing an excuse for using food to appease some of your emotional needs.
It’s possible that it’s not the food at all that you love. Instead, maybe you crave experiences around food, such as eating while you’re watching sports on TV.
Or when life feels unhappy or difficult, you can make your problems fade away by eating, drinking, and laughing along with other people.
You don’t have to stop “loving to eat.” Just be sure you take time to appreciate the flavors and textures of what you love.
Remember to savor your meals and to pay special attention to the first two bites of any food. Decide whether some of your favorite desserts are truly special or if they’re just ordinary, and that at times, you can just skip them.
Today’s assignment (my answers are in blue)
1. Make a list of foods you absolutely love.
Cheesecake, homemade fudge, monster cookies, chocolate mousse, carrot cake
2. Explore what you love about these foods. Consider the flavor and texture as well as the settings where you typically eat them. Write your answers here.
Several of my favorites are soft and creamy textured. I know this type of food is very nurturing for me. Or they remind me of special people and events such as my family gatherings.
3. In addition to the flavors of good food, notice other things that you love about eating. Is it possible that what you love isn’t related to the food at all? Record your insights below.
My brother makes wonderful homemade fudge, and when I miss my family, eating fudge seems to help me feel connected to my brothers and sisters. When I think about it, I realize the fudge is good, but not unusual. So it’s not the fudge that I miss; it’s my family.
Excerpted from Day 37 in the book, 100 Days of Weight Loss