Stuff Fat People Like

Acting as if every meal will be your last.

It's T-7 days till you begin your diet. Now is the time to eat anything and everything you want since you are about to give it all up until you get skinny. In this week you will gain about 7 pounds which will be the same 7 pounds you lose in the first week of your diet, thus setting you up for major disappointment the second or third week when you only lose 1 pound. (Which is a normal and respectable amount to lose in one week). But the good thing is you ate all that food because you certainly can't have it now!

You are at a top notch restaurant on vacation or for a special occasion. The outrageous portion of amazingly prepared food is served and you immediately rationalize that you will need to eat everything on your plate (and possibly your kids' and/or spouse's plate) because this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. You will order your own dessert and sample some from the rest of the table also. After all, you will never be able to eat this food again. By the end of the meal you need to be rolled out of the restaurant, fed Rolaids, have your pants unbuttoned and the car seat reclined so you can breathe. But it's a good thing you ate all that, because you will never have an opportunity like that again!

At your work there is a cafeteria. You loathe cafeteria food but every once in a while they offer a taco salad that is out of this world. Even though you know the meat is really not meat and the nacho cheese sauce is really not cheese, it just tastes so good. It only costs $2.00 so you can purchase two salads and enjoy eating them both because after all, this doesn't come up on the menu very often. In fact, you have heard that they might remove it from the menu all together. Better eat up while you can.

Your Grammy makes the WORLD'S best chocolate pie. Everyone knows it. The thing is, Grammy is getting on up in years and you just don't know how long she will be around. You know that one day, Grammy's chocolate pie will be a thing of the past so while she's still here and that heavenly pie is still being cranked out, you really need to keep eating it....

Does food really have this much power over us? Do we really take on the mentality of a hoarder as we sit down to eat what was never meant for anything other than fuel and nourishment? When any food becomes something that we are so emotionally connected to that we begin to fear life without it--well that's just silly. And dangerous. It has a name: Idolatry.

Here are some truths that we need to begin telling ourselves:

• There will be another opportunity to eat
• More food does NOT = More satisfaction
• Misery due to overeating often ruins the enjoyment of a meal
• Food is not entertainment
• Food is just FOOD

And here are some questions to ask ourselves:

• Will I be devastated if I never get to eat ______ again?
• Will I look back in regret if I stop eating before my plate is clean?
• Is it normal/healthy to "miss" a certain food?
• Do I have a closer relationship with some foods than I do with some people?
  

Curious to see if I'm the only one who often behaves like my current meal might be my last?

For the initial explanation of "Stuff Fat People Like," read this.