Chef_Troy ([info]chef_troy) wrote,
@ 2009-02-04 07:57:00
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Ten Reasons I Am Fat
I felt the need to write this down so I can actually LOOK at it, in hopes that I can find the courage to start dealing with my issues.

  1. I eat just because someone else is eating and I want to "keep them company."

  2. I keep eating after I'm full because there's only a little left (often actually an entire serving, or nearly) and I tell myself it's not worth putting it in Tupperware.

  3. I finish my own food, and then if my wife or one of my kids doesn't finish theirs, I finish it for them.

  4. I keep eating something even if it isn't very good, because I tell myself it's wasteful to just throw it out.

  5. I eat late at night because I've stayed up long enough after dinner that another meal seems reasonable (Thanks a LOT for that "Fourthmeal" thing, Taco Bell!)

  6. I order too much food at restaurants because I tell myself I want more variety -- a little of several things instead of a larger amount of just one thing -- and then eat all of each thing I've ordered.

  7. Just from inertia, I keep ordering the same amount of food I used to get when I was even fatter, even though I would probably be satisfied with half as much.

  8. I eat way too fast, even though I know consciously that I would eat less if I slowed down because my body would have a chance to tell me it was satisfied before I plowed through another dozen bites. (At least I DO know the source of this habit, and it made sense at the time, but no longer does.)

  9. I tell myself I don't have time to exercise, even though I spend several hours a day reading/surfing the Net/watching TV.

  10. I have a fat wife, and instead of spurring each other to do something about our obesity, we enable each other and avoid the subject.


When I started writing this list, I was in the act of doing #4 -- I got breakfast from the crap-eteria in my building, and I realized that I was continuing to shovel it in even as I was thinking to myself, "God, this is not very good." Even though it had broken through to my conscious mind what I was doing, it was surprisingly hard to break that programming and throw it away.

I am so depressed right now.

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[info]zyada
2009-02-04 04:56 pm UTC (link)
{{Cheffie}}

I've been able to break a few bad habits, but it is hard. You have my support.

My worst habit is stress/boredom eating.

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[info]crotalus_atrox
2009-02-04 05:25 pm UTC (link)
*hugs to you* I can understand being a bit down about it.

2. They've some really nice smaller tupperware containers; perhaps if they were smaller, you'd feel less like it was a waste of tupperware?
3. Ah, the old dad-as-garbage-disposal thing. You are not alone there, at least. I guess...store leftovers in tupperware? I'm not a sales rep, just a fan.
4. Oh, now that's just an affront to your tastebuds. If it's that bad, it's not worth finishing. Spend your allotted calories on something you'll enjoy.
5. I do that one, too, around 11 or 12. Try working it down from meal to snack to perhaps just a glass of milk or water?
6. Appetizer sampler plates. Mmm.
7. Actually, that's my suggestion here, too:order appetizers. Some places let you order a "lunch portion." Otherwise, tell yourself you've just ordered two meals: half you'll eat there, half you're going to take home for later. And put it in tupperware.
9. I would find something you can do WHILE watching TV. for me, that's ab crunches.

I hope that helps.

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[info]h_thur
2009-02-04 06:01 pm UTC (link)
Oh wow. I see myself in your whole list. I also eat when I'm stressed even though I'm clearly not hungry.

The whole idea of "wasting" food is one that was drilled into me as a child, "Clean your plate!" It's such a hard habit to break. I've yet to break it. Instead, I clean Isaac's plate instead of telling him to do it because I don't want him to end up obsessed with wasting food like me. Ugh.

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[info]ferret_herder
2009-02-05 12:28 am UTC (link)
If you're interested, we have a SDMB-centered group over at SparkPeople. There are a lot of ways to confront your eating habits, including basically tracking everything you eat in a day. I'm finding it very useful in examining my problem areas.

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[info]peterchayward
2009-02-05 01:44 am UTC (link)
Unhealthy but interesting.

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[info]doorinward
2009-02-05 04:31 am UTC (link)
ugh one of mine is a cook's issue "gotta taste to see if it needs more (salt, vinegar, hot pepper oil, cocoa....) 10 "tastes" later and I might as well have had dinner already.

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[info]eleika
2009-02-05 09:01 am UTC (link)
As lame as it sounds, admitting you have a problem *is* the first step. When you write it out like this, you voice the problem. It makes you more conscious/aware and you notice when you're doing it. I've found I'm that way regarding a lot of the issues I've been working through lately. By mentioning it I become aware of it, and I stop myself before it can begin.

Getting into shape isn't my #1 goal at the moment, but because that's the case, I've made some efforts to slip it in under my own radar, so I don't have to think about it. One area where I have better control is at work because I'm in charge of packing my lunch. I make super-healthy soups and stews and freeze them in small, individual portions. My success rate isn't always 100%, but it's creeping upwards. At work itself, one of my coworkers is fitness-oriented and we walk around the local golf course on our break (when I'm not coughing incessantly, that is). Is either of these an option you could explore?

#10 is a difficult subject, but it can be done. It is very easy to enable each other to say no to working out or eating right. (DH and I have been fighting this cold/lingering cough for so long that it's become very easy to rely on convenience foods and say no to the gym.) This pretty much applies to any subject, though. (Like financial management and frivolous spending, sigh.)

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