“A quality life demands quality questions” -Dr. John Demartini
…as does a quality diet.
This post is part 4 of 5 simple idea’s that changed the way I eat.
In part 1, “Say no to Crack!” I touched on blood sugar as it relates to food and sugar cravings. The lower your blood sugar, the more your brain will signal for the quickest hit of sugar, in the largest quantity you could imagine.
Anyone ever tell you “your eyes are bigger than your head”?
Well, that also has a large part to do with where your head is at when you sit down to eat. Let’s say, you have an extra stressful day, maybe work really sucked, or the boss was exceptionally assy that day. Whatever the threat you perceive to your survival in the near future–whether it be a legitimate fear/threat or not–your body will react by wanting to store some energy for it.
How does your body store energy?
Through storing fat.
What’s the quickest way to store fat?
Eat excessive quantities of fat and sugar… STAT!
A large portion of food cravings are governed by these factors. In this day and age, the majority us rarely need all this superfluous body fat. Fact is, most of us can actually do with a lot less of it…I’m just saying.
Case and point–that time we all stuffed our basements with 8000 cans of beans for that whole Y2K fiasco.
So then, why in this state, would we think it’s a good idea to stand in front of an open fridge, or pick up a menu and ask ourselves, “What do I FEEL like eating?”
Who was the genius who came up with that question?
Duh, I feel like eat junk food right now. Here’s an idea, how about I ask myself a question that is more conducive to my overall physical, mental and emotional life goals. “How do I want to feel after I eat this?” or, “What can I eat that might help me reach my current health goal?” perhaps, “Have I had enough fibre? protein? or healthy fats today?” or even, “What can I use to decorate my plate?”
Depending on how assy your boss was that day, the answer to, “What do I feel like eating?” could be the insidious combination of a chocolate bar, a bag of chips, a can of pop, and a donut. Ooh, or ice cream–that perfect hit of fat and sugar in one deliciously evil, creamy little blend.
I love ice cream, but I always regret ice cream :(. I would have been better off eating all those 8000 cans of beans that are stored in the basement. Have you ever regretted eating junk food and storing energy?
How about a salad…have you ever regretted a salad?
I have never heard anyone say, “Oh god, I feel disgusting, I knew I shouldn’t have eaten that damn salad, I was just craving it soooo badly!”
Who cares what you FEEL like eating, you don’t always feel like eating a salad, but you NEED a salad more than a chocolate bar…every time!
My wish, for all of you who read this post is, that from this day forward, every single time you ask yourself that question — “What do I feel like eating”–this post will pop into your head, the words will haunt you, and you at least some of the time, change the quality of your question, which has the impact to change the quality of your diet.
Sending love from Sydney,
Maria
Oh and “assy” is a word, it’s just not in the dictionary, yet 🙂
There’s an honesty here that I love. So often the message that we hear surrounding food choices is, ” if you enjoy junk food, then obviously you have bad taste.”
That’s very true.