Getting outside the food culture is similar to seeing the
forest for the trees. If you are just beating yourself up for not eating enough
vegetables, you may feel like it’s all about you and your deficient willpower –
that’s a tree. But if you get outside the food culture, you will see that many
people don’t eat enough vegetables, in fact, you may observe some people who
never seem to eat vegetables at all. Then you can begin to understand how your
eating habits have been influenced by the environment around you – that’s the
forest. It might seem like an obvious distinction, but believe me, when you’re
in the middle of a fight to the death between your mouth and a brownie, it can
be a life vest.
The food culture is a sneaky thing. At times it can seem
like a fifty-foot monster, but I think that’s the way it wants to be seen.
After all, if a huge beast threatens you, you can marshal all of your defenses
for a head-on attack. What’s more dangerous is what you don’t see, don’t expect,
don’t anticipate. To me, the food culture is more like an odorless vapor that
seeps its way unnoticed into every crack and crevice. It’s the little voice
that never stops cooing, “chocolate, chocolate, chocolate.” It’s that persistent
craving for cookie dough ice cream at midnight. It’s the soothing song playing
over and over in your head, telling you that you deserve something greasy and gooey and m-m-good. If you’re not
aware that this is the way the food culture speaks to you, you might think it’s
your voice. And as hard as it is to maintain
a large weight loss, it’s even harder to constantly argue with yourself. Maybe
you can do battle with yourself for a few months, but eventually you begin to
feel wounded, and that’s when the weight starts coming back.
Maintaining a large weight loss didn’t become easy just
because I managed to get outside the food culture, but in my opinion that’s
when it became possible. I feel a bit discombobulated, because now nothing is
automatic – I have to think about everything.
Is it any wonder that I feel unnatural and awkward and anti-social so much of
the time? But it’s better now than it was five years ago, or even one year ago.
Now, instead of seeing the food culture the way I used to see it, as just the
way it is, I see it for what it really
is, a fat-inducing fog that I’ve been getting lost in for most of my life.
But not anymore.
"a fat-inducing fog that I’ve been getting lost in for most of my life." I'm going to keep that in mind the next time I get confused about the whole weight loss maintenance thing.
ReplyDeleteIt is confusing, isn't it? I had a plan that worked really well for a couple years and then last year my body decided it needed something different. Sheesh.
DeleteDebby (comment above this one) left your link for me today, because my post is a related topic. I am private. Actually I went private just about the same time you started blogging, so I am not sure if our paths have ever crossed. If you want access to my blog, please send a note to indianapuzzle@gmail.com and I will send you an invite. I am private in the real world so my kids are not outed, but I welcome new readers in weight loss/maintenance blogland.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to read your blog, Vickie. The email will be on its way shortly!
Deletenot sure if you read Jane, but you probably would like her blog:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.keepingthepoundsoff.com/
Thanks so much for the link. I just checked her out and I could so relate!
Delete