Self Medicating With Food - AKA, Emotional Eating

It’s 8pm, I’m alone in the office.  I’m frustrated by my inability to get our software product to do what it should.  I’m lonely, upset over a recent breakup.  I’m tired, suffering from lack of sleep due to a cold.  All of this leads to anger, rage, sadness, frustration and a whole host of other negative emotions.  What do I do?  I reach for the candy and caffeine.  The two things I am trying most to avoid are my friends when I’m in need.

They’re there when I’m sad and they’re there when I’m tired.  They wake me from my stupor and cheer me up from my depression.  The cold Coke Zero feels so wonderful on my tongue and the sweet sensation of the chocolate is like an escape from all that is bothering me.  I chow down on the first piece of chocolate and then the second and the third, each one giving me a brief moment of joy followed by the return of the feelings of loss.  I drink one can of coke and feel uplifted, energetic.  I drink another and feel even happier.  With the coke, the buzz lasts longer but even there it fails and on the ride back home I’m more depressed and alone than I ever was.

Worse, now I’m guilty over binge eating.  I beat myself up for giving up on my goals.  I question my will power and my resolve and this all feeds into my depression and feelings of anger and frustration.  Of course I failed at work, of course I’m sick, of course she broke up with me.  Look at me, I can’t even control my own hunger.  Who would love such a man?  How can such a man be successful at work?  How can such a man be healthy?

And the cycle repeats.  The emotions get worse.  The urge to eat gets stronger.  The need to feel better, if only for a second, if only for a minute more while I eat that candy or while I fly high on that caffeine.  I need it now more than ever, because I know that for a brief second, a brief glorious second, it will all go away and I’ll feel good.  I’ll feel cheerful and happy while the sugar and caffeine course through my veins and trigger hormonal responses.  I know I’ll crash again but that’s in the future.  I need my fix and I need it now.

Addiction

If that sounds like the account of an addict, that’s because it is.  Emotional eating is in many ways similar to a drug addiction.  It is the consumption of stimulants (usually sugar and / or caffeine) to trigger chemical changes in the body which simulate although are not quite the same as happiness.  We’re sad and therefore we eat.  We don’t deal with the issues that make us sad and we may in fact be making them worse, but the food allows us to feel happy for just that brief second, that wonderful moment when all else disappears.

I suppose that on a small enough scale, emotional eating isn’t a bad thing.  If once a year you break down on the anniversary of a loved ones’ death and eat a favorite dish, that’s one thing and no one will ever begrudge you that.  Unfortunately, many of us, myself included, use emotional eating as a crutch for every day life.

• Feel tired in the morning?  Grab a muffin and a coffee.
• Falling asleep at work in the afternoon?  Grab a coke or some cereal.
• Tired and frustrated by your social life?  Go for that gallon tub of Ben and Jerry’s Phish Food.
• Annoyed by your coworkers?  Walk to the kitchen and grab some of that free cereal.
• Want to avoid work you hate?  Go out for a snack.

We all do it and some of us do it quite a bit.  I used to do this all the time, quite literally.  Since there was a period of my life when life essentially “sucked”, or so it seemed like to me, I would eat junk food all the time.  I’ve improved quite a bit since then but there are occasions when I still find myself self medicating my depression away.  Except that, in terms of medication, emotional eating is a very poor one.  It doesn’t solve the problem.  In fact, it usually makes it worse.

A Better Option

What worked for me?  A few things, and keep in mind that I still have issues with emotional eating sometimes, so any suggestions would help.

• Keep temptation away - Can’t emotionally eat that bucket of ice cream if it’s not at home and, if you’re tired and depressed, you’re unlikely to go out and buy one.  Make sure junk food is not conveniently located.
• Solve your problems - There are a million and one ways to solve most problems, even the big ones.  Instead of eating, focus on those things that make you unhappy and come up with ways to resolve them.
• Find a new outlet - For me, this was walking.  When I feel annoyed and frustrated, I try to take a walk.  I usually come back feeling much better and I’m less likely to eat.
• Keep a reminder of the good things near - For me, it’s a picture of my puppy.  The same one you can see in this post.  Looking at her makes me smile.  It makes me happier and that eliminates some of the need to emotionally eat.
• Talk to a therapist - Yah, I know, therapist?!?!  What, am I crazy or something?  There’s nothing wrong with me!  I mean, sure, I’m depressed and so I eat which makes me even more depressed so clearly I’m doing self destructive things but there’s NOTHING wrong with me.  Well, maybe there isn’t, in which case you’ll waste a few bucks.  Then again, who knows, maybe it can help.

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The best solution to emotional eating is to solve the problem that’s causing the bad emotions.  I’m no expert at this but I have been making progress with my own issues.  Sometimes it’s as easy as writing them down and then writing down what, if anything you can do about them.  Try it and see if it works.  At the very least this little exercise will keep you from reaching for the chocolate

Meat, Good or Bad?

I’ve seen a number of articles floating around in the last few weeks either describing meat as the answer to all of life’s problems or calling it an unmitigated health disaster.  The Nutrition Research Center had this article about what goes into non organic meat, Mark’s Daily Apple had this article asking if red meat is unhealthy (Mark’s answer was HELL NO!), Nutrition Research Center fires back with red meat is still a deadly choice and so on and so forth.  This echoes a long time argument about the benefits of eating more or less meat along with the benefits of a vegetarian diet over a more meat inclusive one.  Let’s answer these questions one at a time.

Is Meat Unhealthy? The answer is a definite NO.  Meat is not unhealthy and is in fact a normal part of a human diet.  Your body requires protein and meat is a very good way of getting it.

Is Red Meat Unhealthy? Not necessarily.  It’s a higher in fat than a lot of other meats but that’s not really a bad thing.  Just like protein, your body needs fat to survive and red meat is a good source for fat.

So Meat Is Healthy? Depends on the type and quantity of meat you eat.  Most people eat too much meat.  Even worse, they eat too much crappy meat of the sort you find at McDonald’s or most supermarkets.  That’s bad for your health, bad for your wallet and bad for the environment.

Bad For The Environment? Yes, factory farming of meat causes a giant mess when it comes to pollution.  It also depends on factory farming of corn which is an environmental mess all of its own.

So Which Meat Should I Eat? I would recommend finding a local provider of organic, free range beef or chicken.  You can find most of these at a supermarket, but if you really want the high quality stuff I would recommend going to the farmers market.  My local farmers market has a stall offering a variety of organic meats plus sausages made from game meats like venison and rabbit.  All of these choices are great for you and great for the environment.  You could also look on sites like Eat Wild where you can find local farms with grass fed meats.  Again, good for you, good for the environment and good for the local economy!  Or just make friends with your local hunter.

What About Sea Food? Sea food is another good choice.  Check out the the Monterey Aquarium site for the types of seafood to buy and when.  Again, you could make friends with your local fisherman or grab a pole and go fishing for your meals.  Hard to argue with fresh, healthy food that’s essentially free.  Plus, you get to spend some time in the great outdoors.

How Much Meat Is Too Much? Hard to answer that without knowing more about you.  In general though, the habit of eating meat with every single meal of the day is too much.  Try to limit yourself to just one serving of meat per day at most.  Trust me, it’s not that hard.

Is A Vegetarian Diet Healthy? It can be.  However, I can easily call myself a vegetarian by living on nothing more than Oreo cookies and coke, and that would definitely be UNhealthy.  Being vegetarian is not in and of itself a healthy thing.  However, on average, vegetarians do tend to be healthier.  Some people argue that’s because the sort of folks who tend to be vegetarian also tend to pay more attention to what they eat.  That could be.   Either way, a vegetarian lifestyle can be a very healthy one, but you still need to take note of what you’re eating.

Should Vegetarians Go Organic Too? Sure.  Just like factory processed meats are bad for you, so are factory processed veggie meals.  The closer you can get your food to the way mother nature intended it to be, the better you’ll be.

Can A Vegetarian Diet Be Unhealthy? Sure, see the above note on oreos and coke.  Also, vegetarians can end up with some nutritional deficiencies if they’re not careful just like meat eaters can end up overweight and obese if they don’t pay attention.  Again, it all comes down to paying attention to what you eat.

Which Diet Do You Follow? I am mostly (95%) vegetarian.  I eat meat once or twice a week at most, and I try to only eat quality, organic meats rather than the factory processed crap you find at most restaurants.

Do You Get Enough Protein That Way? More than enough.  Most people eat too much protein just as they eat too much carbs.  In fact, most people just eat too much of everything.  I get plenty of protein through my rare meat entrees, dairy, eggs and a variety of vegetables.  Here are my personal rules for eating healthy.

Conclusion

So to sum things up, meat is neither healthy nor unhealthy and the same applies to being a vegetarian.  As with all things, it comes down to the details.  Eat in moderation, get your food in as close to a natural state as possible and pay attention to what you eat.  Follow those rules and you’ll be fine.

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Yes, even bacon can be healthy but THIS can never be healthy…

Healthy Meal Idea - Stir Fry

Thank you to a very special someone who made me walk the walk and not just talk the talk this weekend :)  Thanks to her, I have a brand new healthy recipe to share with all of you.

Ingredients (for two people)

• 1/2 red pepper
• 1 large carrot
• 1 large stalk of broccoli
• 2 handfuls of snap peas
• 4 leaves of red chard
• a few pieces of garlic
• Noodles
• Some type of protein (we used tofu)

Preparations

1. Chop up all the veggies into small pieces.  Cut diagonally for things like the carrots to provide more surface area.  By the way, I learned a new thing about broccoli this weekend.  Once you chop the broccoli bits off the stalk, you can strip the stalk of the fibery outer bits and eat the insides.  It tastes great!  Mix in the newly chopped veggies with the minced up garlic.
2. While you’re chopping the veggies, boil some water and dump in the noodles so they can start cooking.
3. Fry up the tofu (or protein of your choice) and then remove from the pan.  This should only take a minute or two but could vary depending on your choice of protein.
4. When the noodles are ready, remove them from the boiling water
5. By now all your veggies are chopped up, your tofu is fried and your noodles are out of water.  Mix everything up and dump into a fry pan with a bit of olive oil on the bottom.  Fry for a few minutes and season with whatever you want.  We used soy sauce and curry.
6. Fry for 2 or 3 minutes and you’re done!

Effort Required

Almost zero.  With two people working on this, and my contribution consisted mainly of chopping some veggies and making smart ass comments, the meal took less than 20 minutes to make.

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Oh, and for a truly healthy dinner, finish this up with some fresh strawberries for dessert, like we did!

Week 2 of No Soda or Candy

It’s been a week now since I stopped drinking any soda or eating candy and I got to say, I feel GOOD!  Some of that could be due to the fact that I’ve been getting more sleep lately.  However, I got very little sleep last night and I still felt good this morning.  Usually, even after a night with a decent amount of sleep, I would get to work and feel like taking a nap.  I would keep feeling this way until well into the afternoon or at least until I had my first diet coke.

I had the same experience while at school this weekend.  I used to be unable to make it through a class without at least one diet coke.  This weekend I was able to make it through all of my classes without feeling sleepy even once.  Well, actually, I did feel sleepy once but hey, you try paying attention to a three hour lecture about stock option pricing formulas and we’ll see how awake you are!

Regardless, I think I underestimated how much I had grown dependent on caffeine.  I picked it up again towards the end of last year as a way of treating myself when I felt down or depressed, but I always thought it was just a casual habit.  Turns out I had become a caffeine addict without even noticing it to the point where I was unable to stay awake through many parts of my life without a shot of caffeine.

Which is why I’m incredibly happy now to say that I’m done with caffeine.  I think this is one part of the 30 day promise that I will have no problem maintaining long term.  I feel better without it and I no longer need the artificial pick me up to feel better about my day.

Ahh Candy, My Old Friend!

The candy part, that’s a different story.  I love candy.  Actually, let me correct that, I love sugar, especially processed sugar in all its glory.  Sure, I can enjoy an apple or an orange but there’s something about candy, especially good chocolate, that drives me a little crazy.  It’s an incredible pleasure for me, as you can see in some of my previous posts.

In the past, I was able to control my consumption of chocolate to a reasonable amount.  However, I also recognize that there were time when I binged on sugar in a way that was extremely unhealthy.  So I was looking forward to trying out this 30 day experiment and seeing how I felt.  Unfortunately, temptation has proven a worthy foe.  While I have cut out nearly all processed sugar from my diet last week, I have fallen victim to the occasional brownie at lunch.  I know I shouldn’t eat them, I’ve told myself not to and yet, I still do.

At the same time, I’m not going to beat myself up over this occasional lapse.  I have decreased my processed sugar consumption by an amazing amount last week and I would rather focus on this accomplishment rather than my slightly less than perfect success rate.  The decrease in sugar is not having as big of an impact on my body as the removal of caffeine but I do find myself craving sugar less and less, so perhaps there is something going on here.

So Far So Good

Either way, I am exceedingly happy with how this 30 day experiment is going so far.  It’s had a very positive effect within a week of starting out and I feel like this is going to have a long term impact on my eating habits and health.

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Thank you to Fitbuff for including a recent 60 in 3 article in their latest Total Mind and Body Carnival.

The Seven Deadly Sins of Personal Fitness

Forgive me for the dramatic title, I rewatched Se7en last night.  A very dark and depressing movie, but also a very good one.

However, here they are in no specific order, the seven worst things you can do to yourself when you’re trying to be healthy.

Gluttony

Gluttony is an obvious one, you eat too much.  However, as obvious as it is, it’s still the number 1 problem for most people struggling with their health.  How can this possibly be?  It’s not rocket science after all.  You can figure out how many calories you need to eat per day and you can find out how many calories you’re eating.  If the second number is higher than the first, you’re eating too much.  It’s that simple.

Little tricks to avoid gluttony:

• Drink water - Sodas, coffee and juices are a big source of uncounted calories.  That is, calories you are consuming but forget to include in your calculations.
• Eat vegetables - Your body is concerned with volume.  That is, it wants a certain amount of food per day and it measures this amount in terms of the space it fills, not the calories it has.  Vegetables fill a lot of space with very little calories.  So eat more of them and you’ll feel full without packing in the calories.
• Avoid restaurants - Make or buy your own food so that you know what’s in it.  That’s a good way to avoid all the hidden fat that restaurants will sometimes pack into their food to make it taste better.

Greed

Ahh yes, greed.  I want it all and I want it now.  Guess what, there are no quick solutions to health and fitness, no matter how much money you have to spend.  Liposuction won’t make you healthy and buying that new $2000 home gym won’t either.  Being healthy can be done with no money but it does require a lot of time.  In fact, it requires a life long commitment to living a healthy life.

Tips to avoid greed:

• Reasonable time frame for losing weight is 1 to 2lbs per week.  Any program that promises you more is either unhealthy or lying to you.
• The best gym equipment you can get is a pair of comfortable running / walking shoes and those shouldn’t cost you more than $50 or $60.  If you’re paying more for gear, you’re wasting money.

Sloth

Another obvious one.  If you spend your days sitting on the couch doing nothing, you’re not leading a healthy lifestyle.  Again, this is a no brainer and yet it’s the number 2 problem for most people, right behind gluttony.  Again, it’s fairly simple folks.  Our bodies evolved in a lifestyle that demanded movement.  We walked, hunted and sometimes ran for our lives.  You don’t need to go out and hunt any mammoths but you should get off your ever expanding butt once in a while.

Tips for avoiding sloth:

• Walk often.  Walking is amazing exercise and you should do it as often as you can.  Walk to the store, walk to work, walk for fun.  Walk for 30 minutes or more EVERY DAY.
• Watching TV is probably the worst possible use for your time.  It dulls your brain and ruins your body.  Unless you’re watching PBS while doing jumping jacks and push ups, you should think about turning that idiot tube off and finding something better to do with your time.
• Workout.  Your muscles need a challenge.  They were designed for hunting, you’re using them for typing.  Go find something heavy and lift it multiple times.
• Have fun.  The best workouts are the ones you don’t consider a workout.  Find a hobby that includes a lot of movement and do it often.  That new hobby could be dancing, hiking, biking or horse back riding.  Whatever it is, enjoy it.

Lust

Ooooh, my favorite.   Actually, lust isn’t really a sin when it comes to fitness.  Sex can be a great exercise, especially if you get a bit energetic about it.  For those of you who can achieve this “workout routine”, 20 minutes of wild sex, three times a day is a great way to get your daily exercise!

Tips for lust:

• err… I’m going to stay quiet on this one.  If you really need sex tips, I’m pretty sure you can find them on the internet somewhere…

Vanity

Vanity is both good and bad when it comes to fitness.  Yes, it feels good to look good and being fit can certainly help in the looks department.  In that respect, a little vanity is a good thing because it’s great motivation.  However, vanity can also be a bad thing when we focus too much on our looks and stop thinking about our health.  That’s because modern culture has given us an image of what is beautiful that is not very healthy.  Stick thin models are considered the ideal, which is doing horrible things to our body image and self confidence.

Tips for avoiding the pitfalls of vanity:

• Avoid the magazines.  The pictures they show are unhealthy, not to mention frequently photoshopped.  Want to see a healthy ideal?  Go see dancers perform or go to an amateur sporting event.  Those folks are healthy and they look great.
• If you start adopting unhealthy habits in the name of your looks, please see a professional.  If you’re starving yourself, purging after meal or any other kind of destructive behavior, please seek help.  I am not an expert but as someone who has struggled with some body image issues, I hope you get better and I wish you the very best.
• Keep in mind that low weight does NOT equal good health.  If you’re focusing on weight alone, you’re not focusing on being healthy.

Envy

Ahh envy, my old friend.  We always want what we don’t have and that can be a good thing sometimes, if it’s used as motivation.  For example, when I first started out reshaping my life, I was very envious of those who were in great shape.  Then I realized that being fit was something I could accomplish on my own.  That’s the interesting thing about fitness and health.  Sure, you may not be an Olympic athlete, but you can be really healthy if you try.  You don’t need to be envious of those who are fit, you just need to use them as an example.

Tips for the envy crowd:

• If you’re curious about how someone got so fit, ask them.  Believe me, most gym goers would be flattered if you ask them for advice.
• Remember, fitness isn’t something you buy with money.  That’s a good thing because it means that, with enough time, you can be fit too.   No need to be jealous
• Find a partner to workout with.  Misery may love company but so does success.

Wrath

And finally wrath, my best friend.  Wrath in fitness is less about anger and more about frustration.  You get on the scale and somehow you’ve gained weight instead of lost it.  You walk in the gym and you’re out of breath within seconds.  You work hard but your blood pressure is still too high.  It’s all so frustrating and you’re tempted to just give up and stop trying.  I know, I’ve been there.

Relax, don’t get frustrated and remember the following things:

• Your body didn’t get the way it did in a week nor can you fix it in a day.  It took years to get where you are and it might take years to get better.  Relax and enjoy the journey.  As long as you’re making good progress, you’re ok.
• Again, find a partner.  It’s a great way of reducing the frustration level.
• Try a boxing workout.  Nothing better to get out some anger out than punching a bag for an hour.
• Find something you enjoy.  The best workout isn’t the one designed for maximum muscle gain, it’s the one you like and will keep doing.  Sure, a workout needs to physically challenge you but it should also be enjoyable or else you’re not going to do it.

Summary

Well, it took some doing but I think I’ve taken a bit of biblical trivia, combined it with an excellent movie and twisted it into a fitness article.  What can I say, I’m an artist!

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On Friday, I’ll do the seven cardinal virtues!

5 Healthy Snack Ideas

What, did you think I didn’t snack?  Oh no, I snack.  I snack a lot!  There’s nothing wrong with snacking as long as you do it in a healthy way.  In fact, healthy snacking can be good because it keeps you from being too hungry and overeating at meal times.  The problem is in finding healthy snacks.

For example, most people think healthy snacks are those little baby carrots, and yes, if all you ate was that, it would be healthy.  Unfortunately, most people eat those little baby carrots with a large heap of ranch sauce, which makes them less than healthy.  So what is a healthy snack that is both satisfying and not bad for you?  Well, here are some ideas to keep satiated during the day:

Cheese - Yes, you heard me, cheese.  As long as you don’t eat too much of it, cheese can be an excellent snack.  It has a lot of good fat and protein, which means it will make you feel full, which is the best part of a snack.  Just be careful in how much of it you eat.  Often times I’ll grab a small piece of cheese, around 1 or 2 bites worth and use that as a snack.

Fruit - Stay away from dry fruit, it’s got too much calorie and sugar in it without enough water content.  However, fresh fruit is an excellent snack.  It’s sweet, which will satisfy a lot of your cravings, but has enough water volume to be relatively calorie poor for the amount you eat.  My favorites are apples and oranges.

Potato - No no, not all those potato products like french fries and chips.  I’m talking about a whole potato, peel included.  Simply take one and either bake it or microwave it until it’s soft through and through.  Make sure not to use one of those giant potatoes you find at the supermarket.  Find a small one, no more than a couple of inches across.  And no, don’t smother it in sour cream and butter if you want it to stay healthy.

Nuts - Not just for squirrels anymore!  Nuts are small packages of high quality fat and protein.  Don’t eat too many of them since they are high in calories, but a handful of walnuts, cashews or almonds goes a long way towards satisfying my cravings.

Jerky - For you non vegetarians out there, jerky is a great option for a snack.  It’s chewey, which means you won’t be eating it too quickly.  It’s relatively lean and it’s full of protein to make you feel full.  Make sure you pick one of the higher quality varieties and not the junk you find at most 7-11’s.

One thing to note with all of these snacks is that you should have a small serving of them and then stop.  I know that sounds obvious but you’d be surprised by how many people don’t do this.  You need to give your body at least 20 to 30 minutes to realize you’ve eaten something before you consider eating more.  So take a small portion and then walk away for a while.  30 minutes later, if you’re still feeling hungry, you may want to snack again, but don’t just stand there at cashew box and eat handful after handful.  By the time your body lets you know it’s full, you’ll have eaten way too much.

Sinful Indulgence

Anyone here know what Lindt truffles are?  I’ll give you a hint, they’re like a small package of sin, dipped in temptation and then wrapped up in a bit of hedonistic pleasure.  Yes, they’re that good.  A single bite into one of their milk chocolate truffles and I close my eyes in sweet surrender to the chocolate gods.  There’s that moment when I bite deep into the truffle and the creamy filling spills out in all its chocolaty glory that’s like…. well, you can guess what it’s like. 

Yes, I love Lindt truffles.  They are to me the epitome of candy.  You may or may not agree and that’s your right.  Certainly different people have different tastes.  However, what you all can probably agree on is “why the heck is he talking like this about chocolate on a fitness website?”  And the answer is, this is EXACTLY the way I should be talking about chocolate on a fitness website.  In fact, if I didn’t talk like this about chocolate then I should be worried.

Let me explain.

Deprivation Sucks!

What comes to mind when I say healthy eating?  Is it tasty vegetarian meals?  Is it wonderful salads filled with zest and flavor?  Nope, of course not.  Most people, including myself sometimes, think of bland lettuce, horrible rice cakes, endless baby carrots, no more steaks, no more chocolate and no more ice cream FOREVER!  You think I’m kidding and maybe I am exaggerating a bit, but not by much.  Really, healthy eating has quite a few negative connotations in peoples’ minds and very few positive ones.  People are not willing to look at healthy eating with an open mind and consider the possibility that we may enjoy it.  We choose instead to focus on the bad side of healthy eating and convince ourselves that we’re going to hate it.

So first of all, let’s get rid of that myth.  Healthy eating can be very tasty.  There are hundreds of recipes out there for healthy breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks that you will enjoy just as much as those steaks and ice cream.  In fact, once you open yourself up to the idea, I’m guessing that you’ll find a healthy diet to be far more enjoyable than your previous unhealthy one.  Because, not only will you be healthy, but you’ll also gain a greater appreciation for those sinful indulgences like chocolate.  You’ll start talking about Lindt truffles as a religious experience and not as a guilty mid morning snack.

A Moment To Savor

Think back to that description I gave of the chocolate eating experience.  To me, that’s a little slice of heaven, a moment to savor and enjoy.  Now guess what happened when I walked into the Lindt outlet in New York a few days ago?  I bought a bag full of these truffles and took them back to my hotel room.  I eagerly spilled them all out of their bag, sorted them by flavor (yes, I’m a little CDO which is just like OCD only the letters are in the right order!!!) and started eating.

The first truffle was chocolate nirvana.  White chocolate outside with a creamy white chocolate filling.  Flavor everywhere.  Senses overwhelmed by the richness and sweetness of the chcolate.  Taste buds overloading on sensation and brain succumbing to pure pleasure.  The second truffle was almost as good.  My taste buds were a little overwhelmed by the first chocolate but still aware enough to note the difference in flavors since this one was a milk chocolate truffle.  My head was still buzzing and my eyes closed as I focused on the unadulterated joy of consuming chocolate.

The third truffle was a little plain.  Sure it was sweet and yes it was very creamy but where was the richness?  Where was the chorus of angels singing in my head as I nibbled on chocolate and drank in the dark and sensual flavor of the filling?  Well, maybe it was just the dark chocolate, let’s try another white chocolate one to be sure!  I bite into this fourth truffle and… well, it’s nice, but there’s nothing else.  No heavenly choir, no blind lust, no emotional catharsis, nothing

What’s my point?  Well, the point is that even with things as exceptional as Lindt truffles, too much of a good thing becomes something quite ordinary.  Having too many of these chocolates at once made them less tasty.  Having them too often would do the same.  Instead of a rare sinful indulgence, they would become common place.  Their special quality would be cheapened and I would be left with nothing but empty wrappers and guilt.

The same applies to many other things by the way.  Take your morning coffee as an example.  How many of you feel like something a monkey flung out of a cage until you get that early morning latte?  Are you really enjoying it or are you barely existing until you drink it?  Is it your caffeinated nirvana which puts a smile on your face or is it a daily caffeine pill without which you are miserable?  Personally, I don’t drink much caffeine.  Whole weeks can pass without me touching a diet coke.  Which means that when I do consume caffeine, I really feel it.  Rather than reducing caffeine to a daily (or hourly!) addiction without which I am lost and grouchy, I savor the rare occasions during which I consume it and enjoy the side effects.

Again, what’s my point?

Rare Pleasure Vs. Every Day Habit

My diet is relatively healthy.  I am mostly, although not completely, vegetarian.  I don’t eat much candy or junk food.  I don’t consume much caffeine or any liquid other than water.  The foods I eat are wonderfully tasty and very filling.  At the same time, I do sometimes indulge in things like Lindt truffles, a caffeinated soda or something like sushi.  By eating this way I get the best of both worlds.  I have a healthy diet filled with great food AND I get those amazing eating experiences that only come by once in a rare while.  In other words, I get to enjoy my virtuous lifestyle and I derive far more enjoyment from the occasional sinful pleasure.

That’s the reality of a healthy lifestyle.  It’s not a lifestyle of deprivation, it’s not a lifestyle of scarcity and constant hunger.  It’s a lifestyle full of pleasure made even better by not being commonplace.  It’s a lifestyle where every day feels good and some days feel incredible, because that’s what you get when you make an everyday occasion into a once in a while pleasure.  So you can take your steak every day and your cereal every morning and your dessert with every meal.  These things have become common place to you, they have gone from incredible pleasure to every day necessity.  I’ll gladly trade them for the happiness of health and the pleasure of the occasional indulgence.  I’d rather derive true enjoyment from these things on the rare occasions I consume them.  On other days I’ll be finding pleasure in things like not being out of breath when I climb the stairs, not being unable to see my toes, not being afraid of a heart attack and other such simple pleasures that are a daily part of a healthy lifestyle.

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Thank you to Me-Ander for posting a 60 in 3 article in their latest carnival and to Weight Master blog for doing the same in their latest weight loss carnival.

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