Most diets focus on what to eat and what not to eat–let’s dig into our food attitudes.
What we eat is important–but that’s not the be-all-end-all in discovering healthy eating habits.
I love eating, I enjoy the taste of foods and I also feel a mental benefit from the act of eating. Like so many others I learned self-soothing through eating at a young age. Over the years I have developed unhealthy eating habits with the false understanding that more food = happiness.
Now that I am ready to face these habits I’ve decided to reduce my carbs and sugars to lose unhealthy weight. After a few months of dramatically changing my diet, I’ve discovered that my habits are not just about what I’m eating but also when, why, and how much.
In the first few weeks of changing my diet I lost about 15 pounds, the next 6 weeks I stuck with the diet guidelines BUT I didn’t lose more weight. What gives?
I looked closely at what, why, and when I was eating. Though I wasn’t eating breads, potatoes, and refined sugar sweets I was eating with the same attitude as I have for most of my life. My poor habits looked like this:
- “pig-out” sessions with keto chocolate and peanut butter
- reaching for snacks when I wasn’t hungry
- cleaning my plate
- indulging in cheese-laden foods
The internet has no shortage of recipes, including healthy hacks. If you’ve spent some time looking up Keto diet alternatives for crackers, tortillas, etc. you’ll know that most are reliant on cheese and eggs. In moderation whole foods are good, however, if my whole day of food is focused on cheese recipes and how I can add peanut butter to my veggies then I’m overdoing the indulging.
I’m a firm believer in eating what you enjoy–I’m not about to live on celery and protein shakes.
I’m fortunate that I enjoy vegetables, cooked and raw. However, when I’m feeling emotionally depleted I’m not interested in an awesome salad. I’m craving tacos, a jumbo stuffed potato, or half of a pie. Truth be told I have in fact eaten half of a pie in one sitting–not my best moments.
I tried to make taco shells from cheese–it works! Spread some cheese on a good frying pan let it brown, flip, then drape it over wide dowel to let it firm up into a hard taco shape. It’s ready to fill with your favorite protein and fresh veggies (don’t forget the guac) eat and enjoy. They’re a bit messy but so are traditional tacos! Once I discovered these delicious low-carb tacos I kept eating them, they were on my diet full of protein and veg.
But how did the tacos make my body feel?
Listening to my body is a new endeavor for me. Some people seem to learn this at a young age, and some of us need to learn how to listen to our body cues later in life. One thing that I’m learning is how quickly I can dismiss body cues. I can tell when something I ate gives me tummy-rumbles, but the next day I choose not to remember. Listening to my body is a two-step process for me. First, recognize how I feel, and second make mental notes and remember them.
These cheese-based tacos could be a once-in-a-while treat but not a standard in my diet.
This realization leads me to open my thoughts to why I want to keep eating tacos.
My food attitude is not about the what, in the past, I would grab a cookie at the grocery store to eat in the car on my way home or pick up a pizza when I didn’t want to cook. But now that I’m not eating cookies and pizza I still have this same attitude and it’s not about pizza, the attitude is about the motivation behind the craving.
Taking a moment to stop and think “am I hungry?” when I open the fridge; is a great intro to changing my food attitude.
The other moment to stop and think about is “Why am I heading to cheese?” Once I’ve decided that I am hungry if the first thing I think of to eat is cheese-based then I take a moment to look at where my feelings are. Am I feeling emotionally depleted and I think that a hefty meal is the answer? This is generally the case for me. So, my next step is to close my eyes and envision a plate of sauteed broccoli and salmon or a salad full of protein, veggies, and a little cheese. What I have found is that when I take this moment and visualize a better-for-me alternative my feelings respond and align to my goals in changing my food attitude.
All my health changes happen when I’m clear in my intentions and stop myself from reacting emotionally.
