Comfort food works, unfortunately it is a temporary patch. I came across an article somewhere that claimed that every culture has their comfort food. It is often associated with something good from childhood. This summer I had planned to loose 10 more lbs, then the fit-hit-the-shan. I am not sleeping well. I am anxious and stressed out. I am turning to comfort food. It does calm me down. However, loosing weight is simply not happening. I came across an article that gave 3 diet tips. What interested me was the hungry to full scale. I realized that during my childhood I experienced ones and twos often. The sad thing was there was enough food in the house, I just wasn't allowed to eat it. My mother would diet and expect me to adhere to something similar not taking into account that I was growing and needed more calories. I remember eating rolls out of the school garbage cans because other kids would throw them away. Then they put a teacher by the garbage cans so I couldn't get them. I would beg the other kids at school to give me there rolls. I remember stacking 4 rolls around my lunch box feeling quite please knowing that I was not going to go hungry that day. I still love rolls. I even found a recipe that I am looking forward to trying that is supposed to be like the cafeteria rolls.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/school-lunchroom-cafeteria-rolls/
Here is the link to the article with a guide on what hungry feels like:
http://www.active.com/a3_articles/5ab05196-7253-4c4d-84d4-b2abf4073ca7/1?dob=19821016%2000%3A00&gender=F&page=1
The article is specifically for people in training for marathons but the information was helpful to me too. MyFitnessPal is teaching me what a portion is and works as my food journal. I am doing my own research for eating right for me. I also learned that feeling hungry is a major trigger for me. I go with 3 meals a day with two snacks. I am doing Judy's suggestion to trade out something high calorie, high sugar for something with better nutrition. Cherries are better than M&Ms. I am not perfect but so far I am maintaining weight when normally I would eat everything I could. I am learning that comfort food is only comfortable when I feel good about what I am eating. If I eat and feel guilty and upset it is not healthy for me. I also have to remind myself it I eat "normally" I am not eating enough because I am feeling hungry all the time. Changing what I eat, portions, and saying yes to chocolate I am improving my health. The last round of test my cholesterol counts was well within normal range without medication. Comfort food is changing now. Comfort food is knowing I am eating what I need to feel good and be healthy.
5 comments:
Funny, the first picture doesn't interest me at all. The second picture is disturbing... eating the baby... *shiver* :-P The last one, yep, I'll take it, all, every last bite. :-) The joy of pictures is I can enjoy without adding a single calorie.
You are amazing.
Your little body was craving carbohydrates because as a child (and as adults) we need them for long-term energy. They also effect neurotransmitters in the brain-so you felt BETTER when you ate the roll-until you were deprived of them secondary to your "Mother's" Projections re: weight and food: That was HER "stuff" she was sticking on you so you were unwittingly in your child's natural naivety placed in the Classic Double Bind: Eat the roll and almost immediately feel better and then, "guilty" for eating them. How sad a child should be deprived of a roll or a piece of bread...
I am so very sorry you were so hungry-especially craving a *particular* food as a growing little one. I use to timidly and quietly ask for a piece of bread from my MN "Mother" because I was starving-and the only "food" I was starving FOR was a piece of bread. I wasn't ever a "picky eater"-under pain of rage or other forms of abuse: I ate everything. There was always terror around food, dinner and the volatile mixture of my MN "Mother" and Dad-especially when my MN "Mother" was on some sort of "diet."
Rant Ahead ;) Please understand I grew up in an affluent household so it wasn't about POVERTY or lack, it was about Power and Control/Withholding over or from a child simply because my MN "Mother" could-deprive me of the one thing I wanted most, that I had the audacity to quietly request or even in response to her invited inquiry: Is this Theme not indicative of *all* of our experiences?
This is *not* just about food, IMO. That which we *most desired* whether it's a particular bit of food or in response to the sadistic "Ohh, please TELL ME, what would you would *most like*?" (smirk) I learned from the time I was 2 or 3 I "wasn't worth" anything including a piece of bread because as a child you can be certain, it would NOT be given. How premeditatedly sadistic and contrived to ensure your child would *not* be given a roll, a piece of bread, an inexpensive little plastic toy on their "Special Day" and then after, having thank my MN "Mother" profusely for what ever she deigned I should receive as a "gift" (or deprive me of a piece of plain old piece of white bread) and hide my disappointment, my burning shame: To deny a hungry child a very simple request.
IMO, specific cravings especially as a little one are indicative of something our bodies NEED. Your desperation to actually take the rolls from the trash, especially as you were such a "good girl" and her response-which *had* to be involved-resulted in "Trash Can Monitors" least her little child pilfer a damn ROLL. From the TRASH. Just because she COULD.
Oh Ruth, I'd make you rolls from scratch, all you ever wanted if you were my child. Warm from the oven, slathered with real butter simply because you were my child and I loved you and *it made you happy.* Something so simple would bring me joy because it bought you, my child, joy. Obviously, food is a topic for me as well-can't cha tell?! ;) Because I KNOW what it's like to be hungry even as an adult. I was dxd. as what would now be called "Failure to Thrive" as an infant because my (VERY WELL EDUCATED) medical professional "Mother" (NO PPD involved here at all, no "lack" of "Household Help") couldn't be bothered to feed me. My Dad became so concerned as I became more listless (I just stopped crying-why bother?) he bought me to the pediatrician who told him I was starving and to feed me all I wanted when ever I wanted. To this day, I have to think about being hungry, remind myself to eat something at least once a day. And yk what? If it's a handful of potato chips, a bit of fruit-SO WHAT?! Sometimes I make english muffins nicely toasted with lots of butter when ever I want 'em! SO THERE, "MOTHER!" ;)
So here-let's have some rolls, Ruth! To go along with our chocolate ;)
TW
TW, would it be all right for me to use your comment as a post? You describe so exactly the craziness of depriving a child of food just because you can. Thanks. I love english muffins toasted with butter too. :)
Ruth, I would be honored if you felt anything I offered, any of my experiences would be worth a Post or your time.
Thank you. You have given me far more than I can express.
TW
Thanks TW.
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