drop the fork

Who's In Control?

Do you have certain foods that you don’t feel you have any control over? That once you start eating them, you can’t stop? If you do, it’s not surprising . . . many people have so-called “red light” foods that they have difficulty with.

I no longer have any red light foods. I used to . . . Not many, but for sure, I had problems with Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies. (Bet I’m not the only one, either.) Once I would open a sleeve of ‘em, I’d rarely stop eating them until the whole sleeve was gone. I also have a special place in my heart for kettle-cooked potato chips. (A show of hands, please . . . how many of you love chips???)

Recently, though, you know what I did? I threw out some Thin Mints that had been in my fridge since spring. I just never finished them, and eventually, they got stale. So, I pitched ‘em. They don't have any power over me any more.

Fear of certain foods is very common, in my observation. Many times, folks are afraid to even buy certain foods, for fear that they will not be able to control how much they eat. I can understand that . . . but at the same time, I think it’s very important that you not let food control you.

My take? It’s just food. It only has control over you if YOU give it that control. I understand that your past history with a particular “red light” food might cause you to believe that you are helpless in the face of, say, a plate of brownies. I also think, though, that you can change your attitude toward those brownies . . . and take away their power over you. Setting aside any physiological “addictions” to food (which I consider to be much rarer than widely believed), I think it is possible to retrain your mind, and your attitudes, towards those “fearful” foods.

I actually don’t remember consciously identifying certain foods as being a problem for me, while I was losing weight; it’s only recently that I’ve ID’d some of the more problematic foods for me . . . and thought about why they aren’t problems for me any more. I don’t do the binge thing; for me it was a matter of grazing all day (and forgetting what I’d eaten). But I know well the siren song of certain foods that “call” to you from the kitchen. Here’s how I learned to shut ‘em up.

It’s pretty simple, really. Whenever I was tempted by some chips or brownies, or a plate of goodies in the office kitchen, I would think to myself, “Do I have room for this in my food plan today?” If the answer was “yes,” I would have a small portion of whatever (Christmas cookie, jelly beans, ice cream). But if the answer was “no,” then I’d use one of the following to stifle that little “gotta have it!” voice in my head:

1. They’re not going to stop making this anyway soon, so my not having any today doesn’t mean I can never have it again.

2. Ooh, that looks really good, but I already know what it tastes like. I don’t need a reminder right now.

3. I don’t have room for this now, but (tomorrow, next week, next month) I’ll make an effort to fit this in, because it looks really good, and I’ve not had any for a while. (This remains one of my favorite strategies.)

4. Hey, no way am I taking orders from a COOKIE! (Or brownie, or slice of pizza, or piece of cake . . .)

If I do decide that I can have a treat, I limit the amount I have by, again, telling myself that _____ isn’t going to disappear from the face of the earth, and if I really want some, I can have some tomorrow, or the next day, or whatever. That usually takes care of things.

Weight loss and maintenance, when you get right down to it, is nothing more than food management. You and I both have to manage our money, right? Or we won’t have enough money to pay our bills. Being kicked out of our house is not a pleasant thought, so most of us manage to control our financial budget so that we can pay the mortgage! Controlling our food budget is not all that different: a hankering for a brownie is similar, in some ways, to that longing for that gorgeous handbag at Nordstrom‘s. If we’re smart, we’ll budget our money (or our points or calories) to get what we want. It may mean that we have to hold off on enjoyment for a bit: instant gratification and smart money (or food) management don’t often go together.

So, think about it . . . Does food really control, you? Or is it possible that you merely THINK it does? If you want some freedom to indulge in your “red light” foods, start small: first, enjoy a single serving portion of whatever it is, away from your house. Buy it at a restaurant, for example, or in a single-serving package. Next, experiment with bringing the food into your house -- again, in single serving portions. At some point, you may find that you can (gasp!) actually have a big bag of a now-FORMER “red light” food in your house . . . without any problems.

Most important: don’t hide from food! If you fear a certain food because you‘ve had poor control over it in the past, you are unlikely to improve that control if you continue to hide. Your chances of conquering your food fears are best if you meet them head-on. Just remember to start small, and go as slowly as you need to.

Finally: don’t deprive yourself. The best way to lose weight is slowly, in a way that doesn’t result in deprivation. If you simply can’t imagine living without pizza, then have some, for Pete's sake! Real pizza, too: not that low-calorie version that some diet cookbooks would have you eat. Just remember that you can’t eat it all the time, or in unlimited quantities. But have it you can, if you plan for it.

I discovered, over time, that once I was free to enjoy anything I wanted, I no longer wanted everything. My “red light” foods lost their power to tempt me in a serious way. I can’t guarantee that my approach will work for you; however, if you give it a try, it may help. Just remember to take it at YOUR own pace.

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Carbo Loading

Tomorrow, I’m planning to bike my first metric century of the year. I’ve only managed to do a couple of these since my right knee started bothering me on the Princeton Event in August 2004 (but that’s another story). Most of my rides of late have been 50 miles or less.

OK, you’re probably wondering why I’m starting off a “weight loss and maintenance” post by talking about biking?

Because today, I’ve been preparing for it . . . by eating.

Sometimes I’m slow, but I generally manage to figure things out, eventually. Some time last year (while biking half of the Civil War Century, in fact), I came to the realization that I tend to bike a heckuva lot better if I’m well-fed.

In the past two years or so, I’ve had two pretty bad rides -- ones where I ran out of gas. Dragged my butt to the finish line, feeling puny. In looking back at my food logs, I realized that I had not eaten nearly enough the day before. So, I started experimenting with deliberately eating more before a big event, both the day before and the day of.

And -- it's made a pretty big difference. What I usually do is eat maybe 500 extra calories the day prior; sometimes a bit more. I focus on getting more carbs: pasta, bread, whatever. And the morning of the event, I have a fairly substantial breakfast. It makes the difference between doing the drag-ass thing, and finishing feeling stronger than when I started.

Yeah, I know, competitive athletes know this . . . and I also knew it, at least in theory. But while I learned pretty quickly to eat well the day of an event (especially afterward), I hadn’t really focused on applying the same theory to preparation, the way I would have if I were competing in a race.

But really, when you think about it, a long bike ride, even one done purely for fun, is just as much as an endurance event as a race. And it requires equal attention to good nutrition.

Another thing that tends to get in the way: if you've had a weight problem all your life, you tend to think in terms of caloric restriction . . . not deliberate overeating, even if for a good reason. Even with all I've learned through Weight Watchers -- about "flexible restraint," about eating well, but not forbidding myself anything -- it has taken me several years to actually realize that there are times when I NEED to eat more, deliberately. And that it's not going to hurt me. It's one thing to know something intellectually, and another to actually be able to recognize that it's applicable to your life and your activities.

So, today I did something I’ve not done before: I formally set my calorie ration for the day to a higher level: up to 3,000 calories. (I did a 24-mile ride today, and part of that total was to cover what I burned on that, as well.)

I never thought I would ever say this, but I found it a little difficult to take in that much . . . in a way that did not include a lot of junk. (We all know how easy it is to rack up the calories eating greasy food, right?)

So, what did I have? Well, I don’t know that I went about this perfectly, but the result was not too bad. I had a cherry scone and a skim mocha for breakfast. After my ride, I grabbed a wheat beer, had a piece of naan with lowfat cheese melted on it, and some cashews. For snacks, I had a Panera bagel with lowfat cream cheese, and some Edy’s Slow Churn reduced fat ice cream (oh, boy, is that good stuff!).

And for dinner I had turkey meatloaf, some stir-fried (in olive oil) whole grain pasta, two sliced tomatoes, and mixed veggies.

I’m contemplating a glass of wine, in just a few minutes. And maybe a banana or some berries. That’ll pretty much round out my day. Believe me when I say that I have not been hungry one nanosecond today, since I put on the feed bag.

I think it’s a testament to the mindset I’ve learned through my Weight Watchers experience, that I did not think of this as “free” or “whole hog” day. I tried hard to eat simple carbs for energy during my ride (and glycogen replacement immediately after), and more complex carbs for good health. I stayed away, for the most part, from saturated fats. I loaded on the olive oil and healthy fats from nuts.

This is just the way I eat now. It’s what I prefer.

I’m going to have fun tomorrow.