This was triggered by a blog I was browsing that had an entry that included the statement, "If I could stop when I had enough fried chicken or ice cream, all would still not be well. Truth is, when something tastes really good, I don't want to stop. I CAN stop but I don't want to."
I did not post a comment because the blogger already knows the answer and I wouldn't want to insult her intelligence by appearing to think she needed to be advised. I'm not linking it, either, because the following is not intended to be directed at her. It's a pretty general complaint.
It reminded me of two of my maternal grandmother's favorite sayings. She died years before I came along, but Mom repeated them faithfully whenever the occasion called for it.
1) Enough is as good as a feast.
2) You can have anything you want; you just can't have everything you want.
Neither of these is actually about food. Well, neither is specifically about food; they could be applied to food, but the feast one in particular is a metaphor, of course. I'm using them more literally here.
"Enough" is not the same thing as "all you want." "Enough" is enough for you to have enjoyed it. You don't have to keep on enjoying it to the detriment of your health (there can be too much of a good thing). It's not the last time you're going to to get to eat it, after all. There will always be more.
I like chocolate. I keep a jar of Hershey's Kisses in my office for dessert after lunch. A serving is nine Kisses, totaling 230 calories. "Enough," however, is two Kisses, totaling about 45 calories. I don't wolf them down, and I don't eat them hard on the heels of whatever I brought for the rest of my lunch. I eat them slowly, and enjoy them, and then I'm done. I don't think this is a willpower thing--I don't think of myself as having notable willpower. It's a mindset thing. I don't need to enjoy all nine Kisses to be satisfied. The first two are special; the rest of them are just filler.
"All you want" does not mean "everything you want," and it really doesn't mean "all you want of everything you want." Nobody in the world can eat all they want of everything they want, and be healthy. This is most obviously true if what they want is fried food and dessert; some might tolerate it better than others, but it will always catch up to them in the end. Of course, some people want healthier things than others--a four-serving bag of Brussels sprouts is, in our family, two servings, and we're likely to quibble over who took more than half and whether taking two little sprouts is the same as taking one big sprout--but it's possible to unbalance your diet with healthy food, too.
I don't declare anything off-limits. I like hamburgers, onion rings, dessert, and don't ever get between me and fried okra. I do eat anything I want. I just don't eat it in quantity and I don't eat it all the time, and I never beat myself up for having eaten it. If I want a hamburger, a Whataburger, Jr., is really just as satisfying as a whole Whataburger, it comes with all the trimmings of a whole Whataburger, and I've saved myself about a third of the calories. I don't dwell on the loss of a full-sized hamburger. I got my hamburger. It came with all the vegetables, and mustard, and jalapeños, just the way I like it. I'm happy. I don't usually get fries but, if I do, the Jr. comes with a smaller serving that is really plenty. Nobody needs a bushel-basket of French fries or onion rings. The first few are the best, anyway; after that, they're lukewarm and soggy. Why bother?
I've started jogging again, officially. I already walk as often as I can. I seem to have very little time during the week: I get home at 6:00, eat dinner, clean up, walk the dog, and then have an hour or so to squeeze in something else before taking a shower and going to bed. I gave up walking myself for awhile (walking the dog is not exercise. She's fourteen and just wants to smell things as we go. It's more like moseying the dog) but have tried to make it a priority again.
I'm good for about a block at a time right now, which is laughable, but it gets a little easier each time, and it feels great. Maybe if I stick with it, I can do the Fourth of July Fun Run next year.
I did not post a comment because the blogger already knows the answer and I wouldn't want to insult her intelligence by appearing to think she needed to be advised. I'm not linking it, either, because the following is not intended to be directed at her. It's a pretty general complaint.
It reminded me of two of my maternal grandmother's favorite sayings. She died years before I came along, but Mom repeated them faithfully whenever the occasion called for it.
1) Enough is as good as a feast.
2) You can have anything you want; you just can't have everything you want.
Neither of these is actually about food. Well, neither is specifically about food; they could be applied to food, but the feast one in particular is a metaphor, of course. I'm using them more literally here.
"Enough" is not the same thing as "all you want." "Enough" is enough for you to have enjoyed it. You don't have to keep on enjoying it to the detriment of your health (there can be too much of a good thing). It's not the last time you're going to to get to eat it, after all. There will always be more.
I like chocolate. I keep a jar of Hershey's Kisses in my office for dessert after lunch. A serving is nine Kisses, totaling 230 calories. "Enough," however, is two Kisses, totaling about 45 calories. I don't wolf them down, and I don't eat them hard on the heels of whatever I brought for the rest of my lunch. I eat them slowly, and enjoy them, and then I'm done. I don't think this is a willpower thing--I don't think of myself as having notable willpower. It's a mindset thing. I don't need to enjoy all nine Kisses to be satisfied. The first two are special; the rest of them are just filler.
"All you want" does not mean "everything you want," and it really doesn't mean "all you want of everything you want." Nobody in the world can eat all they want of everything they want, and be healthy. This is most obviously true if what they want is fried food and dessert; some might tolerate it better than others, but it will always catch up to them in the end. Of course, some people want healthier things than others--a four-serving bag of Brussels sprouts is, in our family, two servings, and we're likely to quibble over who took more than half and whether taking two little sprouts is the same as taking one big sprout--but it's possible to unbalance your diet with healthy food, too.
I don't declare anything off-limits. I like hamburgers, onion rings, dessert, and don't ever get between me and fried okra. I do eat anything I want. I just don't eat it in quantity and I don't eat it all the time, and I never beat myself up for having eaten it. If I want a hamburger, a Whataburger, Jr., is really just as satisfying as a whole Whataburger, it comes with all the trimmings of a whole Whataburger, and I've saved myself about a third of the calories. I don't dwell on the loss of a full-sized hamburger. I got my hamburger. It came with all the vegetables, and mustard, and jalapeños, just the way I like it. I'm happy. I don't usually get fries but, if I do, the Jr. comes with a smaller serving that is really plenty. Nobody needs a bushel-basket of French fries or onion rings. The first few are the best, anyway; after that, they're lukewarm and soggy. Why bother?
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I've started jogging again, officially. I already walk as often as I can. I seem to have very little time during the week: I get home at 6:00, eat dinner, clean up, walk the dog, and then have an hour or so to squeeze in something else before taking a shower and going to bed. I gave up walking myself for awhile (walking the dog is not exercise. She's fourteen and just wants to smell things as we go. It's more like moseying the dog) but have tried to make it a priority again.
I'm good for about a block at a time right now, which is laughable, but it gets a little easier each time, and it feels great. Maybe if I stick with it, I can do the Fourth of July Fun Run next year.
Comments