We always attend a Labor Day party with extended family and friends. The hosts always provide hamburgers, hot dogs, kielbasa and bratwurst sausages, and golumpki, which are Polish cabbage rolls with meat filling. Everyone else brings an appetizer, salad/side dish, or dessert.
I come from a foodie family. I’ve only recently become aware of how much we talk about food. My mom’s first question about any event is about the food. At this party, we always talk about the diverse things people have brought, and ooh and ahh over originality and and/or taste. To give you an idea of the scope I’m talking about, this year a six-foot table was completely covered with different appetizers, about twelve dishes (baked beans, green salads, pasta salads, potato salads, rice salad) were served with the grilled meats, and there were ten different desserts.
I kept to my resolve to take a few bites of the appetizers and stay away from the table after that. For the main buffet itself, I filled a plate with a golumpki and a spoonful of every side dish that would fit on it, and shared a cheeseburger with my daughter.
This year, I was full after one plate of food, and I enjoyed a conversation that wasn’t food-focused. I had planned to let myself sample two or three of the desserts, but I was satisfied with one.
I also focused on sight as well as taste. I was able to delight in my sister’s cupcakes fashioned to look like hamburgers, without feeling that I had to taste one.
That’s the good news.
The flip side is, I realized after finishing the plate of food that I couldn’t remember what a single thing tasted like.
As I said, I’m glad to have spent time in stimulating conversation that weren’t food-focused. But it was really brought home to me how I eat mindlessly sometimes. I didn’t really even enjoy the food I did let myself eat.
At least I was aware of the full feeling afterward.
I am trying to really focus on and savor things I am eating. It really does make a difference—my brain seems more satisfied and doesn’t crave more. I also notice where I am and what I’m doing if I am eating. For example, I am a “pacer”—I walk to think. Sometimes I would get up from working and find myself back in my chair with a snack—honestly, I have no idea how it got there (LOL).
Now I sometimes catch myself in front of a cupboard. I am trying to substitute another habit. When I find myself pacing, I stop in front of a certain window to look at the view. It’s a change of pace that makes me more aware, and it keeps me out of the kitchen.
I didn’t lose any weight this week. I’m starting to feel like a flake–and to regret committing to sharing this journey that I’m stalled on. My husband says I should be happy to have not gained during a summer of physical pain and stress. I know that is true, but I also know I can do better now.
For the next week, I want to “plan my food and work my plan”, as the saying goes.
Does anyone else have a resolution for next week that they’d like to share?
Good luck, everyone.
Please see these related blogs:
Confessions of a Foodie Mom, Week Two: Countering My Top Ten Sabotaging Thoughts
Confessions of a Foodie Mom, Week Three