Food Thoughts

Tina @ Faith, Fitness, Fun got me thinking about food and how I think/treat my treats or indulgent meals. I thought it would be fun to talk a bit more about it here.

My food thoughts are many. And often. If I'm not thinking about what I'm going to eat, I'm thinking about what I should make for dinner or where I'd love to eat out (even though I restrain myself from eating out most of the time).

For example, nearly every.single.day. I have a mental talk with myself about whether or not I should go pick up donuts for my coworkers self. Or how much I'd like a big gooey piece of pizza, a cinnamon roll, sweet potato fries, a big burger (hilarious because I eat them maybe twice a year), etc.

So, I'm wondering, is this normal? Am I just a freaky foodie obsessed with all things I won't allow myself most days? Is the only difference between me and someone who indulges regularly the fact that I have some serious will power and the need to run?

I indulge in sweets on a daily occasion (like the 5 girl scout cookies and office candy yesterday), but find that I'm able to balance it with oatmeal and banana in the morning, veggies and hummus with lunch, a healthy homemade dinner, and LOTS of sweating. I also find that when I denied myself in the past of things I wanted, it left me cranky and overly stressed.

For me, it's all about balance. Cheat days wouldn't work for me because I'd be allowing those little thought gremlins the chance to snag their cinnamon rolls and burgers every weekend. But a little moderation, goes a long way (coming from the girl who is rationing her Girl Scout cookies). Ahem, manfriend, who ate his two boxes in 2-3 days. ;)

And on that note, what are you hoping to indulge in this weekend? I have visions of a glass of wine and a Papa Murphy's delite thin crust pizza in my future. Enjoy your weekend!

Comments

Jen Feeny said…
When I'm in training I think about food all day long. When I'll eat next, what I'll eat and how much I'll eat. I allow myself some fun, usually on Fridays for whatever reason, maybe a mix of reward for a good week of training and "carb loading" for Saturdays long run. But come 10 weeks to race day I cut out all crap and I'm actually really good about not even wanting any of it because I'm so focused on my goal of kicking ass and taking names for my race. :)
Emily said…
I'm with you. Sporadic indulgences with a healthy diet (right now I'm eating chocolate covered potato chips) and LOTS of sweating but cheat days would not work for me.

Tonight I'm meeting my old roommate for margaritas, endless chips and mexican food. It will be oh so worth it.
Gracie said…
Considering how much I love cook food and good cooking, I don't think about it very much. I don't have "cravings" and I'm generally content with what we have around the house. I definitely eat unhealthy but delicious foods, and whenever I want, but it works because I don't usually want unhealthy food.
Amber said…
I'm pretty good at eating really healthy for breakfast and lunch. It's dinner when I start getting MAD cravings for something carby and cheesy :)
Morgan - I like that approach. I guess I usually focus a bit harder on healthy foods only when I get close to a race but it's not super intentional.

It's fun to read everyones varying habits for indulging. We are all different. And Gracie, I'm impressed that you don't have cravings! That would save me so wasted time if I didn't have them.
I believe in "everything in moderation". It doesn't really work for me to ban certain foods from my diet - instead, I let myself have treats. Some are healthier than others. Like tonight, I got to my car after my bus ride home and was exhausted and thought about how freaking much I had worked and studied this week and I decided to treat myself to sushi. Now, that is something healthy, but it's also delicious, and it's a 'treat' since it can be a bit pricey. And boy did I enjoy those 3 rolls that i had. :)
i definitely do indulge sometimes! on friday night, after ending an EXTREMELY stressful week, i celebrated my survival with some chocolate soy ice cream. it was so good!
Those types of things sound good to me quite often too so I think its somewhat normal. Just as long as you don't feel deprived and that you can never have them. I think having one or two things like that a week though (in reasonable portions) is still reasonable as well. :)
It's entirely about balance and where you are in terms of training needs/wants, seasons, etc. I've learned that some of the foods I 'restricted' in the past have become some of our most common healthy-homemade dinners, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I do remember a time when I felt like ALL I thought about was food, ALL THE TIME. Very slowly I learned (through exercise, trial & error, self growth & education) that when I ate mindfully and indulged in certain cravings, this slowly stopped happening. Now I've realized I only think about food when I'm hungry, on the run (thinking about recovery meals, heh) or planning meals for the week/night. I think it's definitely different for all of us, and a process to learn the "mindful eating balance", but it's there when we're ready for it :)

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