Gosh, I know that you seriously don't need to hear from me yet again today, but I'm on a rant and I can't help it...I was reading Allan's blog this morning and came across a couple of (lighthearted?) complaints about him posting pics of delicious, decadent food..which he resists on a daily basis. Food porn, they call it. Some readers are apparently annoyed or bothered by him doing this, apparently they feel tempted by what they see on their computer screens. Well, hello, people, this is reality! This is Allan-who-works-in-the-food-business' reality. It's Rapunzel-who-lives-with-a-houseful-of-skinny-people-who-can-eat-whatever-they-want's reality! Unless we are to reside in the produce section of our local grocery store, we're gonna be tempted by food on a daily basis, folks!
You all have seen the pics I post of what Beren eats - french fries, fried shrimp, massive hash brown/egg/bacon breakfasts, seemingly endless glasses of beer alongside an occasional shot of Jack Daniels. And yet the man maintains a steady weight of about 185. He used to be 175, about where I was a week ago, yet he is six feet tall. Personally, I think he looks better at this weight and since he now has a woman who cooks for him (ahem) I don't think he'll drop any lower. But I digress..the point is, I have to watch him eat every day and still fit into some of the clothes he wore in college. How does he do it? Well, despite his Weekend Warrior calorie consumption, during the workweek he eats very little. No breakfast, light lunch, whatever I cook him for dinner, no snacks, maybe one beer over the course of 5 days. Is this healthy? Probably not, but it's the way he's been eating his whole life and far be it for me to mess with his "program."
Then there are my girls who are very healthy eaters thanks to their mama who pushed fruits & veggies since the time they could eat solids. They love the green stuff, are mostly-vegetarian, and are teeny tiny perfectly sized young women. Yet, they can eat some crap when they want to. Chocolate chip cookies, fresh out of the oven, huge deli bagels with veggie cream cheese, tacos, pizza, etc. They all live with me, and I am exposed to this stuff constantly.
I leave my home and head to my office where donuts and cookies are offered, co-workers snack on chips all day long and lunch is take-out whatever-they-want. I am probably the heaviest woman in the office.
After work I stop at the grocery store, bakery, Italian market, meat market, etc., buying food for my family which I choose not to eat right now. Do I drool whenever I pass by the salami at the deli counter? Salivate over the loaves of bread I'm serving alongside their (whole-wheat) pasta for dinner? Am I dying to take just a bite of the (albeit-healhty) meal I've prepared for them? Hell, yeah! Yet I have made a commitment to myself to do this right now, to follow Jenny Craig, eating those meals, using portion control, following the program. Is it tough? Some days, yes! But then I think about what got me here, 40+ pounds overweight, and all it takes is one step on the scale or one glance in the mirror to remind me even further of why I'm doing this!
Yes, I went on vacation last weekend and I indulged in non-Jenny food. I ate pizza, and drank wine, and shared a cannoli with my boyfriend. But I also walked my ass off, watched my portion size and was aware of what I was doing. I was not mindlessly shoving food in my mouth and, believe me, if I ate half of what I was tempted by I'd be 10 pounds heavier today! (Ask Allan who used the expression, "eating your way through Manhattan!")
So, seriously, bring on the "food porn," show me what you resisted each day, and also show me what you ate instead! I love seeing your challenges, applaud your successes and know that each time you walk away from the bread basket or the donut cart you're building your strength and it will become easier to resist these things. I know because it's happening to me already! Right now I'm sitting in our living room in Ormond with the smell of bacon wafting around me, Beren sitting at the dining room table scarfing down a plate of greasy deliciousness, and I'm mostly-oblivious. Yeah, it smells good, bet it would taste fantastic. But..it's simply not worth it!
Down off my soapbox now..have a beauty-full day!
Wow. Don't piss her off kids. At dinner on Sunday, I ordered food for 10. The dieters ate like birds, and the healthy men ate with abandon. There were a lot of courses, and there are pictures if people start to piss you off. We want to get to that place, where we can eat what we want, and maintain. That will come... Love ya
ReplyDeleteI like this idea! I may well do a post with 'items i resisted' and 'items i substituted'. This is actually a really cool idea!
ReplyDeleteFood porn?! Hmm.. Never heard of that expression. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteI really can't handle being around people that can eat whatever they want and not gain a pound. Its just not fair that some of us were born with slow metabolisms and of course those genes. It's the worst when they rub it in your face that they eat fast food and desserts everyday. Thankfully, my friends who are like that, don't ever talk about it.
Thank you for this reality check! I find myself constantly on a self pity party because "it's just not fair that everyone else can eat whatever they want but I can't!" Sometimes I think I need a labotomy....
ReplyDeleteI don't mind seeing pictures of super yummy deliciousness. Sure I may salivate and daydream a bit, but they're not going to derail me. If there was such a thing as smellavision, that perhaps.
ReplyDeleteI must say though, you are one strong woman. I mean it. I would like to think that I could resist all the stuff you see on a daily basis, but I know that if my husband was cooking bacon I wouldn't be able to resist. I have been able to resist some of his temptations lately so I know I am getting a teensy bit stronger.
You're doing great, stay strong.
I expect most of it is light-hearted banter, but I think if people genuinely feel that their willpower is being eroded by pictures, that is something THEY need to work on.
ReplyDeleteWe can't construct a sterile bubble. There is just too much good (bad) food everywhere. Plus, we're responsible for our own successes and failures. We make our own choices :)
I absolutely love food porn! I don't salivate over every picture, but I do appreciate the work that goes into a great dish and the presentation of said great dish in a great photograph. Bring it on!
ReplyDeleteUm - I missed that could you say it again... :)
ReplyDeleteThe fire lives!!! Burn Baby Burn!!!
Amen sista - the real world has more fried shrimp and cheesecake than it does corn and plums!
ReplyDeleteAmen, Allan!
ReplyDeleteLesley, I'd love to see some of your "resisted" food porn..grin..and you know, some of the "good stuff" we eat can be fabulous as well!
Leah, it's not "fair," no doubt about it, but it is what it is, right?
Gingerella, lol, no, hon your adorable brain is just fine as it is! ;) We just need to shift our thinking a tiny bit which is not always easy!
Tammy, a few weeks ago I was giving in to the bacon. In fact, Beren would bring me a slice wherever I was. He'd also bring me a tiny portion of fries. No more. I just can't do it, not even one bite, it triggers something and then I want more!
ReplyDeleteMark, exactly! I like that phrase, "sterile bubble!" If only we could protect ourselves from all the bad stuff in the world, right?
AZGypsie, whoo-hoo! ;)
ReplyDeleteMisunderstood, burning away here, hon! ;)
RescuingLisa, ain't that the sad truth??