The fear of buffets
Posted by Paola
When you eat more for pleasure rather than hunger, buffets are a scary place to be.
I have memories of being a kid and feeling dread when walking into a room and seeing a table covered with sandwiches, sausages, cheese, sweets and crisps (potato chips). I would look at it all and my mind would go “whoa!”.
I remember thinking “HOW do the others manage to eat so little?” Because, even as a kid, I clearly remember looking at a bowl of crisps and thinking I want to eat the WHOLE BOWL and knowing that I would if no one else was there.
So, I’d pick up a plate and, while looking around to see how much was on other people’s plates, I would add stuff to mine. I had to concentrate to make sure I didn’t make a big pile of food on mine, even though I wanted to, because then people WOULD KNOW.
I’d eat what was on my plate, while looking around, seeing that the others seemed to be content and not going back for more, and wonder how they did it.
The problem with a buffet is that there is no obvious end. With a meal, you have your serving on a plate and you know when you’re done. At a buffet, you have an empty plate and are faced with bowls of food which, after taking a portion, will still have loads left.
So, my heart still sinks when I see a buffet table at a party.
Do you want a chocolate?
Posted by Paola
I get annoyed when people ask me if I want a cookie, cake, chocolate, whatever.
OF COURSE I DO!
But you only have to look at me to know that I SHOULDN’T eat it.
Sure, we are adults and should be responsible enough to exercise control but I think that it’s like offering booze to an alcoholic.
Okay, it is not fair to say that alcoholism and over-eating are necessarily a similar physiological condition. But please don’t make it harder by offering me something we both know I should decline.
It can’t be that simple
Posted by Paola
A few months ago, I tried to shock a close relative into taking some responsibility for her health problems.
She’s 5′ and about 21 stone (300lbs) and has all the medical problems you’d expect (adult-onset diabetes and back problems). She is registered disabled, hardly goes out, walks with sticks and is generally miserable.
I asked her if she knew that her diabetes and health problems were related to her weight and that, if she lost weight, many of them would go away.
In the past, she has given a litany of excuses for over-eating:
- When I was young, we were very poor and we learnt to eat whenever we found food
- I have a slow metabolism
- I have a thyroid problem
- It’s the only thing left that I get pleasure from
Finally, I seemed to get through to her, that her over-eating and health problems might be related.
On losing weight, she asked “how?”
I said, “by eating less and moving more.”
She said, “It can’t be that simple.”
Adding, “if it’s that simple, why don’t you do it?”
*sigh*
Although it made me sad, I know that I have had the same thought.
Ya think you have this BIG problem and, therefore, the solution must be equally big and complicated.
But, really, it IS that simple. You just do less of what you did more of that got you big in the first place.
