What Makes Us Fat?
Last night we talked about our biology, our environment, and our social group. Social group being the people we hang with.
Reading an article that was published on Abc.go.com last November connects our suspects even more.
“Consistently, we find that how much people eat is in direct relation to how much they are served, the variety of foods offered and the number of people with whom they eat,”
That being said we all need to stop eating with our friends and family. What the heck is going on here? Eating is a social event. What we need is a way to get eating separated from our feelings of love, and self-worth.
Me, I eat sugar when I am stressed out. When I get into a conflict, my immediate reaction is to grab a couple of candy bars. Immediate gratification, along with subsequent self-loathing. Nice isn’t it? So. Our genetics work against us, we all have fat genes. Our environment works against us, we are bombarded with messages to eat. Our social group works against us, we eat more when we are with friends and family.
I am even more frustrated with all of this. What do we do with all of this information?
One positive step is to be more aware of your surroundings. Yeah, when I am driving home it would be nice to swing into a fast food restaurant and pick up a bag of crap, but it isn’t going to help me not be fat. When that urge hits, I have to talk myself through it. Yeah, I talk to myself. It isn’t as creepy as it sounds.
Ok, it IS kind of creepy, but it works for me.
I also rationalize the financial down side. I can roll through the Drive-thru and spend $6, or I can use some of the food that I have at home and have that $6 for something else. And at home I know what goes into my mouth.
Self-awareness is the first step in our arsenal to fight being fat. Use it. Practice it every day. Talk to yourself. Not out loud, that is creepy. Do it in your head, Fred.
Namaste.
February 20th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Go Dog Go! I know the lure of the fast food siren, so easy to slide on thru the drive thru…I have that problem too. Good luck to you, I’m off to the gym, Thanks!
February 20th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Dude, just was looking at your 3 tier brew tower. I am jealous. I just finished bottling a coffee ale that had been fermenting for a couple of weeks. Tomorrow I am doing another one with a red ale base and increasing the coffee to a cup. I am an extract brewer who steeps his grains for 30 minutes before boiling. I am wanting to expand to all grain, but don’t see it happening until this fall.
Thanks for stopping by.
Namaste.