I have a giant jar of dill pickles on top of my fridge. Considering the amount of earthquakes we have in Oklahoma, this is likely not the best location for my giant jar of pickles to live. I bought this giant jar of pickles mainly because an entire, big--giant, enormous pickle checks in at a measly 5 calories, give or take a few depending on size, of course. The only problem is, it's one of those foods I must be in the mood to eat and the mood strikes me about twice a year. I don't care for pickles most of the time, obviously, because there the jar sits just waiting for a minute long 4.0 to send it crashing to the floor in a flood of pungent pickle juice. Aside from cleaning up the mess, it wouldn't break my heart, only the jar.
I have a few other foods like this, celery is one, lettuce another. I've never subscribed to the "I'm trying to lose weight so I must eat things I don't like simply because they're low calorie and maybe I'll learn to like them" style of thinking. This doesn't mean I'm opposed to trying new things! After all, many of the things I claim to not like are things that have never actually crossed my lips. I've never tried cauliflower, not once--not even a bite, ever!!! It looks like a little white brain...not interested. Brussels sprouts--nope, they look like miniature heads of cabbage and I despise cabbage (unless it's shredded, stuffed inside an egg roll and deep fried--then it's perfectly delicious).
If you placed my list of food dislikes next to a list from a seven year old, you would likely have a hard time picking which one belongs to the forty-two year old man. My food maturity level never really matured, mainly because I didn't want it to mature. I have a very "Peter Pan" type attitude when it comes to food selection. I never grew up in this area. I didn't want to grow up, really. And when I try something for the first time and I actually like it (asparagus), I get wide eyed and excited like a kid.
My point is, I eat what I like. The challenges before us along this road are far greater than food selection. The mental and emotional dynamics we're dealing with are the biggest we'll face. These "biggies" might have similar surface dynamics, but are often very personal and unique for each of us. Considering this, why would we ever want to complicate things by forcing ourselves to eat things we cannot stand simply as a means to lose weight? It doesn't mean we don't try to eat better along the way, of course we do--this isn't about holding onto the addictive junk--it's about allowing our good choices to naturally evolve over time within the boundaries of our likes-dislikes and the occasional "okay, I could try that."
This journey can be difficult enough without self-imposed rules and guidelines in place solely because we think they belong or are required for success. Being ourselves is required. Self-honesty is required. An open mind for changes and adjustments is required.
I still like to experiment in the kitchen and soon I'd love to try a cauliflower based pizza crust, but I'll be sure to have a good backup plan ready to go in case I'm repulsed after the first bite.
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I ran out of time this morning to eat before my broadcast, so I plated the food--wrapped it up and took it with me. Making sure I get what I need is critically important to me.
Tonight was all mine and Heather's. We enjoyed a beautiful evening out together, a nice dinner we both felt good about and the Woody Allen film "Magic In The Moonlight" starring Colin Firth at an indie art-house movie theater. I'm a huge fan of Colin Firth since his turn in "The Kings Speech," and Heather is too! Plus, Heather, aside from being an accountant for a major corporation, is a professional actress too, so naturally she would enjoy a good film like this one! Beautiful fit! Great evening. I'm a lucky man.
Today's food Tweets:
Eggs (3) prepared over-hard, large peach and juicy pear. Yum! 368 cal. pic.twitter.com/OBxY4H3tgM
— Sean Anderson (@SeanAAnderson) August 23, 2014
Gluten/wheat free pasta (1.25 srv) w/sugar free marinara, turkey breast (2oz), mozzarella-baked. Fuji apple. 543 cal. pic.twitter.com/Ftpw3QtP5K
— Sean Anderson (@SeanAAnderson) August 23, 2014
8oz Sirloin (5oz consumed), fried okra 3/4 cup, steamed veggies. Carrots!! 496 cal. pic.twitter.com/fcZWEgsHcv
— Sean Anderson (@SeanAAnderson) August 24, 2014
Small banana. #lastfoodofday 72 cal. pic.twitter.com/f0td6EJTiP
— Sean Anderson (@SeanAAnderson) August 24, 2014
Thank you for reading,
Strength,
Sean
