Aunty likes her big knickers because they hold my tummy in nicely. Now, if you could choose only one letter for food to enjoy and no other, the letter would be ‘C’. Believe me, Aunty has done the homework. All the best things to eat in the world start with ‘C’. Chocolate, chippies, cake, caramel, cheese, Cheezels, champagne, chardonnay, cream, custard, confectionery, cookies, Crunchie Bars, cream cheese, coconut ice, Cherry-ripe bars and crackers. I challenge you to find a more wonderful food letter. Ironically, it’s the same letter than ‘calories’ starts with. I’d never really made the association before!
I used to come home from a day at the office, grab a glass of wine and a bowl of chippies or small bar of chocolate, put on the television and blob out. Because I deserved it. Usually the telly was tuned to Bold and Beautiful and I would catch what Ridge had been up to, (usually the same thing he had been up to for the past 2 months). The thirty minutes would flash by and I would check my glass and bowl only to find that they were both empty. Honestly, I couldn’t tell you whether I had enjoyed them or not. There was no feeling of satisfaction or fullness. Obviously, they had simply been inhaled.
It’s the same feeling if you eat while you are reading, playing on your mobile device or doing any other activity. You will snack and not register what you have eaten at all. The sad thing is that those lovely salty chippies and sweet chocolates just keep you wanting more and more. If you aren’t conscious of what you are poking in your mouth, of the lovely taste, smells and texture, you won’t know when you’ve had enough, you won’t enjoy the experience and you will lose track of the calories needed to be burnt off. Apparently eating one small chocolate bar takes over 0.5 hours to walk off so at least be aware when you are eating it, (https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/this-chart-shows-how-long-you-have-to-exercise-to-burn-off-the-calories-in-popular-junk-foods-a7728481.html). If you know how much fuel your body needs to operate, you can adjust you food intake accordingly.
Eat healthy foods wherever you can and become informed as to what is good and bad for you. I have stopped snacking on chocolate and wine replacing these with a small amount of nuts and some coconut yogurt, (okay sometimes I have chocolate but I give myself permission to fall off the wagon occasionally; I don’t beat myself up believing in self-compassion). Try to be aware of what you are eating and listen to your body’s ‘full’ signals rather than mindlessly shoveling food in while doing something else like watching telly. This way you may find you enjoy and appreciate your snacks and food more and perhaps don’t need as much. Maximise your mojo – know that little pickers wear big knickers.