The Triggers to Eating

Yesterday, I saw a friend of mine who is a reader of my blog.  The first thing she said to me is, "Thanks for posting that picture of an ice cream sundae on your blog today.  I had to stop at DQ for a small ice cream."  We laughed and I made sure to notice that she said 'small ice cream.'  At least it was small.  I'm guessing that at another time in her life, it would not have been small.  Karen has been through many of the same struggles I have been.  She looks incredible right now and by looking at her you would never know that she has had a journey with losing weight and eating healthy.  I've known her for about 12 years so I've seen some of her journey.  I know what she looked like 100 pounds heavier than she is right now.  That's right, 100 pounds!  She lost it a few years ago (if I'm doing the math correctly). Just because she looks incredible and has kept the weight off doesn't mean that she doesn't still have to very conscious day to day and hour to hour.  It's nice to hear that she is tempted by ice cream pictures too;)

Talking to Karen about the picture on my blog reminded me about how things can trigger us to eat.  That picture may have caused her to crave ice cream.  I actually think about that when I am picking pictures to post on my blog.  I don't want to cause people to fall because of a picture but at the same time I try to find pictures that are appropriate to my topic of the day. Now you know why I picked the picture I picked today.  I thought I would make up for sending any of you to DQ yesterday;)  When you're done reading this blog, go eat some fresh veggies.

I was flipping through channels on TV the other night and came across a fast food ad.  I flipped the channel right away because that ad made me want to eat and I didn't need to eat.  Triggers are hard to deal with and we need to be aware of them.  If we know what they are we can try to avoid them when possible or lessen their impact because we are aware.  Sometimes I don't even need to see the commercial because just the act of watching TV in a quiet house while the kids are sleeping triggers me to want to eat.  It's my way of winding down and treating myself after a long, hard, tiring day.  The problem is that I don't need food at that time of day and I should treat myself with some quiet time with God or some other activity that I wont be sorry for later.

Today is Jason's birthday. He is turning 14!  Amazing!  I cannot be old enough to have a 14-year-old.  Anyway, celebrating makes me want to eat.   That is yet another trigger.  We will be going out to eat later and I will want to celebrate his birthday, Josiah's birthday from 5 days ago and the fact that we went out to eat (we've been cutting down on eating out dramatically lately to save money).  I need to know now that I will be triggered to eat and make a plan as to how I will celebrate but still control myself.  It doesn't help that we will be going to a buffet but I've navigated my way through buffets safely in the past and I'm determined to do it again today.  That brings up another trigger........pizza.  We are going to Stonefire Pizza.  Eating one piece of pizza always triggers me to eat more.  Therefore, I am going to eat other stuff.  They have plenty to choose from. Pizza is not one of my all time favorite foods and I don't need to eat it tonight.  I am looking forward to making myself a salad with all the trimmings that I don't have to chop up.  I am also looking forward to having a baked potato with great toppings on it without having to prepare it either.  I am staying away from my triggers.

There are certain things that can trigger us to eat: pictures, words, events, commercials, people, situations, feelings, etc.  This is a huge topic that can be broken down because at different times in our lives we will be triggered by different things.  These are the things that I will look out for today. Tomorrow I may have a different list of triggers of which I should be aware.

Today, think about your triggers. How can you avoid them?  If you cannot avoid them, what can you do to be more aware of them so they don't hurt you?  Maybe you can substitute for them.   Maybe you can have a small ice cream instead of what you used to have......or eat the veggies you see pictured above;)

Have a great day,
Corinna

"Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you." Proverbs 4:24-26