My food epiphany

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-27-2003
My food epiphany
24
Tue, 07-26-2005 - 2:59pm

I was trying to catch up on what I missed on the board when I came across Chrissy post about "don't hate me because I am thin." As I read the part where she called (or seems to be calling) people who eat lots of junk food lazy, I became very sad. Being prego and very hormonal I got really depressed thinking, "Am I just lazy?" I thought about the way I eat compared to the way ya'll eat (I know I shouldn't do that, but...) and began racking my brain to figure out why I eat the way I do. Here is what I realized:

I didn't have much of a mothering mother. She isn't completely "there", so I missed out on a lot of important information growing up. This included my ability to make good food choices. Here is a sample menu from my childhood:
Breakfast-brownies, pudding, or cake with whole milk.
Lunch-coldcuts on white bread, chips, candy bar with kool-aid
snack-cookies with kool-aid or whole milk
dinner-something fried with two or three starches on the side with kool-aid
desert-jell-o, pudding, cake...
snack-candy bar, coke
Not to mention that there were always bowls of candy around the house with no restrictions put on them. I was a pretty lean kid because I was just as hyperactive as I am now, so I don't think anybody ever noticed that I didn't eat well.

Then I went to college. I ate like the typical undergraduate-lots of pizza, pasta, sugary cereal...But what is amazing is that I ate better during college then during my childhood.

When I graduated college I worked 9-5, trained tkd 5-9 (I was competing heavily at the national level), and dh worked 3-9 as a gymnastics coach. When we were home the last thing either of us wanted to do was cook or clean up. So I ate lots of fastfood and pizza.

Then came dd. I no longer trained tkd, but I became a gym rat. I started to learn about fueling the body to be able to perform. I realized that my eating habits would rub off on my precious little girl. So, I started to eat whole grain bread, fruits, and vegetables.

I have come a long way in the last four years considering my childhood. I eat good food to fuel my body, but I also eat junk food. Am I lazy? No. I realized throughout this thought process that I like to eat, my mini culture has dictated to me what I prefer in food. Yes, I try to limit my cookie intake, but I am not going to not eat them if I want them. I am enjoying food because I like it!

I just wanted to share this with all of you. I think I have a healthy outlook on my food now. I also wanted to say thanks to ya'll for inspiring me. I have learned so much about diet through you. I still don't know what hummus is, but I'll get there :)

Love ya'll
Paula

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-15-2004
Tue, 07-26-2005 - 3:11pm

Paula, your childhood diet looks so much like my own. And I ate just as badly during college. My mom was a single mom who worked very hard to provide for us and the last thing she wanted to do was cook. We ate out a lot and we also ate a lot of convenience foods. When she did cook, she often cooked meats and vegetables that I didn't like (and for the most part, still don't) and so I would eat mashed potatoes, gravy, and rolls for dinner because I didn't like anything else.

Even when I started losing weight a few years ago on a very low calorie diet, I wasn't eating healthy. I ate within my calorie level but the majority of it was unhealthy and certainly not balanced. (Of course, I lost weight so I thought I was doing something right.)

You make a great point about eating for enjoyment's sake. I think it's important not to lose sight of that. That's why we do a cheat day once a week. It's easy for me to get so caught up in eating virtuously... here's a great example. I went to the grocery store and when I got home, I held up my bottle of store bought dressing in defeat and said to DH, "I caved and bought it." I was trying so hard to give up store bought dressings but nothing I've made at home has been as good or appealing and I was getting tired of salad with blah dressing. He reminded me that the dressing is not that bad and considering how I eat the rest of the day, it's not a huge deal. Reality checks can be a wonderful thing for the food obssessed.

I'll also say that I've learned a lot here too. I've also learned whose house I'll be stopping by for dinner when I make it to that part of the world. :)

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Tue, 07-26-2005 - 3:34pm

I think you're doing great, too!






iVillage Member
Registered: 03-11-2004
Tue, 07-26-2005 - 3:35pm

i think you have been eating SOOOOOO much better since i've known you and you definitely eat healthier than the average american. i don't think you are lazy at all. that's the last adjective i'd apply to you. i agree with you that eating some junk food just because it tastes good or because it is convenient is totally worth it. (although that doesn't mean much coming from me, since i actually AM lazy.)

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-11-2004
Tue, 07-26-2005 - 3:48pm

PS i know i'm always waving my Paula fan club id card, but can i just say that this is a perfect example of one of the reasons i love Paula so much? you would think that someone trying to raise two kids, incubate a third,

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 07-26-2005 - 3:53pm

Very cool post.

~Kiervin~

Co-author of:  MONSTER'S INK HORROR ANTHOLOGY By Cyber-Pulp Press

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Tue, 07-26-2005 - 4:03pm
Exactly--she didn't lash out but took it as an opportunity to look at herself.





iVillage Member
Registered: 10-27-2003
Tue, 07-26-2005 - 5:34pm
Yes. soooo very very glad! I don't want food to be an issue for my kids, I want good meal choices to just be natural for them.
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-27-2003
Tue, 07-26-2005 - 5:36pm

Awwww! That's so nice, Jen, thank you!

Paula

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-27-2003
Tue, 07-26-2005 - 5:41pm

I'm so flattered, really. It looks like grad school is going to be postponed AGAIN. I just couldn't get it all squeezed in before the baby. I'll go back, eventually, but I plan on certifying aerobics once the baby and I are used to each other :P

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-01-2003
Wed, 07-27-2005 - 6:58am

My childhood menu looked just like yours except it also included several Pop Tarts on a daily basis and at least 3 Twinkies a day.

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