Advantages of Dieting

The book that I am reading assigns you to make a list of the advantages of dieting (vs. pigging out). I read them twice a day to impress upon my mind the reasons I want to learn to eat well. The theory is that the advantages will come back to you when you want to give up.

I want to share some of the reasons I listed, but will only do it one at a time so I can explore them in depth.

One of the reasons is that I will spend less time on my relationship with food when I learn how to think of it in a healthy way. First off, time is very important to me. I've pondered a lot about what a gift it is and what a precious commodity. We choose to spend our time on those things that are important to us, whatever that may be; loved ones, service, self-indulgence, whatever.

Well, I can't believe the amount of time I have spent during my life on food. I don't mean, shopping, planning and preparing. I don't consider that a waste of time, especially when it blesses my family and brings us together for mealtimes.

I'm talking about the time spent on my addiction to food. I remember particularly one time driving and feeling a craving for a muffin. The gas station I went to had these big, luscious cream cheese filled muffins that were about 900 calories each. They were cakey and greasy and gave that full up feeling that I loved. Well, the gas station was out! Obviously, others loved experiencing the muffin high as much as I did. So I drove to another station and another and another. They were all out. I remember settling for a lesser indulgence, but this was the first time I had felt that driven to act out on a craving. I wish I could say that I learned my lesson, that no craving was worth such a waste of time (and gas!). But it was the first of many such frantic, determined conquests.

I wonder how much of my life has been spent in such bad use of my time. I probably really don't want to know. Even in the midst, my conscious self knows that the thing I seek will not satisfy, but deep inside I have this twisted notion that if I can only eat the one perfect, satiating, food I will never be hungry again. And so the search has gone on.

I'm ready for that search to end. I'm ready to admit, as I heard someone say once, "That which you do not need can never satisfy." I have no need of a grease soaked muffin, white icing filled chocolate cookie, cakey chocolate donut. They will never satisfy and should not be eaten for that purpose. They should be seen for what they are; an indulgence. I believe that I can get to the point where I enjoy the rare indulgence and no longer let it drive me.