Devlish Dogs

"So, embrace your freakish eating,
join me in my quest
to maintain a normal body weight
- or better.
We're all disordered eaters.
We really are,
regardless of why/how,
because -
What Is Normal?"
- Melting Mama blogger

"It is essential to remember
that scolding and weight gain
go hand in hand.
If you let go of the rules
and
do not yell at yourself
about food,
you will eat less compulsively.
Giving up diets
is
liberating."
- Overcoming Overeating page 81

What's blocked me from embracing (or re-embracing) the Overcoming Overeating approach, specifically the legalization of all foods, is that I do not regard all foods as equal. Hirschmann and Munter recommend "removing all taboos, restrictions, and external controls with regard to eating." No foods should be forbidden.

I can't do it.
I know - or believe, if you want to regard belief as a way of knowing - that refined white flour and refined white sugar are bad.
They're just bad.
High fructose corn syrup?
Bad. Call them forbidden. Call them poor choices.
They make me feel like crap.
They compromise my immune system.
They wreak havoc on my blood sugar.

I can't put Dollar Store pretzels on par with Wasa crackers.
I can't put canned vegetables on the same level as fresh produce.
I'm unwilling to put Devil Dogs on the same value plane as Stonyfield Farm Chocolate Underground Yogurt.

Stupidly, I figured I'd have to throw away the Overcoming Overeating approach because I'm unwilling to legalize all foods.

But...and everyone LOVES a big BUTT...
maybe I've reached this point because I HAVE legalized all foods.

Hmmm.

Let me ask myself if I truly want a Devil Dog.
Well, yeah, the taste is unbeatable.
I f*cking LOVE Devil Dogs.

Now let me imagine that I had one in front of me right now.
Would I want it?
Yes.
Would I eat it?
No.

But NOT because I'm "not allowed" to eat it. I actually CHOOSE not to eat it.
It will make me sick. I choose not to feel nauseated.
So, maybe I am embracing the OO approach.

I COULD eat teh Devil Dog if I wanted it.
I'm not forbidding myself the Devil Dogs.
I just choose to eat something else.
I can get my chocolate another way. I prefer to eat chocolate without having to feel sick to my stomach for an hour after eating it.

Hirschmann and Munter point out that the question
"Do I want it?"
is dramatically different from
"May I have it?"

Resisting certain foods will ALWAYS make me want more of it.
(Conversely, if you tell me I MUST have something, I will probably resist eating it.)

I don't resist Devil Dogs.
I truly choose to avoid them.

Maybe I've legalized foods so well, I didn't even notice myself doing it.
It happened very naturally.

What do ya know?
I actually WANT foods that are physically better for me.

That's a pretty big change.

*Lisa's Video Pick of the Day*
Great video.
Great song (K. O.'s 'Crucial').
Great quotes.
Thanks, Amber Dawn!
click here or click below