Really, the title of this post could say it all. Just because someone brought food, or just because food is available, you don’t have to eat it. But that’s a hard mentality to break, really. After all, someone went to the effort of making that food. Wouldn’t it be rude not to at least try it? And, you can’t leave food on the plate. That would be letting it go to waste!
At this point, you may be wondering what brought this up. Well, let me do my check in first, and I’ll explain. See, yesterday I ate 3,487 calories. Fortunatly, I also burned 4,248 calories – partially by walking a total of 5.39 miles. So, what happened? Well, check out the title of this post for a huge hint.
See, I have this weekly Mastermind group I attend – which is not, despite the name and my joking, a group that plots to Take Over The World. No, it’s based on Napoleon Hill’s book Think And Grow Rich, and it’s a group that meets to learn about principles of setting and achieving goals and then supporting each other in reaching them. They’re actually the people who first suggested I start this blog, since my goal there (despite the name of the book) was weight loss. One of the things we do, since it’s an evening meeting, is take turns providing a meal for the group.
Getting a sense of where this is going?
Now, since I work a strange schedule and get off early in the afternoon, I’d already eaten dinner with my family. I was at about 2,200 calories consumed, and not even particularly hungry. I get to the meeting, and – lo and behold – there is pizza! And coffee cake! Without even stopping to think, I ate two slices of pizza and a two by two inch square of the cake. And I promise you that there are more calories in those items than you think there are.
Don’t think I’m blaming my group, or the person who brought the food. No, this was my fault. I just ate without thinking, which is the worst of all possible ways to eat. It’s particularly aggrivating because, if I’d stopped to think, I could still have had the piece of cake I ate and been right on target.
I guess I learned a lesson, here. Think, before I eat. Don’t eat, just because it’s there. You *have* to eat to live, but you should still eat *mindfully*.
I’ve got an office party to go to tonight. Let’s see how well I implement this.
Half of Me 