Shaddup Already!
2004-07-16
New problems with this whole eating thing
Don't forget the "name the sloth" competition!I have encountered an unexpected problem with taking away the constraints of dieting. I am discovering that there are foods I thought I liked, but I don't really like them. This leaves a huge hole in my menu.
I have led a very limited dietary life. I tend to get hooked on one thing and eat only that for weeks until the need for it is out of my system. I've always been this way. I'm an all or nothing kind of gal.
Since I started teaching, I adopted a very collegiate type diet. This is probably because teacher pay stinks, the lunch period is only 30 minutes long, and I have to be able to prepare it at school. What I have found is macaroni and cheese is great. So are the little microwaveable cups of Chef Boyardee. So my food is decidedly juvenile.
This is great for me because those were the foods I've always eaten. My mom cooked, but she had about seven dishes that she made. Often, when my dad was out of town (he was an airline pilot) we were on our own for meals. Or they would be very easy meals to make. So this is the kind of food I'm used to.
Now I'm having to step out of my comfort zone if I truly want to honor myself. I mean, I could continue to eat these foods, but I'm not really enjoying them. So now I have to find what I really like. This is pretty difficult and I'm finding that I'm eating very little variety.
I'm okay with that, though. I mean, I usually don't have much variety in my diet. What is scary is saying goodbye to these foods that I thought I loved. To realize that I don't really like them is shocking.
This may mean I will develop grown up tastes. Does that mean I have to grow up now?
All I've found that I really like so far (that is new to my repertoire of food) is bagel chips and hummus. I've always liked hummus, but bagel chips did nothing for me. Now I find myself craving them like potato chips.
