It gave me pause to think about my trigger foods. If wine can be considered a trigger food, that would probably be my biggest temptation. I can leave candy alone but if there is a bottle of wine and a weekend involved, I find it hard to resist a bottle of my favorite wine. Another trigger food would be ice cream drumsticks. Yum. Sometimes it can be cookies...they have to be ooey, gooey ones though!
Roni talks about why she thinks certain foods are trigger foods for herself. That got me to thinking about why mine are trigger foods. The wine? I think it is because I like the buzz. I like the way it mellows the mood and relaxes me. How do I handle this trigger? Avoidance. I just don't buy it unless it is a special occasion. The ice cream is a combination of childhood memories of trips to DQ. Ice cream was a treat and a special occasion. Same for the cookies. I handle these by avoidance too.
Of course there are modern day reasons for wanting some of the trigger foods that are not related to childhood memories. These reasons are things like the way a food is made up. A lot of processed food has a bunch of science behind it. Hundreds (and I am guessing a LOT more) of dollars are spent on research to find the right combination of salt, sugar, and fats that make our brains crave more and more. Think potato chips...nobody can eat just one!
Do I plan to avoid certain foods all my life then? Nope. I do not buy them every time I go shopping though. I also try to buy as small a quantity as possible too. If I want a cookie, I either make it myself and share with my neighbors or do it on a day that I might be going to an event, and bring them to share with others.
Do I ever give in to temptation completely? Sometimes. I am pretty happy with myself though. If I buy a box of drumsticks and keep it to one per night for dessert, then I think that is ok. As long as I don't do this day after day, week after week, month after month, I feel it is ok. I also try to push eating a little lighter during the day, pushing big salads and lower fat foods to make up for the treat.
What is your trigger food? How do you handle the temptation? Do you know where your trigger food's roots originated? Do you think that that knowledge would help you resist your trigger foods?
One last note about trigger foods...if you can't resist temptation, can you make it healthier? Can you find a substitute that is better? Can you eat less of it? Sometimes I can, sometimes I can't. The difference is that now I can resist or change foods to healthier versions of favorites. When I can't resist, I enjoy the smallest portion, slowly, mindfully, and with relish! THEN I do NOT beat myself up over it. I really try to not let food rule me...I rule the food...as much as I can, as often as I can and it is getting easier.
Walk-on till we meet again!
2 comments:
Kettlecorn--my wife buys it, and the combo of sweet/salty and the relatively low calories, if eaten in reasonable quantity, makes it IMPOSSIBLE for me to stop. And if you eat bowl after bowl, it is no longer a reasonable calorie treat!
And trail mix... I can consume several days worth of calories in one sitting. Again, the sweet/salty combo.
Great post and good food for thought!
Oh I love trail mix too! I think if it is only a few times a year that I gorge on such bad things, then they aren't so bad!
At least I like telling myself that. :)
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