Food, Glorious Food

Before I began my weight loss journey, I was a huge fan of food.  I loved reading cookbooks and tweaking recipes to suit my tastes.  I loved inviting people over to enjoy the rich, hearty food I prepared.  I was a very good cook and accomplished baker.  My nephews would tell me well before their birthdays exactly what sort of cake they wanted and how it was to be decorated.  I happily complied.

When I started this particular leg of the journey three years ago, I gave that up almost completely.  The only 'cooking' I did was to make the food required on my current eating plan.  They joy the kitchen once held was gone.  I grieved for this loss.  It was a huge part of my life and I had a void there like any loss.

In time, I began to view food as either good or bad.  It was 'good' if it was on my current eating plan and 'bad' if it was not.  My view of food got very skewed and even though I realized it, I really didn't know what to do about it.  I forged ahead eating the foods I knew to be 'good' on most plans, like protein and vegetables with a little fruit thrown in for balance.  Fruit became virtually my only carb.  Potatoes, pasta, bread and the like made only the rarest appearances in my diet.  I wasn't a very happy eater.

My weight loss stalled and fluctuated over and over.  Over and over, I'd try to fix the food.  I would tweak, eliminate or add back this food or that looking for the right combination that worked for me.  Not much did for the long haul.

Then I started P90X and the fat shredder nutrition plan that accompanies the workouts.  It is a balanced approach.  All food groups are allowed, but some more than others.  For instance, I get one fruit serving per day and 5 protein servings per day.  It seemed quite sane and I slipped rather easily in to the plan. 

Something quite amazing is beginning to happen.  I am once again looking through recipes but my favorite ingredients are different.  I'm looking for ways to tweak recipes but with a different mindset now.  I'm looking for healthy food that is tasty to me.  I'm finding it and having a blast.  I had no idea that fresh vegetables and fruit could taste so good!

Several days ago, I decided to have an orange for a snack.  It was a lovely fall day, so I took my orange outside to enjoy on the front porch as I read a book.  I took one bite of the orange and was stunned.  I do not possess the writing skills to explain just how delicious that orange was.  It was sweet and bursting with flavor.  All thoughts of the book were gone as I ate the orange, slowly and deliberately.

I actually stopped mid-chew to savor all of the taste sensations occurring.  It was unreal.  Heretofore, whenever I'd put something in my mouth that tasted that good, I'd start cramming it in as fast as possible.  This time I chewed very slowly feeling the bursts of flavor as my teeth ruptured the membrane.  I felt the sweet juice on my tongue and slowly, slowly swallowed and felt the nourishment go down in to my belly.  It was an experience in eating.  I almost came inside and wrote a post called "Ode to the Orange" because I was that awed.  Obviously, I didn't.

A few days later, I prepared a salad for lunch.  It was an ordinary salad with a mixture of various lettuce types, and a little cottage cheese for dairy.  I don't often do dressings, and discovered some time ago that cottage cheese works much better for me.  When I took the first bite, I was once again bowled over by the fabulous taste sensations.  It was delicious.  I can't believe I actually considered a salad delicious, but I did.

It was then that I realized, this:  When I am hungry and using food as fuel for my body, my body likes it.  My body responds by enjoying it.  I noticed that as my stomach got full, the salad wasn't quite so delectable.  My body was sated and my taste buds were responding. 

I think this is a real key for me.  I am trying to pay attention to how good my food is.  When it is quite tasty, I know it is good fuel for my high performance machine.  As it declines in tastiness, I know that my tank is getting full.  This is still a work in progress for me.  Not every meal is a great big YUM each time, but they are more and more.  I don't always stop when the yum factor is gone, but I'm getting better.  I think I will only improve from here.