Day 1 - Post 3 - Mental versus Physical

My husband is home from work and we just finished dinner. We decided to eat leftover Chinese from last night. Last night I pigged out. Tonight however I decided to take a small plate (salad plate size) and put only 1.5 cups of the chicken and broccoli mixture on it - not a single piece more - and I skipped the rice. I also had a half can of Coke Zero.

Ta Da!!

So now that I have finished my new dinner portion and drink the game begins - am I still physically hungry? OR is my brain not registering that there is food in my stomach?

Yup - it's totally mental.

One thing you have to know about my husband is he's lucky. His job (Army) requires that he maintain a certain physique. Now I know that doesn't sound like he's lucky - but the lucky part is because his job actually makes him (and the other soldiers) work out daily - sometimes twice a day depending on the mood. And it's a very intense workout too.

That being said, he is able to eat larger portions and not gain weight because he will work it all off. His metabolism is a million times better and his muscle mass uses the food better than my body does. This creates a problem for me and my brain - mentally when I see his portions or him going back for seconds (like tonight) my brain and I like to believe that I can eat the same amount that he does and not gain weight either. The difference is that I'm a housewife - if I am not intentional about moving throughout the day, the most movement I see is vacuuming or making the bed or loading the washing machine ... not nearly like what my husband gets.

So tonight, when I finished my downsized portion and I saw my husband going back for a second dinner plate size helping, my brain said "OMG! NEED FOOD! STILL HUNGRY! MUST EAT MORE!" Then I looked from my seat at the table all over the kitchen for something to munch on. All I spotted was more Chinese food... and chips... good in moderation... not good when you're brain is planning a feeding frenzy. Luckily, I told my husband what was going through my brain and when we got to laughing about it I was able to run from the dining room away from the food and chips that were overpowering my brain. Whew! Thank goodness I am doing this blog as it gave me an excuse to hide from the food.

Hide from the food? Yeah, I know this sounds goofy but unless you've been a food addict (yikes, I can't believe I'm using that term) then you probably don't understand. My stomach is full. Now that I've sat here typing for the last 15 minutes my brain has calmed down and has accepted that I'm not hungry, but that I'm content. Later I will probably have a little dessert (a frozen ice cup or single scoop of ice cream perhaps?). In the meantime, I am going to continue to sip on my glass of water - and avoid the candy dish (that needs to go).

First meal down with the new attitude. Just got to remember to make sure each time I eat that I'm legitimately hungry - not being over powered by emotions or my crazy food driven brain.