This is a photo of my lunch. I have a serving of salad and a serving of shrimp. To many people, this is an eminently reasonable amount of food. To me, it looks as if I am about to be starved to death. Totally not true, but how do I make my stomach believe I am going to survive?
I eat slow. Because usually I eat too much too fast and then go back for more. So my solution is eat a bite, write some wordz, eat a bite, watch some Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., take a drink, take it easy. Later on when I have a craving for something sweet, some frozen fruit. That is REALLY hard to eat fast.
My biggest difficulty is crunchy things. I am always craving crunchy things. Making my own crackers allows me to make food that I can control, so it’s ok. Breaded shrimp or fish that is baked is pretty good. Occasionally a crisp salad can assuage the craving, but not often.
Over the past 5 years I have scaled back from 2 or even 3 large burgers, fries, onion rings, and soda at fast food to making 99% of my own food. I don’t go to fast food places at all anymore. Restaurants once a month.
My favorite meal at Mcdonalds used to be 1 big mac, 1 double cheeseburger, double fries, and a large salad with 2 packets of ranch dressing, xl coke. At Taco Bell? Double Nachos Bel grande extra sour cream extra cheese, xl mt dew and 2 orders of cinnamon crisps. Carls Junior? rarely a burger, but more than 3 orders of Onion rings at a time with a milk shake.
Today, the thought of any of those orders makes me a bit nauseous. I am still overweight, but my cholesterol is down and my ability to exercise off the weight is improved beyond all expectation. I KNOW without question that I can bike 20 miles, I can walk a 5k, and I can cut down on my portions. But the portion size and going back for more is still the battle. It takes miniscule shifts down the scale to try to not eat more.