I used to think that you had to totally give something up to be free of its clutches. But I am leaning towards a different, more gentle approach. A kind of drifting away, without the urgent call to arms and the purposeful girding of loins required for that ‘giving up’ mindset. To be free of an addiction is to not need that thing. It doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t have it ever again. (I know the jury’s still out on that one, but these are interesting thoughts to explore anyway.)
The whole feeling that you are missing out by not having something sets up a conflict inside your mind. Conflict is, in my opinion, never good. So I am making choices to eat more nutritious food. I am educating my tastebuds to love these foods alongside the crisps, crackers, chocolate and chardonnay that I haven’t been able to get enough of in recent years. My body might be getting more calories than it needs, but at least it’s getting good nutrients along with the empty calories of the ‘bad’ choices.
It’s a kind of crowding-out mentality. There’s a minimum of wholesome, healthy food that I will eat every day. Salads. Steamed vegetables. Good proteins. Good carbohydrates. Good fats. The naughty foods? I can have them too. Any of them. As long as I’ve already had the good stuff. But here’s a little piece of magic that works for me. Rather than a picking my naughties from a whole supermarket of crap foods, I choose to think carefully about the foods I love. I evaluate them and rank them to the 10 I like best. Then I pick from that reduced pile. I’m not missing out. I’m still having the things I like best. And truly, the rest can be ignored for the most part.
Feeling like something sweet? If it’s not going to be fresh or dried fruit I will choose from my list of chocolate, a peppermint sweet/lollipop, one kind of sweet biscuit (always the same kind) or a piece of homemade cake. Savoury? Pizza, crackers on their own or with cheese, cornchips or potato crisps. Alcohol? One type of wine. This also stops me from putting loads of junk into my shopping trolley. I have thought about it and have made my choice while I’m at home and while I’m actually thinking about my health. At the supermarket, my eyes can then be trained to look only for what’s on my list.
Today, that’s good enough for me.