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Resisting a Food Temptation

2024-12-12

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I wrote last week about some changes I'm trying to introduce to my diet. I've reduced the number of meals I eat per day from three to two. One of those meals, usually my lunch, consists almost entirely of protein and natural fats, like eggs and steak. I'm trying to increase my water intake, at least 120 ounces per day. It isn't always easy to turn down a tasty snack between meals, but I've certainly reduced them over this month.

Avoiding the temptation of overly-sweet or ultra-processed foods has always been difficult for me. My highest-ever weight was about 256 pounds (116.1 kg): the result of three doughnuts for breakfast and 20 McDonald's chicken nuggets each day, combined with a sedentary IT job. While I've lost 30 pounds since that time and have largely managed to keep it off, breaking the 200 lb barrier has remained elusive, and my proclivity to stop at gas stations or convenience stores in the evenings and buy sweets for myself is largely to blame. Even worse, my wife also has a bit of a sweet tooth, and sometimes she can be quite an enabler--though she can control herself better than I can.

Yesterday was a rough day for her, and she wanted a treat at the end of the day. She asked me if I could stop by the corner store and pick up a pack of Oreo cookies for her. Such a proposition is usually quite dangerous for me: I will often pick up two or three other sugary snacks, some of them quite large portions, and eat all of them in the span of a few days. The immense calorie intake easily offsets any gains I made that week with exercise, while the unnatural ingredients therein mess with my hormone balance and make me crave them even more.

But this time, some unusual things happened. I went to the store and bought the Oreos, but while I was there, instead of reaching for a box of Cheez-Its or Nilla Wafers, I found myself wanting to buy a pound of flank steak for next week's lunches. I left the store without any other junk food in my bag.

When I brought the cookies home, my wife pulled out two to eat, and I took them away to put them back in the pantry. This is usually a prime opportunity for me to take out three or four, or sometimes an entire row, to eat for myself. Instead, I found that my desire to eat them was much reduced, and I put them back into the pantry without taking a single one.

Many nutrition and health guides emphasize that reducing sugar and carbohydrates in one's diet is very difficult. They are addictive by nature, and food companies process and refine them to make them even harder to resist. But they do so by preying on our sense of satiation, and as I've focused on eating more meat and vegetables, my satiation has drastically improved. I suspect that's why i was able to resist those cream sandwiches more easily last night than I have before.

My ability to say no has filled me with renewed confidence. Maybe I really can change my diet for the better.

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[Last updated: 2024-12-12]