Thinking About Food 

I can’t imagine another time when food played a more central role in our society. We can watch cooking shows at any time of the day, make food appear on our doorsteps with a few clicks, grab food anywhere we go, and find identity by committing to foodways and philosophies.

It seems wild that this highwater mark for food and eating corresponds with so many social and health ills around food. With all this access and information shouldn’t it be going better? I have no idea what you should be eating and won’t bother you about it. But I’ll bet you have a reason for reading this, and that matters to me.

If it’s time to do something about your diet, it probably means that it’s time to do something about your life. This might mean increasing your activity levels, nudging your diet in one direction or another, or seeking guidance and support.

Are you bristling?

I’m a bristler, especially about my weight. Growing up around lots of dieting and fat shaming will do that. I struggled with what if anything to say about my current dieter status. Yes, I’m on a diet. Yes, I have some new clothes and like how they look on me. Yes, I’m trying to increase my activity levels and might do real exercises soon.

Fingers crossed, this won’t cause the agony I fear most. I’m a risk averse person, with strong curmudgeonly tendencies. I’m not the one for dieting or weight loss pep talks, but, if you’re ready, here are my tips for thinking about food in  constructive ways.

Manage defensiveness: Acknowledge defensive thoughts, they’re telling you something. It’s probably true that you already try hard, do your best, and have reasons to be wary of trying another thing. And it might be equally true that something different still needs to be done to protect your health.

Write it down: It’s important to get an accurate sense of what you’re consuming. I keep a sporadic messy informal food journal in the margins of my daily bullet journal pages. My entries confirmed my doc’s suspicion that I was eating too many carbs, especially given my low activity level. In my case, these carbs were blocking the benefits of my otherwise healthy diet.

Prioritize your strengths and weaknesses: I’m bad at breakfast and lunch, but great at label reading, planning meals, and cooking dinner. This means that I need to put these skills to work throughout the day.

Put some structure on your struggle: Without structured meal prep I’ll end up kind of thrashing around like a ravenous shark, randomly eating things out of my fridge. Meal Prep keeps the shark under control.

Things I’ve added

Low-carb meal replacement bars for breakfast. I was NEVER going to joyfully meet the sunrise with a homemade meal. That's a whole other broad you're thinking of.

Low-carb yogurt, with added fiber.

Frozen broccoli, spinach, and peas (in limited amounts). I’m the only one eating these things, and that’s okay. It’s what I need to be doing.