I Ate an Omelet

  Except for baked goods and fried matzoh, I have not eaten eggs for as long as I can remember.  My "reason" is that I was "traumatized" by watching my mother eating soft-boiled eggs (which I thought looked disgusting) every day when I was young. I have never willingly eaten eggs for most of my 69 years until Christmas Day.

     On Christmas morning, I requested my boyfriend make me an egg-white veggie omelet.  I wanted to add more protein to my diet – especially during breakfast - and I don’t eat breakfast meats like bacon or sausage.  Therefore, I decided to try eating an egg-white omelet made with lots of veggies. 

     My boyfriend, who does most of the cooking, made me a delicious veggie omelet for Christmas breakfast.  It was somewhat browned (not on purpose), which I thought added to its appeal.  I enjoyed the omelet and will try another sometime soon. 

     So why do I tell this story?  I have lived over 60 years without willingly eating eggs.  At 69, I tried an omelet for the first time – and liked it.  If we desire, we can change at any age.  We can change our food preferences, eating habits, and weight.  We can learn to think differently about anything we choose.  Just as I now think differently about omelets, you can learn to think differently about food and eating – and it’s not even difficult.   

     The first step is to decide that you want to make some changes.  The second step is to work on changing your mindset - which is how you think.  When you change your mindset about food and eating, you will change your relationship with food.  When you change how you think about food, you then change how you feel about that food and what you choose to do around that food.  Ultimately, your weight will benefit when you decide what to eat and how much to eat intentionally. While good health is not guaranteed, you will be better able to handle any health challenges when you achieve your optimal weight and eat healthfully (most of the time). 

 Helpful ways to change your mindset around food:

1.  If you approach food and eating with a scarcity mindset – thinking that there will not be enough of a particular food or that you may not be able to eat it again anytime soon – you will want to eat all that food immediately and may overeat.  When you frequently overeat because of thoughts of scarcity, you’re more likely to gain weight.  
2. If someone has prepared your “favorite” food, and you want to please them by eating the food, you’re also more likely to overeat. When you don’t want to “hurt their feelings,” you may choose to eat the food, even if you don’t want it. 

          Frequently eating to please others can easily cause you to gain weight. 

3. One of the most common reasons for overeating is “because the food tastes delicious’.  When you eat slowly and savor your food, you’ll usually notice that the first 3 or 4 bites taste the best.  Enjoying food without cleaning your plate will help you control your overeating.  With practice, leaving some food will become easy.  
4. When a particular food becomes very important to you, your brain receives a dopamine hit. Dopamine is the “feel good” hormone. Every time you think about or eat that food, dopamine increases, making you more likely to desire that food again.  However, when you decide to eat something intentionally – by choosing to eat it ahead of time – you’re better able to listen to and pay attention to your hunger signals. You’re not responding to dopamine; you’re responding to how you truly want to show up in your life. 
5. You can learn to eat when you’re hungry – and not to eat when you’re not hungry – even if everyone else is eating.  You can learn to talk to yourself “less sexily” about food.  Remember that most foods can be easily bought or prepared at any time of the year.  You can also remind yourself that you can plan to eat any food when you are hungry. When you learn to eat when you’re hungry rather than for other reasons, your excess weight will start decreasing.  
6. If you’re eating something that doesn’t taste very good, stop eating that food. Hunger is easily satisfied; don’t waste your appetite on foods you don’t enjoy.  Enjoy and savor delicious food - but eat it when you’re hungry.  Pay attention to your hunger and satiety signals, and stop eating before you’re stuffed, overfull, or uncomfortable.   

     Like I’ve learned to like an egg-white veggie omelet, you can learn to make better food choices and pay attention to your body’s signals for hunger and satiety. You can learn to make choices that support your weight loss goals when eating at home, parties, and restaurants.  Make 2023 the year you change your mindset about food and eating and permanently lose your excess weight.    

     If changing your mindset intrigues you as a better way to lose weight forever, schedule a no-obligation, no-pressure consultation with me at:  

https://calendly.com/coachbarbarakatz/60min 

      Share this post with a friend.  If you or your friend are not receiving my weekly posts, sign up at: https://drbarbaralkatzcoaching.com.