Dealing With "Bad" Food

I just had a nice visit with my sister-in-law. She has been on Nutri-System for a couple of months and lost 23 pounds. She needs to lose 30 more. This is CR - on someone else's plan. While this may be harder to keep up than self-taught and self-guided CR, she seems to be getting it. For the first time in her life, she is getting those habits of self-control. She's learned a lot about how to eat well and eat less. She now knows what a normal portion size needs to be for her. She's figured out how to say no.

We had a little chat about not eating bad food. I said that it's easiest to think of it as "not food". At some point, in the first year, I found myself going down the grocery store aisles, saying "not food", "not food", as I passed by cookies and potato chips. This food was dead to me as "food". It was as inedible for me as exotic foreign cuisine is for many people.

My sister-in-law really liked that idea and said it was better than how she is thinking - "I can't eat that." Her way of thinking is still denial - a sacrifice. It assumes that you want to eat it, but can't. My formulation just says that it is not edible for me. That's how I think of it.

It can be a very effective mantra. When you say it out loud to an acquaintance who is offering you the "bad" food, it is devastatingly effective. "I don't eat that" is better than "I can't eat that".

I told her the CR people's word for such food, "gak". Even better, though you must only say it to yourself. That food is "gak". It is now the food's fault for being bad - not yours. It is not you that would be bad for eating it. It is the food that is lacking - as if it were poisonous or spoiled.

When you are still in learning mode, it is really important to avoid some classes of food - those that are drastically lacking in nutrition and full of calories. I wouldn't avoid "dessert" for instance. Dessert could be some fruit with ricotta, like April makes. Or, it could be some semi-sweet chocolate or a cup of CR cocoa. But, it would not be a chocolate eclair or a piece of cherry pie a la mode. You don't need the calories that those foods provide. They really don't taste better than the ricotta/fruit or the CR cocoa. They are "not food" for you, if you are on CR.

Once you get past the novice stage, you can try the "not food" in small doses or at social occasions, if you feel in control and so inclined. What I have found is that they've lost their charm. I really don't care for them any more. They are confirmed in their "not food" status. I think this is actually a really healthy thing. If you can honestly decide that you'd rather have fresh fruit than a piece of pie, then you are not suffering in any way. Their is no negativity to CR. You are not denying yourself. This is when CR becomes easy. But, it takes a while. You have to work at your attitude towards food, emphasizing the healthiness of food until it is at least as important as the taste.