This is me most of the days –
Although some moments like this one below makes life worth living!
Four year old niece: “Why are you eating ice-cream?”
Me: “Because that is my dinner”
Four year old niece: “But how??”
Me *waggling big evil shaggy imaginary brows*: “Because, I can”
Four year old niece: “MOMMY!!!”
Ah! The one perk of being an adult đ Linking up with Linda’s One-Liner Wednesday. Because, I can.
It is an unconscious struggle for me everyday. Not eating like a starved maniac and lap up every chocolate, pastry, cheese and cream around me. In my head, I actually become a version of Augustus Gloop but with nicer hair. Grabbing a fist of chocolate pudding with one hand and the decadent cheesy puff pastry with the other hand.
Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.
The funny thing is, it is not even a conscious decision of limiting myself. I am not over-weight. I am very healthy. I exercise. I eat the right things most of the time. And it comes naturally and not forcefully. Yet, at the back of my mind there is a little me (probably even fictive) that wants to indulge in those creamy frothy concoctions. With a dash of espresso on top.
It is a temptation even without me making it so!
This is just me and food. I have met people who really have serious issues about stopping once they start. And not just food. Alcohol, smoking, sex, shopping and something as simple as peaking into the last page of this very very intriguing book. When it is time to sheepishly look back and admit how you went a little crazy for a while, the standard reply is “I couldn’t resist. I couldn’t help myself.” Apparently, you are not yourself anymore and this different version of you takes over. All you can do is helplessly look as you give in to your guilty pleasures (or perhaps not-so-guilty as well. Some people are too hard on themselves!) and later on drown in misery about being so weak and not having enough self-control.
Maybe we start off with high expectations. We don’t realize that we need to gradually wean off so that the withdrawal symptoms don’t hit so hard that we relapse even deeper into it. Or maybe we have the right kind of motivation that is guiding us into something. For example, I went off ice-cream for a year in 2014 in the memory of my grandpa. He loved ice-creams and till our last meet he kept up, “We need an ice-cream party”. And my regret was I could never hold that last party. Wrong or right, I stopped having ice-cream for that year (On hindsight, maybe I should have done the opposite? An ice-cream daily?). And I admit, the first few months were BAD!! But afterwards, I got used to it. I had tubs of chocolate brownie sundaes in front of me and I could cheerfully dole them out without even a twinge of temptation.
But it was just one year. Imagine your guiltiest pleasure reclining on the love seat and beckoning seductively. There is champagne and candle lights to finish off the decadent strawberries. And you have resist this every single day for the rest of your life? Reading stories about people fighting addictions and succeeding (or succumbing) makes me question my determination. I am not sure if I am strong enough to resist. That said, I am not sure if I will ever get addicted so strongly to something. I think.
Something by Mark Twain that makes me think twice and more (I looked it up as I couldn’t remember the exact words) –
âThere is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable.â
Where do you find your discipline and self-control? What is your guilty pleasure that lures you in its silken traps? A secret temptation perhaps? It can be funny, weird or downright believable!
We are talking “temp” at Linda’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday đ Jump right in!!
This post isn’t just restricted to cannibals. Everyone is welcome!
So I am a vegetarian by choice and I get this a lot – “WHY?!?!”  It is somehow unfathomable to most non-vegetarians that I do not have meat, poultry, fish out of choice and not religious or medical compulsions.
I am not sure if I have ever consumed non-veg as a kid; but in my memory I know I consciously avoided non-veg food around the age of six. It wasn’t because I did not like it I think (I remember the mouth-watering smell of butter chicken that my family devours) but when I had my “Oh! This came from something that trotted and chirped with their family” moment. After that, the doors were firmly shut to the sumptuous delights of non-vegetarian food.
People have risen to the challenge of converting me and poof! They have failed miserably. I accidentally bit into a chicken piece about three years back and believe me, I started crying in the cafeteria with tens of other students looking accusingly at my oh-so-terrible friends for making me cry (Thankfully, only a few realized the real reason behind my outburst). I don’t mind people around me wolfing down their chicken and pork and crab or whatever strikes their fancy. I am cool as long as the same oil was not used for my food. I have also adjusted well to having to share MY food while I cannot even sample the tiniest of bite from my friends’ plates *fixing my angelic halo awkwardly*
However, there was this one time when I was put into a spot – in the Ethics & Governance classroom! We were discussing a case where a group of miners stuck in the cave for three weeks killed and ate a fellow to survive while patiently waiting to be rescued – perhaps not quite patiently. It is based on the true story of a shipwreck where these guys on the lifeboat kill one man and eat him to survive. Then they were all convicted of murder.
The professor questioned that if we were faced in such a situation, would we give in to the primal human instinct of survival and eat human meat or would we refrain? He then specifically directed it towards the vegetarians and asked us. Some said that they might while some of us stated that we honestly could not say. We felt that we wouldn’t eat but hey! If it came to survival… there really is no saying of what one would do. Then the professor twisted the question and asked pointing at me, “Would you eat her if it came to your survival? Someone you know and are close to.” Although this turned into a joke as someone said, “No use. She is too tiny to satisfy our hunger.” Till date, I do not know whether I should have been happy that they won’t eat me or annoyed because they believe I won’t satisfy their appetites đ
Hunger. Survival. Life and Death. No right answers. No wrong answers. The law says it is wrong. Our hearts and minds says it is wrong. But what would happen when our starving stomach and depleting senses started taking over?
As for me, I mainly decide my eating through my nose. So who knows… If you smell great? *arches eyebrows wickedly*
What makes you a vegetarian/eggetarian/non-vegetarian? Bare it all. Even if you are okay with eating a fellow human. This is all just contemplation!
P.S. I hope you enjoyed the chocolate đ
I wrote this while dreaming about this pizza
Almost is so full of possibilities and well, so full of out-of-reach reality. Almost single, almost graduate, almost drunk…Â
I take pride in being “Almost Healthy” I have never been an out and out health-freak – impossible given my love for carbs, cheese and chocolates. But over the few years, I implemented lifestyle tweaks to not completely compromise my health. And it has paid off! My hemoglobin levels I tell you đ
Sometime back I reached out and read a book on a close relative’s recommendation – Donât lose your mind, Lose your weight by Rujuta Divekar – my first nutrition based read. To the Indians – she was force behind Kareena Kapoor’s size zero national rage.Â
And now I feel like sharing a few different/lost tips which she has so logically spoken about – nothing on losing weight, only about being fit! Do check it out. Just ignore the frequent name dropping and the overdose of Mumbaiya Hinglish (Hindi + English)!
1. Eat EVERYTHING! Yes. You heard it. Don’t go for those high protein/zero carbs crappy diets. Have proteins, vitamins, carbs, calcium, fats and whatever else is out there. Especially good fats! Balanced moderation and your body will thank you. P.S. A slice or wedge of cheese makes a healthy snack đ
2. Make mornings your new best friend. Hello fellow morning people – time to rejoice đ Your metabolism works the best in the morning! Our body functions super efficiently then so keep fueling it. Eat something immediately after waking up. If you are tempted for buttery chocolate croissants – have it in the morning. Leave the rest of the day for lighter stuff.Â
3. Think global. Eat local. Now this was brilliant! Perhaps subconsciously we all know it… Your body recognizes and functions the best with the foods that predominantly belong to your childhood and geography. Italians can have pasta all the time because it is influenced by their childhood, lifestyle, culture, cooking style and geography. Pasta needs all THAT to function well and not turn into an unhealthy carb fest!
4. Plenty of small meals instead of few big meals – So hard to follow! The logic is simple – assure your body with regular intake of food so that it doesn’t go into starvation mode and store fats! It will chill with its feet up and a glass of sangria.
5. Prepare your body for the buffet! Confide into your body when holiday/ wedding season comes around. Or about that sumptuous brunch plan. Don’t give false hopes of limiting your helpings. Just be prepared and don’t shock your body with the ten unplanned desserts. And going hungry the whole day to splurge in the evening is wrong too. Eat normally! One day of going overboard is fine!
6. Love your body! Sounds so easy but apparently very difficult. But appreciate the way it puts up with the abuse and shocks while still supporting us.Â
These are a few steps that can help remove the almost from the “Almost Healthy” đ Linda has us talking about “Almost” over at Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Hop over for some interesting takes!
Do share your own – what are those healthy traits you have incorporated in your lifestyle.
Anything and Everything seems possible after a good hearty Breakfast!
Unwritten rule of life đ Check out Linda’s One-Liner Wednesday for more fun stuff…
An Armchair Perfectionist 