Sort of content-free: Reframing
Feb. 23rd, 2007 11:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
featherynscaleThis is gonna be long, and it's probably gonna be dumb. I'm cutting it to spare you both. I'm writing it down, though, because it's sort of a Hey Wow moment for me. (It might be a Well Duh moment for you. In fact, I expect it. Feel free to pass by.)
As it turns out, my household has been talking about trying to eat better. Our hedging justification for this has been something along the lines of "No, we're not interested in dieting to lose weight or look good, or pander to the beauty-industrial complex, but wouldn't it be nice to be a little thinner? I mean, that would make it easier to fit better into the elevators at DragonCon, right? Just a little thinner. Then we wouldn't be so miserably hot in the summer, right?". And so on.
This is, of course, lame. Yes, dieting is lame, and mainstream culture beauty standards are really lame, and there's very little on this earth that is more boring and wretched than a conversation with a person who is obsessed with their eating plan and whiny about what they "can" and "cannot" eat, or who blames you for eating a cookie, or bringing sweets to the office, or whatnot. That is all lame. But even so, our justification is equally lame. We should just do a thing because we want to do it, and not worry about the other stuff.
But I digress. We are looking at the South Beach Diet, which seems to be very effective for people, and not terribly onerous. Both of those things are important, because we don't wish to devolve into Weight Watchers. (Capitalization here is for emphasis, not to refer to the company of the same name. I'm referring to the obsessive weighing and tracking and bitching and feeling powerless and whatnot behaviors referenced above.)
So I am looking at some of the recommended food choices for this plan, and I have discovered that many of the things they recommend you eat are actually things I want to eat. They are things that I would eat independently of being on any kind of diet, if only I thought of them.
Suddenly it occurs to me that much of my eating choices are based on unexamined habit. I choose what to order or what to buy at the grocery based on habit. And some of those things I habitually choose, are not even things that I particularly like. They're just things that I get because I had a really good one once at some other restaurant that no longer exists. Or because they're simple enough that I think there's no way the place could screw them up. Or because they're easy to cook, and I can't be arsed to cook things that aren't easy to cook.
I'm not cool with that. I would much rather make choices that bring me enjoyment than make choices that bring me mediocrity. So now, in about two minutes, this whole 'we should diet' thing has ceased to be about health or attractiveness or fitting into the elevators, and has begun to be about breaking habits and making choices that improve my experience of life. The initial motivations or possible motivations feel stupid to me, but breaking habits and choosing experiences that I will enjoy more seem practically noble motivations to me. If that somehow leads to some other effects, that's all well and good, and if it doesn't, that's okay too.
EDIT: And,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
gamera_spinning reminds me that it is Lent, which means that suddenly, everybody has fish on the menu. I love fish, and consequently, I love Lent. (I fail at Catholicism.)
As it turns out, my household has been talking about trying to eat better. Our hedging justification for this has been something along the lines of "No, we're not interested in dieting to lose weight or look good, or pander to the beauty-industrial complex, but wouldn't it be nice to be a little thinner? I mean, that would make it easier to fit better into the elevators at DragonCon, right? Just a little thinner. Then we wouldn't be so miserably hot in the summer, right?". And so on.
This is, of course, lame. Yes, dieting is lame, and mainstream culture beauty standards are really lame, and there's very little on this earth that is more boring and wretched than a conversation with a person who is obsessed with their eating plan and whiny about what they "can" and "cannot" eat, or who blames you for eating a cookie, or bringing sweets to the office, or whatnot. That is all lame. But even so, our justification is equally lame. We should just do a thing because we want to do it, and not worry about the other stuff.
But I digress. We are looking at the South Beach Diet, which seems to be very effective for people, and not terribly onerous. Both of those things are important, because we don't wish to devolve into Weight Watchers. (Capitalization here is for emphasis, not to refer to the company of the same name. I'm referring to the obsessive weighing and tracking and bitching and feeling powerless and whatnot behaviors referenced above.)
So I am looking at some of the recommended food choices for this plan, and I have discovered that many of the things they recommend you eat are actually things I want to eat. They are things that I would eat independently of being on any kind of diet, if only I thought of them.
Suddenly it occurs to me that much of my eating choices are based on unexamined habit. I choose what to order or what to buy at the grocery based on habit. And some of those things I habitually choose, are not even things that I particularly like. They're just things that I get because I had a really good one once at some other restaurant that no longer exists. Or because they're simple enough that I think there's no way the place could screw them up. Or because they're easy to cook, and I can't be arsed to cook things that aren't easy to cook.
I'm not cool with that. I would much rather make choices that bring me enjoyment than make choices that bring me mediocrity. So now, in about two minutes, this whole 'we should diet' thing has ceased to be about health or attractiveness or fitting into the elevators, and has begun to be about breaking habits and making choices that improve my experience of life. The initial motivations or possible motivations feel stupid to me, but breaking habits and choosing experiences that I will enjoy more seem practically noble motivations to me. If that somehow leads to some other effects, that's all well and good, and if it doesn't, that's okay too.
EDIT: And,
gamera_spinning reminds me that it is Lent, which means that suddenly, everybody has fish on the menu. I love fish, and consequently, I love Lent. (I fail at Catholicism.)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
What, you mean like suddenly realizing you don't actually like California Rolls?
Date: 2007-02-23 06:27 pm (UTC)No idea what you're talking about, sugar.
Re: What, you mean like suddenly realizing you don't actually like California Rolls?
Date: 2007-02-23 06:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-23 06:39 pm (UTC)I'm a creature of habit, and I'm comfortable with that, so for me, improving my experience requires creating new habits. (Though I acknowledge that depending on one's perspective, creating new habits may be the same thing as breaking old habits.) The rest of it, however, is a much better explanation for my morning exercise routine than anything I've been able to come up with. Previous attempts at explaining this have mostly been along the lines of "Apparently, I'm crazy," as I have long considered exercise without a specific goal or purpose to be pointless and insane.
Re: What, you mean like suddenly realizing you don't actually like California Rolls?
Date: 2007-02-23 06:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-23 07:15 pm (UTC)I'm aimed at a goal of Healthier.
-
This let's me do what I need to do to keep me happy/heathy, without mucking about in the emotional entanglements of external expectations of body types.
As a side effect, I AM thinner, but that's not my goal.
-
Some of the inspiration for this comes from:
http://www.rmaxinternational.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12935
Re: What, you mean like suddenly realizing you don't actually like California Rolls?
Date: 2007-02-23 07:21 pm (UTC)See, I like the idea of them. They sound very tasty. And I have some measure of faith that they could actually *be* very tasty under certain controlled circumstances. In practice, though, they're sort of squidgy and dull.
Re: What, you mean like suddenly realizing you don't actually like California Rolls?
Date: 2007-02-23 07:29 pm (UTC)Other, lesser, Cali Rolls have cheap dyed whitefish.
-
I eat many of both types, when I can.
Re: What, you mean like suddenly realizing you don't actually like California Rolls?
Date: 2007-02-23 07:33 pm (UTC)Re: What, you mean like suddenly realizing you don't actually like California Rolls?
Date: 2007-02-23 08:44 pm (UTC)So...when I wish to enjoy food in the company of friends who want sushi, I order California Rolls. Much like I'll order guacamole and quesadillas in a Mexican restaurant. There's a reasonable assurance that I'll like it, and that it won't make me ill. (shrug)
no subject
Date: 2007-02-23 08:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-23 08:55 pm (UTC)Another note: From my own personal observation, going on an Atkins, or South Beach, or any other mostly protein styled diet tends to greatly increase the sex drive. This has the added bonus of giving you something other than food to think about, as well as an additional form of exercise.
1 That's a collective "you", all three. Yinz, in my native tongue.
Re: What, you mean like suddenly realizing you don't actually like California Rolls?
Date: 2007-02-23 08:59 pm (UTC)way off tahpic
Date: 2007-02-23 09:03 pm (UTC)Re: What, you mean like suddenly realizing you don't actually like California Rolls?
Date: 2007-02-23 09:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-23 09:03 pm (UTC)I did notice that, when I was doing the Atkins thing, back when I was in college. Sadly, I had nobody with whom to indulge. So I went dancing a lot (and saved all the carb grams to which I was entitled so that I could drink whiskey when I was out).
I had forgotten about it until you mentioned it. I sort of hope to avoid that effect this time around, it gets fairly perilous.
no subject
Date: 2007-02-23 09:18 pm (UTC)Especially if they're on a similar diet.
Re: way off tahpic
Date: 2007-02-23 09:21 pm (UTC)I had a related realization.....
Date: 2007-02-23 09:31 pm (UTC)Trying to do things because it's what is expected of me, or to pander to someone else's views of what I should or should not do, etc....utter waste of my time, and doomed to failure....
no subject
Date: 2007-02-23 10:46 pm (UTC)Eat to live
Date: 2007-02-23 11:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-23 11:33 pm (UTC)youI think it means.no subject
Date: 2007-02-23 11:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-24 01:09 am (UTC)So I am forced to resort to comments, which just aren't the same.
no subject
Date: 2007-02-24 05:41 am (UTC)They're the silly fuckers that don't eat cake at birthday parties.
Re: What, you mean like suddenly realizing you don't actually like California Rolls?
Date: 2007-02-24 08:19 am (UTC)*shrug* At least I won't starve to death. :-)
no subject
Date: 2007-02-26 04:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-26 04:13 pm (UTC)Re: Eat to live
Date: 2007-02-26 04:14 pm (UTC)That's a totally valid viewpoint, but adopting it would require me to give up some measure of hedonism. I'm not sure I'm up for that; I like my hedonism.
no subject
Date: 2007-02-26 04:15 pm (UTC)Lame.
Re: I had a related realization.....
Date: 2007-02-26 04:17 pm (UTC)The power of should is weak and irritating.
no subject
Date: 2007-02-26 04:36 pm (UTC)Not like they can't just go purge it up anyway.
*smirk*
no subject
Date: 2007-02-26 05:14 pm (UTC)Also, and, a possibly helpful link
Date: 2007-02-26 08:47 pm (UTC)Hee.
Also, ya'll might find some verrah interesting things south beach diet-related at South Beach Diet online (http://www.southbeachdiet.com/public/dailydish/dd_20070224.asp). I get a daily email thing from them - although hell if I can remember how I signed up for it...but they send me recipes and general tips everyday. Not that I'm following the diet persay, but I do enjoy the recipes. Just the other day...Coconut Shrimp Curry (http://www.southbeachdiet.com/public/dailydish/dd_20070218.asp). Drool.
Re: I had a related realization.....
Date: 2007-02-26 08:56 pm (UTC)Re: I had a related realization.....
Date: 2007-02-26 09:30 pm (UTC)Re: Also, and, a possibly helpful link
Date: 2007-02-26 09:32 pm (UTC)Re: I had a related realization.....
Date: 2007-02-26 10:20 pm (UTC)Sorry to muck with your ongoing, day-old thread here.
Re: Also, and, a possibly helpful link
Date: 2007-02-27 08:45 pm (UTC)