Eating Considerations

Hi,

Been listening to John Robbins who is a vegetarian and health food guru. I got the link from a David Wolfe e-mail -- here is the URL if you'd like to listen:  http://www.thelongevitynowconference.com/robbins-video-1.html  

There are three parts to this video excerpt from the last Longevity Conference. I passively listened to all three videos as I was doing my exercise routine but was very struck by something that he said early on in his video. So much so, that I had to go back and listen again.

He was detailing his ideas on our skewed food culture and presented the idea that there are certain reasons that we eat. He said that we normally have three considerations when choosing what we eat:

1. taste
2. convenience
3. expense

When he said that, I realized that they are exactly the criteria that I take into consideration when I choose what to eat. I won't eat what does not taste good to me. If the food option is convenient I will likely choose it first. And expense is so ingrained that if I feel something is "too expensive" I simply do not even walk by it. It is simply not on my menu of reality or of real possibilities. That option becomes invisible to me.

JR said that if taste, convenience and expense are our ONLY considerations then McDonald's will easily satisfy all three considerations. Ah-ha! That is where I have been lerking for the last week or so -- not at McDonald's but at Hardees right next door.

I was disappointed that he did not delve more deeply into this subject. He moved on to other things, but I can see that I have a personal need to investigate this concept more deeply.

He also pointed out that the considerations we use are based on the question "Why do we eat?" Do we eat simply to indulge this moment? Do we eat based on our habits? Why do we eat?

Our questions are actually formed by what we believe is true. Our answers are also formed by what we believe is true. Some people will answer the question, "Why do I eat?" with a reason which is meant to redirect blame. They will come up with answers like, "I would change the way I eat EXCEPT that....... fill in the blank." If you ask them this question they immediately feel guilty -- especially if they happen to be over weight and want to change the situation for fear of other people's judgments --  or suffer from a condition that requires food monitoring (such as diabetes, or allergies) which they struggle with.  I'm not talking about that.

I feel that I need to examine why I eat in order to rise up to the standard that I actually believe in. What are the food standards that we fall down from -- or rise up to? Do you have a set of beliefs in this area? What are they? Do your eating habits follow your spiritual beliefs or do your food habits follow your fleshly desires? Is one better than the other? Do we need balance or dedication? Are there other criteria that we should consider? What is important beyond taste, convenience, and expense?

HR also asked the question why do some people whom you hit twice simply stay down. And why do some people who are hit eight times get up nine? These questions are not meant to make you wallow in the answers or excuses we use. I'd like this to be simply looking at the truth of our lives. The truth of mine, at least. I'm not looking to be beat up, just to come a little closer to solving the riddle of why I keep falling down.

I seem to be avoiding answering the question, "Why do I eat"? I had to step back and take a look at that question. Saying it in that way overwhelms and stumps me so I prayed and asked God to search my heart and point me in the right direction. He said that I don't really need to focus on the question "Why do I eat" but on the question "What are my considerations?"

These are my considerations when I am craving:

1. taste -- A picture suddenly pops into my head -- usually of something starchy like chili cheese fries, or hot dogs -- so taste does not mean the taste on my tongue but the desire in my heart portrayed by the picture that has appeared in my head.

2. convenience -- Do I have any in the house or do I need to go out and get some to fulfill the picture in my head? So this is about procurement or "getting what I want" rather than "convenience.

3. expense -- do I have enough to foot the bill in relation to what I have in mind. It is not about whether I can afford this item in the long run, but do I have enough right now to get what I want... so this too is about the desire in my heart and not really "expense."

So my considerations when I am craving really are:

1. what do I want
2. what do I have to do to get what I want

This appears to be a character flaw. Wow. Basic. Fleshly. I might say "just like a baby" who wants what they want no matter what. I wonder if this would be accurately called "emotional" eating which would actually be "eating without consideration."

When I go on a craving run, I do actually consider if there is something similar that is somewhat healthier in some way. Like the other day when I opted for chili cheese fries instead of a chili dog because the fries were not part of the grain family which I consider to be the worst thing I could eat (especially white bread). I'm not saying fries are healthy; and I am also analyzing the "craving brain set," not the sane one.

The other questions is, "What would I like my eating considerations to be?"


1. consequences
2. supply
3. desire

Consequences as in, "Will this food add to my health or detract from it?" Adding to my health would be fresh vegetables and some form of protein or slow carbs. Detracting from my health would be starchy carbs, fruit, sweets, fast carbs of any kind, and junk food.

Supply as in, "Do I have something good to eat or do I need to shop for good things to eat?" Supply also implies "preparation" such as being prepared by having only good food in the house.

Desire as in, "Do I like to eat what I am considering eating?" -- I have on some occasions bought something that was good for me to eat but I did not like it, so ended up throwing it away.

My first three turned into two and were:
1. what do I want
2. what do I have to do to get what I want
-- which under the craving mind set demonstrates greed, or more appropriately, avarice -- excessive or insatiable desire.

My three healthy considerations turned into the following questions:

1. consequences -- "Will this food add to my health or detract from it?"
2. supply -- "Do I have something good to eat or do I need to shop for good things to eat?"
3. desire -- "Do I like to eat what I am considering eating?"

I am not sure but I would like to think that focusing on: consequences, supply and desire -- may help me to make better choices. I know that there are a few physical reactions that actually cause cravings such as having eaten starchy carbs at the last meal or snack is one. A yeast infection can trigger cravings also.  Some medications trigger cravings, and some emotional situations can set them off, also.

But if I simply ask myself to make my choices based on better criteria -- I would like to think I will rise to the standard.  "Consequences, supply, and desire" will be my new "watch" words for a few days as I test out this theory for validity.

And I'd like to remember the question:  "Why do some people whom you hit twice simply stay down. And why do some people who are hit eight times get up nine?" -- when I look back over the last year in relation to food and eating, I seem to have turned into the one who keeps getting up and I am grateful for the good news! Thank God!

Let us begin again in 2011 and rise up to the standard we believe in!!

What do you think? Got any advice or suggestions? I would love to hear your point of view and suggestions on this one.

Be back soon,

--Marcia