I'm back...........

After taking a small vacation from this blog, it is time to return and perhaps rethink how I will use this space.


Today I caught a few minutes of the Rachel Ray show and the segment where a doctor was discussing obesity with a young woman.  This young woman went through gastric bi-pass surgery and after losing a lot of weight was now re-gaining that weight.  The doctor did not discuss food, or counting calories, or cutting back on fat, or exercising.  Instead, he asked the young woman to think about two things:


1.  What would you do if you were at your ideal weight that you don't do now.
2.  If you give up food as your source of comfort, what can you do to replace that comfort in your life.


One of the things she said in answer to the first question was that she would like to be in pictures with her nieces and nephews.  Oh my, do I understand that.  I just hate when people bring out cameras and want me in the picture. I hate pictures of myself.  It would be wonderful if I felt better about myself, was thinner, and enjoyed seeing pictures of me.


The second question really got me thinking.  I do love food.  I do use it as comfort.  What in my life is such a distraction that I forget about food for a while?  I thought of two things right off the bat - writing and creating.  


Writing has been an on-and-off thing with me.  Once I get started I get lost in the process and thoroughly love putting my thoughts or imagination down on paper.  It is the getting started, or finding time that prevents me from doing more writing.  Poor excuse, I know.


The creating is something new that I have recently enjoyed.  Although I have been a crafter for years (quilting, knitting, stitching), I always followed a pattern and never felt like I was actually doing the creating.  However, I am now in an Artist's Trading Card group and we are given a theme each month and have to create a 2-1/2" X 3-1/2" card with our interpretation of that theme.  It takes hours of my time and I never think about food during those hours.


All this to say that I am going to try using this blog to write about my thoughts on food.  I might sometimes list what I eat, or I may just talk about why I chose certain foods, how I felt while eating, how I managed some control, and how writing is helping me.


Potato chips.  Today at lunch I had a salad.  I decided to have some crackers and humus with the salad, but as I was eating one of the crackers I realized that I wasn't really enjoying the cracker.  So why was I eating it?  I really wanted a potato chip, but potato chips don't normally accompany a salad.  Crackers or bread seem to be acceptable accompaniments to salads, not potato chips.  No one was looking, so I put the crackers away and got out the bag of potato chips.  I had three or four chips, thoroughly enjoyed crunching on them, and was then satisfied.  I put the bag away, finished my salad, and lunch was done.  I could have eaten a whole pile of crackers in order to have my taste buds and crunch need satisfied, but instead I chose potato chips and only ate a few.  I think I made the right choice.