I continue to eat foods containing partially hydrogenated oils, even though I know they're bad for me
I used to eat these all the time at the movies when I was a kid. And I just now bought them in the vending machine at work. Did I think about the ingredients as a kid? NO. But now ...- corn syrup
- flour
- sugar
- cornstarch
- partially hydrogenated soybean oil
- salt
- artificial flavor
- citric acid
- potassium sorbate, a preservative
- artificial coloring, including Red 40
Yet it is oddly comforting. Perhaps I am regressing under pressure, and resorting to childhood foods. Tonight, I'll eat dry Cheerios out of a bowl while watching commercial TV. And tomorrow I'll make Jell-O chocolate pudding and scrape out the remains from the bowl with my finger.
posted by Jeffrey Kishner at 10/20/2006
3 Comments:
Mmmm.... pudding. :)
I've eaten so much of that junk throughout my lifetime that I think I'm partially hydrogenated.
Enjoy your Cheerios!
Hey Jeffness,
Don't be so hard on yourself! It's OK to regress once in a while if you just insert a hefty dose of tough loving. I hear you...I do it, but...I have read (and I believe it to be true) that guilt and anxiety and other negative feelings are far worse for you than any indulgence or binge you might go on, and in fact may fuel the binges.
I'm up late feeling hungry and I am fairly certain that it's just stress, so I'm filling up on water and doing other things I enjoy. Earlier today I had some pudding and such, and I kept obsessing over "is this too sweet, is this too acidic, is this just empty calories?" and as I did so, my anxiety level (and my desire to cram my face with the offending food) increased.
So, my advice as a fellow comfort food indulger--don't take your indulgences too seriously. It gives them power. Instead, empower yourself and realize that perfection (i.e. Virgo's overly popular shadow) is both impossible and bad for you. When you do "cheat", try to enjoy it and say "this is a treat because the norm is for me to eat nutritiously". Then over time it will not become an anxious thing that you jump into. I find I'm much better at choosing foods when I have this attitude.
I think the expectation of being on top of things and the punishment given to the self as a result of these "trangressions" is not the way. Find a new way! A way that makes you feel good about yourself, not feel pathetic.
You deserve it!
Your Uncle,
Hannah
p.s. there's a great slogan...something along the lines of
"Everything I want to do is either illegal, immoral or bad for me".
It just shows that human nature is to err and (even) take pleasure in it once and a while.
That's ok, man. Junk food is underrated.
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