Cookie Monster

So, part of the idea of Intuitive Eating (my new lifestyle,) is to go ahead and eat something "just because you want to." It's ok to eat "bad" foods at times.  The theory behind it is that you should eat when you are hungry, but it's also ok to eat certain foods because they sound good.  There is no such thing as the "food police." Or, I suppose the "food police" would be, well, YOU. It is really ridiculous (I use that word a lot because my dad does...) to tell a Bride and Groom that they "shouldn't" have a piece of their wedding cake, right?  Well, my problem is, that I can find a "special occasion" for just about anything.  Which means that tend to use that excuse to eat "bad foods" a lot more than I probably should.... or maybe it's that I eat MORE of the "bad foods," than I should.... not necessarily that I eat them more often.  Clear as mud?

Here is what I have found helps ME through these times.  It is a lot easier to STOP eating certain foods when you know that you can have them again when you are hungry.  Now, I'm not saying to live off of banana splits, but, go ahead and have one when you want one.  Eat until the sweet tooth was satisfied, stop, get rid of it, but tell yourself that you could have another in an hour, day or week.  Whatever.  It really helps to have this mindset.  THEN, you don't over eat because "this is the only time I will have this in a long time," and you don't have to go without either.

To prove my point, I made chocolate chip cookies for my family at 3 different times.

1st Round: I made the cookies and told the family that we could each only have TWO cookies.  (They are small.)  Everyone obeyed, but the kids kept asking for more.  I found myself even sneaking another cookie while "putting them away." The whole idea of denial was making me feel like I wasn't getting enough.  I wanted more.

2nd Round: A week later, I made the cookies again.  This time, I told the family that we could have as much as we wanted.  Remembering how we felt the week before, we all went nuts!  I think I ate FIVE cookies! I felt the need to "get my fair share" before they were gone. You would have thought that the world was going to end if we didn't eat the cookies within 20 minutes!!!  It took longer to cook them!

3rd Round: Three weeks later, I made the cookies again.  I made 10 cookies. This time, I put the plate on the coffee table and told the gang that everyone could have as many as they wanted, BUT, they had to eat them slowly and enjoy them, and that if we ran out, I would make MORE.  Yup, there was they key phrase!  There was MORE if they wanted. We ate slowly, enjoyed the cookies, and I noticed two cookies left on the plate at bed time.  Those cookies sat there for over an hour, waiting for someone to eat them.  No one did.  We were satisfied with the TWO cookies that each of us ate (by choice.)  Nope the waters were calm with everyone at peace knowing that they were satisfied at the moment, but there was more IF they wanted some.  IT has now been 5 days and no one has asked for more cookies.  No one feels deprived.

How interesting!!!  Would this experiment work in your home?  Have you tried something like this before?  I would love to hear about it!