Let us eat cake...

Last Monday, I allowed my boyfriend to throw away my scales. This has nothing to do with a flaking skin problem; I’m talking about the appliance that I used to stand on at least two to three times a week, thereby allowing my day to be dictated by a number. If it was down, I was up, if it was up, I was down. You get the picture, my boyfriend got the aftermath.

Not that I felt empowered to do much about it if that omnipotent weighing machine was telling me something that I didn’t want to know. Maybe I’d switch to salad for two days, think I was doing great, then switch to chips as soon as my belt was loosening. Of course, this left me squeezing back into my jeans, and I’d soon feel like I just couldn’t get a grip on the old ‘too much food equals too many calories equals fat’ equation.

I thought I’d conquered this whole diet thing a while ago when I’d started to try and adopt some of the principles around ‘eating food for pleasure’ (and only as much as you need). I was getting quite smug about it, in fact, and the low-fat, no-taste foods were no longer over-populating my fridge like boy babies in China.

But that smugness was a fleeting joy. Before I knew it, I was pushing up a jeans size and my favourite pair has been resigned to the ironing pile (it never gets done, so I didn’t have to worry about them again). Now a stone heavier than when I met my boyfriend 3 years ago, I was wondering if it wouldn’t be long before the next stone appeared (What? As if by magic?). Panic-stricken, I went for the slimming club and diet option.

Funnily enough, it didn’t work, and I was in a points deficit far more than I had them saved for ‘treats’. Each time I went for my weigh in (I felt like a abnormal load) I was making up excuses about why I still seemed to be eating. In fact, I could have lost an elephant easier than I could have lost a pound.

But last weekend was the start of what I hope will be something new. I read an inspiring book, to be published later this month, called Beyond Chocolate. Written by two sisters, Sophie and Audrey Boss, its aim is to help women break free from the cycle of yo-yo dieting and weight-gain/loss in order to escape a life weighed down by rules about food.

Now my scales are gone and I’m taking on board the principles as best as I can. This will mean learning to enjoy my food, tune into what I’m eating, eat what I want (oh you’ve got to be joking? But I’ve spent years learning to not eat what I want) and eating only when I’m hungry (which probably means not stuffing congealed leftovers into my mouth while stood at the fridge wondering if it would take too much time to re-heat them).

Does this signal the way for a changed me, no longer needing to worry about diets again? I hope so. As long as I don’t get fat. Watch this space to see how I get on with my life beyond chocolate (though for me, that really should be beyond egg custards, cream doughnuts and King Prawn Tikka Massalla).

Comments

[Linda]

Hi Andrea,

Full of admiration for these new blog posts - I did consider an anonymous blog called 'Can'tstopeating.blogspot.com

I understand the trick is stopping eating when you stop tasting it!

Hope you can keep this diary up and I'll keep checking in to see how you are going.
x

[Andrea Wren]

Now I've got watching eyes on this space I'm hoping that will be inspiration to keep it up. It's going to be one big, fun, experiment, I hope! Add me to your RSS to keep checking.

[Keris]

I've got Beyond Chocolate in my TBR pile so you (and the 7lbs I've gained during 7 days holiday) have inspired me to actually read it!

I have noticed that when a plate of food arrives in front of me (my husband does the majority of the cooking) I seem to see it as a race to the death to get it all shoved down my neck, so the actual enjoying food part will be a challenge.

Good luck!

[lisa jane]

hallelujah!!!!
Its funny how these things happen, your soul calls out for you to wake up and smell the chocolate and then this lovely page falls into my lap.check out my url to see how I found my way here.good on you.My wish is that this mentality catches on faster than the zone diet,before we all lose our mind's and then our waistlines.

[Andrea Wren]

Hi Lisa Jane - So happy you've dropped by to let me know that you're following a similar path! Good luck to you in your own non-dieting endeavours and do stay in touch.