My Brain On A Diet

Yeah, my brain needs to go on a diet - in a variety of ways. But for now, let's just deal with the diet the rest of my body is on.

I started on one of those diets where you eat the diet food that the diet people send you. I shall not reveal the name of said diet, thereby eliminating any opinions of the aforementioned diet. That way, I won't have to hear how another diet is better, like the "Elmer's Glue Diet" where you glue your lips together, or the "Twiggy Diet" where you eat only that which falls from a tree, or the "Zip It And Sip It Diet" where you pound all your food in a baggie and then drink it, or the - well you get the idea. For the purposes of this blog post, let's just leave it at the "Eat This" diet.

This is where my brain comes in. My brain, who is certainly in favor of less baggage in my trunk, is convinced that food (any and a lot of it) is my friend. My brain gets in a tizzy, thinking I must eat (insert any inappropriate food here), and I must eat it immediately and in large quantities. My brain thinks I "deserve" (insert any food treat here) because I did some aerobic activity (like breathe in and out). My brain thinks I am on vacation, so I am entitled to eat (insert any greasy, yummy meal here). My brain refuses to count calories, make sense of what I am eating, or come to terms with food reality.

But it is learning, albeit on a very slow learning curve. I try to teach my brain that, if I were on a required medical diet, I could eat only those things on the prescribed diet - so isn't this similar to that situation? I try to teach my brain that food is just food - and there are lots more things in the word that are enjoyable. I try to teach my brain that I am not banning (insert food of desire here) forever - just until I can get things under control - and fit into clothes that aren't made by Nashville Tent and Awning.

My brain is slowly getting it. It still has lapses (like last night's coke float in the Magic Kingdom) but it's trying to learn. Maybe the real success of a diet is this - my brain gets trained into doing what's best for the rest of my body. Isn't that the brain's purpose anyway?!

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Things that make today great: sleeping in this morning; shopping at the outlets and getting a few things on sale; lunch at First Watch with Steve; afternoon nap