Just One Bite

I’ve written about it before, how I have an eating problem, the problem seems to be exponentially larger when I try to eat healthy and steer away from the “bad” foods. Everything just taunts me, the peanut m&ms on the end table, the box of snacks at work that we can help ourselves to (for only 75 cents), the donuts that coworkers bring in on some mornings and set on the microwave, it all calls out to me.

This week has been one of those rough weeks. I went out on Sunday and went grocery shopping so that I’d have healthy foods to eat throughout the week. Snacks were going to be things like apple sauce or yogurt with a side of turkey; or a piece of teriyaki chicken breast; or a granola bar (the healthy ones). I’ve even laid off of soda. I had a soda Sunday at the movie theatre but I hadn’t had one since the Sunday I drove home from Phoenix and I haven’t had one since, I’d say that all in all I’m doing well.

Monday night though, I couldn’t resist the Key Lime pie, it’s one of my favorites, I had to have a piece, a whole piece, not just my usual “just one bite”.

On Monday nights, I go to bible study, there’s about 13 of us and we all bring a dish, the meals and likewise the desserts vary from week to week. Normally I have my “just one bite” rule. All I need is one bite, I don’t need my own plate or my own serving, I just need a clean fork (or spoon) and someone that’s willing to share just one bite with me (I usually don’t have problems getting someone to let me have the first bite, there was a comment one night about how I was lucky that some of the other peeps let me have the first bite, because the person that was commenting said “i wouldn’t do that”. I just kindof shrugged it off and said that’s ok because xxx let’s me do it.)

So, this week, I ate the whole slice of key lime pie, when that pie was uncovered and I saw what it was, I knew there was no resisting it, even as I cut the slice and very nicely and carefully took it out of the pan so that it’s shape wouldn’t get distorted I thought to myself “I should take this to Barb and just have a bite” but I couldn’t, it was too late, the pie was on the plate in my hand and the fork was in my pocket just waiting for me to go sit down and eat it.

After that this week just kindof went down hill. New snack boxes were delivered, and with new snack boxes, are new snacks, and of the new snacks my favorites are the Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies and the Knott’s Berry Farm Shortbread cookies. I just can’t resist them (well I could if I tried hard, but I don’t).

I made it to Thursday before I broke down and went after the cookies, I stayed near to my granola bars and yogurt and applesauce and chicken for snacks. Until Thursday. And then, not only did I eat the Famous Amos, I ate the Knott’s Berry Farm ones as well. A package at breakfast and one on my ride home. I started and ended my day with cookies. When I sit back and think about it, I know that it was bad, but it’s so hard to resist sometimes.

It’s those hard to resist times that I have to think about what really got the “just one bite” thing started. It was because of Katherine McPhee in an article in People Magazine a couple years ago that discussed her overcoming her eating disorder.

There was a comment made about her eating mini Snickers bars with every meal and that helped her get over her want/craving for them. “She lost her fear of so-called “bad” foods by allowing herself to eat ice cream, peanut butter and mini Snickers bars (four with each meal). Now she doesn’t want Snickers anymore…” (more at MTV news).

When I was reading the article, I thought, I don’t purge, but I do binge, and this is something that I can apply in my own life, I myself can’t have 4 mini Snickers bars at each meal, but what’s wrong with one at lunch time.

Nothing’s wrong with that. My best weeks, food wise, are when I allow myself a little treat daily, the one bite of dessert on Monday nights, a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup with lunch, or some other treat. It doesn’t need to be big, but it does need to be something. By not depriving myself from the so called “bad” foods, I avoid my need to binge on them (like yesterday when I started and ended my work day with cookies). I just need to remember that when I get into my “eat healthy” kick, that I need to put a little piece of something into my lunch efforts.

I think that the “just one bite” or “just one small piece” rule works well for those of us that have eating problems whatever it is that’s causing it. If we deprive ourselves, it’s going to cause problems down the road, either as sneaking or binging.

I know that I do it, not to say that every person does, but just one bite can help those of us that can’t seem to get by for very long before we break down and binge on those things we were trying to avoid.