Poor Planning Panic

B2B W2: 95/250, --

Last week on the day that I couldn't resolve my hunger I didn't plan dinner. On Saturday, I went to the WW meeting, then my plan was to go to the gym. I ended up going to take a class at church on a whim. On the way there I panicked about what to eat and picked up an Egg McMuffin. I had a good lunch at the class, but because I didn't have any snacks I was famished by dinner. I ended up going to a Jamaican restaurant and having a roti and beef patty (both with flour). On Sunday, I didn't have breakfast and ended up famished by 2pm when I finally ate. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to order the spinach, mushroom, tomato omelette made with egg substitute that came with fruit. I was full off the omelette and ate the fruit later.

When I don't plan I panic. Sometimes I'm not even really hungry when the panic sets in, but I don't know what's going to happen so I get overwhelmed and start spazzing. This behavior isn't unique to food, it's a paradigm of mine. Panic precipitates one of 2 responses. I either stop like a deer in headlights stricken with overwhelm, or I act irrationally. In the case of food, acting irrationally means I'll eat what I think is satisfying to me. In my lexicon of food, that means flour, rice, potatoes. It does not yet mean fruit, eggs, broccoli.

When I don't plan I panic. When I panic hunger is intensified. When hunger is intensified I want flour, rice, potatoes. The way I see it, I can stem this off a few ways.

First line of defense: plan what I'm going to eat.

Second line of defense: stay calm, I won't die of hunger or from lack of food. There are plenty of fat stores in my body and there's an abundance of food all around.

Third line of defense: change my food lexicon. Fruit, vegatables, and protein do fill me up. I'm learning that as I eat more and more of it. Sure 2 cups of rice will ensure that I'm not hungry for the next 4 hours, but 2 cups of fruit is much more nutritious and guarantees I won't be hungry for at least 2 hours and I could go to 3. It's also very rare that I'll have 2 cups of fruit by itself.

In summary, to stay on plan, it would help if I planned my food, remembered that there's an abundance, and adopt a new food lexicon.

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