Fighting the "Diet Mentality"

Okay, I am starting to get used to the new WW plan. This morning, I had the most scrumptious oatmeal EVER. It included the following: one package of instant oatmeal, 1 sliced banana (0 points now!), 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, and 1 tablespoon of chocolate chips. I heated the oatmeal up first with the banana, oats and water for about 1:30 in the microwave, and then I added the peanut butter and chocolate chips for about 30 seconds. The result--pure joy =) Plus it kept me full much longer than usual. Under the new system, this breakfast was about 7 points.

Sometimes I still get stuck in the "diet" mentality, where I feel self conscious about eating delicious things. For instance, last night I made my dad's AMAZING chinese chicken and broccoli. The meal consisted of 1 cup of brown rice (I actually bought the single serving rice so there could be no eyeballing), roughly 2 cups of broccoli and about .40 ounces of chopped chicken. It was DIVINE. But it made a huge plate of food--because of the broccoli. And I thought to myself, how can I possibly lose weight when I'm eating so much delicious food? At the same time, the logical part of my brain knows that 1 cup of brown rice and .40 ounces of chicken are not unreasonably large servings. Similiarly, my indulgent breakfast this morning wasn't really that crazy. In fact, both meals were nutritious and easily fit into my new 29 point day.

Sometimes, I think my idea (pre-WW) of dieting doesn't quite match up to the reality of living a healthy lifestyle. Look at any food blog you want--Beth's Journey to Thin, Run Eat Repeat, Kath Eats, and others--and you'll find that these incredibly healthy/ active women love eating and, more often than not, end up eating delicious, reasonably large portions of mostly healthy foods. They also exercise quite consistently. The diet mentality that some people in my family subscribe to--i.e. yogurt for breakfast, a skimpy salad for lunch, and a tiny piece of chicken for dinner--is NOT the norm amongst the food bloggers of this generation. Instead, we're creating oatmeal bowls, sweet potato fries, risotto with vegetables, homemade pizzas and chilis, corn muffins...the list goes on and on...Most of these bloggers, including myself, also strive to make activity a major part of their lives.

The bottom line is that each meal I eat now should be scrumptious and satisfying because this is not a diet--it's a lifestyle. Why shouldn't I enjoy food and feel full, even though I'm not at my goal weight? I need to shake this bizarre sense of guilt once and for all. Oatmeal with a sprinkle of chocolate chips does not make one fat. And neither does a stir fry with 2 cups of broccoli.

After all, prior to joining WW, there were days when I would eat ice cream for breakfast. But I have to say, I prefer my oatmeal+peanut butter+banana+chocolate chip combination.