I know what you're thinking: what the heck are M&M's doing in a measuring cup? They don't go together. You don't measure M&Ms. They already come in convenient measurements of "bag", "bigger bag", and "jumbo delight."
Well, my friends, this is a serving of Peanut Butter M&Ms. I know. I, myself, nearly wept.
This reminds of the time my friend Portia and I we're talking in the kitchen while our friend Andie made herself a NutriSystem "dinner."
When the biscuit-sized "pizza" came out of the oven, Portia asked, "What in the world is that?"
"It's a pizza."
"That's not a pizza. That's a dang cracker."
Well, that's how I felt about this. To be honest, however, I've never really struggled too much with portion control and here's why: I grew up poor. We didn't get treats like M&Ms very often and when we did, I would always ration mine out for as long as I could so that I could continue looking forward to having more the next day. Did I exhibit such precocious talents in all of my appetites? Um, no. Let's leave it at that ;)
Anyway, I think that, to attain the self mastery necessary to control your portions, you have to have a goal in mind. I once heard someone say that "nothing tastes as good as thin feels." Since we live in a culture where women sometimes take this literally, I'll restate it thus: "nothing tastes as good as healthy feels."
I don't just mean physical health, though this is an obvious benefit. I mean psychological health too. It is so important to our sense of self worth to be able to control our appetites (no pun intended...maybe).
Self discipline does not mean an austere, joyless life with no cupcakes. It means enjoying the pleasures in life instead of being enslaved by them. It means believing that there will be more pleasures to be had tomorrow (and thus I don't have to eat this whole cheesecake right now).
Speaking of joy and pleasure, have you ever eaten frozen blueberries? Trust me; these are a viable alternative to Peanut Butter M&M's. I'm hoping to recondition my taste buds by laying off the candy for awhile. Bahahahahaha!
But seriously, the blueberries are good.
i am on a fruit kick lately. i've never been too into candy... well i was on a strictly chocolate diet (meaning i ate chocolate ONLY) for about 6 months. yes, i'm going to die. i'm totally going to try some frozen blueberries. hooray for your good idearz.
ReplyDeleteI often make natural fruit smoothies instead of eating candy or snacks to avoid over indulging in cravings. By natural I mean no sugar added...
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of portion control... oh man. Overeating is one of the toughest things to kick. Wish it were as easy done as said. I just remind whoever is reading this that at first, you're going to get a lot of hunger pains when you start, but after 2 to 4 weeks of them, you'll be used to them and it won't be so bad.
Ninja: you are so right. I didn't mean to make this sound easy. We live in an ocean of easily accessible, cheap food. We are tempted all the time!
ReplyDeleteMiken: hahahahahahaha! A chocolate only diet. I had a friend try that once. But she also ate oranges. She only lasted about a day and a half. So, you're quite a hero in my book.
ReplyDeleteYou my dear, have just summed up what it means to be French! All things in moderation - good way to be! :)
ReplyDeleteAhh... something frightfully necessary for me to have read. *sigh* Thank you for the reminder. :)
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