The other day I threw out cookies. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to keep them in the house, and it wasn’t because I was afraid if I kept them I’d eat them all at once.
It was kind of a combination of those two things actually.
When I told people this, I got hit with one question and one question only:
How do you throw away cookies?!
Now before I explain, understand that I typically do not walk around just throwing out food that I don’t want to eat! I’m sharing this story for two reasons.
- I didn’t want them. I believe it’s okay to discard food that you do not want to eat. Many of us have a financial or emotional attachment to food (think about a time where you might have said “well I bought it so I might as well eat it” or “my friend made these for me so I have to eat them.” I completely understand it’s difficult to throw money away or think you are hurting someone’s feelings. I have these feelings too ALL. THE. TIME! But sometimes I have to look out for my own best interest and be honest with myself. Food is too important to me and I don’t want to ever eat just so I can avoid an uncomfortable situation.
- I was eating them because they were there. This one kind of goes along with the first, but whether I wanted them doesn’t really play into the equation. I could be apathetic toward them and still choose to eat them. Ever sit in front of a dinner table where you’ve been served buffet style? Or you’re finished eating but the cake platter is still on the table? What do you do? Well, if you are me, you probably keep picking at the food that’s there even if you don’t want it. You are just eating it because it’s in front of you! I found myself doing this with the cookies.
In fact, with this specific example, I had a moment where I said to myself “I just need to eat them so they’ll be gone.” I was eating several a day and actually wasn’t feeling that great. They were homemade and getting stale so I was trying to eat them quickly before they became unappealing.
Then I realized I could just get rid of them because I didn’t really want them, and they wouldn’t keep if I held onto them. I didn’t need to have another reason. It wasn’t because I couldn’t control myself around them, or I never had access to cookies so I had to get my fix.
There is a mentality, or eating “personality” in the Intuitive Eating book called the “waste not” eater. This kind of eater has a financial or emotional attachment to food and will rarely get rid of food. It could also be that part of childhood that stuck where you were always told to “clean your plate” or to eat all of your “real” food before you could have a dessert. These things stick with us even when we don’t want them to!
I am sharing this to let you know that you’ll come across situations that will throw you back into old mentalities. It’s even okay if you succumb or act in the exact same way you used to. What matters is realizing it and then changing your course of action, or letting it happen and then learning from it or accepting it for what it is.
So about the cookies, I kinda feel bad I had to toss them, but they weren’t doing anything for me!
Is it tough for you to manage foods like cookies in your house? Do you keep them and let them sit there or do you eat them all at once? Comment below so we can chat!