The guilty eater

Food is something that is very personal to each and every individual. People from coastal areas love fish. People in Asia love rice. Italians love bread. Americans love their fish and chips. Irish love their potatoes so much that during the Great Famine in Ireland, people just moved to USA to avoid starvation. These are all broad generalizations. But the point is we all are very particular about the food that we eat. Why not? It is our bodies we are feeding. So, it is only correct to be conscious of what we are eating.

There is a theory that says we are what we eat! It is interesting, but debatable. There are certain beliefs that eating meat will give us beastly qualities and eating plants will make us more humane. I am often switching from vegetarian to nonvegetarian and vice versa every few years. But I haven’t noticed any sort of drastic changes in my personality during the changing phases. But I won’t rule this theory out completely as I turn into a vegetarian every time I hear stories like how large number of chickens are cooped in a small place, which in turn stresses them out and they start getting violent. But to avoid them harming each other, there are machines called clippers. These machines are used to clip their beaks after which they cannot even feed!! *shudder* (But after a few months or years, the fried chicken smells so tasty again!)


Many of us have a very emotional relationship with food. People eat food not only when they are hungry, but also when they are bored, irritable, sad, tensed (yeah! Some have confessed to eating more out of tension too), coping with loss, or just for the love of food. Since a few years, changes in my life have made me more or less sedentary and food is always around! So, as can be expected, I am tipping scales towards the “plumper” side. And as usual, I have been blaming the weather, the work, the government, etc, for my situation. But, since I have had time to ponder I have come to realize that it was me all the while who was responsible. I hate any form of exercise and have been pushing it off for too long. And gym doesn’t seem that interesting to me. Food is too enticing!

So, I have been recently looking up the internet for weight loss, diet and exercise tips. These ones seemed more promising and achievable to me:

• Do not eat something which you will not feed your child.
• Drink upto 8 glasses (read 1 big jug) of water (tea and coffee don’t count, except green tea) every day for good skin and curbing appetite.
• Eat a carrot or an apple whenever you have the tendency to snack on cookies or chips.
• Eat consciously (meaning, judge if the portions on your plate are too big) even if you are watching TV or conversing with someone interesting.
• Instead of eating a dessert, eat a fruit.
• Eat lightly in the night.
• Take stairs instead of an elevator.
• Walk to the nearest grocery store. (If you are very free, go more than once!)
• Try to do some sort of an exercise (rope jumping, walking, swimming, jogging, dancing, yoga, etc) most of the days and add variety to the routine.
• If you are someone who likes to keep it simple, walking gives most of the benefits to all parts of the body.
• Don’t be too hard on yourself for not adhering to the above once in a while! ;)

These are the most practical tips I could find. I am trying to incorporate most of the above in my daily routine. But I do slip up on the diet during weekends and exercise during some days. And yeah, another way of being conscious of what you eat is the calorie counting method (eat lesser calories and burn more). It is a lot more tedious and a bit impractical when you have to count your portions or servings in terms of calories, instead of knowing if it is enough to fill your stomach or not. It is sad to me when instead of seeing a beautiful pizza slice you see only “calories”! It works pretty well for a few people, but not for me.


If you are the kind of person who values money a lot, then a good suggestion is to buy an expensive swimsuit, workout clothes or accessories. That way, the hole in your pocket will keep reminding you to put those to good use! ;)

But if along with fitness, weight is a problem then this tip from a friend might come in handy: buy a dress 1 size smaller and aim into fitting in it well. Practical and simple! This is taking control of the situation one step at a time.

Well, another tip is to get involved in some sport. Even better if there are people to play with you. Or join a dance or a karate class. I have also read that, on an average, if you take 10,000 steps a day, it will be about enough exercise to keep you fit! Hah! Talk about looking up for easy fixes! I think a pedometer (to count the steps) will be a good investment in this case. If you are like me, and find enough reasons (too hot, too windy, rainy, etc) to not go walking outside, then a treadmill is a good investment. Now, it is inside the house! (Making it harder to avoid is another way of forcing yourself off the couch.) But, a walk outside gives a lot more benefits.

I am right now aiming to getting fit, eating right and regaining my stamina, although I hope that weight loss will be a welcome accompaniment in the process. ;)

The best tip of all: keep yourself engaged enough to not worry about food, clothes, weight, etc, and you will not have time to think about what all I have said all this while!