Today I thought about paninis. I have not had one in I can’t remember how long. But today I walked past a huge display at the grocery store and felt sad when I realized that paninis are just not something I am going to eat anytime soon.
And then my mind went to other foods that I no longer eat. All personal choice – part of living on my South Beach plan and my efforts to make this a lifestyle change instead of a diet. Thoughts of now-forbidden bagels jumped into my head. And warm bread served at a restaurant with real butter. And chocolate mousse and chocolate cake and chocolate candy bars and double chocolate chip muffins and…. well… you get the idea.
If you read along often, you know that I can’t handle moderation yet. So my diet does not allow for me to simply exercise restraint and eat whatever I want in reasonable portions. Ah, if only. But that does not work for me. And this time is all about figuring out what works and what I can live with (and live without) and reaching maintenance and staying there.
So while I feel some sense of loss over the paninis and bagels, I am choosing to expunge them from my life. Temporarily or permanently is still to be determined. But either way, I am making a conscious choice. My choice. I choose THIN over bread, HEALTHY over apple pie, CRAVING-FREE over pasta. Thin lasts (if you work at it, I am told) and taste fades quickly.
So today I am going to enjoy my forbidden foods here in print and in my mind. Drool a bit. Miss them for a moment. And then move on.
Are there foods that you have consciously cut from your way of eating that you miss and can only dream about?
Waisting Time 
I already have to add my own… pizza and pancakes and french toast and strawberry shortcake. Ice cream! Enough for now.
When I first started out, pizza was definitely on my list. Nothing makes me binge like pizza. Even now I still have trouble sometimes and will over eat! It’s definitely my most favorite food ever. 🙂
.-= Anna´s last blog ..Hump day =-.
For now, I make myself Spaghetti Squash Deep Dish Pie with all sorts of pizza toppings including turkey pepperoni. It isn’t the same, but it is pretty good.
Croissants, raisin bread from my hometown bakery, my Grandmother’s sugar-filled jam,and pizza covered in gooey cheese.
I’m not saying I’ll never eat these foods again, but I certainly won’t eat them in the portions I used to.
I also choose not to binge the way I did. No more girl’s nights with bowls of chips, M&M’s, nachos, Cherry Blasters, and cupcakes. Now I pick one “worth it” treat.
I try not to focus on the foods I’ve chosen to avoid. I like to focus on delicious food that treat myself with every day. Greek yogurt, raspberries, muesli, Glo Bars, oatmeal, strawberries, red peppers, and tomatoes.
Picking one is a great approach – maybe that will be a technique I can use in my moderation days when I get there. I also like the idea of never having these foods in my own home… only partaking as a treat out of the house.
What is a Cherry Blaster?
Cherry Blasters are sour gummy candies. I think they’re only available in Canada. They’re tasty, but not “worth-it” treats. 🙂
.-= Bella (Stilettos on the Streetcar)´s last blog ..What if =-.
I love gummy candy! My favorite is red Swedish Fish. Gummi Bears are great too, but I mostly pick out the red and white ones since I like them best.
At first it was anything chocolate. But there was a point where I could have some and not eat the entire bag of whatever it was! These days I still moderate most everything I eat – I have to stay diligent and deliberate.
.-= Diane Fit to the Finish´s last blog ..My Very First 5K =-.
Ah but you have been successful at this for so long! I hope to get there someday too:)
I think I did a posting called MOURNING TOAST when I gave up gluten. My favorite bread was Dave’s Seed Bread, any variety. It’s made in Portland OR and REALLY, REALLY good. Anyway, I haven’t had it since January when I gave up gluten. Yes, I miss it, but I feel better without it. I’ve lost only 5 lbs since then, but giving up morning toast was a good thing. The longer I go with it, the easier it gets. I think finding a good gluten free bread helped, but I don’t eat that nearly as often. Great post!
I’m not sure if I ever commented on your blog about my own experience without gluten. Several years ago I cut it out completely, with many other things, to see if I had a food intolerance or allergy. Gluten is tough since it shows up in so many things!
I also think that it gets easier to do without the longer time passes.
We have a wonderful Greek place that makes great Gyros. The flat bread is grilled crispy on the outside and is chewy on the inside and the meat is so flavorful…now I just order the plate with meat and veggies and ask them not to put the bread on. I miss it, but the meat is worth being in such close proximity to that fab bread!
.-= Brightside Susan´s last blog ..QUOTE OF THE DAY =-.
Oh… my mouth is watering! I love Gyros and love the bread that comes with them.
I’m a HUGE pizza and ice cream fanatic. The first 4 months I didn’t allow myself to have either because I was terrified I wouldn’t be able to control myself. When I did have a *little* I found out I was okay. I guess it boils down to being a choice and realizing that I don’t have to have a lot of it, I can have a very small serving and still stay in control. 🙂
.-= Anonymous Fat Girl´s last blog ..Extremes: Food overabundance and the brink of starvation =-.
I hope to get there too someday. But I wonder if when the time comes that I have that much self-control I will not miss the food so much and will just go without. We’ll see.
The only thing I intentionally omit is Little Debbie snack cakes and that’s symbolic more than anything else. Everything else I can have, just not all in the same week. And for some things, not in the same year. 🙂
.-= Cammy@TippyToeDiet´s last blog ..A Bit of Redirection =-.
You are so good at this diet/lifestyle thing! Little Debbies don’t do it for me… but I still think about Drakes’ Devil Dogs which I used to get when I lived on the east coast. I have been known to go to the store for a box to binge on when I am out that way.
the first bite, the second bite, the one hundreth bite…they all taste the same. Three bites of what I consider a “forbidden food” is what I allow myself, usually sweets. I don’t totally eliminate anything…nothing is actually “forbidden”…just limited is all. I have tried the forbidden road before, and it doesn’t work for me. Just makes me resentful and feeling sorry for myself…which leads to me eventually over eating the portions on the things I need to be the most careful with. Sometimes I “need” these foods more than other times..usually its just mental…but when I think that three bites will usually calm the beast, I’m good.
.-= losingmore´s last blog ..Going to get COLD! =-.
I once read that the taste actually is most intense in the first bites and that it diminishes with each bite following. That science certainly fits with your approach.
Cookies?
Hehehe.
And candy, and ice cream and high fructose corn syrup.
.-= JourneyBeyondSurvival´s last blog ..Oh Yes I Did =-.
Yes!!! I thought of that after I posted. For me, particularly Toll House (and the dough) and molasses cookies. Ahhh.
What a post title–got me reading! I love Losing More’s idea of “just three bites.” That makes sense to me. I think there might be times when NOT eating all of your trigger foods makes tons of sense. And I think there are times when eating them in moderation makes sense–especially if it’s a forever life change. If I could never eat chocolate or pizza or bread again, I don’t know if I could do that–or would want to do that. Thanks for the post!:)
.-= Jen´s last blog ..Daily post and to bed I go =-.
I got that title from the diet forum I participate in. It is thrown around a lot.
After time it gets easier- I don’t really “miss” much, if anything.
But then again I still enjoy a bowl of pho now and then and a cup of chocolate ice cream 🙂
.-= beerab´s last blog ..TGIF =-.
I miss some things more than others. I never missed paninis until I saw them at the store. Mostly I don’t think about the stuff if I don’t see it. Mostly.
wow…the google searches you’re going to get. lol. bread is evil and so is ice cream.
.-= adrienne´s last blog ..Gaining Weight Would Have Changed Everything =-.
I sooo did not think about that! And the spam, which is amazing already. Bread is not my friend. I can even overeat my husband’s Oroweat Thins – pathetic.
Ice cream is ABSOLUTELY no longer on my list of edible foods. It is such a trigger for me – perhaps some emotional component as well as the carb thing going.
Nothing else is off limits completely. For special occasions I will let myself eat bread, but bread of any kind is like crack to my eating center. I rarely eat red meat, but that is just an evolved taste (or lack of) over time. Even chocolate is ok, but only high percent cacao – combining it with sugar, not a pretty sight when I try to refrain from eating more. God, if I start listing things I will start drooling…
.-= Sskar´s last blog ..Day of Silence =-.
Me too with bread… see the comment above. There is something very comforting about the texture, I think. I don’t like the healthy chocolate, sadly.
Oh my gosh, thanks for this post, Karen. I always feel like it’s my horrible secret that I just plain don’t eat certain foods – ever! And when you tell people you can’t eat pizza (“no, not just one bite!”) they think you’re crazy!
My list of nevers: pizza, all fried food, desserts, chocolate, and nuts unless they happen to show up on a salad.
.-= Linda at Bar Mitzvahzilla´s last blog ..Past Tense, Present Tense =-.
Yes, it is one of those admissions that draws interesting looks and comments and I don’t say it out loud in my real life. Only here in my safe, anonymous, honest blog life.
I am adding to my list: quick breads (pumpkin, banana, etc), blueberry muffins, pretty much any baked good actually.
Loved this post, I have been trying to be moderate too but it just doesn’t work for me right now. The best feeling is in the morning..when my scolding voice doesn’t have to chime in and say “How COULD you have done that?”
One thing, though…if I find my mind has been going towards an off-limits food for about a week, I go have it. This isn’t a daily craving, like a twice/thrice a year craving. Yesterday I had my second hamburger of 2010. It was very yummy. I had a very light dinner to compensate. Love the three bites thing, it may come in handy some day!
I agree about the morning after regret. I used to hate waking up and feeling that way. And going to bed with the same remorse.
good for you to only enjoy those foods on “paper right now, karen! the truth is, in the scheme of things, those foods only taste good for a few moments and then the moment is gone. they are not true, real moments in your life that you will look back at that will bring you joy.
.-= love2eatinpa´s last blog ..Dumb Question of the Day =-.
That reminds me of the old saying “A moment on the lips; eternity on the hips.”
Mostly, I miss not being able to eat until I don’t feel hunger. No matter what I eat, it doesn’t seem like enough. Whine, whine, whine……
I am definitely going to write about that notion one day. I CAN eat healthy food and not be physically hungry… but there is still another hunger, emotional or psychological or something else.
Oh…I wish I could answer this question. Moderation failed me or I failed it big time yesterday. At times I can eat pizza, chocolate, and cookies in moderation. Other times….one isn’t enough, two, three, four,…I can’t seem to get “enough”.
You are smart to balance what works for you.
.-= Lisa´s last blog ..Confessing, Ranting, and Questions… =-.
I suspect I am the same… inconsistent in my self-control and willpower. I remember days when I ate one slice of pizza. But then I remember many more days when I ate pizza with breadsticks followed by ice cream. Sigh.