Weight Loss Fun

Florida Jewish News, February 17, 2006, pp. 15, 21

No pun, I’m sure, but this topic has me biting off more than I can chew. And that’s a no-no, isn’t it? So, just to be sure I’m being clear here, there is a whole lot more about our relationship to food than I can cover in one article.

We encounter the concept of food for the first time during the narrative of the Creation. All living beings are told they may eat of the vegetation that G-d has created. Furthermore, when He finished with his work of the sixth day, He declares that it was not only “good,” but “very good.” Why the “very”? Chazal tell us that the whole was better than the sum of the parts. The sixth day meant the job was done, and the interaction between all members of creation is what made it so good.

Isn’t it quite impressive that right here in the middle of the loftiest accomplishment of history—Creation—the role of food is proudly inserted?

Well, maybe not so impressive considering that G-d did create us with the need to eat in mind. He could have done it otherwise, but that’s how He decided He wanted it. And it was very good. Hold on to that particular thought.

It seems to me, when you consider this, and you consider how our bodies were created to enjoy food, that we are, indeed, meant not only to eat it to live, but to enjoy it. Who is to say that what is “good” about food is not merely that it sustains us but that it sustains us so pleasantly?

So how do we reconcile the enjoyment of food with the fact that if we enjoy too much of it, all that goodness is turned on its heel? That there is a point of no return beyond which food is not a good at all but something bad?

The truth is that this question applies to all good things. Sleep is good and too much can give a headache. Love is good but never-ending attention gets boring. Winning is exciting but without competition, it’s dull. I once saw a Twilight Zone story about a man who thought he’d died and gone to Heaven because he was a gambler and he kept winning every single time he played. He stayed in the casino playing for hours, then days. After a while, it dawned on him that he was in Hell after all. He was bored out of his mind.

In fact, just to bolster this point, the hormones associated with pleasure actually vary with the amount of whatever it is that’s giving us pleasure. First, they crescendo and then they decrease in the brain as we take in more and more.

Realizing that leads to a couple of really simple solutions to maintaining a steady and delightful enjoyment of eating:

• Pay attention to your pleasure!

Do you notice how easy it is to get distracted while you’re eating? We gulp down our food and half the time we don’t even notice that we’re eating, let alone what we’re eating. My kids tease me because when I go out for sushi, I close my eyes with those first succulent bites. I want to really enjoy them—and I do. Why reduce pleasure by not noticing it?

• Stop at the first moment of satisfaction.

You know that moment: You’re no longer famished; you’re comfortable. Notice how lovely that feels. If you stop there, that means you will be adequately hungry at the next meal. And that means you’ll enjoy it all the more. If you overeat, your body will not cooperate in giving you enjoyment the next meal.

• Judge how much you really need

You’ve heard the old portion-control story many times, but the psychology is that, unfortunately, the stories our parents drummed into us about starving children in China and being members of the clean-plate club do have a lot of power over us. If you inadvertently take more food than you really need to be just comfortable, you’ll feel compelled to finish it, so when you fill your plate, always take less than you know you’ll want. You may be surprised that you actually are quite content with that amount, or you can take more. Alternatively, try the next suggestion.

• Get a thrill out of breaking the rules

What rules did we grow up with regarding eating? That it’s a sin to leave food over; that you should eat only healthy food before eating dessert. What are some of the rules you grew up with?

There are problems with these “rules.” Regarding the clean-plate club, one of my sons said something very wise on this subject once. I expressed concern about “wasting good food” if I did not finish what was on my plate, and he replied, “If you eat it and you don’t need it, you’re also wasting it.” Wow! What a profound thought. Because of that, I gave a great deal of thought to the possibility that I may be more morally correct to leave food over if I inadvertently take too much. Should that happen nowadays, I do get a certain satisfaction in leaving food over, knowing that I am treating myself right, physically and spiritually.

Regarding dessert, if you’re like me, there’s not much room for a meal and a dessert. If I’m going to enjoy a sweet treat, I may have to skip the meal all together. That isn’t something I’d do very often; in fact, I don’t remember when I did it last. But it is an option every now and again—and a whole lot of fun.

• Be sure to include treats

If you exclude all sweets or whatever it is that you think of as treats from your diet, you will feel psychologically deprived and overeat that food eventually. When I lost weight three years ago, I always reserved the right to have a piece of cake on Shabbos. I made a point of cutting only a small piece or it would have undone a week of good progress, but I definitely did have it—and I looked forward to that moment.

• Be adventuresome!

I realize your favorite thing may be a hamburger, French fries and a beer, but with all due respect, if that describes you, you’re living in a black and white world while the rest of us are seeing in color. (You thought I’d lecture you on the heart attack you’re heading for. Fooled you. I’ll leave that to your doctor, your spouse, your mother, and your kids. This article is about fun.) You see the variety of taste sensations is absolutely amazing. Why not do this: Go to restaurants to try out exotic foods just to see what they’re like. You have the option of saying, “Forget it” afterwards, but keep experimenting. When I was about six, I finally tried lox. I can distinctly remember my parents trying to get me to taste it for at least the previous two years of my life. “What? That slimy stuff? No way,” I said. My loss. Finally, I have no idea what drove me to do it, but I tasted it. My eyes popped wide open and I looked at my parents and said, “This is good.” They sighed, “Well, that’s what we were trying to tell you.”

Same thing happened with salad dressing. (I swear, I still remember this.) My parents could not get me to eat salad and they kept insisting that the dressing makes it so good. We went out to a restaurant in New York, where I grew up. Again, maybe it was the nice ambience of the place and the treat of eating out for a special occasion, I don’t know, but, age ten that I was, I finally broke down and tried it. I loved it so much that, as a teenager, I kept trying to duplicate that lovely taste sensation—and I did. (Everyone loves my salad dressing!)

Ditto with sushi. Raw fish? Ugh. But—I tried it and loved it. I have trouble controlling myself from heading out for it every day.

And you should know that I am also a creature of habit. I love my favorite foods. Don’t give me anything else but my home-made peanut-butter chocolate-chip muffins with coffee, regular, for breakfast! When I visit New York, I take a bag of these with me and we all have a morning treat. Same with Shabbos. I’ll try anything fancy you want, but don’t deprive me of my dark-meat chicken.

What’s my point? Simply that it is possible to have it both ways—to be attached to certain foods and love them abundantly while still venturing out to experiment with varieties of flavor, texture, and temperature. Speaking of temperature, I so do love my morning coffee, that on Shabbos, I’ve been sneaking into the shul kitchen, getting some instant coffee and having it cold and black for kiddush. Ahh. I strongly suggest you get out of that old-shoe comfort zone and have an affair with new foods!

Eating is one of the great joys of life. Enjoy yourself by eating less and enjoying it more.