Be the Tiger

King Henry:Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility;
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger. . . .
Henry The Fifth Act 3, scene 1, 1–6

Okay, so, the junk food is almost gone now, but there will be more opportunities to eat high-calorie foods, rest assured. So, what to do when that happens? As King Henry would say, "Once more into the breach!" It's time for war, and "when the blast of war blows in our ears," we cannot afford to be modest or humble. We must "imitate the action of the tiger."  Grrrrrr . . .

But how to be a tiger with food addiction? My enemies are two, it seems: Hunger and Habit. Oftentimes I'm confronted with intense hunger that I feel a crushing need to satisfy immediately. That's when I'm subject to eating high-calorie foods (HCF). But I really don't need to do that; I just think I do. What should I do instead? No, let's change that word, that bad should word that carries with it all those guilt feelings. Let's make it more positive: What could I do instead? What are my options?

Well, sometimes I try to eat fruit or other lower-calorie, higher nutrition foods (LCF). That works, but only for about an hour; then I need another infusion of calories to go another hour. It's inconvenient, since I have to bring to work more and more foods to get me through the afternoon. Afternoon seems my hardest time, and the hard time continues into supper, since by the time I eat I'm so hungry I wolf down my food, eating more than I need to.

What other options do I have besides eating fruit or other LCF? Well, I could ignore the hunger, but that has proven to be unwise in the past, because eventually I start to feel weak, faint, or irritable--sometimes all three.

But eating every hour means more calories. I guess I could eat less at meals, or save some for later. That might work. And it will get me habituated to eating less at a meal so that I don't fill up beyond satiation. But it will be hard, no matter what.

Evening is also hard because I must face my other enemy: Habit. I've become accustomed to eating after supper, not because I'm hungry, but because it feels good to stuff my face while watching TV. Eating is okay if it's necessary, but it should be within the limits of the food intake for the day. I like to eat HCF in the evening, but I don't always need to. And I don't need to eat in front of the TV either because, as Shirley says, I'm creating a new chain of habits that I will at some time have to break.

Another problem I have is with measuring and weighing--it's very time consuming and when I'm doing it, I'm hungry and my food is getting cold. I tend to overestimate when I'm hungry, and I want to skip doing it because I don't want my food to get cold. It's the anxiety that comes with the hunger, I think. What to do about that? Stop worrying and just tell myself I'll be okay, that nutrients are coming and everything will be fine. That's what Shirley says: take a breath. Maybe saying Grace was a way people had of slowing things down, keeping themselves from attacking their food like a hungry animal. There's something to be said for that, even if the pause you take is not religious.

Let's face it--I've analyzed this situation 10 ways to Sunday, as they say, especially in this blog. I know everything I need to know about why and when and what I eat. So the next step--the hardest step--is action. Back to the battle! Be the tiger! But remember, the tiger is not only fierce, but watchful, cunning, smart.

I'm not ready yet to "close the wall up" on my hope for slimness. So it's into the breach, dear friends. Once more.