Breaking Food Rules

I had a really bad day that mostly sucked because something I’d felt a lot of hope about turned out to be nothing. I’m always cautious with my hope, especially about things that seems like long shots anyway, but I guess I was more hopeful than I thought this time, and the letdown was shockingly crushing. It’s just a work thing, not life or death, but sometimes wanting something really bad and working hard for it and then not getting it is devastating. My rational mind says it’s part of a learning process, but that’s easier to say than it is to feel when the letdown is fresh and the pain is raw.

I’m usually not one to eat my feelings, but last night, after a healthy dinner at the local co-op, I eyed a big bag of ranch-flavored tortilla chips. In mild defense of my transgression, the chips were organic (LOL, I know, still fried junk). I decided that if I took a long walk and still wanted them, I’d allow myself to stray from my normally strict diet and indulge a little. The walk didn’t help lift my sadness, and I walked back to the co-op with fifteen minutes to spare before closing and plunked down $2 for the bag of chips. Then, of course, I ate them all. Every single one of them, even though the serving size was for a family.

It was a rare slip for me, and I felt the familiar guilt of eating crap while dealing with chronic health problems, but damn, those chips were good. I tried pouring some in a bowl and eating just that amount, but it wasn’t long before I dumped the whole bag out and feasted. The free-for-all didn’t make the disappointment of the day go away, but I truly enjoyed eating some junk for a change, and that brief feeling of pleasure was a nice distraction.

I worried that I wouldn’t sleep much and would get achy from the processed food, but I ended up sleeping longer (and uninterrupted!) than I have in months. I didn’t even wake up to pee in the middle of the night, which was probably due to the massive salt load I put in my body with my chow fest. And when I woke up this morning, I felt better and less achy than usual.

I’m not advocating a junk food diet, but I think there’s a lesson here for me, and that is to relax and enjoy a treat every now and then. That’s something that can be hard for someone who feels guilt over poor dietary choices, but maybe my thinking should shift to allow more occasional treats. When I woke up this morning, I felt great, ran 4 miles in a thunderstorm, and am way less stiff and sore than usual. Cheers to chips, at least every once in a while.

6 Replies to “Breaking Food Rules”

  1. It’s hard not to feel guilty when you slip up, but we all do it! I am with you, though. We have to extend ourselves some grace. ( And I enjoy Terra chips so I don’t feel as guilty. πŸ™‚

    1. Cynthia, I avoided some bacon habanero chips today even though they were on a good sale, LOL.

  2. Cheers to Chips! If we can keep it limited. πŸ™‚ I seem to fall completely off the band wagon. I also know it almost immediately when I eat things I shouldn’t.

    I like your style of writing. It goes along with my latest series. “Letters to Friends”. Would you like to guest post on my page?

    1. Thanks, Mandy! I’ll check out your website. I don’t have time to guest post right now, but I’ll definitely read your stuff. πŸ™‚

  3. Glad to see you back blogging. Can’t believe how strict you athletes are! I was watching a show and the actress was eating a slice of cake and her friend said ‘what about your diet’ The actress said “It’s the weekend” !
    This is more my approach but i am not any kind of athlete, just trying to reduce pain and fibro fog.
    Sorry to hear the work thing did not happen for you. totally agree we have less hope now… possibly because we had hopes of a fibro cure or whatever and we have to settle for living with it. But I guess I still do live in hope. Best wishes

    1. Lee, somehow I missed your comment until today. Sorry! I hope you’re doing well these days. I appreciate you and the work you do for the fibromyalgia community.

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