“Pre-Eating” and Other Unconscious Habits

Recently, I arrived at the airport early for an eight-hour flight. Even though I wasn’t particularly hungry, I bought a large burrito and ate every bite.  As I sat waiting to board the airplane I wondered why I did that.

I soon realized that, because I didn’t trust the airline food, I was “pre-eating.” I also realized that this is part of a bigger pattern in my life. I often eat “a little more” for breakfast, just in case lunch is late, and “a little more” for lunch because dinner is such a long way off.  Then I eat “a little more” at dinner because I enjoy the food and also because, when I was young, my father allowed only positive talk at the dinner table.  That meant it was a safe place to indulge myself.

Before this insight I had never consciously realized that my family’s “depression mentality” around food (there may not be enough at the next meal), combined with my assumption that I should never, ever feel hungry, even for an hour or two, were shaping my current eating habits.

Darn!

I know we need to establish habits to live a productive life.  I fully stop at a “Stop” sign, I take the same pills at the same time each morning, and I have a smile on my face most of the time to encourage positive encounters.  But some habits are unconscious and not productive, or may have outlived their usefulness. (I no longer use a kitchen ladder to climb up onto the counter.)

With food I’m pretty good at avoiding “post-eating.”  When I put my knife and fork down on my plate, I’ve finished that meal.  When I decide, in advance, “no desert,” I usually stick to my decision.

Now I’m going to work on eliminating my previously unconscious “pre-eating” habit. I’ll also remind myself that it’s perfectly okay to be hungry for a few hours – although I’ll probably not start completely trusting airline food anytime soon.

That’s it for now.  I’m not going to start wondering why I wait until the last minute every week to write my blog.

Alan