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Strategizing for Infinite Food
Nov. 12th, 2007 05:47 pmOur cruise nears, and the approaching deadline is motivating me into getting ready again. I've had to actually try to make reservations for all the things I thought of so long ago, for example. No one has suggested any ideas I like better.
Also, I've realized that some of my earlier math was problematic. It turns out that a seven-day cruise is really a seven-night cruise, which I didn't realize until Robin pointed out, and I confirmed, that it both leaves and returns on Sunday. I just expect businesses to make things sound as good as possible--they could have called it an eight-day cruise. Why didn't they? So the good news is we have an extra day of cruising fun, and the bad news is that I have to come up with another dinner outfit.
I'm also thinking I might want to have some sort of eating plan. Eating some of everything that looks good is probably not ideal, although at least once you get full enough, fewer things look good. This cruise is too much like what happened the first time I gained weight.
~~cheesy foggy special effects bring you to the distant past (alerting regular readers they can skip this part, which they may have heard before)~~
I was working at an overnight summer camp and had all my meals prepared for me, with several delicious dishes at each meal, plus we had access to a refrigerator filled with snacks. It turns out I have the power to gain 15 pounds in ten weeks.
The next summer, I put myself on a strict eat-like-a-human diet which had three rules:
* I may only have seconds of one thing if I give up something else.
* I may not have thirds of anything unless I really, really love it.
* I am not allowed to really, really love everything.
Although this sounds like an extremely reasonable, easy-to-follow diet, I still felt a little deprived, especially around brownies. And I still gained five pounds.
The other two summers I wasn't so strict with myself, but did retain some self-control, resulting in a gain of ten pounds each summer.
I was able to lose seven pounds between summers, and after a few years of not working at summer camp, I returned to my original weight, basically by just eating my own cooking, where laziness means there's less food available than when I'm eating someone else's cooking. Plus I use less butter.
~~cheesy fog clears~~
So, this thing will have an even higher quantity of delicious food and fewer opportunities for exercise, but at least it will last only one week. So I am unlikely to gain more than two or three pounds. Still, the stomach is only so big, so it might be wise to set up some priorities and think of some strategies. Here are some I might like:
* Try things that have fruits and vegetables in them, in case they turn out to be yummy. It's a lot easier to try foods other people have cooked than to talk myself into buying something and then cooking it before it goes bad. And wouldn't it be cool to discover ways to enjoy vegetables?
* During those meals with several courses, do not feel like I have to order something at every course. In some of the sample menus, I didn't like the sound of anything in some of the categories such as main dish. That's okay because I might like a soup, a salad, and a dessert, which is plenty of food. And if it isn't, it's not like I can't go get pizza or ice cream later. Plus, they let you have another soup or whatever if you ask. And even though it feels like I'm there to eat, really I'm there to socialize because I will be at a table with seven cool people. Actually, this strategy could be even broader: do not pressure myself in any way to eat anything that is not either really delicious or really nutritious.
* Eat something with protein and something with fiber before allowing myself dessert. I do something like this at buffets--first get a plate of healthy things, then get a plate of other yummy things, then get a little dessert. Sometimes the dessert isn't even sugary, like at Indian restaurants, I usually just get some more rice, saag panir, and chicken.
* When two things look equally good, pick the healthier-seeming one.
I could add things like "stop eating when I get full" or "no more than one dessert per day" or "...per meal" but I might not want to. It's only a week after all!
Also, I've realized that some of my earlier math was problematic. It turns out that a seven-day cruise is really a seven-night cruise, which I didn't realize until Robin pointed out, and I confirmed, that it both leaves and returns on Sunday. I just expect businesses to make things sound as good as possible--they could have called it an eight-day cruise. Why didn't they? So the good news is we have an extra day of cruising fun, and the bad news is that I have to come up with another dinner outfit.
I'm also thinking I might want to have some sort of eating plan. Eating some of everything that looks good is probably not ideal, although at least once you get full enough, fewer things look good. This cruise is too much like what happened the first time I gained weight.
~~cheesy foggy special effects bring you to the distant past (alerting regular readers they can skip this part, which they may have heard before)~~
I was working at an overnight summer camp and had all my meals prepared for me, with several delicious dishes at each meal, plus we had access to a refrigerator filled with snacks. It turns out I have the power to gain 15 pounds in ten weeks.
The next summer, I put myself on a strict eat-like-a-human diet which had three rules:
* I may only have seconds of one thing if I give up something else.
* I may not have thirds of anything unless I really, really love it.
* I am not allowed to really, really love everything.
Although this sounds like an extremely reasonable, easy-to-follow diet, I still felt a little deprived, especially around brownies. And I still gained five pounds.
The other two summers I wasn't so strict with myself, but did retain some self-control, resulting in a gain of ten pounds each summer.
I was able to lose seven pounds between summers, and after a few years of not working at summer camp, I returned to my original weight, basically by just eating my own cooking, where laziness means there's less food available than when I'm eating someone else's cooking. Plus I use less butter.
~~cheesy fog clears~~
So, this thing will have an even higher quantity of delicious food and fewer opportunities for exercise, but at least it will last only one week. So I am unlikely to gain more than two or three pounds. Still, the stomach is only so big, so it might be wise to set up some priorities and think of some strategies. Here are some I might like:
* Try things that have fruits and vegetables in them, in case they turn out to be yummy. It's a lot easier to try foods other people have cooked than to talk myself into buying something and then cooking it before it goes bad. And wouldn't it be cool to discover ways to enjoy vegetables?
* During those meals with several courses, do not feel like I have to order something at every course. In some of the sample menus, I didn't like the sound of anything in some of the categories such as main dish. That's okay because I might like a soup, a salad, and a dessert, which is plenty of food. And if it isn't, it's not like I can't go get pizza or ice cream later. Plus, they let you have another soup or whatever if you ask. And even though it feels like I'm there to eat, really I'm there to socialize because I will be at a table with seven cool people. Actually, this strategy could be even broader: do not pressure myself in any way to eat anything that is not either really delicious or really nutritious.
* Eat something with protein and something with fiber before allowing myself dessert. I do something like this at buffets--first get a plate of healthy things, then get a plate of other yummy things, then get a little dessert. Sometimes the dessert isn't even sugary, like at Indian restaurants, I usually just get some more rice, saag panir, and chicken.
* When two things look equally good, pick the healthier-seeming one.
I could add things like "stop eating when I get full" or "no more than one dessert per day" or "...per meal" but I might not want to. It's only a week after all!