Color Me Fit: weight loss, fitness, exercise

I recently stumbled upon a new blog to read, and as usual, I decided to browse through the archives a little. One of the older posts got me to think about having different food patterns–some people would probably call them “weird”, but I prefer to say “different”.

Until a couple of years ago, I was convinced that I “needed sugar” for breakfast. However, this wasn’t true. I just needed to eat something. I cannot go without a breakfast at all, but whether I have bread and jam or green beans and an omelette really doesn’t matter to me. Actually, I could eat a steak or asparagus for breakfast. Smells of ‘lunch’ or ‘dinner’ don’t bother me, don’t disgust me, and I guess it’s probably a blessing, because nowadays, it means I can toy with more possibilities in a given day. Moreover, it’s easier to get my daily minimum of five fruits/vegetables this way.

Also, as another example, I sometimes happen to eat dessert before the meal itself. (Dessert in my case usually being yogurts, and I don’t put extra sugar/whipped cream/whatever in them, so it probably plays a role in this behaviour of mine.) I know many people who find this shocking or even disgusting, but I figure out that if my family never saw anything wrong with eating Nutella on bread for dinner, then meat at breakfast or yogurt before eating my vegetables can’t be that much of a problem, can it? And like I mentioned in a comment on Crabby’s blog some time ago, I can also brag about having eaten a can of tuna at the gym because I needed protein. (Yes, I’m able to go as far as that.)

Reading the blog entry I mentioned reminded me of that, and of much more. Of feeling confident enough to eat what I want in front of other people, for instance–now I won’t hesitate anymore to ask for a fruit if it’s what I really want, even if there are tons of sugar-laden foods in front of me. Still, I also remember that about two years ago, I blogged here about the feeling of pressure laid on overweight people as soon as they’re seen eating some ‘bad food’ in public. Having different food behaviours isn’t such an easy thing at times. Somehow, we already know that sooner or later, we’ll be judged on them, that people will inquire about them, that some will criticize them as well. Indeed, it takes confidence. Which is something that, unfortunately, often tends to disappear in proportion with the amounts of pounds that creeps on.

I don’t know if this post really makes sense, or where I’m going with that, if I ever had a goal in mind when I started writing it today. I just find it interesting to think about these matters, about how we are judged, about how even a perfectly healthy way of eating will attract attention, in our surroundings that are usually full of junk foods (so much that junk foods seem to become the norm, and normal foods the exception!). Maybe there is a lesson to be learned in that. Maybe it is worth exploring different eating patterns, because–who knows?–having meat for breakfast might actually help you go through the next four or five hours way better than bread or cereals will ever do. (It is my case.)

Anyway, we shouldn’t be ashamed about eating differently. Pass the yogurt, please; it’s high time I start eating dinner!

- K.

• Eating when and what you want

Tags: eating, meals, breakfast, foods, patterns