Don’t you love it when you find a much simpler way of expressing an idea you’ve had for ages, but struggled to explain briefly?
Ever since my first efforts to lose weight, there was always one mental argument against a dessert, a fat pizza, or a binge: the time it would take to work it off again. Time in which, despite not appearing very different, I wouldn’t be fully satisfied with myself. Not until I had another streak of clean eating and exercise.
Did that stop me? Maybe sometimes, but given that binge eating was a regular habit for years to come, not completely. It was a good argument to not indulge – convincing, even. But when what you’re up against is a late teen/early 20s insatiable appetite, logic doesn’t do very much.
Plus, I was on Summer break from my first year at uni. And all my friends were abroad. So with three months of nothingness (besides a brief internship), working off the excess junk I ate was almost something welcome to do. I still didn’t feel great about myself until I was clean for at least another few days, but it was quick enough that this line of thinking rarely stopped me from having a treat (by which I mean a whole bag of treats – anything less was barely a “treat” for me). Unfortunately, by being able to work it off so quickly, I also felt comfortable enough to indulge yet again quite rapidly, so I had binges close to weekly or fortnightly. Meaning that out of an average 14-day period, I’d feel sub-optimal for 3-6 days, which isn’t great.
One solution would have been to have some hobbies, or find ways to meet new people, but alas, I didn’t. When uni started up again, you’d think that with more to do, I wouldn’t be eating out of boredom anymore. And I didn’t – it was just a habit now, and the cravings were real. However, it dawned on me that a binge was way harder to work off quickly now. I had other things to get done, people to hang out with.
The extra time to burn off junk only shrunk as I started internships, a Master’s, and ultimately, a full-time job. I still have a fairly decent amount of free time working now, but equally important is what I do with my time. If I’m not working, I’ll be hanging with friends, or terrorising the neighbourhood as an old man, or reading, or a billion other things I’d rather be doing than exercising more than I need to just to burn off an extra donut I ate.
I could go hard, do bonus exercise, and eat less to burn it off quicker, but I’d feel uncomfortable, and I learned during uni that being hungry and drained doesn’t let you be your most productive. I could go slow, and live life fairly normally, but then it’d take longer to get back to my baseline. Either way, this will only get harder as I get older and either get more responsibilities, or my metabolism gets slower.
Which brings me back to the opening sentence: the other day, my partner summed this line of thinking up perfectly when she said “I don’t have time for that cake.” She was a stand-in on a TV show set, where they always have generous portions of food, along with dessert. That day, it was brownies, one of her favourites. When the crew asked her why she wasn’t having any, that’s how she summed it up. Ain’t got time for that.
I’ve found that phrasing gives me some power. I was thinking that way for a while (with more success as time went on), but its simplicity and sharpness just feels more like a winning attitude. Walking past half price cookies at the store? Ain’t got time for that. Somebody brought a box of donuts at work? Ain’t got time for that. Cake for a friend’s birthday? Ok fuck, I’m not made of steel, but you get my point. For those temptations you find in your everyday life, this is the attitude to save you. Truly imagine yourself an hour after eating – you’ll feel like shit. Do you have time for that?
Imagine yourself a day later – not feeling as physically bad, but noticing the extra pudge, you don’t feel mentally great. Do you have time for that? Imagine yourself exercising more for the rest of the week. This one may only work for those who, like me and my partner, feel obliged to work off any excess. For those who do, do you have time for that? The more I thought about this, the easier it became to simply say no to many of life’s daily temptations.
Of course, this alone won’t consistently stop you from overeating and indulging. There’s a whole world of strategies for that. There’s also more to healthy eating than what to avoid. But avoiding bad (or excess) foods is still important, and the “don’t have time for that” attitude can be a powerful addition to your healthy eating arsenal. So next time you encounter a tempting opportunity, ask yourself whether you really have time for it.