“It’s Not About the Food”
What can I have, what can I NOT have, how much can I have, what will I have for lunch, oh maybe a little more won’t hurt, I’m cheating today, and so on. The whole point is to NOT focus on food. I didn’t realize how much I was thinking about food and planning for food and loving food and using food to meet needs that only God was intended to meet. It was a shocker when my eyes were opened to my life being “all about the food.”
I’ll never forget the first day I decided to eat only when I was hungry and stop when I was full. I tried an experiment. For lunch I scrambled one egg and made one piece of toast. I ate it and felt full. Amazing. Normally I would have routinely fixed two eggs and two pieces of toast and eaten it all without thinking. Often we serve ourselves a “reasonable” amount of food and then proceed to eat it all without paying attention to our body’s sensations. It’s a little disconcerting to eat three bites and feel full. We continue to eat out of fear–what if I get hungry again? What if I can’t get to my food? The truth is, if you get hungry again, You Can Eat. Period. You don’t have to fear hunger. It doesn’t hurt you to be hungry for a while. After a few minutes the feeling goes away anyway and doesn’t come back around for a while.
I don’t get obsessive about what I eat.
Constant food analysis and militant food plans lead to focus on food. Repeat after me–it’s not about the food. As a disclaimer, I do check labels for high-fructose corn sweetener and hydrogenated oils and don’t buy the stuff. But when you’re eating far less quantities, you’re getting far less fat and sugar and carbs and all the other boogie-man stuff.
I had a brief stint with a Christian weight loss program but we parted ways when it led to guilt and judgment for me personally. So it hasn’t been a program or ongoing support group that has kept the weight off. I credit T-Tapp with the ease of both weight loss and maintenance because of all the good things it does for metabolism, digestion and assimilation. Even when hormonal issues caused me to gain 15 pounds last year I didn’t get out of the size 6 because of T-Tapp! When the issues were corrected the weight came back off. Have you ever been to a T-Tapp event with Teresa Tapp? There is plenty of good food and no frozen diet meals.
I hesitate to even share a day of eating because then it’s all about the food again. Someone will think “if I just eat what Charlotte ate” but that’s not the magic pill. I just got back from a meal with my husband at our favorite Mexican restaurant, where I ate chips and salsa and chicken fajitas. But we shared an entree and I don’t like tortillas so I ate chicken and green peppers. I do not eat things I don’t like. I don’t waste my hunger on food that is not delicious. If I take a bite and it’s not good I usually spit it out! I never know when I’m going to get full so I’m picky about what I put in my mouth.
Hopefully you’ve found some food for thought here. Just don’t think about it too much. It’s not about the food.
Charlotte, This article spoke volumes to me…I am a food focused person. After reading your article I have a new perspective and I am excited to implement your suggestions…in fact I am ordering your book asap! You are an inspiration!
Thank you so much.
Blessings~denny
Charlotte, your article sounds so inviting! No hype or sales, just friend-to-friend, so I find myself drawn to T-Tapp!
Such great advice – that it’s not about the food… except when it comes to certain foods that we know are incredibly unhealthy for the body, of course (you mention HFCS and hydrogenated oils, but there are many, many more). And grains. Personally, I think it comes down to really understanding your body and what works for it. Which is where your advice shines – eating only when hungry and to the point of being not hungry any more is huge. Most of us just eat and eat and eat without a thought.
It’s that stopping when you’re physically full part that I struggle with- like I’ll never have the opportunity to eat again. I don’t know why I do that, but I really like your mindset around it. Will try it myself and see what happens!!
I’m nodding my head in total agreement! I’ve always disliked the term “diet” – and I’ve not ever been on one. It’s part of what drew me, a “foodie” (meaning, I enjoy cooking, and eating good food, alongside people I love) to the program. Those pregnancy pounds that weren’t going away? Those nursing calories that never ended because the baby nursed longer than any other child? Those were the dissatisfaction points to motivate me to change . . . not my eating, but how I was giving my body the chance to use the fuel I was giving it.
You see, I’ve always ate well – better than most, really, in terms of what was going in: plenty of veggies, sweets in great moderation, lots of home cooking and not processed foods . . .
I’m so glad I “get to have my cake, and eat it too” with TTapp. 🙂 Even with the intake tweaks I have been making after reading about different things that are good for ya (such as the almonds you mention) I have yet to feel deprived.
Still losing inches, eating well, and happy. I’m SO GLAD it’s not about the food . . .!!! 😀
I really like this, Charlotte. I have been doing this for a few days and I’m learning that I really don’t need as much food as I thought I needed. I am trying to do somewhat of a GM/MM type eating because I feel better doing it, but I also know that there are days it just won’t work and I try not to sweat over it.
Thank you so much for your willingness to answer questions and help everyone out. :0)
~Karen in Ohio
This is fab!
Yep, I’m food focused. It’s my comfort when I’m stressed. Found you while researching T-tapp. Want to lose ALL the yucky weight and keep it off this time. Thank you for sharing.
Excellent, Charlotte, it gives the person (like me) who is obsessed with food an idea of what eating till full looks like. When you’re food focused it is really hard to be sensitive to eating when hungry and stopping when full. This helps, thanks.
Bravo, Charlotte! I can so relate–food certainly was my god, my idol. Thinking about it, planning for it, stressing about it. ACK! I never “dieted”, but I’ve been in a few programs that were weight and calorie focused and I HATED it!
And you know me–if it’s all about losing “weight”, then I’m out of the running! LOL! I’m so grateful for T-Tapp and for a sane view of eating that nourishes us and can even delight us, but doesn’t have to *consume* us!!!
HUGS!
Trisch
I just re-read this …. 110 lbs!!! You have now motivated me! I walk … I walk … and I walk… and the scales says the same. It is now winter and I get bored on the treadmill and looking for something to change from walking too – I am looking into T-Tap….
Charlotte,
When you said, “when hormonal issues caused me to gain 15 pounds last year I didn’t get out of the size 6 because of T-Tapp! When the issues were corrected the weight came back off.”
Can you share how you corrected the issues?
Charlotte, I couldn’t agree more. This way of eating has also changed my life. Thanks for sharing!
Great talk about food! Luv it. I been doing this all week. Synchronicity! Such a healthy perspective. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Charlotte, You really cracked me up when you said “I
do not eat things I don’t like. I don’t waste my hunger on food that
is not delicious. If I take a bite and it’s not good I usually spit it
out!” Can you please remind me of this when I have you over for dinner. lololololThanks so much for this post. I have practiced this method once upon a time and it really is a good way to eat. And if anyone has that fear that they will get hungry, carry a granola bar in you purse or a bag of almonds. Knowing I have something with me, helps me not to obsess about food.
food for thought
Charlotte, thanks for a great article. I went through the same program you did, I think, and was simply amazed at how well this basic strategy works. I lost 20 lb or so and looked great. Unfortunately, even this thing that I was so sure would last for life…didn’t. I didn’t find T-Tapp until many years later, and I do wish I’d known about it back then, when I lost the weight, but was still flabby and out of shape.
Now I’ve been T-Tapping for 5 years, but have lost the habit of eating only when hungry. It’s such a frustration to me, because I know better, but I’ve become food-focused again. Thanks for the encouragement.
Charlotte,
Thank you so much for your blog. I am working my way through your encouraging posts. I am at the beginning of my journey. Your words that it’s not about the food is so encouraging and balanced. I’ve always dreamed of not having to count, weight, or log every bite. I also want to be consistent. I do need to stay mindful of my eating. Many times I just start eating without thinking. Thank you so much for your encouraging words!!! I T-Tapped for the first time today. It took me an hour to work through the More Instructional. Whew! My thinking is that the hardest part is over – starting….