Dear “me of tomorrow”: please stop making stupid unhealthy food choices

At this point in time, the left side of my mouth is numb and all I can think of is cheeseburgers, or Italian sausage, or any food for that matter. This morning I had a filling. Thanks to advancements in numbing technology and the care of a great dentist, it was completely painless and easy. But now, as the left side of my face still feels like it was amputated, and eating puts my tongue at risk of being totally mangled, I’m hyper aware of my biggest weakness: eating just to fill the time.

For several months now, I’ve been “just about to go on a diet.” I had my third baby last September and while I should have learned some good lessons from the first two, I’m still shocked and sad that my body hasn’t magically bounced back into place. As a working mom who balances my time between the office and home, I find that I’m never hungry, but always craving a snack, whether that’s chips and salsa, a small bowl of ice cream (followed by just one more even smaller bowl of ice cream), or a leftover chicken breast from yesterday’s dinner… I am not sure how I’ve landed in this pattern, but I eat when I’m happy, when I’m sad, when I’m bored, when I’m frustrated, then of course at regularly scheduled meal times.

So alas, as I am “just about to go on a diet” again, I’m recording 3 things I know but pretend not to when I’m faced with a craving. With any luck, I can read this tomorrow, and the next day, sometime before I’m ready to choke down a handful of chips for no reason whatsoever.

1. Healthy eating does not actually cancel out unhealthy eating

My rationale:

I just totally f*cked up my healthy eating streak with that bowl of cookies and cream ice cream. Maybe I should eat a salad too, or some kale chips because if that’s the last thing I ate, the ice cream doesn’t count.

Am I the only one who does this? While I know its not true by any means, I allow the beauty of the homegrown and homemade kale chips (and corresponding Instagram post) overshadow the fact that I just snuck one (pack) of my kids’ pop tarts. Speaking of which…

2. No, I am not capable of just one bite of mac ‘n cheese

I’m not proud to say that mac ‘n cheese (along with hot dogs and pizza) are go-to whine-free foods. Boca Superdad a.k.a. “The Mayor” and I feed them to the kids when we just don’t feel like listening to them b*tch about how much they hate the other flavorful thing that we want to eat. So I cave…

Undoubtedly, even though the mac ‘n cheese is totally not for me at all, I will tell myself that it’s okay to have just one bite. Turns out – there is no such thing as one bite of mac ‘n cheese.

First it’s one innocent bite, then its just one more – what difference does one more bite make anyway? Then, after just another, I begin to notice that what’s left in the saucepan is not really a quantity worthy of putting back into the refrigerator. And so, like a ravenous dog, I begin to choke down the remaining mac ‘n cheese hiding in a dark corner of my kitchen hoping that nobody sees me – especially not those judgmental kids. If nobody sees me eat the mac ‘n cheese, it never happened, right? Turns out, my love handles are horrible liars. *sigh*

3. We can actually have a family outing that doesn’t revolve around eating (or drinking wine)

Earlier this week, I was feeling a little stir crazy after a couple days straight of working from home, kids on summer break, and no outside commitments. Per the above, I had already eaten 26 times that day, but as I thought about ways to get my family out of the house, my brain naturally went to let’s go out to dinner. Why does it do that?

So naturally, we called some friends of ours and we all met up for some delicious Pho (check out Pho Boca, it’s awesome), and I finished nearly my whole bowl. No Regrets, but I found myself rethinking our family outings and things we could go do that are not centered around eating or a glass of red. Here’s a list of 14 other things we can do instead.

1. Go for a walk/bike/scooter ride
2. Go to the splash park
3. Go to any park
4. Go to the movies
5. Go bowling
6. Go roller skating (any good places around here?)
7. Go ice skating
8. Go shopping (this one is controversial)
9. Go kayaking (we really need a kayak)
10. Go to the trampoline park
11. Go swimming
12. Play in our backyard with the kids
13. Go to the library
14. Go strawberry picking

So that’s it, future me. Read this again before making your kid’s extra hot dog magically disappear! I wonder if reading my own blog every day will help my hits? 😊

Back to my numb mouth – This is not sponsored or paid or anything like that (I’m not famous yet). But if you need a great dentist in Boca, I highly recommend calling mine, doctors Jamily and Casey Pedro of Aqua Dental Loft. They are a fantastic wife and husband team. The office has a relaxed, clean, spa-like vibe, the staff is incredible and they are impeccable about getting things right. I am continually impressed by the amount of time and focus they put in to make sure the treatment is microscopically perfect.

I also have the pleasure of knowing the docs personally and they are among the most caring, thoughtful, and awesome people I know. This alone makes me feel super comfortable under their care.

With that – I’m out ‘til next time.

<3 Bocamom

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