July 28th, 2008
Discretionary eating is the amount of an individual’s food consumption that is eaten after basic caloric and nutritional needs have been met.
I found this on this blog. I think I’m going to join in for the month of August. Think of this as Lent, wherein the goal is the reduction or elimination of discretionary eating for one month.
The terms of the challenge are to select from a list of eating behaviours that are wasteful or deficient in one way or another:
- restaurants (money)
- refined foods (nutrition)
- sugar/sweets (processed and refined are bad when eaten as more than just an occasional treat, but of course fruit is totally fine)
- seconds only when hungry (overeating)
- stimulants (meet no nutritional needs)
- vegan (healthiest)
The challenge asks that you commit to either a 50% reduction of your current use/intake of these items, or to a full 100%. You pick which ones you want to work on, and of course are invited to go the whole enchilada and do them all. And since I have a long and proud tradition of making eating as complicated and restrictive as possible, I think I’m going to commit to one month of 100% of all of the above.
Holy shit. I am already freaking out about Coke Zero.
And already thinking of some exceptions that need to be pre-agreed upon: I’m attending a wedding reception next weekend and there will be drinking. Which I will participate in. Also, I’ll be doing some travelling in August and it’s just stupid to make hard and fast rules about where you’ll eat when you’re going into the boonies. Shit, I might end up trapping and eating little mammals, you know? Never say never and all that. So okay, let’s call it a 90% challenge.
But seriously. I’m really intrigued at this idea of just getting back to the basics: no crap food, no chemically laden mystery ingredients, no wasting cash on food I can make at home for a fraction of the price, restricting treats to their proper place: special occasional indulgences, not daily habits. Eating to satiety and no farther. Just eating actual food as it actually comes out of the ground, prepared economically.
I still feel entitled to have delicious and varied foods at every meal, so in this sense the challenge does not ask for deprivation as such. At this point the food I make at home is almost always better than what we get when we go out. But should I feel entitled to have cupcakes (or other junk foods) at my fingertips, at any time of any day? Should I view it as a deprivation to eat what I can make for myself at home (particularly when I can go to Safeway and pick any food I want)? I imagine I’ll discover some interesting previously-unknown assumptions about what I unconsciously think I should or shouldn’t have, should or shouldn’t be required to tolerate, during this process.
So I have three days to guzzle as much pop as I can handle before this experiment begins…!
Back away from the pop!
Seriously, if you gorge yourself on it before trying to go cold tofurkey, it will make the withdrawals that much harder.
Come on over and sign up for the challenge. If you choose the “Whole Enchilada” at 100%, you’ll be the very first blogger brave enough to do so!
Bah! Why don’t you give up sex too?
And reading! That can cause eyestrain. Same goes for TV and movies.
Next up: going outside. Have you SEEN outside? There are all kinds of sick people out there who can infect you with who knows what!
But wait, you’re more likely to injure yourself at home! Best to just stay in bed, doing some very low-impact yoga and being fed through an IV.
That way you can be El Supremo Ultimate Health Goddess.
This challenge isn’t *for* people like you. It’s for people like me to give them a way improve their eating habits.
You, on the other hand, eat healthier than anybody should and all you’ll be doing with this is denying yourself some pleasure in exchange for the smugness of “healthiest”.
“Healthy” is fine. You’re already “healthier” which really doesn’t make a big difference. “Healthiest” is just silly.
There is no food better than ice cream.
It can’t possibly be a challenge for people like you… people like you will never do a challenge like this!
Pft. I did Medifast. It kicks sand in the face of this challenge at the beach and laughs.
Hmm. Does this mean you’re kicking sand in my face and laughing?
I’d never kick sand in your face!
And I’d never lau… wait, yes, I would laugh at you.