February is Spud Fit challenge month for me. I’ll eat nothing but potatoes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and every time in between. WHY?! That’s what everyone is asking me.
There are several reasons but one really hit me today. I eat food just to eat sometimes. I don’t have to always eat every time I stop at a gas station. I don’t have to run to the grocery store every time I get hungry. Granted, I was not eating horrible before this challenge. I found myself stopping to get one Larabar. Once I was in the store, I couldn’t buy just one, I’d buy two.
At dinner, I’d find myself serving myself a large bowl of rice with veggies or tofu. After I finished that off, I’d serve myself another bowl of rice. If my kids were eating tortilla chips with their meal, I’d end up reaching in the bag and grabbing some for myself. By the end of dinner, I had consumed more calories than I should have.
Even though I’ve lost 100 pounds, even though I eat a healthy plant based diet, and even though I run more than the average person, that does not mean that I don’t need to eat better. I need to constantly monitor my relationship with food. The detrimental habits may be gone, but those behaviors still lurk deep down inside me. I hate to see food left on my plate, especially if it is something that I absolutely love to eat. I’ve always been like that. I could be stuffed to the point that I feel sick but if there’s something on the plate that I want, I will eat it. Most of the foods that made me feel like that have been cut out of my diet, but that behavior is still there.
Ever since my weight loss journey started in 2012, my relationship with food has evolved. Food should be looked at as fuel and energy. This potato challenge isn’t for more weight loss. It’s not to prove a point. It’s to remind me of the relationship I have with food. It’s to hit the reset button on some old habits.
If you’re interested in learning more about the potato diet, please check out @spudfit on Instagram.