Simple and healthy. I feel perfectly satisfied, not "full." I read somewhere that the French will say that they are "no longer hungry" instead of saying, "I'm full." I also read that it's impolite to tell your host or hostess that you are "full," and instead to say you are "satisfied." Besides being polite, I think these are subtle ways to steer your self-discipline toward "just enough" instead of eating and eating and eating.
Lately at restaurants, if I clean my plate I feel quite unwell. The standard American portions are just too large for me. It's not a matter of wanting to lose weight or anything like that. I just feel sick when I try to eat it all. My husband and I have a joke: if I'm coming close to that state of discomfort, my husband can usually tell and he'll say, "Indian restaurant." This alludes to a time we ate at a lovely Indian restaurant, about two years ago, where the food was just so delicious that I refused to stop eating when I was full and made myself very ill. Very ill. I felt like I couldn't breathe and had a horrid stomachache the rest of the day. Even walking and moving hurt.
Never again. I'm pretty good now about stopping myself, though he still reminds me every now and again about that catastrophe. Even when I'm having my treat of those Lofthouse cookies, I force myself to stop at two. I know that if I have a third, I will feel poorly. Self-discipline is not something commonly practiced in today's modern society. My parents were pretty good about it, though I must say my father had more than my mother did. Her diabetic self sometimes backslid into stealing bites of my desserts, and she had an inability to keep drawers and closets remotely organized. She was better about these things in her older years. In his older years, Dad actually reversed and became more of an alcoholic and ate nothing but sweets and potato chips. I endeavor to be like my Mom in this respect: better late than never.
In any event, I'm trying my best to keep self-discipline in my role as homemaker: waking before 9am, keeping the sink clear, never leaving the house without the bed made and floors swept, curbing my spending, not wearing my pajamas any later than 9:30, and doing my hair and makeup every day. That last one isn't necessary exactly, but it lifts my spirits just as much as my Zoloft does, if not more.
It's not hard to keep self-discipline in the arena of diet. As I've said before, sugar generally makes me feel unwell, and too much food makes me physically uncomfortable. It's quite easy to pare down and eat healthfully. I think my husband has subconsciously followed my lead here. I haven't seen him chowing down on cookies (my friends and I once called him the Cookie Monster) or complaining about our smaller-than-the-average-American portion sizes. He eats my salads with joy. I am thrilled.
He still likes "something sweet" before bed but lately that's been granola cereal, or toast or a bagel with peanut butter and jelly. Not too bad.
Just for fun, here are five things I don't like that everyone else seems to love:
1. Peanut butter
2. Garlic
3. The Beatles
4. Television
5. Facebook
Peanut butter gives me a mild headache, even the smell of it. I love alternative nut butters: almond, sunflower seed, cashew. Cashew is usually the most costly. You can usually find them at Trader Joe's. Garlic is just unpleasant all around, it leaves one with bad breath. My husband loves it so I cook with it, and tell myself that it's good for us. The Beatles. I don't even know why I don't like them, I just know I don't. I'm sick to death of hearing them. Television. I've already ranted about it. It's a potentially good technology that has turned into something insidious. Facebook. Time-sucker, zombie-maker, self-glorifying vortex of baby pictures and things I don't want to know about other people. If I didn't have a page to see my daughter, I would delete my account.
I think tonight's dinner will be spaghetti with chicken, chard and onions. And as always, a green salad and French bread and butter. I am in love with Semifreddi's seeded sourdough baguettes. Their sweet baguette is also delicious. I find myself buying two loaves a week. It takes us two or three days to get through them. We are lucky to live in an area with plentiful local bakeries to choose from.
"In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves... self-discipline with all of them came first." - Harry S Truman
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