Crowding Out

Since it's summertime, barbeques and various events are aplenty and in full swing before Labor Day's last hurrah. Trailing close behind are Fall harvest festivals, Thanksgiving, Christmas . . .yeah. And if you're any "normal" American, you see all these occasions attached to various and memorable food traditions. (No Thanksgiving is complete without a seafood casserole or bisque in our family.) And, well, if you're in a vocation where food is often a centerpiece, it doesn't really matter what time of year it is, right? Pastors' families, ahem! (Not that I would know or anything.) So how do you stay healthy at parties?

Firstly, I don't buy into the pressure of having to pig out at all these events. But I still like to pig out. Often people come away the following day feeling bloated and self loathing. Who needs that? In fact, the longer our family continues on this healthy track, the more I realize how much others care about healthy food, too, and make efforts to bring those dishes to potlucks and parties.  I mean, what party have you been to where fruit, veggies and salads aren't around somewhere?  Sure the pulled pork and/or chicken and mac n' cheese casseroles likely take center stage. But unless you're from Mississippi (Sorry, fattest state), the chance of bumping into a plant at a party is pretty good. 

But you can still pig out minus the crummy psychological and physical aftermath. The trick is to crowd out. Pile on the salad (specifically greens, not mayo based salads) with a vinegar based dressing, veggie sticks, fruit, and nuts. Eat those first. In fact, I'd say have seconds.  Then, if you're still hungry, have some of the other non-plant things, in very small portions.  The theory is you probably won't be able to eat much more after you've eaten a plant strong appetizer and entree.  Plants take up more space than calorie dense foods like sugar, saturated fats and oils (found in meat and desserts).

After about a year and a half of practice, I can say with relative confidence that this really seems to work.  And it helps curb cravings.  What really seems to assail most people and trigger the "addictive mindless eating response" is salt and sugar.  For example, just the other day I was eating salted cashews. Not a horrible choice, but not the best one, either.  While cashews have protein and the good fats, they are pretty heavy. (Nevermind that these were not raw, so certainly that's a whole other issue) Anyway, after a couple handfuls my stomach told me "no more," but my mind continued to want the salty taste in my mouth. My mind won, and my stomach was upset the remainder of the evening.  So clearly I need more practice.  Drinking more water would have helped, too.  

The Crowding Out theory is real.  Health Coaches guide folks with this approach all the time, especially for those needing to start slow.  Prior to this more concientious way of eating, I was a high intake meat, potatoes and everything cooked gal who got away with it for a number of years thanks to excessive exercise.  Yet it caught up with me in my mid to late twenties as joints became inflamed and the exercise was just a mask to the pain, rather than a supplemental health enhancement.  Certainly food couldn't help, now, could it?

Since this dietary shift, I am no longer in the same kind of pain. I also exercise differently and have never felt physically and mentally better in my life, even in spite of life's inevitable stresses and curve balls. So there's that.  

Anyone else experience reversals from your bad health due to dietary changes (to more plant based foods)? We'd love to hear from you.