Thoughts of FORMER Binging

Reading a blog entry about Lyn's thoughts about binging at a bakery's new cabinet with delicious displays and it got me thinking. Here's part of what I commented to her:

It's the secret eating, isn't it? Thinking that you'll be judged so you make up stories about buying for a party or for your kid to take to school or a birthday or your shut-in friend. Then you make sure that YOU're the one carrying that bag in from the car and it goes directly into your bedroom, making sure there's plenty of time before Hubby comes home. The rest of the groceries get put away and then you find an excuse to go to your bedroom and shut the door. 20 minutes later, in a semi-comatose state, you emerge from the bedroom, hiding the bag of empty boxes and bags and wrappers in a pile of "stuff you were just organizing".

Not that I binged THAT often. Not even what many people call binging. I'd get a foot-long sub and think nothing of finishing it. It would take me a couple of days to eat a whole cheesecake. A container of french onion dip and a bag of chips would take most a day... a bite here and a bite there. A cake would take 5-6 days. A lasagna almost 2 days. A 2-liter soda a whole day.

Exception: buffet restaurants, especially Country Buffet. I'd take my son about 30 minutes before lunch prices changed to the more expensive dinner prices (usually on a thursday or saturday which were beef rib days). I'd kill time by eating a piece of fish with lots of tartar sauce or crab/mayonnaise/onion salad with a couple of fresh yeast rolls and lots of butter. Maybe a couple pieces of cheesecake or some brownies because I won't have room later. Maybe a taco salad light on the lettuce, heavy on the onions and sour cream. Maybe a cheeseburger or sesame chicken or chicken and dumplings/hold the chicken. Then, the second I see them switch the lunch food into dinner food and the ribs come out, I'm there with an empty plate. I'd get 2-3 of those very fatty sauce-laden ribs and have them gone in 15 minutes, going back for refills a couple of times. During this "meal", I'd drink about 6-8 glasses of milk! Yes, milk. Usually a couple of sodas to break up the milk monotony. Doggone it, I'd get my money's worth! Geez, when I think about the calories for this meal, I get woozy (while still craving those delicious ribs).

Mine was more a problem of (1) food choices and (2) not moving. I'd choose my poison (literally) and eat it then not move except to go to the bathroom or to rearrange myself on the couch.

Now that my son is older and knows how to eat healthy, he started making comments on my food choices. How can I raise my son to make good healthy choices when I set such a bad example for him?

It's because of him that I don't "binge". Thank you, my little boy.

No more secrets.