Experiment: A stoic approach to eating
Anyone who knows me personally is likely to know that I love my food. I have never been a particularly frugal person, but when it comes to food I am especially prone to splurge. I have never regretted spending significant amounts of time and money on food.
I remember cringing and pitying a famous bodybuilder - who I have enormous respect for, given his dedication and the resulting success - when he said in an interview that food, for him, is not particularly enjoyable, but just a means to an end, his physique. This is certainly understandable, given that he has very specific goals, and it can be interpreted as a stoic way of eating, removing any external emotional attachments to the food eaten.
I have decided to take a different approach to "stoic eating". I will continue to enjoy my food, because it is undoubtedly one of the great pleasures in life. That said, I have found myself eating far too much and too often, mostly because of boredom, not because of hunger. This has been especially the case since a very large pile of white chocolate became available to me at all times. So instead of removing the enjoyment from eating, I will try to be more emotionally independent from food. I hope to achieve this by periodic bouts of fasting, which will theoretically reduce my intake of food. I feel this way I will only eat when my body truly needs it, and when I do, I will appreciate it more. My relationship with food will be less emotionally dependent.
So far, it has been a week, and it is not easy. But I will try it for a minimum of two weeks (one more week), and maybe extend it to a month to make sure the desired result is achieved: to have self control when it comes to deciding when, what, and how much to eat.
I remember cringing and pitying a famous bodybuilder - who I have enormous respect for, given his dedication and the resulting success - when he said in an interview that food, for him, is not particularly enjoyable, but just a means to an end, his physique. This is certainly understandable, given that he has very specific goals, and it can be interpreted as a stoic way of eating, removing any external emotional attachments to the food eaten.
I have decided to take a different approach to "stoic eating". I will continue to enjoy my food, because it is undoubtedly one of the great pleasures in life. That said, I have found myself eating far too much and too often, mostly because of boredom, not because of hunger. This has been especially the case since a very large pile of white chocolate became available to me at all times. So instead of removing the enjoyment from eating, I will try to be more emotionally independent from food. I hope to achieve this by periodic bouts of fasting, which will theoretically reduce my intake of food. I feel this way I will only eat when my body truly needs it, and when I do, I will appreciate it more. My relationship with food will be less emotionally dependent.
So far, it has been a week, and it is not easy. But I will try it for a minimum of two weeks (one more week), and maybe extend it to a month to make sure the desired result is achieved: to have self control when it comes to deciding when, what, and how much to eat.
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