Polar Bear

Polar Bear
My Boy

Saturday, September 11, 2010

When good beggars go bad

So this is what I deal with almost every night when I try to eat my one lean and green meal a day in peace...


Keep in mind-this is the 'good' dog of our crew.  Notice the empty food bowl in the back-that's because they all just ate THEIR food.

The 'bad' dog is less subtle...



Yes, she is a Jack Russell/Demon Spawn.

Every night they are below me when I'm cutting vegetables.  The Jack Russell will lick crumbs off your shirt if you let her-this annoys the shit out of us.  And she would lick the inside of your mouth is you let her, too-this is strictly forboden.  After all, we have caught her eating dead carcasses and her own poop in the yard.

Good dog has a better palate.  Pearl, Polar's sister, is the pickiest eater I know and never begs.  No wonder she has a body like a supermodel and sleeps like a rockstar...


I started sleeping better when I started my diet, too.

So good and bad dog are super talented beggars, no matter how recently they have eaten, they always want more, and I thought-it's Pavlovian!  They start drooling when I am cutting tomatoes.

Then I passed a sign on the interstate today with a bunch of donuts in it, and I started drooling.

So I concluded either:
 1.  I'm really a dog
 2.  Some of my food addictions/favorites have become Pavlovian responses
 3.  I'm no better than my furry beggars, and I can no longer scold them for doing so

I am the first one to admit that I fucked up my body, it was great, now it sucks.  No one shoved food down my throat.  But somewhere along the line my brain started causing physiological responses to food-making it more difficult to resist the urge to eat more.  Again, my brain, my issues.

But here's the question-how much harder is it to lose weight/keep willpower when your brain has physiological responses to food?  And I am not talking about emotional eating here...

I remember all the times when I still ate more, stuffed in food because it sounded good, after I had eaten a full meal, and I can no longer question my dog's motives-because I, too, have become Pavlovian.

Damn that Pavlov.



**My thoughts are with all those we lost nine years ago, and all we have lost since then due to that toxic site.**




8 comments:

Mom to the Fourth Power said...

Two of my kids read this post with me (had to reword your cuss words)... but they oohhed and awwwed at your dogs! Cute little beggars. I wish we could have a dog or cat. I drool at certain foods too... BUT I think that is changing. I am starting to respond to healthier foods too! You are a talented writer!

~Margene

Bethanny said...

Cute dogs! I have two moochers also.
Anywho, food tastes good, and makes you feel good in the moment. Advertising is everywhere. They have researched their tactics, they loop us into wild eating cycles before we know it!

Polar's Mom said...

Hi Margene-

Sorry about the curse words-its another addiction I'm working on... ;-)
I agree about the drooling-now I think about shrimp or crab legs and drool thinking about them, too. And my cooking repetoire is enlarging, so that is helping me develop healthier cravings. I've even figured out how to do chicken fajitas low cal/fat. Thank God cause I love me some Mexican spices.

Hi Bethanny,
I don't know how truckers do it-I bet it is hard for them to eat healthy with all those crap-food advertisements along the highways.
And I do love my moochers-thankfully my Dane is not a beggar or she could just counter surf and it'd be hard to stop her!

Lanie said...

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm . . . .doughnuts

lalalala said...

Thanks for visiting my site! It's so neat to read about other people's journeys. Very awesome.

Alan said...

Have you read David Kessler's "The End of Overeating"? It's all about the Pavlovian response we develop to food. I'm about half-way through and will post a review/summary in a few weeks. But basically, yes, this does happen. I'm hopeful I can retrain my brain.

Karen said...

I was going to say the same thing as Alan! I read that book and wrote about it in my blog. My big takeaway was the whole Pavlov thing. For me, I think it comes when I sit in a certain chair. Really. Sit in chair... mind asks "what do I want to eat?"

Anonymous said...

Very cute dogs. I have two cats that kind of do the same thing. I'm in the same boat as you...nobody to blame but myself, so I shall absolve myself of all blame. After all, we all know who ate what. It's definitely a tough battle, otherwise we'd all be models. Tough, but not impossible. It just takes time. I believe that awareness is one of the keys to losing weight...you are obviously aware and you are on your way.