By Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we diet.
I remember my first Last Supper. I was 11 years old and staying at my sister’s for the weekend. We ate as much chocolate ice cream, chips with onion dip, and chocolate bars as we could stand. We feasted all weekend because come Monday… she was gonna DIET.
A Last Supper is when you overeat foods that you’re planning to deny yourself in the future. You don’t know when or if you’re going to have that food again, so you stuff as much as you can into your belly, even though you might feel sick or not even really want it. I’ve done this a thousand times. Even recently, I binged on Chex Mix all the while telling myself, “I’m not buying Chex Mix anymore.”
Last Supper thinking has different voices.
- I can only get these this time of year.
- I should indulge while I’m on vacation.
- These leftovers won’t taste as good tomorrow.
- If I don’t eat this now, it might not be here later.
- I already blew it today, so I might as well eat everything.
- I don’t know when I’ll get to eat at this restaurant again.
- I should finish this tonight so it won’t be in the house anymore.
- I’ll do better tomorrow.
I have had every one of these thoughts, which have led me to countless Last Suppers.
This is why Intuitive Eating tells people to give themselves unconditional permission to eat, not just now (which I am quite good at) but also in the future! This is the piece I was missing. Although I ate freely without guilt, in the back of my mind I was planning to give up these foods when I got my act together.
I never really got my act together though. And I never gave up anything. Instead, I ate more whole plant food. Less meat and processed foods. I made flexible goals with no timeline. Embedded in my weight-loss journey thus far has been loads of permission to eat and loads of grace with myself.
What would happen if the next time you bit into a soft donut, you reminded yourself that you can have that donut anytime you want? Any day of the week. Any time of the day.
Now imagine thinking this is your last opportunity to eat donuts?
Do you feel like maybe you should eat two?
The reality is, you’re a grown up. You make the rules. It doesn’t need to be a special occasion. Every recipe imaginable is available online. You have access to food from around the world. If the various voices of Last Supper thinking sound familiar to you, perhaps you should experiment with giving yourself full permission to eat both now and later. Because if you intend to deny yourself of simple pleasures later, you might sabotage yourself now.
Feature Image by Mikes-Photography from Pixabay
Image by StockSnap from Pixabay
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