🍗 I Guess I Have An Eating Problem 🍔
It’s not that dramatic or health-threatening but I believe many people have this without actually knowing (or admitting) it.
Am I Overeating?
Let’s talk about culture.
You see, I come from a culture where there are no portions. There is food. Plenty of it. Because one cooks more “in case somebody makes a surprise visit.”
I come from a culture where people get disappointed when you don’t try their Börek or deserts or when you don’t fill your plate with another portion.
I have found out that there are some patterns in this specific behavior of people (especially moms and grandmoms) like in other Balkan countries, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Marocco, South American countries, and so on.
But I don’t want to blame any cultures for MY behavior. However, there is sure is an impact.
Stress and comfort
I always found comfort in eating. Especially in situations like:
- When I’ve been exposed to new and unfamiliar surroundings, for example, when I was on tour with my bands ten years ago
- When I had to make crucial decisions
- When facing uncertainties
- When getting bored
- When I had to accomplish a difficult task
But also:
- When I had accomplished a difficult task
- When I brought in a new client
- When I was successful at something
Meaning it goes both ways: I eat when things are stressful but also when things are good.
Let’s talk about the quantity of food.
I over-eat almost every time. I didn’t stop when I had enough, and I stopped when I was full (which is too late).
I always eat two portions when home.
I always order an extra, like an extra Cheesburger to my BigMac, an extra starter to my Duck Kung Pao menu. And there is always enough space for dessert.
I’m fully aware that this is a first-world problem and millions of people don’t have food for days in other parts of the world. But precisely, this type of imbalance starts with the culture we live in our part of the world: we don’t know the word “enough.” So we want more until it’s too much.
When do you know you’re overeating?
- If you’re gaining weight despite a good physical training routine
- If you’re immediately getting tired after eating
- Inability to perform (at any task)
- If you have acid reflux 🤢
- If you’re mindlessly eating
- If you’re sleeping not well
OK, SO WHAT I’M I GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?
- As cliche as this might sound, the most important thing is recognizing the problem and acknowledging it, which I did. And now I’m writing a newsletter about it.
- I was searching for clues from culture, your past, and typical behavioral patterns. Which I also did.
- I am starting a “food diary.” I actually started it three days ago on my Notes app and even created a shortcut to it on my phone. I’m not writing down how many calories I’m taking in. Instead, I’m just writing down what I’m eating. This should help me to be more aware (which is very helpful already).
I’ll do this food-diary thing for 11 more days to complete 14 full days.
I don’t believe in a diet or an advanced fitness plan. This is a problem that has to be solved at the core. Diets and fitness plans are just reactions to the problem but not solutions.
Alrighty — I would love to know if some of you made (or are making) similar experiences and what you did to tackle it. Feel free to hit the reply button and let me know.
What else?
- I’m still looking for a more advanced fitness tracker and I’m stuck now between the COROS Vertix 2 and the Garmin Fenix 6 Pro.
- We have finally started to watch the Korean Show “Squid Game” on Netflix. If you haven’t heard about it yet: it’s the most viewed Netflix show ever in the history of Netflix so far. 🤯
- We’re slowly but surely getting ready to move out of our apartment in Zurich.
- At Senler Media, we’ll be hiring content producers and project managers very soon, so if you know somebody who knows somebody: let me know 😁
Let me know if you liked this issue and, if yes, what you liked and if not, the same. Just hit the reply button and let me know! 🙌
I wish you all a great week! 🚀
