My auto pilot loves drive thru. ANY DRIVE THRU. EVERY DRIVE THRU. For decades, I would eat a 4th meal from a fast food drive thru most days of the week. I’d eat in my car where no one would see me. It was my dirty little secret. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people say “You don’t eat THAT much… I’m not sure why you have a weight problem.” HAH! Two words: DRIVE THRU. Any time I felt frustrated, anxious, angry or even joyful, I would celebrate with a Quarter Pounder with Cheese, my drug of choice. But when I started my nutrition program 3 years ago, I upleveled that choice and never ate burgers and fries again. The last QPC I ate was in February 2015.
Now I make healthier choices, but I STILL DRIVE THRU! If I’m having a frustrating morning, I drive thru and get a coffee or an iced tea. Sometimes, after working out, I get an Egg McMuffin and throw out the top bun so it works in my macro and calorie count. These are choices I have determined are healthy. *loud buzzer WRONG. I realized today that this automatic behavior is still unhealthy because it is in response to feelings I’m usually unwilling to feel. The mere act of driving thru–even if it is just for an unsweetened iced tea–is still “feeding the addict.” It is a behavior that I’ve had for decades to help me stuff the feelings.
No more drive thru. Nothing. Not one Diet Coke. Not one unsweet iced tea… not a bottle of water. For the rest of this 100 days, I will pause and FEEL those feelings and look to something else to calm my nerves.
Auto pilot can f*$# off!
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