Because it is there

It is appropriate that Sir Edmund Hillary died this week. This is the week that I began dieting in earnest for perhaps the first time in my life. The tie is that like Everest in Hillary's legendary quip: I often eat food because it is there. Sure, there are foods that I truly enjoy. I cook and am a bit of a foodie. But I also have a mean forage instinct. Free sample? Yes, please. Donuts in the office break room? Of course! Leftover donuts still in the office break room in the afternoon? Thank you, sir, may I have another?!

Although I was a chubby kid, I received a gifted elongation after puberty. From that time onward my weight have varied a bit, but even at my heaviest I was not particularly fat, despite eating habits that tend to be quite poor. I guess I have a lucky metabolism complemented by a fairly active lifestyle (with mostly incidental activity, like a lot of walking, rather than an actual work out routine).

But I'm trying to change that. Myself and two of my girlfriends are trying to lose weight before my wedding. I'm only trying to lose 10 pounds. There's not much more that I need to lose. But this is more than a desire to look pretty in pictures on The Big Day. I want to be healthier. There is this guy with whom I am hoping to spend many happy years. Additionally, we hope to have children, which will already be potentially challenging because of my age, so I want to be as healthy as I can to facilitate that. In order to do that I need to eat healthier, exercise more, and avoid ingesting things just because they are there.

There is what I refer to as the "Bon Bon Incident." Before coming up with a more strategic approach to weight loss and health I was just trying to increase my intake of fresh fruits and vegetables. I wasn't thinking that much about the rest of my diet. I generally included some 100 calorie treat for dessert in my lunch. One day last week I chose not to. I knew I should decrease the amount of sugar consume. Still, in the afternoon, I got a craving for sugar and chocolate. *Luckily,* there were still some holiday treats in the office. So I ate a truffle from a box of candies.

That day my friends and I happened to join a web site for tracking food and exercise. It has already begun to open my eyes about my eating habits. Starting with that truffle. According to the site that particular truffle was 220 calories. Now, when I ate it I didn't think it was healthy. I didn't think it was low-cal. But I didn't think it was 220 calories. The web site recommends I eat 1571 calories a day to meet my weight loss goal. That truffle was a big chunk of that. And here's the worst part. It wasn't very good. There are a lot of treats that would have been a lot fewer calories that I would have enjoyed a lot more. I ate that truffle because it was there.

So no more of that. I'm going to think about what I put in my mouth. I'm not saying that everything I will eat will be healthy and low-cal. Since I don't need to lose much weight I can be allowed to splurge somewhat. But when I splurge it is going to be on something really good. Something I really want. Not just something that is there.