Yay for Lists

I am a compulsive list maker by nature. I’m a Virgo, for those of you that follow astrology, and we are perfectionists. That is what I blame for all the lists, although I don’t really follow astrology, and you would never call me a perfectionist if you saw my house right now. I think I just like seeing my day broken down into doable tasks.

Anyway, here we go with list one.

Foods I’m Not Willing to Give Up to Lose Weight

Let me preface this by saying that I know that my major problem with eating is portion control. I am not saying that I can eat the foods below in massive portions every day. But I love them, and there is no real substitute for any of them. I also reserve the right to add items to the list as I remember them.

1. Chocolate. I eat chocolate every day. I guess my palate has been trained to expect chocolate after meals. Usually it’s a serving of pudding or a cup of cocoa. I am toying with the idea of buying a bunch of those individual fun size candy bars or whatever, throwing them in the freezer, and letting myself have one every day. One thing I’ve learned is that I should indulge my chocolate cravings within reason. The times that I have resisted a chocolate craving have usually resulted in me eating 300 calories of something else and still eating the chocolate. For that I might as well have had a full size candy bar and then some.
2. Real butter. Margarine is gross. Have you ever melted it? Or “spread,” whatever that is? Disgusting. It separates into water and oil. I think a lot of people try to save calories by substituting “diet” foods, and since margarine is lower in calories than butter, they consider it a diet food. I was watching a TV show about weight loss once (those shows are one of my addictions) and they had a doctor on there saying that margarine goes straight to your arteries. It’s fake, your body doesn’t know what to do with it. Butter is a “natural” food. Your body can process it. You shouldn’t be eating a stick a day or anything, but there is no substitute for real butter flavor. In cookies, I will usually substitute half the butter with unsweetened applesauce. Still has the flavor but half the calories and fat.
3. Cheese. I am, technically speaking, lactose intolerant. I was when I was a kid, then it went away for a while, and I’m pretty sure it’s back. But I love cheese anyway. You can add cheese to so much stuff and it becomes better. What casserole isn’t better with a layer of sharp cheddar on top? Or smoked gouda? (You have to love a cheese that tastes like bacon.) I do not generally just eat chunks of cheese, although when I was pregnant I used to get cravings for whole-milk mozzarella, put on a plate and melted just slightly. Yum.
4. Pasta. I used to eat pasta a lot more than I do now, almost every day. I don’t know if I’ve gotten lazy or what, but as far as just eating a big bowl of pasta, I probably only do that once or twice a month. I do use pasta in a lot of casseroles and stuff like that, though.

I actually can’t think of anything else right now. Could it be that I am so easy to please? Only four things? I thought about putting meat on there, but I like tofu, and I get cravings for veggie burgers a lot. I should pick some up the next time I’m at the store. As it is we don’t eat red meat, so if it came down to it I think I could go without it.

There you are, Internet. My first list. Probably the first of many. Maybe next time I will post something more important. I make no guarantees.