Relationship with Food.....xpost on VSG Main

I think the relationship with food is a complex one.  I enjoy food for more reasons than it simply fuels my body.  If a pill was invented today that would fill all of my nutritional needs and allow me to not gain weigh and feel full, I would not take it.  Food is not my friend or my enemy, but it serves to nourish my body and sometimes my spirit.  There are certain foods that remind me of my cultural background, of my family, of my past.  Smells are especially strong reminders of of my childhood.  Walking into my house and smelling certain foods transports me to different places and times.  There are other foods that I associate with company and friendships, things I eat when my family camps outdoors or throws Summer parties in the backyard.  When I used to get home from a date, my Mom would always wait up for me with tea and open faced sandwiches.  When I see these things again, my mind is triggered to remember.  Food is not only nourishment it is also an integral way of connecting to others and showing love.  This is why it is so difficult to put some foods away for ever. Each of us has to navigate this mine field in a way that works for us.  For me, it is staying on program 80% of the time while in maintenance and indulging in special foods on special occasions when the scale permits it.  Today was Mother's Day and the whole family was over for brunch, my Mom brought over her special cake that I look forward to most of the time.  This cake is deeply connected to family and childhood memories.  I have decided that I would eat it when the scale told me that I am in my goal range, today I am 1.5 out of my comfort range, and I decided to skip the cake.  That is pretty much how I intend to live in maintenance; check the scale, eat well almost all the time and treat myself when I can.  That's the simple plan.