Free from data obsession

Freedom from obsessing about data is a great goal, but the last day or so has been scary to say the least. After deciding to not collect weight data so fastidiously, I found myself worrying about gaining, and eating in response to the worry. Mostly they were carbohydrates I was leaning towards, but I managed to be rational about the situation. For lunch I ate a small portion, and had both fruit and dessert. It wasn’t convenient to eat my normal quantity of veggies, since I was not at work. I’m going to have to find a solution for that on vacation, because I love and depend on the delicious variety.

At least I managed to end data collection on office temperature. I even sent the data off to my old instructor, so he could use it if he likes. This morning I noticed on the scale that I had not gained in spite of the disproportionate refined carbohydrate intake. The only weight data I am now recording is the morning weigh. Any other time I step on the scale is informational only.

Deciding that “x” is enough is really the skill I am building. It applies to food, experiences, you name it. My issue can probably be rightly described by a lack of moderation. Not only food, but other stuff. Then I beat myself up about them.

Daniel Gilbert, psychologist, talks about humans and variety. His take on it is that we too often choose variety for variety’s sake, and consequently make bad decisions. Gilberts blog on variety
The issue, he finds, is that by choosing variety inappropriately, we actually lower our overall satisfaction level. As a matter of fact, Gilbert uses food as a good example of variety:

Human beings adapt to any pleasure that’s repeated too quickly, which is why the tenth bite of pancakes and syrup is never as good as the first. Variety is a trick we use to circumvent this fact. Instead of taking ten bites of pancake, we take three—taste the hash browns, sample the sausage, sip the orange juice—and then go back for another bite of pancake, which having been ignored for just a few minutes is once again delightful. Variety is a clever way to spice up experiences which—like bites of pancake—occur in rapid succession.

He talks about this being good, but for compulsive eaters it can be a way to extend a binge. By switching between Cheetos and chocolate peanuts, one can “spice up” the experience until one is thoroughly nauseous. Is this therefore a viable consideration for me?

It’s pretty complex in my situation. I need variety in order to get a balanced diet. I need a lack of variety to prevent an extended binge on the things I don’t want to overeat on. That lack of variety can be either abstinence or only allowing one thing. Gilbert also says:

The secret of happiness is variety. But the secret of variety, like the secret of all spices, is knowing when to use it.

When in my eating habits do I not want variety? I want variety in my lunchtime selection of veggies, but I don’t want variety in the option of eating them. I want to choose 3 or 4 different veggies, but I want to do that every day. I want dessert every day, but I want a variety of dessert, except for Tuesday’s chocolate pudding.

We’ll see how this idea develops.