Lots of ice cream for dessert
Like most people, I love ice cream. It possesses a captivating combination of sweet taste, delightful mouthfeel, and flavors (even plain vanilla and chocolate). Back in the good old days, one of my favorite desserts consisted of several scoops of vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate sauce and a sprinkling of peanuts. If whipped cream was in the refrigerator, I added that too. For years, I frequently ate a large bowl of this for dessert. Given its contribution of upwards of 800 calories to my daily diet, it’s no surprise that my waistline and weight increased. I didn’t like my bodily expansion, but my love of ice cream thwarted my ability to eat less of it. What to do?
Avoid the ice cream aisle
I started investigating ways to overcome my unhealthy ice cream habit. One day, I chanced upon a story of a guy who had a similar problem – his inability to control his ice cream consumption. But he found a solution, namely to avoid the frozen dessert aisle at the grocery story. Out of sight, out of mind. He stopped buying ice cream so it wasn’t in his freezer at home begging to be eaten. This approach made sense to me, so I began avoiding the ice cream aisle at the grocery store. Somewhat to my surprise, I wasn’t tempted to sneak over to the ice cream section to see if my favorite brand was on sale. I didn’t buy ice cream any more.
Help from my wife
I am not the only shopper in my family, even now that our kids are on their own – my wife also buys food. I asked Betsy to help me limit my ice cream eating by not buying it. Or if we were having people for dinner, please don’t buy a half-gallon of ice cream for dessert. A pint will be more than enough. Betsy was willing to help me.
Just one bite
My ice cream intake dropped substantially but I still craved it. Ice cream still controlled me more than I controlled it. Then I ran across another helpful story in a research article. I learned that the physiological and emotion hits of eating any highly tasty food peaks on the first bite, after which the hits diminish quickly. I realized that by the fourth bite, I was pretty much mindlessly shoveling in the ice cream.
Here’s the trick I learned: If there’s ice cream in the freezer, savor one bite of ice cream then put the carton back in the freezer. I stand in from the frig, ice cream carton in hand, spoon one bite from the carton, and relish its cold, sweet flavor. After I put the carton back in the freezer, I feel a sense of pride that I was now in charge of the ice cream.
Reward myself for good behavior
In my reading, I learned that rewarding myself for good behavior would tend to reinforce the good behavior. Thus, I figuratively pat myself on the back for acting in accordance with my goal of limiting my ice cream intake and keeping my waistline where I want it.
But then …
I still love ice cream, but I eat it sparingly at home. When I’m on one of my long- distance hiking or cycling adventures, I’ll sometimes eat an entire pint of ice cream for lunch if the opportunity presents itself. I rationalize this behavior based on an article I once read. The author said that sugar is metabolized so fast during heavy physical activity, such as backpacking or cycling with camping gear, that the sugar doesn’t have a change to turn to fat. Such is my love of ice cream.
