Culinary Bride needing to gain some control over diet. Advice?

Re: Culinary Bride needing to gain some control over diet. Advice?

• MyWedding13

  

  November 2010

  Maybe while you are tasting, count that as part of your meal and eat less?

  

  Report0 Reply
• arwo

  

  November 2010

  I used to be a professional baker (and I went through culinary school). I know it is  hard to be around good food all the time and not eat! I don't really believe in "dieting" but I do think it's important to make good food choices. Here are a few things that kept me from eating a dozen sticky buns at a time:
  
  1) I am an "intuitive" eater: I eat when I am hungry, and I stop when I am satisfied. In general, I don't eat when I am not hungry, even if the food looks good. I don't have the patience for calorie counting, but I really try to listen to the cues my body sends about what it wants and what is enough.
  
  2) I don't deprive myself of something if I am hungry and it's something I really want to eat. Again, I stop when I am satisfied--and this happens pretty quickly when I am eating a rich food. This means I eat a cookie when I want a damn cookie--but because I don't deny myself, I don't feel the need to eat 7 cookies. (I'll admit that this really takes practice.)
  
  3) I made the realization that I became a baker because I liked feeding people, not just because I like food (though believe me, I really really like food). It made me happy to see *other people* enjoying the food. Most of the bakers and chefs I've known are the same way; of course they love food, but they have the "need to feed", and it is immensely fulfilling for them to prepare and serve food to other people. I learned to gain satisfaction from that, rather than by eating the food myself.
  
  4) I realized the physical aspects of the job (the *long* hours on my feet without a break, the hot kitchen, the heavy lifting) would be easier if I stayed in shape. I've always been a runner, but the first few months that I worked night shift at a bakery, I lost any motivation to get out and get my workout in. Eventually, I made sure to get out for a run before every shift--and I found that it made the physical aspect of my job SO MUCH EASIER.
  
  I know that these are all kind of...philosophical, and maybe not easy solutions--but I also think that if you are in culinary school, you probably plan on working in a kitchen or a bakery as a career, so it's a good idea to have a long term plan! This post got longer than I anticipated, but I have been having some struggles with food lately, so I've been thinking about this stuff a lot. I hope it was at least a little useful?
  

  Report0 Reply