Lightening up with delayed gratification

One of my all-time favorite Seinfeld quotes comes from The Frogger episode. Elaine has grown tired of the lame excuses her officemates come up with to have celebratory cake and finally gives them a piece of her mind: “Do you think we can fill the void in our lives with flour, sugar, eggs and vanilla? I mean, we’re all unhappy; do we have to be fat too? (looks at Becky who is fat and is standing in the crowd) Not you Becky, I know you have a slow metabolism.”

In The Frogger episode, Elaine returns to work after calling in sick the previous day and her co-workers have cake to celebrate her return. That’s the final straw for Elaine, who announces she’ll no longer be participating in office cake parties. I know exactly how she feels.

The first year at my job, a seemingly endless stream of bagels, Krispy Kreme donuts and homemade gourmet cheesecakes appeared in the office kitchen. Occasionally someone would bring in bakery cupcakes or homemade cookies. Sweets didn’t show up every day or even every week but still. I’d head down the hall for another cup of coffee, oblivious to the sweet temptation awaiting me in the kitchen. My usual m.o. was to examine the donuts, mentally select which one I’d have, then get my coffee and get the hell out of the kitchen. Ditto on the cheesecakes — I would study the cheesecake, inhale its sweet scent and then move on.

For a year, I partook in no office sweets. I was in the process of losing weight at the time and to me, it was easier to refuse the temptation altogether than try and limit myself to a single donut or just a taste of the cheesecake.

In year two, things have changed a bit. For one, I quit smoking. For another, my current weight has more or less held steady for close to a year. Now it seems OK to indulge occasionally in a sweet nothing (which is what donuts, cake and most other desserts are — sugar and fat with no real nutritional value) as a reward. So earlier this year, I finally got to sample the cheesecake — a carrot cake cheesecake. I loved every bite. I don’t partake every time there are goodies in the office but I do when I think I’m going to have a reasonable intake of calories for the day. So if I’m going out to dinner that night, I’ll probably skip the treat. If I’m planning to eat healthily that day, I’ll go for the glazed, cream-filled, chocolate-frosted Krispy Kreme.

Elaine’s attitude towards office cake parties reflects mine about unhealthy food temptations. In part, I think we do eat fattening foods to fill a void. On a dull day in the office, a donut or chocolate chip cookie can provide a pleasurable interlude. I think we also see these fattening foods as rare treats. At a party, most of us are going to have more than just a taste of the creamy crab dip because it’s something we don’t eat on a regular basis. Who makes crab dip for dinner? And so we indulge not only because these foods provide pleasure but also because we subconsciously think Hey, when’s the next chance I’ll have to eat crab dip? Or bakery cake (or a bacon cheddar burger or whatever)? As it turns out, the answer to that question is pretty damned often. Try to think of how many days in a row you’ve had where you weren’t tempted by foods you know aren’t really good for you. A routine trip to buy groceries can be a big temptation for a lot of us. I’ve gotten home after food shopping knowing full well that pimento cheese was not on my grocery list.

So my approach to eating healthy is to delay indulging in foods that aren’t very nutritious or that are high in fat. If donuts show up in the kitchen at work, I don’t have to have one because I know if I don’t have one that day, it’s not my last chance to ever have a donut. If I go to a party where there’s a buttery, bacon-y cheese spread, I might have one cracker’s worth, then move onto the vegetable crudité and a bunch of grapes with a couple of cubes of cheese.

While I will always prefer the spinach dip to the spinach salad, I’m getting used to eating fairly well and practicing moderation in the foods that aren’t very weight-friendly or heart-healthy. And as it turns out, I prefer the long-term benefits of eating well to the short-term gratification of unhealthy indulgences.