Monday, May 28, 2012

Goofus and Gallant - Approaching Food



Many years ago I got braces to correct the gap between my front teeth.  It wasn't a large gap, but it was decided that there shouldn't be a gap and it was necessary to fix it.  I had the full set of braces including "head gear" that I had to sleep in every night for two years.  MANY children were running around with a wire wrapped around their face connected to a neck brace during my pre-teen years. (Photo is NOT me, only an example.  I took NO photos with braces)

It was at the dentist that I first began reading about "Goofus and Gallant" in the Highlights magazines.



Goofus was always negative, rude, pushy, and selfish.  Gallant was perfect.. always.

So this morning I started thinking about my food choices over the weekend.  I had several challenges:  a road trip to Dallas, an outing at the movies, and dinner with family.  Except for the very salty beef jerky at the movies, I did pretty good.  In spite of my best efforts, my hands were VERY puffy this morning.

WHICH led me to thinking about choices when eating.  I see a buffet table.  What do I see first?  Do I see what I CANNOT have instead of looking at what I CAN have?  Do I see the negative foods first, or do I see the positive choices?  Think about that.



HOW DO YOU APPROACH AN EVENT THAT INVOLVES FOOD CHOICES?
As a Goofus? or as Gallant?



Here are your choices:




GOOFUS
GALLANT
Look at all that food I cannot have! This is going to be too hard!
There is so much food, it will be easy to find what I can have!
Because I have been so good, one bite won’t hurt me this time.
Because I have been so good, I’m not taking one bite of anything that will derail me.
They insisted that I eat it so I had to.
I politely declined and quickly changed the subject.

Oh well, I just had to eat what was available.
I knew there might be a problem, so I planned in advance and had some snacks with me.

I’m on vacation so I’ll start back when I get home.
I’m on vacation and want to enjoy every minute not feeling bloated and sick, so I’ll make good choices.

Tomorrow


Today

I think about food all the time.
I have strategies in case my mind tries to obsess about food, like going for a walk.
I don’t know what was in it, but I didn’t want to appear rude and ask.
I politely asked what was in it, explaining that I have some food intolerances.


2 comments:

mcholst-oz said...

Way to go! Gallant is a real winner!

Melissa said...

Great post. An excellent reminder of how little choices today add up over time.

It can be awkward in the beginning, but I really feel learning and putting the skills into practice (to choose wisely, and politely decline things you shouldn't eat) now, makes it so easy in the future to eat away from home. It becomes second nature.

What's in your Toolbox?

I have had some discoveries lately and thought it might help someone else. I am calling this ALL THE TOOLS IN THE TOOL BOX. I started I.F...