More, more, more

I want straight hair because mine is curly.  I want a narrower butt because mine is curvy.  I want the red sweater because I bought the blue one.  I want greener grass.

My mind is wrapped around wanting different.  And most of the different has to do with more, thinner, bigger...better.  And dieting is quite the opposite.  Dieting in my mind is deprivation.  I don't like deprivation.  If you tell me what I can't have, instantly I want more of that very thing.

This actually makes sense.  Our brain is designed with a whole system to address deprivation.  We have something called a reticular activating system (RAS - pronounced RAZ).  Whatever you do, don't think of a pink elephant.  Our brain has to imagine the pink elephant before it can know what it is now supposed to think of.  So now, don't think of sugar.  It just doesn't work that way.

What will you replace with instead of what will you eliminate. 

I had an interesting experience with this concept recently.  I read about "flavor clearing".  Naturally I had to try it.  The idea is you don't stimulate your taste buds for one hour.  No toothpaste, no gum, no soda, etc.  Then you take a Vitamin E, 2 Omega 3, and a flax seed oil supplement followed by another hour of "palate void".  I never made it to the point of supplements.

On any other given day, I can easily go without flavor.  On many occasions, I forget lunch.  But tell me I can't have a single morsel, and all I want is a million morsels. 

New year, new plan.  More, more, more.  I will increase, add, reinforce.  The truth is more is better.  Verde, olive, or  lime - green is green, not greener.