That's Fit

When I first moved to New York, a friend of mine asked me to keep his car while he was away on business. The car was a brand new Mercedes CLS 550. As the proud owner of a two-year-old Honda Accord, I knew driving his car would be a sacrifice, but I agreed, in the name of friendship. OK, so the truth is, I grabbed the keys and ran out the door before he could change his mind. I tooled around New York in this luxurious car for nearly four months, my entire first summer in the city.

This car was amazing. Complete with all the bells and whistles, driving it was an absolute pleasure. However, it was far more expensive to maintain than my car. My Honda is not very picky. If I buy her cheap gas, it's cheap gas she drinks. The Mercedes was not that way. Being the uppity car that he was, premium unleaded was the only choice. The good thing about having both cars was the choice to drive either one depending on the occasion. For my routine, running around the Honda was best. Gas was cheap, and I could ride forever on a partial tank. Other times, the Mercedes was a must. If I attended an event with valet parking or wanted to club with my girlfriends, we'd drive the nicer of the two, clearly the Mercedes. I made sure not to abuse the privilege and made wise decisions about its use.

I liken this to decisions I make in my daily food choices. If food is simply supposed to be fuel, why do I always want premium? This question arose as I was making a sandwich at home over the holiday. I grabbed the double fiber whole wheat bread, lean turkey breast, lettuce and tomatoes. I also grabbed mayonnaise and cheese. As you can see, I was on my way to making a Mercedes sandwich, but I was only Honda hungry. Most of these sandwich stuffs sound OK but did I really need the cheese and mayo? I would not have been any less satisfied without the extra calories, but a premium sandwich is habit.

Thanks to Weight Watchers, I'd swapped mayonnaise for mustard years ago, so I know better. The calories from the cheese are something else that I could do without. I should be able to make the same wise decisions about my eating as I did in deciding which car to drive. Every meal does not require extravagance. Until now I'd been making my meals a production vs. seeing it for what it really is, fuel for my body. As I've done with so many other things, I filed away the food pyramid long ago, but I remember enough to know that my body needs certain foods. Carbs, lean protein and healthy fat are all essential. There is not a separate section for the bells and whistles we choose to eat.

As I continue to progress toward my goal weight, I will make this correction. I will save special meals for special occasions and focus on getting the basics that I need. Keeping it simple may be the way to go for me. Bells and whistles are great on a car but not so good for my waist.