No Junk January Weight Loss: rethinking treats with my cat Mordecai

 Hi friends, it's day 2 of my No Junk January weight loss challenge and today I'm thinking, or rather rethinking treats, comfort food and junk food. And I'm using my cat Mordecai as a role model. Part of how I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass was with calorie restricting using a 1200 calorie diet. But not just any old 1200 calories--I swapped out empty ones for nourishing, metabolism boosting, energy giving calories. And that's where Mordy comes into it.  

Mordecai is not your average feline. His definition of "treat" is avant garde to say the least. He's a health food nut, preferring green leafy vegetables, tomatoes, potatoes and other veggies. Oh he likes meat (see photo of him helping himself to canned cat food and brother Moishe requesting a share 😄) But just as much as he likes spinach. So imitating Mordy's eating habits is great for weight loss but it goes beyond that. It's about changing my mind about what actually constitutes treats and comfort food. 

"My 600-lb Life" is a reality TV show where patients with morbid obesity seek gastric bypass surgery for weight loss. It's heart-breaking to see very overweight people struggle. But it also illuminates what's wrong with our thinking about comfort food. "My 600-lb Life" participants speak of finding solace, peace of mind and even friendship in food--or rather junk food. The trajectory to obesity is clear--the more empty junk calories consumed the more tired, lethargic and overweight one becomes. 

Comfort food, in the "My 600-lb Life" (and a lot of our) definitions are sweets, salty snacks, fried foods, calorie forward pub grub basically. But as Mordecai has shown us, comfort food is that which feeds our bodies and souls, strengthens us and boosts metabolism (oh does he have high metabolism, lol)  not just our addictions. In fact, any addictive food, like sugar or salt, actually harms if overeaten. It kills energy, stalls metabolism and makes us sick. 

For weight loss and overall health, I'm choosing treats that treat my body in positive ways. For example, I just had avocado toast and I could actually feel my energy (metabolism) rising. The recipe was just light keto bread, a little salmon cream cheese, sliced tomato and avocado, cracked pepper and capers. These recipes are how I lost 100 pounds in the first place. And they'll help me lose weight again this No Junk January! 

Thanks for visiting! Stay tuned for more No Junk January weight loss tips.