Newsflash: Overeating is a Bad Idea

You would think after years of living and tons of experience with eating and overeating, I would learn my lesson eventually. But you would think wrong. I had quite the weekend, with a Groundhog soiree on Friday followed by a Super Bowl party yesterday. (That game was incredible, by the way. So much fun to watch, and I had a great time viewing it with some die hard Patriots fans. I like both teams, but I was definitely leaning hard for the Eagles, simply because I like to spread the love around some, and Philly really *really* needed that win.)

The unifying factor between both parties was mass consumption of food.

Now that I generally eat more healthily than I used to, lots of things in life are better. I get sick less, I sleep better, I have more energy, and my self esteem is better. However, I’m continually discovering one serious side effect: I can’t eat large amounts of junk food and not feel awful later on. Gone are the days when I could just go to town on an array of desserts, eating all the brownies, and feeling fine afterward.

Of course, I wonder if it’s more that I always felt yucky afterward, but it was harder to tell, because I didn’t feel as good to begin with. I don’t know. What I do know is that if you sit me to watch a 4 hour football game and place a variety of cookies, cake pops, chips, salsa, queso, bread, hummus, and brownies in close reach, I will end up eating about three metric tons of food. This despite all my dieting practice, and knowing from experience that I won’t feel all that great afterward.

So why do I do it? Some of it is old habits. The way I used to celebrate was by eating a lot of food. So any party I go to doesn’t feel like a real party if all I do is graze on a bit of treats here and there. To really have a great time, I’m supposed to eat and eat. Plus, it tastes good. And just as I’ll stay up later than I ought to, despite knowing how awful I’ll feel in the morning, I’ll eat and eat and eat, even though I know I’ll feel sick to my stomach.

Sigh. Getting old is the pits. Back in the day, I could eat an entire large pizza all by myself and not even bat an eye. Who came up with the idea of being responsible and mature? I’ve got another party on Friday (it’s the Olympics!). Will I learn my lesson by then, or will I decide it’s okay to live it up one more time?

The sad thing is I think the safe money would be on me living it up again.

How do the rest of you manage to moderate at parties?

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