Today’s subject needs a little explanation. One of my favorite shows (which is now off the air……..still heartbroken) is How I Met Your Mother.
One of the best episodes is The Murtaugh List in which the main character Ted challenges the infamous Barney to complete all of the items on his personal Murtaugh List. The Murtaugh List originates from the Leathal Weapon movies where Danny Glover’s character, Roger Murtaugh, consistently says “I’m too old for this s*$#” throughout the movies.
Ted creates his own Murtaugh List of things he believes he is too old for. Ted’s list consists of items like: helping a friend move in exchange for pizza, sleeping on a futon, getting his ear pierced, going to a rave and putting off going to the doctor. I’ll leave the end of the episode for your viewing pleasure!
Through my journey, I have created my own Healthy Murtaugh List. As I flushed my body of a lot of bad habits I found it didn’t crave the same things. Some of the foods I avoided in the beginning simply for their calorie consequences, I found I don’t even want to eat anymore, or they put my body through so much torture that it isn’t even worth it anymore. Here are some items from my Murtaugh List:
Pop: My hubby insists that I still have to say pop even though now we live in a ‘soda’ region. I avoided pop like the plague at the beginning of my diet. I knew it was empty calories and I was really trying to cut out as much sugar as possible. After about 6 months soda free, I found I didn’t even like it anymore. I will occasionally enjoy a diet soda when we eat out but find myself uninterested in finishing it about half way through. My hubby will still get a soda every once in a while. When I steal a sip it doesn’t even taste right! It tastes like pure syrup! When you’re body ‘recalibrates’ without things like soda, you’ll find your tastes changing and drawing you to more healthier options naturally.
Doughnuts: Again, once my body flushed out most of the poor choices I’d been making, doughnuts had to join the list after an ‘incident’. About 3 months in, I hadn’t had a doughnut in a long time. My hubby was running to the gas station one morning and we were out of our usual breakfast food. I had been doing really well and had already met my weekly weight goal so I asked him to pick me up a doughnut. I ate ONE regular glazed doughnut and (TMI WARNING) quickly threw the whole thing up within minutes. My body was saying “What is this crap that you’re giving me? Rejected!” I have had one half of a doughnut since then when the infamous Voodoo Doughnuts opened near my house. After the ‘incident’ I don’t even want to eat a doughnut anymore but leave it on the list in case I have a momentary lapse in judgement.
Fried Foods: To be clear, I still eat fried foods but it’s place on the list represents portion control. My body would much rather have a whole sandwich and 10 fries than half a sandwich and all my fries. How do I know? It tells me loud and clear. Too much fried foods have me running to the bathroom before we pay the bill.
Moral of the Murtaugh List:
I want to give my body what it needs not what my head wants at that moment. None of the experiences I’ve had having these things in my diet have made it worth it to keep them. When I ate them all the time, I was obese. If I have a tiny portion now and then, it’s not so bad. If I gorge on them, I’ll pay for it. When you’re body has more healthier needs it will punish you for bad choices which makes it a lot easier to make good choices.
In the beginning cravings are normal and expected. I promise, as you continue you’re body won’t ask for those things anymore. Cravings will change just as your body does. I still get cravings but for more healthy things now.