I have just driven home from dropping my sister to the airport after a very enjoyable 6-day visit. As is customary when any of my family visit, we embarked upon a festival of indulgence in food and alcohol which included outings to such diverse establishments as Rockpool and Max Brenner Chocolate Café. Enjoyed every moment of it but now have that feeling of bloating that accompanies having too much of a good thing.
As I was driving home I was pondering the similarities in the feelings I have whenever I eat and drink to excess to those I have when I go on a shopping frenzy and overspend. I can easily compare the two, as I returned recently from an overseas holiday that included a 2-day stopover in Los Angeles where, with the dollar at parity or above, I managed to punish my credit card so hard I developed RSI in my fingers from entering my PIN number so often. It wasn’t pretty and I actually received comments on the size of my suitcase at baggage claim from fellow travellers. Tres embarrassing!
Yes, at wisewomen our motto is spend, save, prosper which is all about balance. However, I am only human (and female human at that) and with makeup at half the price you pay in Australia and my never ending quest to find the perfect pair of designer jeans top of my mind, balance went straight out the window.
I have honed the similarities down to 3 main areas. See if any of these ring true for you.
- The rush of pleasure at eating the most divine date tart made by staff at Rockpool is pretty much akin to the flush of excitement and satisfaction that overcomes me as I seize the handle of the shopping bag that contains my tissue wrapped purchase.
- The guilt and recriminations that follow said consumption (be it food or material goods) are also hauntingly similar. Did I really need to have that second beautifully made cocktail before dinner? Is it necessary for me to have 3 of the same cashmere v-necked jumpers in different colours? And, more frightening, once it’s eaten/purchased I can barely remember what I ate/bought and why I so desperately wanted/needed it. Madness!
- And finally, the effort required to get back to “balance” is always way harder that the ease with which the overindulgence occurred. I can put 2kgs on in a few days of bingeing but the amount of “eat less, move more” I need to follow to eliminate the same 2kgs is…..well, just clearly not equal in my mind. Same with the subsequent credit card bill after my recent trip. So easy to rack it up, so damn hard to get down to nil. I’ll be “paying” for my gluttony for the next couple of months in so many more ways than just in dollars and cents.
So with the awareness and insight gleaned from my narrative I am hoping to learn to moderate my behaviour such that the next visit from siblings or next overseas jaunt does not end up with quite the levels of self-loathing that has followed these highly pleasurable special moments. There is a way to enjoy the good times without, as we say in Australia so eloquently, “going on a bender”. I am also hoping that this blog might stay in your mind next time you find yourself on holiday in LA with a wallet full of plastic!!
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