I have to say that I'm an information junkie. If I'm interested in something, especially if it involves making a major life decision, I have to research the heck out of it. I look for facts, opinions, and viewpoints from both ends of the spectrum. That's one of the major reasons why I love this forum so much - it has a little bit of everything in one place. But I have also been doing a lot of YouTube research. Reading someone's story is great, but there's something about actually seeing a person talk about their experiences that you just can't get from a written post.

One of the channels I subscribe to is by a lady who goes by losingitwithrebecca. Recently she posted a video called "The Rules That Made Me FAT" which I think was a homework assignment from her nutritionist or therapist. In the video she lists some ideas and theories that she used to use to rationalize her eating habits before she had her band. A lot of those rules sounded awfully familiar to me. The video stuck with me so much that I finally decided to make my own list. I came up with twenty, but I'm sure there are more. It was an interesting experience. I had to be brutally honest with myself about some of the things I had told myself in the past in order to keep eating like I did. It helped me immensely, and in the interest of possibly paying it forward, here's my set of rules. Personally, I prefer to call them "The Lies That Made Me Fat."

1. If I have a feeling in my stomach, it must be hunger and I have to eat.

2. If I steal a bite off of someone else's plate, it doesn't count as actual calories.

3. If I'm eating or tasting while I cook, it doesn't count either.

4. Everything is better with bacon. Everything.

5. Everything is better with lots of cheese.

6. Liquid calories don't count.

7. I can eat more because I'm big and I burn more calories naturally anyway.

8. If it doesn't have nutritional information on the package, the calories don't count.

9. All salads are good for you, no matter what you put on them.

10. If it's a topping or sauce, the calories don't count.

11. If I don't finish all of something, it's wasteful. I should eat it so it doesn't go in the trash.

12. If my son doesn't finish his food, and it's not enough to put in the refrigerator, I should finish it so it doesn't go in the trash.

13. I can trust my body to tell me when to stop eating.

14. One can or bottle equals one serving.

15. If the "hunger" in my stomach doesn't go away, I must actually be hungry and it's ok to eat.

16. Eating at night is ok as long as I'm really hungry.

17. Being fat is better than dieting and being miserable.

18. I can eat just one piece of candy, one cookie, one slice of cake etc.

19. If it was given to me as a gift, I have to eat it because throwing it away would be rude.

20. If I'm craving something, it's ok to eat it because my body must need something in it.

It's amazing how absurd a lot of these sound when I actually read them back. I have decided to post my list up on my refrigerator. Hopefully it will help keep me from accepting and rationalizing these things again, and so help me lose more weight.