Breakfast as Reward or Punishment?

When I was dieting I didn't have enough calories to split across three meals and be able to really enjoy eating those meals.  I can't stick to a diet if it's not something I can maintain.  Eating things I enjoy, that taste good, and are filling were what keep me on the diet until I was done.

As a result, I didn't eat breakfast because I was saving those calories for a larger lunch or dinner.  We ate a lot of early lunches as a result.  Due to hunger.  It's embarrassing when you ask your husband what he wants for lunch at 10:30 and he says he was about to ask you the same thing.

Breakfast is such a great meal though.  There are just loads of breakfasty things I adore.  So getting done with the diet and being able to get back to breakfasts was something I looked forward to.

But I've still been using breakfast as a weight-management tool I realized.  I would get up in the morning, sometimes exercise, sometimes not, and then I'd weigh myself.  The results of that weighing would determine if I got to have breakfast or if I had to drink a coffee and water until lunch.

So was I treating breakfast as a punishment or reward?  Sounds strange, I know.  But I've just come to the realization that I've been doing it backwards.  If my weight came in within the accepted range, I was maintaining, so I didn't have breakfast.  But if it came in below the accepted range, even by two tenths of a pound, I had to have breakfast because I didn't want to continue to lose weight.

So I was rewarding myself with breakfast for being underweight, with the thought that I'd better put some food back in to balance out, and I was punishing myself for being the right weight by not getting any breakfast.  And that didn't make sense.

Or did it?  It was based on a good plan—one in which I wouldn't merit breakfast if I had started gaining weight again.  But so far, that's not been the case. So starting today, I get to have breakfast if I'm within range (or under) because, hey, breakfast is so darned good.  Bacon.  Pancakes.  Are you with me people?.

The Big Boy Update:  First real day of school.  He was only at school for an hour, but his teacher said he wasn't ready to go home when I picked him up.  He apparently did lots of cleaning in the classroom and was very receptive to new activities.  Tomorrow he goes for another hour or possibly more.  I will be over at Whole Foods, having another breakfast from their expansive breakfast bar.  I am liking this school thing.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  Walking with assistance.  She likes to stand up and push along the walker scooter toys.  She smiles and does this laugh that's really cute.  If only she could figure out how to turn the scooter, she'd be making laps around the house.