FLAVOUR OF THE MONTH: ATROPHY
This entry is dedicated to: Consuelo Tapon, Dani Tavinen, Mohammed Aminu & Carlos Bibiloni.
Among many, my loyal and restless supporters.
I would like to share with you my ice cream flavour of the month: It is called ̈Atrophy ̈ and it appears in a number of recipes. Be aware, like ice cream, it can unbalance your health too.
(Except maybe my favourite vegan ice creams from Cream Crew ;))
First, let me dissect it for you.
Literally : átroph(os) = not fed (Greek)
A term used mainly in medicine but also in science and biology to describe degeneration, decline, or decrease, as from disuse, neglect or withdrawal of energy. Doesn’t sound much like chocolate or vanilla, right ? Wait... Follow me into this experience of mine on how look at ̈Atrophy ̈ through my lenses.
A simple concept illustrated by this ice cream drawing:
It may become (hopefully) a portal in understanding your commitments, plans, decisions and
intentions in creating a better life style around food as it did for me.
In my previous entry on ̈Emotional eating ̈, I went to the bottom of how important it was for me to gain willpower and cultivate new habits to make better decisions when dealing with my cooking and at food generally.
Maybe by now already, you can sense how ̈Atrophy ̈ plays a key role here when giving up a bad habbit. What does not get you there though is just the intention. What gets you there are the actions. The short terms actions, not the goals. If there is a lack of short term and consistent actions (muscle training) then the relationship corrodes.
By not being aware of the natural force of ̈Atrophy ̈ , my commitments to ̈pull through ̈ would
have lasted for only as long as my first cravings for sugary, starchy and fatty foods visited me
again.
I came to understand that my energy of commitment, the power of will, the promise to do it better this time is an energy that I needed to monitor and feed with energy with all I do and all I say.
Differently, Atrophy would have sneaked in and would shatter my well organised set of
commitments (see illustration).
I found immense value in battling this ongoing fight against Atrophy by surrounding myself with people who hold me up to my commitments and intentions. Who provide support, criticism and the occasional kick in the butt when needed.
More often than not, my views are corrupted and corroded by environment, ego, self-interest and impulsive behaviour. Having family, friends, clients and community close by is a fundamental building block to take on Atrophy and keep those balls of ice cream on my cone.
Ronny Portulidis, Santa Catalina. Mallorca.