Willpower is bullshit

I was bothered about something my running partner said to me recently about her lack of willpower when faced with cakes. She blamed herself unkindly and unfairly, I thought.

Trying to stop over-eating with willpower is like trying to get a French waiter to understand you by speaking English louder.

It's never going to work because that's not where change comes from.

Being the shape you need to be is not about willpower.  It’s not about deprivation. It’s not about pain. It’s not about dieting.

It's about being kind to yourself and still and mindful and waiting for the seasons to change and knowing that when the time is right, you can make the changes you need to make.

I saw a lovely quote recently in Elisha Goldstein’s blog on Mindfulness

He quotes Victor Frankl who says:

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom”

Right now, my response is to make Ottolenghi’s aubergine cheesecake which is unbelievably delicious.

This is how you do it:

Ingredients:

2 small aubergines, sliced in 2cm discs

150 gm feta

150 g cream cheese

60 ml double cream

3 eggs

150 gm baby plum tomatoes cut in half

2 tablespoons oregano leaves, torn

Lots of olive oil

Method:

Grill aubergine slices with lots of olive oil on greaseproof paper in 190 C oven for 40 minutes.

Whizz together feta, cream cheese, eggs and cream.

Put aubergines, tomatoes, the creamy mix and the oregano in an oiled baking dish. Add salt and pepper.

Bake at 150 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.