The context of the 4th day of Pizza Test was different - a big manic family meal, with my DH, brother in law, my stepson and his friend. The other nights it’s been a string of rather rare solitary evenings, with my DH working late each night. I, of course, was having pizza, and soon everyone decided they wanted pizza, and my DH & brother in law both wanted pepperoni like me. I insisted on having my OWN pizza for the Pizza Test aspect, so instead of a large we bought two smalls. Plus 2 other pizzas on the table for the kids & my DH - so variety enters in for the first time in Pizza Test land. I only ate the pepperoni, but I did have an urge to eat some of each, which probably would have resulted in me eating more overall.

    BEFORE :Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketAFTER:Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

  • The meal is the pizza : Sort of. I only ate pizza but I knew there would be dessert later, my husband brought home desserts from a new neighborhood bakery…
  • Pay attention to your hunger : Yes, but less clear than the other nights. The mania of the 2 kids, me running late from work, needing to get dinner done by a certain time…. Just less reflective than I am when I’m alone. Not that eating alone is a preferred option, but it’s probably helpful to bear in mind.
  • Pay attention to your pleasure : A 1 1/2 on a scale of 3. It was kinda cold. The crust was greasy. Not enough sauce. The pepperoni was really good, however.
  • Pay attention to your satisfaction : I was glad to have pepperoni, anything else would have been off. I was also glad to find it wasn’t as good as I had hoped, so I don’t think I’ll develop deep cravings for pepperoni pizza here. I did eat w a knife and fork (and by consequence the adults followed my example), and it did help me not just wolf the food down.
  • Try to stop before it’s all gone : Ok. I noticed that a lot of my eating was kind of “keeping pace” with the others. I did feel like eating more pepperoni even after I wasn’t too hungry and I ate just the top of one piece (see the naked one?). I didn’t measure it or use the same plate, but I’m pretty sure this pizza was a little bigger than the others, and I ate more of it.
  • Any other comments? Do you see the disgusting grease stains from under the pizza in the “After” photo? That’s the Pizza Hut difference, nauseating, who needs oil on the bottom of the classic crust? The really gross thing was the “double cheesy crust” that we got for the kids. We all felt the Pizza Hut pizzas tasted really chemical and artificial. Chain restaurants are blissfully few in Paris, and almost everywhere food is prepared from real ingredients, not industrial dry mixes and bulk-processed corporate kitchens. Pizza Hut may be about the only pepperoni in Paris, but it won’t be a regular pizza in our house.

The Pizza Test exercise was to have pizza every day for 4 days, and I could have it more if I wanted it. At the beginning I thought I’d try to go through the end of the week and also have pizza on Friday (which would have been day 5) but on Friday I just couldn’t face pizza again, so I didn’t force it.

I’m guessing I won’t crave pizza for a while after this. I’m also guessing I’ll never feel the need to eat a whole pizza by myself again. And that if I’m wanting pizza (after a few months!) I’ll just have it, knowing I can control it.

NOTE : I’ll do one final post on Pizza Test after I see Dr Hope (in a week).