Counting Therapuetic Benefits #5: Less eating

5)  Less eating overall.  It might be hard to prove, but I think that knitting decreases my calorie intake.  Example:  family went out for pizza.  I had one of my more complex knitting projects along.  So, after checking the table carefully for cleanliness, I took out my project and started knitting happily along while chatting with the family.  We always order cheesy bread-sticks with lots of marinara sauce, so it will come early.  So, when it did, I just kept on knitting, and let the family dive into the bread-sticks.  Normally, I would NEED to eat at least one to stave off hunger until the pizza arrives.  But, with knitting in hand, I was able to Say No and let someone else have my share.  You see, cheesy bread-sticks have a lot of, you guessed it, cheese and they're kindof "greassy".  In a very tasty way, mind you, just not in a calorie concious way.  But, as greassy fingers make for messy knitting, and parmesean cheese would have shown up on the project, I opted for knitting instead.  But, I'm there with the family.  Interacting.  Having a good time.  I had noticed when I didn't eat in these situations without my knitting, my family treats me as if I'm depriving myself of something that just shouldn't be missed.  I know that I tried not to, but I my stare at them all eating with a desparate look on my face.  Knitting short circuits those looks; my hands are moving, my face is smiling, what could possibly be pitiful about that?
Good pizza takes time to get right, and waiting while visiting with the family is the best part.  Right?  Well, it can be.  Not usually if you've got some ADD issues that make it difficult to sit still and focus on the family.  So, the knitting is useful for this too.  Instead of thinking "isn't this pizza ever going to get here?"  I can think to myself "wow, I'm making a lot of progress on this" and "at this rate, I could get this done in another week, easy."
Then, when the pizza does come, I'm not about to get sauce on the knitting!  So, it has to go back into the bag.  Any true knitter knows the "just 'till I get to the end of this row" symptoms.  Not too far into the pizza, I can virtually hear the knitting calling to me.  I NEED to do just one more row.  So, I finish off my serving of pizza, which has been about half of my usual intake, and clear my spot at the table.  The knitting comes back out again.  My DH bases his tipping partly on how many times his glass is refilled, or inversely how many times it goes empty.  But, three or four glasses of caffeinated soda this late in the evening would not be a benefit for me personally.  I've been so busy knitting and talking that I've hardly touched my soda, so no, I don't need a refill.  (Yeah!) 
So, in a Bridget Jones sort of tally for the end of the meal:  1 glass diet Dr. Pepper, 2 slices thin crust, 16 more rows done on the socks + family = one successful evening.