Bumper sticker: Chocolate is Cheaper than Therapy and You Don't Need an Appointment.
What's up with our obsession with food? Years ago I walked into a Hometown Buffet (one of those restaurants you could eat all the macaroni and canned crap you want for $3.99.) Half the diners looked like they'd eaten their hometown. Yeh, yeh--I know that a number of people have metabolic issues, thyroid difficulties, and pathology which is organic in nature, all of which cause weight gain. But ALL of us? I have to believe that some of us are just choosing to become knuckle-dragging, fat slobs. I am en route if I'm not careful. I waddle up to the scale and suck my gut in, hoping to see the numbers. Nice try. So my wife reads them to me. "981 lbs." "You're reading them upside down, Honey." But why wasn't that obvious to her?
Food often is my comfort. It soothes my "nervous stomach." I eat to calm my anxiety. It can be a long and stressful day of work and rather than releasing I find myself inhaling--food.
Food is often a habit. It's noon; I must eat lunch. It's 5:30 p.m.; I must eat dinner. If I haven't eaten and it's 5:32 p.m. I become light-headed and disoriented. Yeh, right. Often it's not hunger that's prompting me to eat; it's habit. I was at Taco Bell today (only the best for me) and ordered my $.89 Five-layered Beef Burrito and a small Coke which I refill with each bite. Did you just notice I referred to the burrito as mine. It's no longer a Taco Bell selection. It's mine, Baby! Anyway, a couple months ago I would order and inhale two of my $.89 Five-layered Beef Burritos. Recently I began a new medication. It accelerates the rapid growth of nose and ear hair, which upon reaching a length of one inch, I will have a hair follicist transplant on top of my head. I'm delusional and I digress. It is true that the new medication has curbed my appetite. Today, I finished off one of my $.89 Five-layered Beef Burritos, and was full. But this internal battle was waged.
"I ALWAYS get two."
"But you're not hungry."
"I know, but it just doesn't feel right to only have one."
"You're a beef-eating pig."
I oinked at one and left.
The Bible contains some harsh words about our over-eating. In the book of Proverbs it is written," "When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony. Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive." (23:1-3) Let's not get literal here. I think the passage is suggesting that we take strong measures in general to address our gluttony. And I wonder if it isn't only a ruler's food that is deceptive. ALL food can be deceptive. We trust food for more than it can deliver. If I eat enough Happy Meals they'll make me fat, not happy. Happiness is to be sought and will be found elsewhere.
I will continue to fight for a healthier relationship with food. In the meantime, three more hours and it's 5:30!!
What's YOUR relationship with food? Lemme know.
