How Not to Eat

Warning - some may find this post not completely politically correct. But it was funny y'all.

Having read many books about how NOT to talk about weight, we have always focused on healthy eating in our house. Now that I have two daughters, I choose my words with great care, and don't talk about losing weight in front of them. However, a few things have changed with my son in wrestling, and having to "make weight." Which could be the source of much ranting and raving from this mother, but I'll try to refrain.

So with me taking on this challenge, and Dylan the wrestler being much more disciplined than I am, our awareness of healthy eating has heightened.

Saturday night we went to see the UFC pay-per-view fight at a local restaurant. (this isn't the politically incorrect part so I apologize if I offend you twice) Our family is quite involved in this sport and I'll tell you more another time. But we were at this restaurant and a lovely young lady sat across from me. She was training in mixed martial arts, and her athletic body reflected her dedication. Her eating did too.

She ordered a thin-crust pizza and ate one slice. One. Slice. You heard that right. Then she let the pizza sit there the whole night. In front of me. Watching her eat one slice.

My daughter Cathrine noticed the pizza, and asked for a slice. No. I told her. That's the woman's pizza. Even Cathrine thought it was odd that someone could order a pizza and eat one slice. We don't eat like that in our house.

As I sat there eating my cheeseburger (which might also explain why I don't lose anything this week) and fries, I realized that a thin person eats differently than I do. A thin woman thinks differently about food than I do. So I stopped at two fries.

My son Robbie came up at my shoulder and asked for some of my fries. "Take all of them," I said, thoroughly disappointed with myself. Then I broke one of my rules about not talking about weight. Really, I was frustrated that I didn't order a salad and then eat one piece of lettuce. So I whispered to Robbie, "Look at this pizza. That's how thin people eat. They order a whole pizza and eat one slice."

Without a pause, Robbie grabbed a fry and said, "This is how fat people eat, they eat everything on their plates and then eat food off of other people's plates."

That made me laugh out loud. Really loud. And for a moment I felt better.

Well, there wasn't any deep spiritual principle to that, I just thought it was funny. It's hard to try to lose weight without worrying what other people will think. Should I just accept myself the way I am? The truth is, I do. My identity isn't connected with the numbers on the scale. However, I know that extra weight puts a strain on all parts of my body, and as the calendar reflects increasing age, that weight isn't doing me any favors. So it's for health that I try and cut back, and health that I help guide my children to better food choice. And a splurge on a cheeseburger every once in awhile.

In His Love,
Glynnis