It occurred to me today at lunch that there are two types of people in this world:
1-The ones that love food.
2-The ones that eat to starve off hunger.
Many days a week either at work or even out with friends on the weekends, I see woman eating big salads with protein in it. And they eat these most days of the week with slight fluctuations such as a yogurt or a soup with it.
I always sit there and ponder: “How can that feel satisfying as a meal? How can anyone want to eat that for lunch everyday”?
To me I love salad, don’t get me wrong but it is always a side. With the pasta, or with the stir-fry or with the vol au vent. Somehow alone it feels so boring to me. Just not a treat.
I have been noticing that it is not only skinny people who eat these big salads (to stay skinny) but also people who have been eating them for years and are still nowhere close to skinny. So why do they eat them if they don’t lose weight eating them?
Do they like them?
So today I tried this “strange” ritual out. Certainly won’t do me any harm after the creeping up after the holidays pounds (which I find very depressing given that I had lost a few before X-mas and have been so good with my exercising the last months).
I went to the cafeteria at work and got a big (yummy-yahoo!) salad with lots of protein in it, some hummus on the side. And I took a pack of Melba toast too since I always see these girls take that with their salads. So I did it too for the excitement factor.
I got to the cash and realized that skinny salad eating people (or non skinny salad eating people) must have a lot of money because here I was expecting a cheap lunch and it cost me a fortune too!
I decided there then must be something good about it.
I sit down with my coworkers (who for some reason today of all days decide to eat real food!) and I dig in.
Hmmm…tastes ok. Tasty enough.
But Boring. Not fun at all. Not too satisfying.
Not bringing me the type of pleasure I look forward to at the 15 minutes break I take at lunch after working my butt off all morning and afternoon and evening.
Certainly not enough of a reward or a treat for me..(is this what emotional eating is)?
So I went back to my desk strangely full (with only a salad in my tummy?) ,but also predictably flustered.
My colleague even commented I look depressed.
Good guess buddy! Of course I am depressed. You are eating pasta rose with garlic bread (and salad and a sugarpie) and I am eating this salad that cost me my kid’s allowance.
So the morale of this post is:
I don’t think it is worth it to eat like that and still not be skinny.
If you are skinny and eat that-well then maybe there is a payoff for you.
If you are not skinny (but still consider yourself attractive and pretty by most people’s standards) then I think you should definitely not eat this boring meal and maybe ramp up the exercise.
If you are not skinny (and do not consider yourself attractive or pretty) I really don’t know what to tell you what to do. Somehow I don’t think salad will solve your problems anyways.
Clearly my expertise is not in food or salad or any advice giving in this area. Maybe I should stay within my realms of knowledge next time eh?
Nurturing with food is so much more pleasant than only nourishing ourselves with it. Food is such a pleasure in life.
Maybe the only thing in life that is simple. Always. No fuss. Uncomplicated.
I wish I had a marriage like food. Or a life like food.
I don’t. Therefore I choose food.
(I am going now to eat yet another stupid salad for dinner. Still at work until late, late tonight and there appears to be nothing else available besides the side salad I brought yesterday from home to go with my meal).
Yup. My treat tonight will just have to be taking a break to write this blogJ
