Heather Jassy: The "Does It Love Me?" Diet
When I was recently visiting my in-laws in New York City for the holidays, we attended a dinner with two other couples. I ate a lot, starting with the cheese biscuits that were placed on the table at the beginning of the meal (they remind me a lot of the sort of thing that people eat in Georgia, where I grew up, which is to say that the biscuits were completely laden with cheese, grease, and fat and were utterly delicious). I felt stuffed after eating two of them. From there, I proceeded to eat large portions of lobster bisque, scallops, and berry trifle for dessert. I must admit that I had to loosen the zipper of my skirt a bit (attractive, I know) so that I could sit more comfortably, but it’s the holidays, after all, right?
So when the waiter came around to refill our wine glasses, I knew that I couldn’t ingest one more drop of anything into my system and refused, particularly since I don’t feel so good if I drink after I’ve eaten so much. My mother-in-law also passed, as red wine doesn’t agree with her so well. The man seated between us asked why we weren’t drinking. I went into a long and boring explanation of how wine doesn’t always agree with me if I’m really full, how much I had eaten (leaving out the unzipped skirt part, of course), how drinking too late at night really disrupts my sleep. My mother-in-law simply said, “Wine doesn’t love me.” She felt no further need for excuses or justification.
I thought about this exchange for the next couple of days. Women spend a lot of time thinking about what we SHOULDN’T eat, and categorizing food as bad and good, based on either their caloric or fat value, depending on how you measure these things.
Most women can look at a single Triscuit and tell you exactly how many calories it has (7.5). We often spend most of our lives trying to avoid the bad food and eat more of the food that the experts tell us we should eat.
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Add a Comment2 Comments
I'm smiling after reading this article...loved it!! Thanks for the virtual hug and permission to let go of the things that don't "love me."
August 5, 2009 - 11:46amThis Comment
What a wonderful article! I'm smiling too, because I completely identify with the cheese biscuits AND the closet reorganization tendencies. I'm looking forward to making my two lists. Thank you for the inspiration.
August 6, 2009 - 9:15am