Food, Food, Glorious Food

I was chatting with one of our Dorm Parents here. She was sharing some of the issues that some of her girls have with body image and eating well. It reminded me of the models that have recently died due to complications of anorexia. Then I was reading a post a friend of mine made on her blog the global phenomena of obesity and over-eating.

And all of that has given rise to this stream of consciousness...

I am guessing that this is the first time in the history of the world that some people have access to so much food that they can sustain an unhealthy weight over a long period of time. I remember in the first years being here on the hillside and going running with a group of teachers. I didn't last long...not that I didn't enjoy running, but that I suddenly became aware of the disjoint between me and the people in the surrounding community. The fact that I needed to exercise indicates what a luxurious lifestyle I have compared with the women, who have to walk to fetch water and care for the crops and the men, who walk for miles to sell their vegetables or milk in the town. After I was struck with that thought, I became conscious of the access I had to food, time and technological resources and it has led me into examining how I use these resources.

I never saw food as a luxury. But in the less developed regions of the world the view of an
overweight person demonstrates that most still see excess food as a luxury available to the wealthy and powerful. As we have become more affluent in Western countries we have enjoyed the access to delicacies. And as our lifestyles have become less physically active we have expanded proportionally.

On the other hand, I have never seen food as the enemy...the thing I must control to be in control of my life or to to be in control of my appearance. It is one of the advantages to having an Italian heritage...food is the centre of all celebrations.

As always there are two opposing pitfalls to our relationship with food. One may be more acceptable, but both are equally unhealthy to our physical and mental health. As I have tried to adjust my lifestyle to meet my current health needs I have seen myself wavering on the path. For a time I was disturbed by the changes I needed to make; sometimes I made bad choices, other times I just did not eat because I didn't know what to eat.

And being the information junkie that I am I started reading and researching everything I could. Of course, what I wanted was to find an authoritative voice that would say if you do this, then you will be well. Of course, I did not find that...in fact I even received seemingly contrary direction from the doctors I spoke with.

Now I have had to revisit the teaching that I gave to R. When R was in second grade, she started coming home very, very hungry. I couldn't figure out why she was so hungry... it is a very real possibility to contract worms, ameoba, giardia, which can affect your appetite. As R and I chatted I found out that she was worried about getting fat. Apparently, 'getting fat' had been a topic of discussion in the school dining hall. So R and I debriefed...at the time she was significantly taller than her close friends, who were also known to be picky eaters. We talked about how a taller girl probably needs more fuel than a smaller girl, and how food is the fuel that your body runs on. And now I have had an Ah-ha moment...

So if food is the fuel that my body uses, then I need to know what my body needs to run well. Maybe the issues of being an unhealthy weight is about the view of food we have. None of us put more gasoline or petrol into our vehicles than it can hold...particularly with the current cost of fuel...the tank will just overflow and the fuel will spill out on the ground. And we know that without enough fuel in the vehicle, it will eventually stop running. Some vehicles will run better on a particular fuel; our vehicle uses diesel, anything else will not do.

Now if we apply this idea to us. Food is the fuel that our body runs on. Our body may have special needs and so we need to give it the fuel that it will run well on.

What do you think?