Here in Madison, WI, we’re experiencing the winter’s first big snow. Imagine my surprise when I was driving through the near white-out conditions and noticed a woman standing outside an office building, without a coat, casually smoking a cigarette.
“Wow!” I thought. She must really need that cigarette!” It was so interesting to see her complete lack of embarrassment as she demonstrated her addiction in spite of the frozen conditions.
My addiction was always food. I thought, “Would I stand in the snow to eat a brownie if you couldn’t eat them indoors?”
Then, it hit me! The solution to the obesity epidemic in America!
We should have to go out on the sidewalk to eat! If overeating was treated like smoking (it’s just as deadly, after all!), we’d have to get up from our desks, gather our snacks, trek down to the ground floor, venture outdoors, unwrap our food, and nibble our processed carbs on the sidewalk for all the world to see.
Would that curb our endless snacking and grazing?
Would our pride cause us to cease negative behavior with food?
Now, I don’t believe in humiliating overweight people. You know that. But, my point is, it’s time to cease the complete acceptance of food for any reason in our society.
It shouldn’t be ok to:
– transverse the entire mall while sucking on a 64 ounce soda. Babies give up pacifiers around the age of 2.
– feed your employees pizza or donuts every time you overwork or overstress them.
– celebrate your birthday 24 times (with cake or dessert at each event!).
– eat in your car (especially while texting).
– throw ding dongs at a child who’s melting down.
– eat while walking.
– eat at your desk while working through lunch.
Imagine what these few changes could do for America’s waistline!
Of course, the question with food, since we do have to eat to live, is: Where’s the line? Where does nourishing the body for energy end and overeating begin?
If we could all solve that one question for ourselves, and honor that boundary, I believe we’d be healthier, happier, and thin — and we’d do it diet-free.
Learning to brake. Repeatedly applying brakes. Brakes, with time, become an automatic response.
It’s that simple.
As you point out, a big part of the problem is the access to food, especially junk food. It’s EVERYWHERE! A couple of weekends ago my husband and I went to Best Buy and I was shocked at how much candy, chips and so on was on display in the checkout line. Best Buy should stick to selling electronics…it’s the same at Staples and similar “specialty” stores. “Food” is available 24/7 pretty much everywhere you go. And so we’ve become conditioned, just like Pavlov’s dog. Thankfully, I saw the light on this a long time ago.
Wouldn’t it be funny to see little packets of broccoli at Best Buy? I’ve always said we should have to drive A LONG WAY, THROUGH TORTUOUS CONDITIONS to get crappy food. The good stuff should be readily accessible. Why they can’t make a drive-thru where all they chop fresh veggies & fruit all day long for you? Would that be so hard?
what a great idea!!
due to the economic times, we had to let our receptionist go and now a bunch of ladies here take turns sitting at the front desk and hot damn… on the days that I am up there, everyone can see everything that I am eating! thankfully it’s all healthy..fruits, veggies and the occasional yogurt but if i still ate like i used too..i don’t know if i could do it!
Interesting, isn’t it? Laws have forced smokers to be outdoors to indulge in their addiction. Indulgent eating is widely accepted, but I’m wondering if it should be. It isn’t in other countries! In France, they take a 1-1/2 hour lunch (or more) and prepare their own food… why? Because it’s important to them.
I have wondered so often why someone would freeze to death to get their cigarette fix. When you compare it to all of our food addictions it really is no different.
When I am in “my mode” of horrible eating I sneak food and hope know one sees it or finds out. On those days it would be a good idea to set me at the front door of a gym with my stash!