The Battle of the Bulge Continues

by Rhonda

Yesterday, we began discussing the roots of weight gain. We touched on early psychological training and will continue to do so today. From my own experience, as well as many others in my age group, another key issue is guilt. This aspect will take at least a couple of articles to discuss, because of the varying factors. In the childhood category alone, there are several factors including guilt for eating, guilt for not eating and guilt for being heavy. Let’s start with the guilt for not eating.

When I was growing up, dinner was a family affair. There was a set time for it and woe unto you if you weren’t washed up and at the table at the appointed hour. Your parents watched over you to make sure you cleaned your plate. No one asked if you were hungry or inquired about the size of portions that you wanted. Your plate was filled and you were expected to eat it all. If you complained that you couldn’t finish it, the standard refrain was, “There are starving children all over the world who wish they had this food”. You weren’t allowed to leave the table until you finished all the food on your plate. This taught me to continue eating, even though I was full. It was common in our family to eat too much, then lean back, patting out tummies and talk about the great meal. That’s when the desert came out. I want to make it clear that I’m not criticizing the parents back then for doing this. They didn’t know any better and had good intentions. No one knew about cholesterol and the percentage of fat calories in food. You were considered lucky to have a “meat and potatoes” dinner. I’m bringing it up now, not only to further explain about the psychological training of children back then, but also in the hopes that by bringing it to the attention of parents who continue to pass that tradition down, the trend will cease. Now, from what I’ve seen, today’s kids don’t seem to go through that. I’ve seen kids eat small amounts of food and be allowed to leave the table. I remember thinking that the poor kid was going to starve to death and that the parents should be ashamed of themselves. Now I say kudos to those parents for recognizing that children do not require adult portions of food in their little bodies. Tonight’s homework is a continuation of yesterdays. After reading this, think back to when you were a child and make additional notes about the psychological training you received when it came to food. Tomorrow, we’ll discuss guilt over eating. Stay tuned and I hope this article finds you well. - Rhonda