Day 6/31 (Skipped day 5, will try to make up one day)
Two thoughts (frustrations) on food. One pertaining to me and one to society at large
The Society
People get weird pleasure out of forcing you to eat/drink, especially when they are the host.
“Bhai 2 laddoo le le”
“Nahi yaar, pet bhar gaya hai”
“2 le le bhai. Mai khila raha hu na”
“Na bhai bahut ho gaya already”
“Aaise kaise bhai. 2 toh minimum le ne hi padenge”
*forcefully put 2 laddos in my plate *
*I eat them because I have been taught to never leave food on the plate*
I have been thankfully excused from the “forcing you to drink more” phenomenon. But am sure it has lead to many cases of alcohol poisoning or worse.
Why do people get this joy from upsetting my stomach? I believe this is a minor form of power play. The subconscious thought is some milder version of “I made Piyush eat 2 more ladoos. Look how respected my wishes are in the society”
I get where this tradition comes from. In a meal where ladd0os can be limited, I would be hesitant to take more of them even if I would like more. The host forcing me to take more laddoos is a way to signal that there are enough laddoos and I should not hesitate taking one.
But IMO we don’t see this resource constraint these days, and this rich tradition of “aagraha” needs to stop.
Me
I have great difficulty saying “no” to food. I went to a wedding recently challenging myself to eat healthy and ended up trying every single item in the wedding buffet. Even if a friend lightly nudge me to eat that last slice of pizza, I ll take it. Even if I am full. This habit is probably pretty low on the “issues you should discuss with your therapist” list. but its definitely there.
I really don’t have a real solution to the problem. I have mostly been mitigating the problem by mitigating it. Not keeping any junk food in house. Eating a bit of salad or fruits before going out so that I am already full, and so on.