I recently finished another book [being unemployed leaves a lot of time to read] called Hungry. The author, Sheila Himmel, brought up many issues for me when I read the book. She writes, "Even in a bad economy, Americans have a turbulent relationship with food, more love/hate than appreciative" (6). She also points out that ever since the Puritans, we have never been able to relax about eating. Whenever I put a piece of food into my mouth, I have a thought in the back of my head that says, "Don't eat that. It has too many calories." I think a lot of people have this voice inside their head but they do not want to admit it. Himmel brings up a problem that I have: when she weighs herself and she is over her "limit" she gets anxious and eats too much. On the other hand, if she has lost a little bit of weight, she feels that it is okay to "slip" or "cheat". When I read this paragraph, it was eye-opening for me to know that another person feels the EXACT same way that I do when I weigh myself.
I took a Body Image & Art class when I went to UW Tacoma and learned a lot about body hate. Even though I took that class and I learned a lot from it, I still have weight issues. Himmel mentions a book called Fat Girl by Judith Moore, the "seminal over-eater's memoir" (47) and I think I will put this book on my Reading List.
Himmel brings up an issue that I have seen on one of those diet commerials. I think it is the SlimQuick commercial, but who knows? There are so many out there. Himmel writes about a brother and sister who take a trip to Europe for a couple of months. The sister gains 25 pounds and the brother LOSES 25 pounds even though they ate the same thing! (51) It seems easier for men to lose weight and I sincerely despise that.
Another shocking thing that Himmel explains is that most of us worry more about her weight than our wages. Honestly, that is true for me and it is really sick that I would let myself worry more about my weight than where I am at financially.
Hungry is written by Sheila and her daughter, Lisa, who struggles with anorexia and bulimia. Lisa, like myself has to wear glasses because she has an astigmatism. She confesses that wearing glasses makes her feel disconnected. I have worn glasses since I was 17. I have a bizarre theory that I might have a shitty memory because I have worn glasses for a long time. Wearing glasses has made me feel disconnected and it might be why I cannot remember special trips that I have taken or special moments that I have had. Many people ask me why I don't wear contacts and I tell them that I would, but contacts are very uncomfortable and my eyes are sensitive. Wearing glasses doesn't really help my appearance issues either because I would like to go without glasses and actually SEE what is going on rather than looking through a lens.
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