Revelation

Last Wednesday, my husband, who was going straight to class after work, mentioned in IM that he was going to finish his lunch sandwich for dinner.  Apparently, it was just too big for him for lunch.

Now, I’m pretty sure I saw that sandwich sitting in the fridge that morning – it didn’t look so big to me.  I am pretty sure I could’ve finished it, together with a side of chips and a cookie. Or two.  Or three.  Except I don’t eat that way any more.  (Oh, and it was turkey, which I dislike intensely.  One of the great joys of giving up on low-fat is that I never have to eat turkey again.  Or canola oil.  Or fat-free dairy products.  But I digress.)

My first thought was, I can’t understand people who can be satisfied with half a sandwich.

Then I realized, I had lunch at 3:00 because I wasn’t hungry before then.  And I couldn’t finish mine, either.  The difference was, mine was meat, cheese, veggies, and seeds (pumpkin seeds, to be exact).  I was going to eat 3 oz. of cheese for the calcium, but I could only manage to get through two.  So actually, I can be satisfied with a half a sandwich – the inside half!

Every time I think of my low-fat days and the constant hunger, the shaking, the hunger pains, the sleepiness, and the sheer amount of time I spent putting food in my mouth – and then compare it to how I eat now, I marvel at how I’ve finally discovered what normal hunger is like.  Contrary to the six-small-meals-a-day crowd, normal hunger means being satisfied with three meals a day and not needing snacks.  It means not spending all your time thinking about the next thing you’re putting in your mouth.   (I know, I know, I’ve been advocating the notion that not everything works for everyone.  So, if you are a six-meals person, let me phrase this as a question.  Why?  Why are you hungry all the time?  Do you think it’s normal?)  And it means actually sometimes being unable to finish everything that’s on your plate.

My husband is lucky.  His body knows when to stop eating, even if what he’s eating contains carbs.  My body only knows when to stop eating if I’m eating fat, and lots of it.  I guess that’s what I’d better do, then.

Now I’m thinking of Jack Sprat and his wife.  I had a Mother Goose book when I was a kid, and Jack was pictured as super-skinny, and his wife as an obese globe.  I bet a lot of Mother Goose books illustrate them that way.  My fond hope is that one day they will both be pictured as normal-sized people who just have different metabolic needs!