I can\u2019t tell you how many times I\u2019ve heard the following phrase:<\/p>\n
\u201cLive a little,\u201d supported by the VERY convincing argument that \u201cwhat If you didn\u2019t eat this cupcake right now and you got hit by a bus?\u201d\u00a0 This is a true conversation!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
She’s being sarcastic about the “convincing” nature of the argument, of course. I’ve occasionally had these\u00a0“live a little”-style\u00a0conversations too, and find them just as pointless and irritating as she does. Typically, my interlocutor is someone who – at best – isn’t a regular player in the game of my life, so I have to bite my tongue to avoid saying something “unmutual” like “just what do you know about how I live?”<\/p>\n
It’s dumb advice, anyway… Certainly one can “live a little” –\u00a0 or even one hell of a lot – in ways that don’t involve food, let alone indifferently prepared, generic desserts (like cupcakes). Let’s face it: taste-wise,\u00a0a lot\u00a0of\u00a0the food served\u00a0on\u00a0festive occasions\u00a0is actually pretty underwhelming (and downright awful, when it was\u00a0prepared by my mother-in-law).<\/p>\n
Beyond that, I’ve always been struck by the – nearly always unexamined – assumption underlying these nosy remarks… namely, that “fitness = rigid self-deprivation and sacrifice.” By this equation, to be lean and fit – or to aspire to same – is to be wrapped too tight for your own (let alone anyone else’s) good, so you need to unwind… preferably by following buttinski eating advice from random relatives, colleagues, or even virtual strangers.<\/p>\n
Riiiiigght…\u00a0<\/p>\n
Which takes me back to\u00a0my “just what do you know about how I live?” reaction, since rigid self-deprivation and sacrifice just ain’t my style. In reality, I’m of the “eat, drink and be merry” persuasion. Unlike the “behavior police,” however, I don’t believe that eating everything I want is synonymous with eating everything<\/em>. Personally, I feel food should be savored – as with sex, what counts is the sensual quality<\/em> of the experience, not the quantity. Just as enjoying sex doesn’t equate to doing the horizontal mambo with everyone and anyone who’s got a pulse, enjoying food doesn’t equate to eating everything and anything within reach.<\/p>\nThe irony of these remarks isn’t lost on me, either. From where I sit, the folks making them are actually the ones who need to “live a little.” I mean, c’mon… if they had exciting lives, then they wouldn’t care about what I’m putting – or not putting – on my plate, would they? Seriously: I can only imagine the number of lemons my life would have to suck before I’d feel compelled to turn not-taking a cupcake or other meh “treat” into a topic of conversation.<\/p>\n
At any rate, if you end up on the receiving end of the\u00a0“live a little” treatment from one (or more) of your family members\/friends,\u00a0the most sociable thing to do is to smile and… pointedly ignore it. Don’t get lured into defending or justifying your food choices – or giving in just to get along. In the end, these mini-confrontations are part of the terrain of getting and staying in shape, so learning to let them roll off your back is just as much a part of the process as learning about portion control or nutrition.<\/p>\n
Best wishes for the holidays (and\u00a0for your holiday eating)!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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