The Food Thing

I had an interesting conversation with some one today that got me thinking about my current situation with Nic and junk food. And body image. And a whole lot of other stuff related to food and eating and all that wonderful stuff.

Nic's big thing right now is junk food and how to get it. If we kept it in the house, he'd tip the scales. Lately, it's just gotten insane.

I lived this myself. Food was a comfort for me, and I ate when I was bored, or sad, or lonely. When we first moved out to Long Island over 17 years ago, food and drink was my solace. As a result, I hit my heaviest adult weight--154 lbs (minus my pregnancies, naturally). In the grand scheme, not horrible, since I am 5' 7 1/2. That was what I was when we married. And I wore a size 12.

I lost my dead end job and found an entry-level job in NYC. And a few things happened. First, it was necessary for me to walk from Penn Station to 3rd Ave and 50th St since the train pass alone beggared us. And over time, the candy bar in the afternoon was replaced with fruit, soda was replaced with water...and within 6 months I dropped 20 lbs and 3 dress sizes. And pretty much have stayed there ever since. I'm not built to be super-skinny, and I'm fine with that. I like myself and am comfortable with the way I look.

But, how I feel is really tied in with how I look, not psychologically, but physically. I had to figure out over time that my bipolar tendencies had its roots in sugar consumption, that digestive complaints came from fried food, and I think I was finally in my late 20s that I figured that I literally was what I ate--and had to monitor that. There was a lot of physiological stuff that was easily corrected with diet and exercise...but I had to work it out on my own.

That said, I need to figure out how to deal with Nic's issues. We share a lot of the same sensitivities...but this kid is a walking id. He's 9. I expect he's going to have to put on a lot of weight, be uncomfortable in that weight, and take it off when he's good and ready to do it.

This is where I really do not think natural consequences is the right way to go. Too much at stake--heart disease, type II diabetes, high blood pressure. I can't just let it happen.

What to do.....what to do.....