Thursday 23 November 2000

Pic of the day: Look! Double chins and piggy eyes! I can do it, too!

"Overindulgence day"

I spent an hour on FurryMUCK today again, making myself familiar with the text-based roleplaying environment. I found that the furries there greeted each other with "Happy overindulgence day!" which seems to be a furrically correct name for the American "Thanksgiving day".

I'm not an American, so you can excuse me if my knowledge on this subject is a bit spotty. But the way I remember from history class, or wherever, is that once upon a time a small group of Englishmen came to North America, fleeing religious persecution in their native country. However, they were ill prepared to handle the new environment, and were starving. The aboriginal people there, Indians or Amerinds or Native Americans or whatever they are called this year, taught the fledgling colonists how to find edible stuff in nature. They survived on this well enough, and decided to commemorate it for the future by a feast of Thanksgiving. To the best of my knowledge, Americans on this day give thanks to their God (if any) but rarely to the natives. I may be wrong on that count, though - they may just be too shy to mention it.

What manner more appropriate to celebrating this episode than eating? After all, it was all about escaping the clutches of hunger; and this they surely do. I have heard that in a few cases, the eating reaches such proportions that life or health is in danger. But by and large, I have been told, people just stuff their face and then lounge for the rest of the day in a daze. This holiday also, I am told, marks the beginning of the Holiday Season, which lasts through Christmas (or other midwinter celebrations, such as Hannukah, Yule or the African one with w and z and some more in it) and ends with the celebration of New Year. Now that's one marathon of holidays.

So the overindulgence has barely begun. The good news is that according to some research I read earlier this year, you only put on about a pound of weight each holiday season. The bad news is that this is the weight you have retained when the next holiday comes around. After 40 years of holidaying (holidating? whatever) you will supposedly have added 40 pounds or 20 kilograms to your bulk. That's something that will really slow you down when you climb the stairs.

***

As for my humble self, I have been losing weight this autumn, but for the last days I think the tide has turned. I have been eating almost normally, with little discomfort. Today I ate five slices of bread: Three for lunch and two after work, all of them with veggie and mayo salad and a delicious mustard dressing. That's quite a lot of food for me these days, and in addition there is the occasional yoghurt and piece of chocolate. Chocolate does not fill up a lot, but it sure makes me feel fed.

On a related note, there was a mention in the latest Psychology Today about a vanilla patch. When people feel the urge to snack, they sniff the vanilla patch instead, and the lust for food subsides. Cool! I did not know that vanilla worked like that. I guess that explains its popularity in desserts and sweets. Great taste, less filling!

Of course, not all people are the plain vanilla type. But it might just be worth a try?

Also in this issue of Psychology Today, there was an article contrasting American and French attitude to food. Most Americans, and women in particular, fear food. They feel guilt when they think of food, and try to eat healthy, low-fat food. The French generally like food, and they eat less healthy food. In fact, they eat less food overall. Their servings are smaller, and they don't eat as often. Presumably they have other interests.

With all due respect for the French cuisine, though, I will point out that Scandinavians live for approximately as long as the Mediterraneans, despite our lack of snails and olive oil. Then again, most Norwegians are not particularly fat. I see a few chubby people around, and I think the number may be growing. But there are few strikingly obese people. And most people do some minimum of physical exercise, like walking the dog or taking the stairs. This is supposed to make a lot of difference.

***

Food (or lack thereof) may be the theme of the day, but I'll finish with giving you a chance to throw up your turkey. Zit update! Yes, the acne in my right ear strikes again. I woke this morning with blood in my ear. Somehow during my sleep half the zit had changed into a wound covered in newly clotted blood. There was traces of blood around it too. Has it just spontaneously exploded? Or have I clawed myself in my sleep? With all due respect for food and drink, there is hardly any physical pleasure as intense as really scratching a good itch. (Well, hardly any that I can remember, at least.)