The thrifty gene. (NaBloPoMo Entry #1)

I definitely have a food baby right now. Ever heard of that expression? I'm sure you've had one before. It's when you eat so much food that your stomach physically extends out more than its typical circumference, forming a temporary belly similar to that of pregnancy. A typical symptom is the need to unbutton one's pants, followed with a loud sigh and rub on the gut. I definitely have a food baby right now. Luckily, though, I'm wearing elastic pajama pants.

Today was Sunday, and Dyke didn't work until five, so we definitely used the morning to sleep in and then, of course, order too much Chinese food for the two of us. I had some crab rangoon, some vegetable lo mein, and the "Buddhist Delight" which is a big mix of vegetables (For the most part I've given up seafood as well, but I still can't say goodbye to crab rangoon or sushi, so I'm still considered a "pescetarian" I suppose).

But that just formed my early afternoon food baby. Later on, I came home, and for dinner I mixed together a corn and black bean salad and ate it with tortilla chips. The problem is that, because I live alone, the amount of food I make is always too much for me. I continued to eat the stuff way past the point when I should have, so now my second food baby of the day has appeared.

Awhile back my sister, Caitlin, gave me the book The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. Before school started I was pretty dedicated to reading it, but with a busier schedule the book moved down on my list of priorities. I find it very coincidental that I picked this book up again after my day of the dual food babies.

I just read a passage that very much relates to my situation today. In Chapter 6, Pollan discusses the American consumer and the "Republic of Fat" we live in these days:

"One might think that people would stop eating and drinking these gargantuan portions as soon as they felt full, but it turns out hunger doesn't work that way. Researchers have found that people (and animals) presented with large portions will eat up to 30 percent more than they would otherwise. Human appetite, it turns out, is surprisingly elastic, which makes excellent evolutionary sense: It behooved our hunter-gatherer ancestors to feast whenever the opportunity presented itself, allowing them to build up reserves of fat against future famine. Obesity researchers call this trait the 'thrifty gene.' And while the gene represents a useful adaptation in an environment of food scarcity and unpredictability, it's a disaster in an environment of fast-food abundance, when the opportunity to feast presents itself 24/7. Our bodies are storing reserves of fat against a famine that never comes."

I've always been a good eater. My mother tells me I was one of those kids who always cleared her plate, and ate all the vegetables offered to me. She also, however, presented her children with manageable portion sizes that fit our physical needs. These days, I still think like I did when I was younger, and I always have the urge to clear that plate of food. The problem is that restaurant portion sizes these days are ridiculously huge, and even when I cook at home, the amount created is always enough for two or more people.

End result: mutliple food babies.

We live in the era of the food baby. When I have kids, I feel like they are going to look back on this generation and notice two things:

1)How every teen film this decade involves some sort of awkward teenage boy (either too thin or too fat) with a personality matching the likes of Michael Cera in... well... everything he does.

2) How fat and unhealthy we were.

This "Thrifty Gene" clearly comes in handy for fast food companies, who developed the whole Super-Size idea when they realized people wanted to eat more, but were reluctant to buy more than one small fry, or more than one burger, for fear of being looked upon as a glutton. Now I can go with my family to the movie theater, and instead of having to get refills on our massive sodas and bucket of popcorn, we can eat until we are about to burst and have as many food babies as we want. I can eat all I want, and way more than I need to, without having to ask for more and looking like a fatty. It's perfect!

And perfectly self-destructible. So this month, while I try to reach my NaBloPoMo goal and write an entry every day, I will also watch myself a bit more closely and see if I can avoid a food baby for a month. I even might try to give up Taco Bell... the one fast food restaurant I'm struggling to give up.

I think they put crack in the beans.