"Julia Altshuler" > wrote in message
news:S2bSb.138114$5V2.708815@attbi_s53...
>
>
> I'm someone who finds it hard to overeat. Show me one slice of
> cheesecake, and I'll tell you it looks delicious. I'll eat it and enjoy
> it. If you show me a second slice of cheesecake when I'm done with the
> first, I'll find it literally nauseating. I can't imagine eating it. I
> don't want it and would find it hard to eat. Nevermind that it is the
> same cheesecake that I found so appealing only moments before.
>
>
> Someone else might have to stop after one bite or wouldn't be able to
> handle even that. Another might find 2 slices delicious before
> getting full. A fourth person might be able to eat the whole 9" pie
> without ever getting sick of it. I'm not exhibiting self control when I
> turn down the second slice. The person who can eat the whole pie is
> genuinely hungry for more.
>
>
> It is terribly unfair to blame the ability to eat in moderation or stick
> to a diet on character. On another list, a woman said that she's lost
> 80 pounds by being gnawingly hungry all the time. She's keeping the
> weight off by being hungry. I know I could never do that. I don't have
> anywhere near that kind of self control. I don't love fast food, but if
> I'm hungry and have no other reasonable choices, I'll stop at Burger
> King and be glad of it.
>
>

Bravo! The idea that character has anything to do with eating habits or
weight is pitifully ridiculous yet all too wide spread. I suspect it has its
origins in the Puritan notions that pleasure is bad and self-denial is good.
CHrist-on-crutches, what nonsense! I know quite a few chubby gourmands who
are intelligent, educated, hard working, honest, and reliable. I have also
met numerous slender folks who are stupid, dishonest, conniving, and petty.
These are real measures of character, not eating or weight.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.