Eating Like Alice AND A CHALLENGE

I'm not going to go Oprah and say, "I'm addicted to food."

From what I know of the human brain, I feel confident in saying there is no way to organically prove addiction to food. The brain causes endorphin-rushes when eating because if you don't eat you die.

Therefore, if you remove the addiction... you die.

I want to talk about understanding food, and your own personal relationship to food.

Why don't we think about food like Alice in Wonderland?

I'm serious. Alice eats food that causes her to grow. Alice drinks things that make her shrink.

This is something very specific and important to consider. No matter our ages, these are interesting ways to think. Every time you eat food, it makes you grow. When you are young, as best you can you eat enough calories to help in normal growth. When you become an adult, food takes on an intellectual quality. It becomes less about what you need and more about gratification. But, what if you held on to that memory, that understanding that Every time Alice ate too much, she grew beyond the size she should be?

I'm not suggesting that everything you drink will make you shrink. There are positives to consider here. Health benefits from drinking water have been cited often, including water's unique roll in assisting the colon in absorbing less fat and salt. This does not mean drinking a six-pack of beer will magically turn all of us into Twiggy, even though we may feel like we look rather more like her after such a 'meal.'

How often do you mistake thirst for hunger? Are you certain your body is asking for that snack, rather than a glass of ice water?

I love writing about food. I adore cooking, and feeding the people I love. I also weigh less now than I did when I graduated high school 10 years ago. My weight has been stable within 5 pounds, with the exception of the 2 weeks before/ after my wedding, for a year. I like taking care of myself, as well as indulging in ice cream, sugary snacks and the occasional soda.

I figured out in college that there were many times I mistook thirst for hunger. I would reach for a snack, consider carefully what my body was really telling me, then look at my food journal.

I've introduced a new phrase into the conversation. Did you spot it?

Food Journal: I define these two words as the most disappointing and important thing I've done for myself. I started making notes of what I eat throughout the day, as well as any interesting signals I got from my body and what eased those signals.

I learned that I am extremely sensitive to caffeine. If I drink a regularly caffeinated soda like Pepsi or Coke, I have an alarming amount of energy for 4-6 hours. My appetite is diminished. I also experience excrutiating headaches for about 3 days after, as well as stomach cramping.

I also learned that when I need water, I start experiencing very specific, temple-centric pain. My toes cramp.

Over the past weeks, I've begun doing crunches before bed. Not because I want to lose weight; I do them because I feel better when I do. I like my muscles. I like the way I move, and the agility I have. To maintain these things, I do crunches that increase in number by 5 every week. I'm up to 50 a night, and I love it. I also do yoga as much as I can, which helps me relax and stay limber.

Food is still a great love of my life. I invest emotion and effort into the food I create, because I feel as though I make it well. I want the people who eat my food to feel satisfied, surprised, delighted and taken care of when they eat whatever I offer.

Food does not equal love. Sharing means more to me than the food itself. I may not always take the offered fare, but I am never ungrateful for the effort you put into trying to include me.

I think it's important for more people to seriously consider their relationship to food, moreso than their relationships with food. I mean to say that food is our fuel. Food for us, just like Alice, will make us grow. Perhaps we won't grow taller as Alice did, but we will widen. This has everything to do with food as a fuel, and nothing to do with the cake you eat to ignore the cruel things someone said, or the annoying feeling that the promotion you slaved for all year will be handed to Barry McGingle, because he's marrying The Boss's Daughter. In that case, just like sleeping with the semi-toothless guy at the end of the bar, the comfort you seek is at best a bandage and at worst a very serious health risk for rewards that are dubious at best.

Being careful how much we take in creates so many positives! More sustainability. More opportunity to recognize how wonderous variety can be, as we make room for more unfamiliar food in our menus! More to share with the people we love, especially when holidays come and money becomes a balancing act. More chances for others to try the foods we love so dearly, as well.

I challenge you to Eat Like Alice for one week. Keep reminding yourself: "If I eat too much, I'll grow." Tell me what happens. Did it make a difference? Would writing down all you eat change how you perceive your food?

I want you to be happy. I want you to be healthful. I want you to find that wonderful place between extremes where all the possibilities exist!