Thinner
Is it Fitness Inspiration?
Let's analyze, starting with the movie. The main character is an obese unhappy man who eats too much. The eating becomes constant as he can't maintain his weight. Nothing about that inspires me, but I do enjoy the fantasy. This element is not demotivational/uninspiring either. I didn't watch and think, "he's stuffing his face! That's what I should be doing now or maybe later." No, I felt neutral to it.
However, there was a troubling element to it - a strawberry pie was shown several times in the movie. If it had been something normal that I'd eaten before, say apple, pumpkin, or cherry, I wouldn't have been affected. This was not a normal pie, and I thought, "What does a strawberry pie taste like? It sounds so exotic. And look, those people have eaten it several times. It must be good." So, yours truly bought a pie crust and strawberries. Guess what I did with it...FYI, it wasn't good, and I had to eat two pieces to decide that. My verdict on the movie is that it is demotivational.
This was a learning opportunity for me. I, like many other people, am attracted to exotic-sounding foods. They can either have an irregular name or it could just be something I haven't tried. That's why Celebrity Chefs and cooking blogs are always "updating" or "modernizing" recipes. Sure, you've had apple jelly before, but have you had it with jalapenos in it? What if I called it "apple chutney"? Sounding better? Why yes, it is! Made from scratch, just like my mom made when lived on the farm in Wisconsin and she added mustard to it. We had an apple orchard and a pumpkin crop that we harvested in Autumn. We cooked pumpkin biscuits, roasted pork loin and apple chutney, and served it as a sandwich...
It started to sound good didn't it? A person like me wants to experience that Wisconsin memory on the farm, in Autumn. That's the enticing effect of food in stories, movies, language, exotic places, and exotic-sounding foods. If you're like me, you already know that you strongly react to these things, and knowing it doesn't stop the reaction. So, one does need to develop a plan for managing the reaction.
For me, there's a thought process I've developed. Rather than just evaluating how I feel, and what I want, I first analyze the nutritional value of the food. Strawberry pie - too much sugar, fat and calories to have on a regular day. But apple chutney, pork loin, and pumpkin biscuits? That's okay. As long as one doesn't overeat, it is a normal nutritional meal. That can be dinner tonight. No biggie.
Still want the pie? Well, thinking about it, I should realize that if it was anything good, I'd have tried it already. They'd serve it at Thanksgiving. But it isn't good. So I should just forget about it.
But I didn't forget. Now what? Well, strawberry pie isn't a good thing for me to eat on a regular day. I can print out the recipe, add it to my cookbook-binder, and cook it for a special event, where there would be at least a few people to help me eat it.....I have a dessert that's pretty rich about once a month, but it is a single serving of something. I can't have a whole pie just sitting around my house. That's why it is best not to cook the pie.
That was a lot of talking about pie. Sorry. I hope after hearing my babble about it, you aren't interested.
I didn't examine Fitness Inspiration in the novel, but that can be for next time.
By the way, the pumpkin biscuit, pork loin and apple chutney are good together. No lie. But the story about growing up in Wisconsin on a farm, that was a lie.
Here's the apple chutney recipe I use (except I add whole grain mustard and less brown sugar): http://www.closetcooking.com/2009/11/apple-chutney.html
Pumpkin biscuit recipe I used: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/pumpkin-patch-biscuits
You're on your own for the pork.
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