Binge Mentality

[A couple of my friends are doing something like the Fit For Life diet right now. ("It's not a diet!" "Is it a plan for eating?" "Well..." "It's a diet.") This version requires fairly stringent habits six days, and then you can eat whatever you want on Sunday (or whatever day you choose). We went to Mel's Diner on Van Ness and a movie a couple of weeks ago, and it was their day off: meatloaf, mashed potatoes, onion rings and a vanilla shake, then truly prodigious amounts of "buttered" popcorn afterwards. (Their abject scarfing of that last crossed the worst aspects of 10 week old puppy and 13 year old boy.)]

[One of the friends said he did this diet for two years last time, and he lost weight and kept it off. The thing about both of these friends is this: they're both workaholics, recently off drugs, and recently off lots and lots of recreational sex with lots and lots of people. Am I wrong, or is there a pattern here?]

[The binge mentality. If some of something is good, a lot of it is much better. I am certainly not immune to this, and any critique of diet or fitness from me must elicit at least a raised eyebrow. But it just don't seem right. What ever happened to moderation in all things? Is there something in American life that makes one take big bites of everything, requiring bigger contrition later?]

[The image of that popcorn scarfing: no enjoyment, just feeding that hole that never seems to be filled...it sticks with you...]

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