Mostly, it seems that they think we're naively following a fad of sorts. However, we've seen and felt the results after only 3 weeks, and we really hope that the inevitable progress and change in us will inspire others to think more closely about the food they buy and eat. It takes a lot of care and attention to do this project, and it may seem obsessive to outside observers, but seriously, when you eat the right foods, you feel strong, and when you feel strong, you feel good.
Emiko hasn't revealed the PCP to her coworkers yet, but is planning to this weekend. So far, they seem mostly weirded out when they notice her weighing out her portions at work. But because she hasn't told her coworkers about it, they might think she is being overly controlling.
One of Emiko's coworkers just finished Pre-Med, so it's been easy to talk with her about these healthy changes. But when on the subject of diet, this coworker said that she doesn't really need to portion out her meals as she is not overly excessive, and just eats her fill of good food when she is hungry.
But what does our 'fill' even mean these days? For example, restaurant portions are simply too large for any normal person. A single restaurant portion is probably enough for two or three people. But we condition our bodies to believe that this is how much we need. We have both stuffed ourselves after cleaning our plates, and walked away feeling sick, clutching the space around our too-full bellies. We are relearning and retraining our bodies to understand what a more natural and healthful diet feels like.
We've made the conclusion that most people just don't really feel that being conscious of how much food we put into ourselves is an important consideration. It's kind of like choosing the right car. Driving an 18-wheeler to your McDonald's job is a bit excessive. And driving a Honda Accord to the Monster Rally would be suicidal. It's kind of a weird analogy, but we couldn't think of a good one at the moment. Basically, too much is wasteful, too little is not enough. And it's hard to learn to balance it by guessing. That's why we have to pay such close attention in the beginning and weigh out every gram.
This post took us a long time to write, and we had a fight in between, so if you skimmed it like 'this is dumb,' please read it again. And please consider your portions. They're important!
Adrian & Emiko
8 comments:
The sad fact is that the average person's stomach is quite distended from the modern diet. I haven't felt hungry in months and I eat about half of what I used to. Plus I'm carrying about 20 pounds more muscle now, and muscle requires a lot of energy. It blows my mind that I used to eat so much and have so little to show for it except MORE hunger.
I keep on talking about my body makeup but I haven't actually taken a picture of myself in over a month. So here's a quick twitterpic: I want you all to know I'm walking the talk!
http://twitpic.com/a6hw
Holy crap Patrick! If that's from those crazy kung-fu sit-ups man than I can't wait to see those results. Dude compared to your first photo on day 1 it looks like someone would have had to photoshop your head on that body!
Oh and A&E I forgot to say say I really liked this post and I hope you didn't get into too bad of a fight! PCP drama look-out! lol. It's so interesting how the PCP takes glimmers of thoughts we have all had our entire lives (like man that's a lot of food I shouldn't eat it all) and shapes them into full-blown realization that this is NOT good for me. Keep it up guys!
Patrick, you are definitely bordering on Bruce Lee! (In Flavor-Flav's voice) YEAH, boyyyy!
Nate, that is such a true story. I am kind of grossed out witnessing how much people will consume. And at work, I have to make that stuff for them! I feel bad, like "Are you sure you REALLY need that giant, breva Mocha with whipped cream????" Insane!
-E
Heh heh, Emiko, you should be like, "sorry, I can't make that mocha for you, because I care about you too much... how about a soy latte?"
The ultimate in customer service.
I gave up beef years ago and that photo looks just horrible.
Isn't it amazing what we do to ourselves?
Haha Patrick, maybe I will try that tactic next shift! (And then get FIRED! haha!)
And Tim, it IS totally gross. Why would that meal ever be made in the first place? And why was it made TWICE (two plates in the photo)?!?! I feel so much better now after recovering from my over-eating habits, and I would never have eaten even a fifth of that meal. Imagine how those people would feel after the PCP! They'd be PUMPED and ready for living!
-E
I think what you two are doing is really great! PCP seems like a wonderful, global way to get the support you need for the long haul when taking on this kind of lifestyle change (and make new friends, too!) You should know from my farmers' market, organic, locavore leanings that anything that has you eating more fruit & veggies & healthy in general I am behind. Seems like you will end up with sustainable habits, which is what matters over the long haul.
It's also wonderful to get more frequent doses of how mindful you are of what you are doing and the pleasure it brings. Like our early-morning talks on vacation.
Michael Pollan's book "In Defense of Food" (Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants.) has an interesting chapter on Americans' culture of (over)eating being so disconnected from the bodily sensation of fulness. The "full" trigger is when the TV program is over, or the big plate/box is empty. Also, with all that junk going in, the body keeps saying, "Feed me!" in hopes of getting something nutritious.
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