Kate: My Food Rules
Maggie: And you? What are your food rules?
Kate: You don’t even ask me if I have any. Because you know. What was it about me that gave it away? Oh, right…the being female part.
- Never eat everything on the plate
- Only one piece of bread from the breadbasket (never works. I always eat two)
- Cut off part of the bun if it’s thick
- No dessert unless it’s shared or really small (milkshakes are the exception because I have absolutely no power to resist them. I am helpless before their deliciousness)
- No entrees over $15. Oh, that’s about how cheap I am, not the food itself. Do you know how hard this rule is to follow in Manhattan? Very. I even had to amend it. It used to be $8. I don’t like to spend money on something that will disappear into my stomach in a matter of minutes. Instead I’m saving for something more permanent, like an Italian villa. Kidding. Like a robot that will follow me around everywhere, doing my bidding.
- The problem with #5 is that I love to eat, so it’s easy for me to break the rule when I’m presented with something truly delectable-looking
- #6 wasn’t really a rule. Sorry. Don’t drink stuff with a lot of sugar (except milkshakes)
- Only diet soda. This is sort of the same, but I feel like soda’s its own category.
- Try to avoid pasta
- No candy. This is easy to follow because I don’t like candy. I feel very smug about that.
- Please, please, please just eat some vegetables once in awhile! Just SOMETHING! (I love spinach, but I can’t just make spinach all the time and exclude all the other vegetables. When I cook vegetables and my fiancé eats them, which happens regularly, I feel successful, as though just being involved in some part of the consumption-of-vegetable process somehow absolves me from my own consumptive* responsibilities. This is bad.)
I get more rules as I get older. I don’t like it one bit. When I feel like I don’t look good, I want to try to control my appearance. Rules=control. When I was eight or so, I had a rule. It went like this: For every bite of food, take a sip of juice. Then you get to taste both all the time. Yum. Now THAT was a good rule.
someone should put food on those plates
Another Kate’s food rules here. I bet every food/cooking/health blogger has a list somewhere!
Un-Roast: Today I like the fine hairs on the backs of my arms. They aren’t supposed to be attractive, but they catch the light in a pretty way. If no one told us that hairy arms was supposed to be ugly on women, maybe we’d just think they were beautiful. I wonder how all that hair hatred started…
Everyone: Does a healthy relationship with your body mean less rules? Or just different ones? And of course….What do you love about yourself today?
*I just looked this up, and was informed that it is used largely in reference to tuberculosis. But whatever. I’m a linguistic maverick, and I’m taking back the language.
Kate on April 12th 2010 in food
Melissa responded on 12 Apr 2010 at 1:03 pm #
Ooooh I think everyone has food rules, to be honest. I have a ton, but we all know I’m a smidge crazy. If I’m to eat a meal, it has to be perfectly balanced…fruit, veggies, protein, dairy…the lot. If I start feeling the least bit full, I sprinkle salt over my food to deter myself from eating more. I don’t eat after 6 pm. I don’t eat over 1000 calories unless I’ve done a full workout (yes, I’m nuts).
But today, I love my arms…they look toned, and I’m happy
Kim responded on 12 Apr 2010 at 3:59 pm #
i love my hair. i just got it cut, and it’s working really well with layers.
i have so many rules about food and its so hard to stop. if i dont follow them i feel extremely guilty immediately. i dont know what to do about that, but i like seeing your rules because it makes me think about how ridiculous all the rules i have can be. thanks!
Maggie responded on 12 Apr 2010 at 4:30 pm #
I have that $15 rule too! I can’t follow it all the time, but I actually try to keep it under $13.
Vegan Dukka Girl responded on 12 Apr 2010 at 5:36 pm #
My only food rules are 1) to eat plants, and as far as possible still recognisable as plants (i.e. more whole fruit, veg and actual grains than bread or cake), and 2) to not eat beyond satiety except at special occasions (when you just have to try everything!). I can’t keep any other food rules, I like food too much, and while I have days were I don’t like things about body, I’m not convinced enough that any amount of food rules will make my body more beautiful, never mind make me love myself more. It worries me that people would have food rules equating to malnutrition; there’s no way an adult woman can get enough energy, vitamins and minerals on 1,000 calories a day…no point in being skinny if it’s going to give you osteoporosis (or worse). I don’t mean to be offensive, I’m just worried for women who feel they have to deprive themselves to the point of ill health…for what?
Christina responded on 12 Apr 2010 at 6:15 pm #
I love your 8 yr old rule!
Today I love my jaw line. It looks good in profile.
Maggie Walks - Food Blog Faux Pas responded on 12 Apr 2010 at 6:28 pm #
[...] starting to loosen up a bit. I still feel gipped when I have to go to a movie ($15) and I, like Kate, don’t like to spend more than about $8 on a meal. New York made me increase that [...]
jenn responded on 12 Apr 2010 at 7:08 pm #
love your blog and particularly the food rule entries. i remember the first time i realized what “you are what you eat” means. i was in my early-teens and had never recognized that food impacts how your body looks. i remember distinctly thinking, “well, i don’t think i have to worry about that. i’m not afraid of getting fat.”
fast-forward many years later and, here i am, with a string of food rules. 1. eat something every 4 hours, to keep my metabolism up, 2. no white flour ever, 3. no oil other than olive oil, 4. no meat or dairy, 5. avoid boxed cereals, 6. don’t eat out, etc. etc. etc.
today, i honestly love my chest. one good thing about gaining some weight is feeling like i have some curves again.
elise responded on 12 Apr 2010 at 7:19 pm #
i just laughed out loud at the consumption reference…tuberculosis shouldnt be funny, but the idea that you would be referencing TB instead of eating is kinda humorous. i just spelled that word like the arm bone. my mind is elsewhere i guess…
i tend to eat big ass meals later than i want on work days, which isnt something i like doing but what can i do about it, nothing, my shift ends at 7 and i get home around 8, so dinner is then. i deal.
i like my boobs today. i just ended that time of the month (in which they were massively huge and swollen) andi prefer them how they are now, smaller and not painful while running. hows that for a random reason to like a part of your body?
Hangry Pants responded on 12 Apr 2010 at 9:12 pm #
If I make a food rule, I will break. I’m such a rebel like that.
Carol responded on 12 Apr 2010 at 10:28 pm #
I don’t have any food rules. I have patterns that have developed over the years (such as I usually make myself a salad with blue cheese, seeds, and craisins for lunch; oatmeal with flax seeds and blueberries is my favorite breakfast), but there no hard and fast rules. I order what I want when I go out without sweating about how much it costs. Often I’ll order dessert, because, heck, they look so incredible and since I don’t eat out daily or even weekly, I figure I should take advantage of eating something new and delicious. I’m not concerned about calories or fat or fried foods, though most of my choices are healthy one (which to me includes whole foods, such as veggies, fruit, meats, plus butter and cream). It all balances out and if it doesn’t, I’ll take an extra walk during the week!
I like my toes – long and slender.
Kate responded on 12 Apr 2010 at 11:30 pm #
@Elise— I lol-ed at the boobs comment. Speaking of words that aren’t quite right…But I did. That was some truly inspiring honesty right there. Thanks for appreciating the TB stuff. Sometimes I feel so alone in the world, with my frightening sense of humor. It’s nice to feel heard
laura responded on 12 Apr 2010 at 11:38 pm #
my only food rule (as of 2 weeks ago!) is to write down everything that i eat. it doesn’t matter what i eat, as long as it goes down on a piece of paper or in a “note” on my phone. i think i just like knowing what is in my body all times. so far, it’s made me a lot more conscious of what ingredients are in the food i eat, what makes me feel good, what makes me feel bad, etc. it is also useful and is (kind of!) helping me keep a somewhat, little bit more balanced diet. i would file this new habit under temporary (because let’s be serious, how many trees am i willing to sacrifice to look good in a bikini like, four times this summer?) but hopefully it will teach me about what my body likes and doesn’t like.
today, i like my good taste in coats. and my brain was pretty on top of it’s game too.
Margareta responded on 13 Apr 2010 at 5:22 am #
My most important food rule was: to eat together at dinner time. These days, that is being constantly broken with three mobil teenagers
that have jobs, a husband that commutes to and from NYC, and my own busy schedule.
Last night I made a beautiful baked cod; my oldest was working, my husband was driving, my youngest was scouting. It was just myself and my daughter to eat the meal I prepared for a hour.
Why did I bother? :0
Kate responded on 13 Apr 2010 at 1:12 pm #
@Margareta– We always had that rule, too, growing up. Sometimes it’s great, but sometimes it’s just stressful. That’s the thing about rules. They can be exhausting.
But at the same time, I bet your baked cod dinner was great! I love eating alone with my mom!
Jamie responded on 13 Apr 2010 at 9:08 pm #
I have a weird food rule that isn’t exactly a rule. I will not eat anything unhealthy that comes with nutrition facts attached. So vending machine things, items wrapped up so that I know exactly how much fat is in them, those are a no no. But when it comes to things like CAKE sitting in my kitchen right now (I do not lie), it’s like I can kid myself about how much fat is in it since it’s not staring right at me. Silly I know : )
Kate responded on 13 Apr 2010 at 9:11 pm #
@Jamie– Oh my god! Take a photo of yourself with the cake and send it to me! I really want to start posting pictures of women with cake.
And yeah, I totally hear you on that rule.
Kate responded on 14 Apr 2010 at 9:33 am #
Hi- nice to meet you. Food rules rock…. love yours! Thanks for linking up. I’ve gotten ‘social’ with you and can’t wait to read more. Love your concept.
janetha responded on 15 Apr 2010 at 5:42 pm #
you make me feel like everything is going to be OK. none.. NONE of my friends have rules like these. they all eat all their food, the whole bun, 4 pieces of bread from the basket.. it is nice to have some girls to relate to.
i think a healthy relationship with your body and food rules dont necessarily go hand in hand. i think the rules just change a bit. even when i was looking and feeling my very best and weighed 20 lbs less than i do now.. i learned about what i should be putting into my body and the rules had changed to “no white breads, no saturated fats, no white pasta, and hell no that ketchup on the table is not allowed”
i am catching up today, so i get to pick another thing i love about myself today. even though i think i gave you 4 last night. who cares. today i love that i know how to cook VERY well.. because marshall was just in my office telling me he is so excited for dinner.