Defensive Eating

December 28, 2008 -- Nicole's Food Log

My mother mentioned a term today that dietarily tragic and yet interesting enough to blog about: “defensive eating.”

An interesting term from a woman who doesn’t do sports in any way shape or form, but maybe 8 million hours watching the kid brother play basketball and football has rubbed off.

The concept is this… “offensive eating” is normal eating. “I’m hungry, my body needs food” eating.

Defensive eating is a strategy frequently seen around houses where people eat like horses. Put simply, defensive eating occurs when you eat an item simply so you can have it before someone (usually a sibling) gets to it first.

As a kid I grew up with a younger sister who could eat ANYBODY under the table. Not only did she nearly eat people out of house and home, but she stayed at a continuous 115. That's at 5'8". While eating four hot dogs as a pre-dinner "snack."

You always knew that if there was a favorite item in the fridge or cupboard that you had to eat it before the Female Garbage Disposal beat you to it.

Now going home, the sister is married and gone (and, um, not 115 anymore!), but she has been replaced by the younger brother who is 6'8" and, at 200 pounds is looking to GAIN weight... and would probably eat the neighbor's dog if it was pre-cooked.

It's taken years to stop (or decrease) defensive eating, realizing that in Single Girl Land if you eat the last whatever, you just go buy another one and no one will come and take it before you get home, but must say it was a constant struggle to not be the constant defensive eater while home and the accomplishment of the day was not, when my mom pointed out that clock was ticking on the pumpkin pie, to eat half the damn thing before the boy found it.

That said, I did eat lots of other crap...

Breakfast
1/2 piece of pumpkin pie (150)

Lunch
Mac and cheese (780)
Mayo (40)
Hot dog (40)

Dinner
Cheesecake factory...
2/3 four cheese pasta (800?)
Bread (250)
Butter (100)
1 1/2 biscuits the size of my head (450)
Chocolate peanut butter cookie dough cheesecake (1000)
*No really... I looked it up. I've always had high fat taste and this showed it. Apparently my FAVORITE type of cheesecake is 1150 calories a pop. (Though I knocked of 150 as I don't eat most of the peanut butter topping.)

Total calories: 3610

Weight: 72.4 kg