I
have been reading [well really listening– but reading sounds less lazy]
David Brooks' book about humans as social beings. He cites studies that
indicate we eat more in proportion with the number of people we eat
with.
Alone we eat less. With someone else we eat a little more. And in larger groups we even eat more food.
Besides a number of other deductions that can be drawn from this information,
it seems that often eating is a matter of pride and ego. We deserve not
only the big home and the big car but the big plate of fatty, sugary,
tantalizing and exotic foods. We think we can and have a right to
indulge in recreational eating and avoid its adverse consequences
(weight gain and pocket book shrinkage) just like we wrongly perceive
that others can.
It also may be a matter of our instincts of
competition. Like hungry sharks or wolves, we fight to get our fair share
before others--an emotional reaction as well as physiological reaction
to eating.
So, consciously vow to check your ego and pride at
the door when you go out to eat. Eat to live don’t eat to compete,
over-recreate or show you're the top man/woman in the social hierarchy
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