Something to Ponder

File this one under Deep Thoughts, dear readers.

I was in the grocery store the other day, flipping through a women’s magazine, when I caught a blurb from some anonymous-to-me actress who is apparently starring with Tom Cruise in a movie.  (Clearly I am extremely knowledgeable about Hollywood culture!)  Like every actress who plays Tom Cruise’s opposite, she was thin and toned and very Hollywood, for lack of a better word.  She was talking about her diet, and she said something along the lines of, “Oh, of course I don’t have an eating disorder!  I love to eat.  In fact, I love to eat so much that I eat so many vegetables until I feel like I could burst.”

Forgive me for my hazy memory, but my recollection is that all she talked about eating was vegetables.  They were her favorite food, her secret weapon, the way that she could eat as much as she wanted without (shhh…) getting fat or developing an eating disorder.

Now don’t get me wrong.  Vegetables are great.  I love them too.  But here’s the thing: I don’t eat them until I feel like I’m going to burst.  I don’t eat anything to the point of bursting.  I want to ask this actress, “Is stuffing yourself with vegetables the only way you ever feel full?”  Because if it is, I strongly suspect that she’s not eating enough fat and protein.  The science suggests that fat and protein promote feelings of satiety.  Perhaps evolution is at work here: fat and protein are building blocks in the body.  Much of our body composition is fat and protein.  These macronutrients can also be used for fuel, of course.  Carbohydrates, however, are mostly fuel, so maybe our bodies are tuned, biochemically speaking, to keep searching for food until we’ve eaten enough fat and protein to provide the body with raw materials for repair and renewal.  And remember: in simple terms of macronutrients, vegetables are mostly carbohydrates and fiber.  Maybe our bodies know they need more than vegetables.  I know I certainly need more than vegetables, even though I am delighted to have them on my plate.  They aren’t enough.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go eat breakfast.  I’ll be topping my oatmeal with peanut butter and my coffee with some full-fat coconut milk.