I don't eat particularly well but I also don't think I eat entirely awfully, either, and food is one of those personal things that I get strangely defensive about when people tell me how to do it better or how I should be thinking of it. It doesn't matter if they are likely right, I just don't want to hear it.
I am so 100% with you on this one.
I struggle a lot with this from multiple angles. Especially this part:
It doesn't matter if they are likely right, I just don't want to hear it.
When David and I
first started dating he very casually mentioned an article he'd read about the dangers of High-Fructose Corn Syrup and I. Lost. My. s***. I mean, I FREAKED OUT.
I immediately went to a place of "GOD, ONE DIET COKE IS NOT GOING TO KILL ME. LEAVE ME ALONE. DO YOU THINK I'M FAT? I'M NOT FAT, DAMNIT. I'VE SPENT THE LAST DECADE GETTING TO A PLACE WHERE I HAVE A HEALTHY BODY IMAGE. ARE YOU NOT ATTRACTED TO ME? YOU EAT JUNK FOOD ALL THE TIME. WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? DON'T JUDGE ME. I AM NOT A BAD PERSON. I DON'T EVEN WANT THIS STUPID DIET COKE ANYMORE. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? I'M GONNA DRINK IT ANYWAY BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT THE BOSS OF ME. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
In reality, we had just started dating, and David thought the article was interesting, and wanted to have something to talk about with me, and that article was the first thing that popped into his head. It was not about me AT ALL. I just took it that way. He very wisely dropped the subject completely and stayed out of my path while I seethed. Now, since things have obviously worked out betweeen us, he teases me about that completely uncalled for temper tantrum all the time.
And, full disclosure, I DID eventually change my mind about HFCS. But not because of that article, and not because of David in any way. I came to it on my own, probably two full years after that incident, after reading a lot and watching documentaries, and a lot of self-exploration.
I don't think jabbering on about your diet and your food beliefs is going to convince anyone to come over to your side. In my experience, it usually turns me into a stubborn, loathesome shrew who immediately digs her heels in and decides to do the exact opposite of whatever is being reccomended.
And it's difficult for me, personally, because I feel like food is such a visible topic in my life. I cook a lot. I eat a lot. I go to food-centric places, like the farmers market and pick-your-own orchards. When I don't have an intimate relationship with someone and we're not going to talk about some of the more fragile and personal aspects of my life, food and my joy in it is a pretty safe topic. But I'm always wary that my enthusiasm will be misinterpreted as an attempt to foist my lifestyle off onto someone else. I won't lie, if you come to my house for dinner, you're probably eating organic food, because that's what I buy. But if you want me to make you organic mac and cheese (or girl scout cookies, or oatmeal cream pies, or any junk food under the sun) then I'm only too happy to oblige you. And when I go to someone ELSE'S house for dinner, and the food served isn't organic? No sweat. The food is good, it was cooked for me by someone whose time and effort and care I greatly appreciate. I don't expect everyone to live the same lifestyle I do. (My father is TERRIBLE for this. Every time I come home and eat with him, he makes half-apologetic, half-sarcastic comments about the food not being organic and therefore I must not be enjoying it. No matter how many times I tell him this is not the case, the comments persist. I let it go, because I know it's coming from a complicated place within him, and all I can do is try to show my genuine appreciation for what he's done for me).
Although I do think (as someone who plugs her ears and shouts out "LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" at more or less every opportunity) that there comes a point when we MUST face that which we do not want hear. At this point, I just think that point is personal, and different for everyone.
Anyway. Sorry for the insanely long ramble.
Nomi, I watched the first season of Food Revolution and was touched by it. I haven't had a chance to watch this go round, but I'm looking forward to it.