Aroma

 While I was sitting here, typing up the Foreword for this book, there were three lemon cookies and two chocolate drops sitting beside me.They are there, still.
 Several times, now, I have picked up the same lemon cookie, which is of the cheap little Kroger brand lemon sandwich cookie variety, and smelled it.  It smells lovely.
 Now, when I had picked it up, I had intended to bite into it. That is what my arm told me was going on and my mouth seconded it. Every part of me was getting ready to bite into that cookie. Yet, there it is, still beside me and here I am still not having eaten it. Why?
 Kroger brand lemon sandwich cookies smell really good! And, I am alone. There is no one to scowl at me and act like I am crazy, just because I am picking up a cookie and smelling it, rather than indulging in gluttonous behavior.  The aroma of the cookie is very satisfying. I'm not actually hungry. So, I smell it. Later on, I shall probably eat it.
  It will not be wrong, when I eat it. I will not be a bad person. This is not a time for negative thought. I have chosen, of my own free will, to smell the cookie, instead of eating it. I am enjoying this time and when I eat it, as I probably will, that will also be a choice made with my own free will.
 The difference between eating it now and eating it later is that, if I ate it now, it would not be of my own free will. I would eat it because society has taught me that if you bring food up toward your face or if you are in possession of it - if it is near you -and you smell it and it smells good, you must eat.
 I say "Pffft!" to society and choose to sit here, alone, smelling my own cookie, as I please.
  This is one of the most important things to learn about life, if one is to celebrate it: life is for living, and no one else can live it for you.
  This is one of the most important things to learn about food, if one is to include it in the celebration: food is a gift from God (if you don't believe in God, you may substitute the word nature). Accept it thankfully, share it joyfully, and never, ever fail to appreciate all the facets of its make up. It has sight, sound, texture, taste and smell.

Find what is healthy for you and then make it pleasing to you; and, make sure you are the one in charge of deciding if, when, and how much you shall eat.

Don't let the smell tell you that you must open your jaw and let the food in, if your belly is not telling you that you need food. Aroma can be deceptive that way. It makes you think you will find some great pleasure in that bite.

Well, guess what? According to Eric Stice, lead author and a psychology researcher at The University of Texas, recent findings of two studies wherein scientists from Yale and Oregon scanned the brains of 76 volunteer women  as they drank chocolate milkshakes, suggested that obese individuals may experience less pleasure when eating than thinner persons. 


Now, the talk, of various persons, is of using that evidence as a jumping off point in research to help pinpoint who is more likely to become obese. Presumably, so that the thin people of the world can put us all in concentration camps and make sure that, while we are receiving less pleasure from food, we are also receiving less pleasure from life, without ruining their vacations to the seaside. 
Please take that last part as a joke - especially you thin people!- but, also, please take it to be more than nonsense. My point is, different people have different agendas. To many thin persons, the most horrible, unimaginable thing in the world is to gain weight. However, to me, I would rather be fat and be myself, then be thin and running scared every time a fat person walks too close, worried that the fat will fly off them and infect me! Seriously!
 While they may see the research as a good way to eliminate obesity, I view it as a good way to understand yourself and make good life choices. In either case, it sort of leads to the same place, but, one way it is all negative and insulting, whereas the other way is all positive and full of bits of sunshine and mirth. 
 You see, what they think they have discovered, is a basic fact of life. Some people enjoy one aspect of something more and some enjoy a different aspect. 
 Chances are, if you are obese, you are more geared toward being a cook than a diner. Those thin people, they like to eat. It gives them something wonderful. When they say, "I really enjoyed that salad." they mean it.  They don't need a lot, because it makes them so happy, and one only needs so much happiness from a meal.
 If it is not making you happy, then, you are doing it wrong. If you are eating a hamburger and the hamburger is giving you no real pleasure, then eating two hamburgers is not going to help you. It feels like it will, but, it won't. 
  Sure, maybe, eventually, you'll reach this critical dopamine level and feel a little better, temporarily, but, then, you'll gain weight and feel very negatively about yourself to make up for it. Don't do it!
 Instead, order some ingredient on the hamburger that will make you feel satisfied, or go home and make one with spices and veggies that you like. Make it something that you can be proud of. Now, smell it. Feel the way the salt tickles your nose? The slight burn of pepper? The wonderful smell of beef? The lettuce, both the hot and cold bits? Take a deep whiff.
  And, when you are ready, take a small bite. Breathe in that smell again, and chew, slowly and thoroughly. Keep breathing in that wonderful aroma.
 While you are at it, notice the texture, the colors. This is how you should be eating. Food is a big part of celebrations, and life is a celebration. Don't celebrate by inviting boredom to your table, but, do try to keep the party to a moderate guest list!
 P.S: I still have three lemon cookies and two chocolate drops beside me, and it's been around an hour, maybe even a little more, since I decided I wanted them.