Meet the Combatants

Why exactly do Nathan and I clash so badly over food? To understand that, you have to know a bit about our personal food habits, our family histories, and how our bodies differ in dealing with food.

Meet Nathan
All the men in Nathan family have ridiculous metabolisms and are skinny as can be. He has to work hard to keep from losing too much weight, eating as many calories as he can possibly stand. The problem is, he doesn't like food much. Eating does not excite him, and food in general brings him little pleasure. He also has a genetic disorder in his family that gives him brittle teeth, so he doesn't like eating anything too crunchy or difficult to chew. If he could live by taking a food pill, he would. Eating is a chore for him, a utilitarian thing. He feels like it's a waste of time unless it's steak or lasagna. He is an omnivore and not a very adventurous eater. As soon as he's handed something new, his first question is, "What's in it?". 9 times out of 10, he'll dislike it or be overwhelmingly apathetic. He's a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy, no fancy spices or bells and whistles please.

All this taken together makes it very hard for him to keep weight on, especially now that he's in a more physical job. He is six feet tall and 125 pounds, and is looking to gain as much weight as possible so his body can better deal with the energy requirements of his new job.

Meet Megan
I love food. In fact, that's not saying enough; I want to shout from the rooftops and proclaim my undying love for food! Eating is one of the great pleasures in life, and I used to indulge at every opportunity. I would overeat at mealtimes until I was stuffed sick and still go back for dessert. I would eat between meals, the mere thought of food enticing me to rummage through the cabinets for something to satisfy my craving. I'm an adventurous eater; the bolder the spices, the better. International cuisine is my preference, especially Thai and Japanese. I'm also vegetarian, though I eat the occasional fish or shrimp.

I got a wake up call when I went to the doctor at the end of April. I was 5 feet 4 inches tall and 167 pounds. I knew I had gained some weight, but that was the heaviest I had ever been. I took a hard look at my eating habits and attitudes toward food and decided that if I wanted to preserve my health and be as healthy as possible to have children in a few years, I needed to make changes. After much research and experimenting, I managed to lose 16 pounds from making a few basic alterations, bringing me down to 151. I know the recommended healthy weight for someone of my height, 130 pounds, is probably unrealistic for me given my curvy proportions, but I think 140 is completely reasonable and I hope to be there by the end of August. Ultimately, though, this is less about weight and body image and more about health and energy. My job as a librarian (and as a full time graduate student getting a Master's in Library Science) may not be very physically demanding, but it is very mentally challenging and I can't be sluggish and confused because I haven't eaten well. I want to feel great.

To Summarize:
He hates food. I love food. He eats meat. I don't. He like plain food. I like adventurous food. He needs to gain as much weight as possible. I need to lose weight and change my relationship with food.

Are we doomed to fight over food for the rest of our lives?

I don't think so. We're making it work. Through this blog, I hope to share our strategies, recipes, conflicts, and solutions. It will be great for us, but I also hope it will be useful to others who find themselves in similar situations or who hope to gain or lose weight for better health. Best of luck to you all.