New Radical Weight-Loss Plan: The Kitchen Demo?
But Would Our Relationship Survive?
We prepared for weeks of domestic distress, our personal lives to be scattered without the “necessity” of a kitchen.
Out fridge was hauled into the dining room, our dry foods and dishes were spread out on our dining room table. We did still have a small table to eat on.
We did dishes in the bathtub. But most scary of all: we were warned by friends that kitchen demos can put relationships on the edge, exposing weaknesses and pushing frustrations to their limits.
And it was tough times. We experienced factory-level noise for weeks, the loss of feeling “centered,” and we broke a lot of dishes.
But overall, it wasn’t as bad as we expected.
We filled a carafe with water, which was actually nicer than getting it from a faucet. We found new places to eat in town.
We got used to having workers in the house, co-existing like apartment neighbors, but with plastic sheets instead of actual walls. We fed them beer to keep them merry.
When I’d feel like we were starting to get on edge, I’d simply tell me wife to whisper a mantra to herself, “New kitchen… New kitchen…”
But in the end, it turned out the biggest shock of the kitchen demo wasn’t to our relationship, it was to our waistline.
After a couple weeks without a kitchen, my wife and I realize we both lost about 5 pounds!
Whaaat?
“The Temple of Food”
I tried to figure out how this could be, because we were eating out, getting carry out, whatever. But then I realized, we weren’t snacking as much.
Perhaps having the food all mixed up together made it less appealing. There was no more “showroom” of food. Also, perhaps all the turbulence made us nervy which lowers the appetite.
I don’t know for sure.
I do know that when we enter a kitchen, the food is highlighted, ready to be served, placed on a pedestal.
In fact, you don’t really feel useful in the kitchen unless you get something to eat. When the kitchen is not there, that habit has no architectural reinforcement.
Once we have a kitchen again, I guess I’ll need to realize that just because I’m in that room doesn’t mean I have to stuff my face.
Right now, it sure doesn’t whet my appetite. Here’s how our kitchen looked around the time of writing:
We’ll see if we continue shedding weight, or if 5 pounds is about the max for this type of upheaval.
It does make me wonder though, how society places so much value on having the kitchen, more than any other room, with granite countertops and all the other clichés we see on TV.
But could our own quest for comfort actually be hindering our health?
What I mean is, if we make the kitchen like temples and place food upon granite alters, are we really that surprised most of us struggle with weight?
It’d be interesting to see that if we put more attention toward a library or meditation studio, would we elevate our consciousness? Or would we just wonder where all the counter space went?
Stay hungry.
https://medium.com/the-mood/how-i-stopped-aging-44727803b83d
https://medium.com/the-mood/how-i-stopped-aging-44727803b83d