More about the 'overloaded food environment'

Tonight my friend Maddy and I ordered an Indian take-away. As I've mentioned before, this involved low choice options and I felt far batter about my portion of food than the first time I ordered a take-away on the plan. However, this instance raised an additional issue that I feel needs discussing.

With our food, despite the fact that we both ordered a side dish of rice or similar, they sent us a portion of Bombay potatoes. Now, I don't actually know what Bombay potatoes work out to on the ProPoints plan but I can't imagine it's all that low. The reason I'm banging on about this though is that we practically live in a world where companies are throwing food at you all the time. As a student, you can get some pretty amazing deals. McDonalds will give you free French fries or even a cheeseburger on production of a particular card, companies shell out loyalty cards that offer the holder a free item after X purchases and there are more buy one get one free deals than is possible to count. Is it any wonder then, that people are overweight.

Exhibit A: The Bombay Potato...what even are Bombay potatoes?!

Even going to the supermarket is a minefield out there for someone trying to lose weight. The aisles which we actually should use, the fresh food stuff on the outside edges of the supermarket ,are so spread out with rows and rows of ready meals and snacks that are provided purely to get people to spend more money. People talk about will power and yet companies are playing on people's desire for the fatty, sugary foods that our ancestors needed on a daily basis purely to survive. Taste testers exist to produce foods that are as addictive as humanly possible. I can't help but thinking as an overweight person, what would these companies do if we 'overeaters' weren't here to buy up their food?

On Friday, we had a formal dinner and I was very careful about what I did and did not eat, even going to the lengths of salting and peppering my dessert so that I wouldn't eat any more. Great idea, right? If that's what I need to do currently to exist in this world of instant gratification, then I'm going to do it. That doesn't mean that people around the table won't look at you as if you've just slapped the Pope. We exist in a world that at once likes to push people down for being too big/too small and yet when someone tries to do something about it everyone has an opinion and you can guarantee you're going to hear it when they feel that their idea is better than yours.

Food is entirely unavoidable and businesses know that. Managing to take control of this overloaded food environment is a whole other kettle of fish. It's not to any businesses benefit to get people to eat less of their product and they will continue to advertise and tweak recipes to get a maintained following. The best thing that you and I can do, is remain aware that this happens and is no coincidence. Oh, and to offer your free Bombay potatoes to a hungry friend so that the temptation no longer exists.