When Did Eating Food Become So Difficult?

        As I've gotten older, there are many things that have gotten hard. Life in general is a good example of that. In all seriousness though, there are things that we all assume will get more challenging as we grow up; School, relationships, money...but eating? I feel like there is so much unneeded pressure surrounding food.  Don't eat this because it has too much fat. Don't eat that because they used food coloring. Make sure you eat this on your date so it doesn't give you smelly breath or, god forbid, bad gas. Eat this because it's good for you, but guess what, it tastes like shit, and no there isn't much you can do to make it taste better. Add sugar? Don't you dare. I simply don't get it. 

      Think about this for a second. If we weren't trying to impress other people with "perfect" bodies or we weren't limited by food allergies or weren't trying to maintain a certain size for a job, would we eat the same types of things? Would we eat at the same frequency? As a person in this day in age, it's hard to escape beauty standards, especially as a young woman. Ultimately it only matters that you feel good about yourself, but I'd be lying if I said that I didn't stress about maintaining my figure. But how do I do that when I love to eat so much? How do I help my friends go through the same type of thing? I've actually had a friend refuse to eat avocados because there was "too much fat in it." Excuse me, but no. Just no. If you're eating at In n' Out every night you're going to get fat, but a freaking avocado isn't going to kill you. In my opinion, if you don't have to be on a diet, then why the hell are you on a diet? Eat real food often, exercise often, treat yourself occasionally. Everything in moderation people.

 

      We all seem to overthink eating. The dieting stuff is obvious, but I feel like there are almost unspoken eating standards. If I had a freaking dollar for the number of times where I've been eating something with garlic and somebody uttered " I hope you're not planning on kissing someone tonight," I wouldn't be rich, but I could probably buy a really nice steak. So. Should I just not eat garlic? I mean I really like garlic. If I kiss my boyfriend after this and he gets upset should I apologize for eating garlic? Would he even be mad? I think he likes garlic. He better freaking like garlic because I'm going to keep eating garlic. Seriously, who cares. Also, the whole "make sure you order a salad on the first date" rule is BS because I ordered a bacon cheeseburger on my first date with my boyfriend and, guess what, he still loves me. 

     When I think of proper eating etiquette I think of someone who eats slowly, pats their face with their napkin, sips their drink, doesn't talk while they eat, etc. I have been in many situations where that type of behavior has been expected, but I have almost always ended up with food on my face or on my clothes. Sometimes I notice shock, but its rare. I mostly notice relief, because now that someone else has screwed up, they don't have to worry about themselves as much. If having food all over my face lets people relax and genuinely enjoy their food, then I've done something right. Why do we worry so much about what other people think? Some of it has merit, but I guarantee that there is at least one other person who wants to grab the last cookie at the snack table. Eat the cookie, or I will.