Judith Wills
There have been two recent reports citing marriage as a cause of obesity.
I have to agree it's a major factor – usually more so for women than for men.
I edited a slimming magazine for over ten years back in the day, as a virtual one-woman band (i.e. I was the Editor, secretary, commissioning editor, writer, sub, etc etc, and before you ask, yes it WAS a national magazine, on sale in Smiths, etc – just one on a tight budget!). One of the most interesting tasks was reading the postbag. Much of it was from women of all ages who had, indeed, put on weight – slowly or steadily, but surely - after marriage.
The cause was one or more of the following:
- Doing a lot more cooking in the domestic idyll model.
- A husband who wanted large portions of man-type food (in those days, the women definitely did most of the shopping/cooking and in those days (circa late 70s-late 80s) still had their mothers' idea that a happy marriage was keeping the Husband happy, and the way to keep a man happy was not sex, but food – and lots of it.
- Eating the man-type food, in man-type portions (to 'keep him company').
- Letting yourself go' now you've got your man, your home, your children, etc. etc. etc. (Don't shout – I'm only reporting what the letters said.)
- Having babies.
- Being contented.
- Not being contented.
I can confirm that certainly a few of those were contributory factors in my own weight gain in my first few years of co-habiting. I went from a superskinny 9 stone or thereabouts to a less skinny 10 stone or so, mainly through eating a lot more meals and cooking what he would prefer instead of what I would have eaten on my own. I used to quite look forward to the times he had to go away for work, as then I could choose my own food and eat it in woman portions.
So the reports are right – if a bit tardy. Marriage makes you fat. And today, it can have an equally expanding effect upon a man – he too cooks, gets content, may let himself go, etc etc. At least he doesn't have the babies.
Ate last night: Large portion ratatouille, small portion cold lean roast lamb, tiny mashed potato croquette, fried in light olive oil.
Easy recipe for ratatouille
Most ratatouille recipes contain far more oil than is necessary – just thinly slice one large onion, courgette and sweet pepper and stir-fry in 2tbsp olive oil (to make at least four portions or more). Brush 1 sliced aubergine with oil and grill each side for a few minutes to soften, then add to the pan and stir for another few minutes. Add can of chopped tomatoes and flavourings to taste (I add lots of crushed garlic, and either ground coriander seed (winter) or basil leaves (summer), salt, tons of pepper and a dash of paprika and/or red pesto from a jar). Simmer for up to one hour, adding a bit of hot water if it gets too dry. Check seasoning to serve.
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