Little Bites & A Small Rant

We, (Jess: OLP & Stacey: LIF & I), had our weekly marketing meeting tonight. And by marketing I mean wine and tapas, and by meeting I mean sitting on couches and being waited on in a little curtained alcove.

The meal, which left me completely satisfied, consisted of a tiny shrimp taco, which would have preferred being hot, 4 perfect scallops with a tiny servings cucumber salad, and a glass and a half of chardonnay.  (and some yummy bread with white bean spread.) Any restaurant that serves 1/2 glasses of wine, and lets us sit in a little alcove on couches for 3 hours without ever trying to kick us out is a place I will be returning to again and again. And I can't tell you what it is because then you will go there and steal our spot and we will be sad.

I came home and had 7 chocolate chips for dessert. They were just the right thing to end the day. Once again, if there had been english muffins, I probably would have had one. And if there had been wine, I probably would have had a little glass. But since there is neither, I can remain as I am and save 300 or so calories.

One of the things Stacey and I were talking about was how whenever a group of women (besides us) get together around food, the conversation always turns to body image and food, and how "bad" they are for eating, and how "good" they will be tomorrow.

This was something I wrote back in March after I had been to a professional networking event that was filled with these types of women having these types of conversations:

Dear Women at the Cocktail Party

1. You do not need to say "oh, this has no calories, right" [insert nervous laughter] as you eat something.
2. You do not need to say "oh, that's what I should be doing " when there is pilates being shown on the tv.
3. You do not need to say "I will be back on track tomorrow" when you reach for an appetizer.

Just eat the darned thing! If you are hungry, eat! Do not apologize for eating. Do not tell me that your stomach should be flatter. Do not feel bad for eating what you ate. No one cares. No one is keeping track of what you eat.

There is nothing more boring than women talking about food in that way, or apologizing for what they are eating, or talking about being on a diet. It makes me want to scream. We are professional women, networking for business and you are talking about your stomach! For the love of God, just stop it!

You know, I have a lot of issues with my body, I don't like to eat in public settings like that (especially because people want to shake my hand and I don't like to touch people and then pick up food) so I don't. I make sure that I eat ahead of time so that I don't have to worry about what they are serving. Or, if I haven't and I arrive hungry, then I eat. Without apology. Without discussion. Without excuse.

I want people to remember me as the interesting, smart, funny attorney that they met, not the woman who will be starting her diet tomorrow or who wishes her stomach will be flatter. Which person would you rather talk to at a party?

I had a fabulous dinner tonight. And I enjoyed every bite and sip. And will continue to do so with everything I eat for the rest of my life. Without apology, or discussion or excuse.