- Tina Pascual
- Jul 11, 2019
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 31, 2020
Have you ever felt frustrated because your husband is binging much unhealthy food? We as a wife could sometimes get too anxious and over-react about how and what our significant others eat. Perhaps it was our instinct to care for those we love. In fact, we like to nourish them well to be able to thrive in life. Many of us felt the responsibility of serving them the healthiest meals we knew. This, even to the point that sometimes, when they don’t like the edibles, we force them to ingest it simply because we believe it is good for their health. Like many wives (and mothers), I am guilty of it, and many times I crank out when I count my husband's calorie intake while he chew. I knew I’m a bad wife doing it, but how can I control being a control freak?
During the first quarter of 2017 my husband was diagnosed having a fatty liver. I worried much. I question all the dishes I prepared and all our food preference when we go out. I can’t help myself not to blame all the lunches he is eating in the office and every time he is out of country without me. I felt inefficient and ineffective as a wife. It drags my self-esteem. So, most of the time I hustled on researching all the menu I could find, took down notes and religiously obeyed the recipes.
In the succeeding quarters of the year, we found ourselves like a topper winding here and there. He was booked for an ample of business travels around Southeast Asia. Because of it, we seldom spent some quality time together. Eventually, we decided to arranged a ticket going to Manila so we could be together after his office loads.
November 23, 2017 (day 3 of our stay in the hotel in Manila - and basically we just repeated our routine since our first day of stay)
7:03 AM
The company had booked him in a 4-star hotel at CBD area. And like many hotels, guests were greeted with a ‘good morning’ and a parade of tantalising and dazzling breakfast buffet. There’s nothing wrong with the food they prepared and its early in the morning anyway. But with my husband’s choices, I begun to be paranoid. Maybe there’s nothing really incorrect anyway ‘cause it depends how balance the intakes are. Nevertheless, witnessing his eating habits while away from home almost faints me. Ironic because I can’t help but to mimic him while complaining. Soon after, we found ourselves down to our 4th and last plate - the desserts.
But how always is always? And how seldom is seldom?
12:36 PM
Lunch time came and he fetched me at the hotel lobby. I can tell he is excited for our fast and mini lunch date to the mall nearby. After a few minutes of choosing from a wide array of food in the court, he pulled out a sizzling plate of buttered fried rice topped with sunny side up egg with Filipino version of beef steak and chopped veggies on the side. With his beam behind the smoke that went up the plate, I can tell he was glad with what he had on hand. Food does really make him happy. In fact, he keeps on reminding me that. He insist that he doesn’t have any vices but food and add up by reasoning that his craze is not always anyway. But how always is always? And how seldom is seldom? I’m not sure if that supposed to make me mad or not. I just responded prompting him to be a little bit conscious with his diet especially after his diagnosis.
1:15 PM
We were in the fast food cafe for some take-away desserts. We had s’mores brownies each and we ate it like there was no tomorrow. How can I say no to his allurement?
6:44 PM
We went out for dinner and being away in Philippines for quite a long time, we missed the local food. So, we browsed the nearby mall for some, until we saw a restaurant that appeals to us. Their interior was homey and girly with emphasis on political history of the country. He had white rice topped with pork floss and bistek (Filipino version of beef steak), and we shared a bowl of dinuguan (pork blood stew), sinigang na bangus belly (sour soup with milkfish belly), and a plate of pinakbet (sauteed mixed vegetables). As usual, we treat ourselves with desserts. We ordered leche flan (milk pudding) and banana langka turon (banana and jackfruit fritters).
Going back to the hotel, I was counting and whining about what kind of food we had throughout the day. I doubted if I was just me being so paranoid or was the food really fatty and sugary.
9:13 PM
I switched on the hotel water kettle and and made some coffee and tea. We don’t like it strong, so we helped ourselves with a creamer and sugar. Though it was against my will, I gave in. We indulged with our coffee and tea while we watch a television movie. We paired it with chocolate filled cookies, by the way.
11:00 PM
I can’t close my eyes to sleep while thinking about the breakfast buffet for tomorrow. How I wish we could somehow control fats and sugar in our plates and replace it with something nutritious and body detoxifying food instead. Sigh! What a night and what a diet. I knew somethings ‘gotta change especially if it means taking care of fatty liver.
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